US will Cause Indian Downfall
By Sajjad Shaukat
During his recent visit to India, while pampering New Delhi, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has repeatedly pointed out that drone attacks would continue on save havens of terrorists in Pakistan. While concealing the fact that Taliban have been fighting for liberation of their country from the US-led NATO forces, reviving US old blame game, Panetta allegedly singled out the Haqqani network, based in North Waziristan for the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan in the 10-year war.
While no breakthrough occurred between Pak-US talks on various issues, and US Assistant Defence Secretary Peter Lavoy visited Islamabad on June 9 to restore NATO supplies across Pakistan to Afghanistan, US drone attacks killed more than 40 people in the last 14 days in North Waziristan and South Waziristan. At the same time, while pleasing New Delhi, Leon Panetta elaborated, “Pakistan is complicated both for India and US, we must continue to engage Pakistan, overcoming our respective differences to make all of South Asia peaceful and prosperous.”
On the one hand, US has continuously been blaming Pakistan for cross-border terrorism, while on the other, American CIA, India RAW and Israeli Mossad, based in Afghanistan have been sending well-trained militants in Pakistan, who not only attack the check posts of Pakistan’s security forces, but also target schools and mosques intermittently.
In fact, these contradictory statements of Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta including some other US officials show American double game with Pakistan. It is also playing same game with India.
However, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also encouraged India to take a more active role in Afghanistan as international forces draw down after there. India which has already invested billion of dollars in Afghanistan, signed a signed a wide-ranging strategic agreement with that country on october 5, 2011 also includes to help train Afghan security forces.
During the Chicago summit on May 20-22, this year, under the pretext of focusing on training, advising and assisting Afghan troops, US convinced NATO leaders to back a permanent US military presence in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014. Notably, America seeks to control the energy resources of Central Asia as part of secret agenda against Pakistan, China, Iran and Russia.
US President Barack Obama had unveiled a defence strategy on January 5, 2012 which calls for greater US military presence in Asia. Obama disclosed that the strategy also calls to “rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region even as our troops continue to fight in Afghanistan.” Nevertheless, US new strategy is part of American hidden agenda in Afghanistan. Under the umbrella of its military presence, America wants to protect the puppet regime of Karzai and Indian influence in Afghanistan. But after the NATO forces quit Afghanistan, Karzai regime will fall like a house of cards due to stiff resistance of Afghan Taliban. Even India which seeks to furhter strengthened its grip there to get strategic depth against Islamabad, will not be in a position to maintain its network and development projects due to successful guerrilla warfare of the Taliban.
Notably, in 2010, during his visit to India US President Obama announced the measures, America would take regarding removal of Indian space and defence companies from a restricted “entities list”, and supported Indian demand for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Owing to various agreements with US, India has been purchasing latest and sophisticated defence-related arms and equipments from America like Apache helicopters, the new F-35 fighter jets etc. Besides India has also been buying arms from Germany, France, Russia, Italy and especially Israel.
In its report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) disclosed on March 20, this year that “India is the world’s largest recipient of arms…India’s imports of major weapons increased by 38 percent between 2002-06 and 2007-11.” It is of particular attention that under the pretext of military build up by China and Pakistan, India on March 16 this year, boosted military spending by 17 percent to $40 billion.
By concealing its duplicity with New Delhi for its own interest, America which signed a nuclear deal with India in 2008, intends to make India a great power of Asia to counterbalance China, control Pakistan’s province of Balochistan due to its geo-strategic location with Gwadar seaport including mineral resources. For these purposes, with the help of New Delhi, CIA with the assistance of RAW and Mossad have been supporting subversive acts in various places of Pakistan and Balochistan including Baloch separatism. These agencies are also backing similar acts of sabotage in the Iranian Sistan-Baluchistan including Tibetan regions of China. The major aim of America is to manipulate Indian dream of becoming a super power of Asia in order to destabilize Pakistan, China and Iran in accordance with the strategic designs of America and Israel.
It is notable that currently, more than half of India’s budget is allocated for armed forces, and defence purchases, leaving even less to lift millions of its citizens from abject poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease. These plolitical and economic justices have further intensified regional and ethnic diparities in India.
It is mentionable that the one of the important causes of the disintegration of the former Soviet Union was that its greater defence expenditure exceeded to the maximum, resulting in economic crises inside the country. On the other hand, India has been acting upon the similar policies on the instigation of the US.
No doubt, the former Russia was a totalitarian state which had subjugated other ethnic minorities through force. But under the mask of democracy and secularism, Indian subsequent regimes dominated by politicians from the Hindi heartland—Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) use brutal force ruthlessly against any move to free Assam, Kashmir, Khalistan, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu and Tripura where wars of liberation continue in one or the other form. In the recent months, Maoist intensified their struggle, attacking official installments. In this context, Indian media admitted that Maoists have now entered the cities, expanding their activities against the Indian union.
Besides, even under the rule of Congress which claims to be secular party, Indian fundamentalist parties like BJP, RSS, VHP, Shev Sina and Bajrang Dal have missed no opportunity to communalise national politics of India. Although violence against the other communities has been used by Hindu fundamentalists as a normal practice since partition, they intensified anti-Christian and anti-Muslim bloodshed in the last decade.
After serving the BJP for 30 years, Jaswant Singh was expelled from the party for praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah and echoing the pain of the Indian Muslims in his book, “Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence.” While pointing out the BJP’s attitude towards the minorities, Singh wrote: “Every Muslim that lives in India is a loyal Indian…look into the eyes of Indian Muslims and see the pain.” He warned in his book, if such a policy continued, “India could have third partition.”
Past and present history of Balkan gives ample evidence that insurgency and movement of separatism in one country have drastic impact on other neighbouring states. Similarly civil war and unrest either in Somalia or Sudan have affected all the states of Darfur region, while violent uprising in Egypt, Syria etc. have radicalised a number of the Middle East countries. Nonetheless US covert strategy will throw Afghanistan in an era of further chaos resulting in more terrorism in the region. India should know that militants have links from Somalia to Kabul and Uzbekistan to Kashmir.
While US cost of war against terrorism which is more than 7 trillion is rapidly growing, causing other related problems inside America in wake of debt crisis. If India did not understand American double game and kept on following US faulty policy in wake of the modern era of economic development and peaceful settlement of disputes, US will cause Indian downfall.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
