By Ateet Sharma
New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Slogans of “ye jo dehshatgardi hai, iske peechay wardi hai” (theres uniform behind terrorism) are resonating in Waziristan; violent clashes have erupted in capital Islamabads Faizabad as thousands of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) extremists are threatening to attack the French embassy; theres a huge unrest at the Pak-Afghan border; the Opposition and the military establishment are at loggerheads; there are reports of massive rigging in Sundays elections to the so-called “Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly,” a fraudulent exercise intended to camouflage its illegal occupation: evidently, Pakistan is in deep turmoil. And yet, Islamabad wants the world to believe that India is behind everything wrong happening in Pakistan.
“Thousands of workers of the extremist Barelvi group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan have occupied the gateway to the capital Islamabad, demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador. Meanwhile on mainstream media: GB elections and cricket,” tweeted journalist Amber Rahim Shamsi a few hours before police and protestors clashed in Faizabad early Monday. Is she an Indian? Or TLP a creation of India?
Just about the same time, thousands of supporters of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) had gathered in Miran Shah, North Waziristan, to protest against the genocide of Pashtuns by the Pakistan Army. “Some people said what happened to PTM and where is it? Tell them here is PTM. Those who want eliminate PTM have to wait till doomsday,” said PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen during his speech against the state-sponsored terrorism. Is he an Indian?
In faraway Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’s Gilgit and Baltistan (GB), an integral part of India which has been illegally and forcibly occupied by Pakistan for decades, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party is claiming victory in elections held on 23 legislative assembly seats Sunday. While India has completely rejected the continued attempts by the Pakistani establishment to bring material changes in areas under its illegal and forcible occupation, the local parties are also claiming that the entire process is a big farce.
“My election has been stolen. I will be joining the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in their protest shortly,” said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a short while ago. Is he an Indian too?
The locals, who have been tragically short-changed by Islamabad since 1947, are aware that Pakistan is disintegrating fast.
“Pakistan is facing a crisis of governance which is a direct result of the interference in the economic and political sectors by the military establishment under the direct control of its generals. The tussle between parliament and the military establishment over CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) and other developmental projects has been the cause of perpetual halt in the economic growth of the country,” PoK activist Amjad Ayub Mirza told IndiaNarrative.com. Another Indian?
It is to divert the world’s attention from this chaos at home that Imran Khan has directed his ministers to spew venom and build false narratives against India. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is accusing India of putting “obstacles in Pakistan’s progress towards peace” and his colleagues like Railways minister Sheikh Rashid is saying that India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) “can attempt to target prominent politicians” in the country.
Ironically, a few weeks ago, the ruling government was blaming the 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for promoting India’s agenda in its rallies!
“The so-called claims of ‘proof’ against India enjoy no credibility, are fabricated and represent figments of imagination. This desperate attempt will find few takers as the international community is aware of Pakistan’s tactics and proof of its terror sponsorship has been admitted by none other than its own leadership,” says Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“The face of global terror, Osama Bin Laden, was found in Pakistan; Pakistan’s PM glorified him as a ‘martyr’ from the floor of Parliament; he admitted the presence of 40,000 terrorists in Pakistan; their Science and Technology Minister proudly claimed involvement and success of Pakistan, led by its Prime Minister, in the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Indian soldiers were martyred. Distant parts of the world have seen the terror trail lead back to Pakistan. Concocting documents and peddling false narratives will not absolve Pakistan of such actions. We are confident the world will hold it to account,” he added.
The world is doing that. Of course, that Imran Khan, the ‘kaptaan‘ of ‘naya‘ Pakistan’s is on a sticky wicket and fighting a battle for survival every day isn’t a state secret anymore. This is also the reason why the control-freak Pakistani Army and its puppet government in Islamabad are peddling lies and throwing red herrings, like the epic comment of India putting “obstacles” in Pakistan’s progress towards peace!
“Once perhaps former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani said there was a state within the state in the country which could not be tolerated. It is saddening that the situation has escalated to the level where we now have a state above the state. This parallel government illness is the root-cause of our problems,” lamented Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) boss and former PM Nawaz Sharif while addressing the PDM conference in September.
The Army isn’t missing any chance to prove Sharif right. Be it holding elections in regions it has no locus standi on – like Gilgit-Baltistan – or spreading false propaganda through the state machinery – like joint press conference of Qureshi with with Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar in Islamabad – they have no qualms in revealing who the real boss of Pakistan is. Even though its leaders believe that they can fool all the people all the time!
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
–IANS
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