| January 24, 2002 | Thursday | Ziqa’ad 9, 1422 |
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Torment Down Under
How not to fish
India at it again
Torment Down Under
How not to fish
TRUE to the long established pattern India has again blamed Pakistan for yet another act of terrorism — this time an attack on the American Centre in Kolkata on Tuesday. In Kolkata, Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani blamed a group alleged to have links with the ISI for the terrorist attack, while in New Delhi an Indian external ministry spokesperson pointed an accusing finger at two Kashmiri militant groups and an unspecified Pakistani agency with which the attackers allegedly had links. What is amazing about these right-on-cue accusations is the haste with which Pakistan has been involved in various terrorist attacks in that country.
Just as they did in the case of the attack on the Indian parliament building last month, so also in this case has India dragged Pakistan into the affair even before preliminary investigations had begun. Most important, Washington itself does not believe that the American Centre was the target of the attack by unknown gunmen. FBI chief Robert Muller, in New Delhi for talks with Indian officials on collaboration between the two countries in fighting terrorism, correctly observed that it was too early for him to comment on the motive behind the attack and that he was unaware of any specific reason for a possible attack on US interests in Kolkata. In Washington, the State Department spokesman said the US did not know who was behind the attack. In fact, he was not sure whether American interests were the target of the attack at all and hinted that the incident might well be an act of revenge on the West Bengal police for something that had nothing to do with America. In contrast, Indian publicists have discovered one Farhan being involved in the attack. Farhan belongs to India’s underworld and was responsible for the kidnapping for ransom of a Kolkata businessman. However, the Indians have felt no hesitations about linking him to “some Pakistani agencies.”
It is significant that in all such crimes, India has always declined offers of joint investigations by interested governments. In the case of the attack on the Indian parliament building, Islamabad offered a joint inquiry but New Delhi promptly rejected it. And when Washington offered FBI assistance, India turned down that, too. In the Kolkata attack, West Bengal Chief Minister Bhattacharya said that FBI would have no role in the investigation. It seems Pakistan will now have to brace itself for a long and unending barrage of Indian propaganda. The echo from the Dec 13 attack in New Delhi has not died down yet. In fact, despite the easing of tension along the borders, the eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between the two sides continues. On top of this now comes this new opportunity for India to gear up its anti-Pakistan propaganda blitz and accuse it of continuing acts of terrorism against India.
The US-led coalition is engaged in a real war against terrorism, and the operations against the Al Qaeda along Pakistan’s western frontier are still continuing. India, on the other hand, is merely interested in using the coalition’s campaign for its anti-Pakistan propaganda and for advancing its narrow national political and diplomatic interests. The coalition’s war against terror is a serious business; it has little to do with tarring one or the other with a propaganda brush. This is what India has been doing vis-a-vis this country — a propensity that often queers the pitch for efforts towards normalization of relations between the two neighbours.
AUSTRALIA seems to have little consideration or compassion for the hundreds of refugees that have been rushing to its shores in the past few months. In fact, the government’s hardline stance of standing up to these migrants — mostly from Asia and the Middle East — helped John Howard’s conservative coalition to an unlikely victory in recent elections. The most recent example of this apathy has been the case of at least 55 Afghan refugees (including several children) at a detention camp in a remote part of Australia who have sewn their lips in protest against what they say is very slow processing of their applications for asylum. The refugees, whose plight became known only after their lawyers visited the detention centre, also say that their housing poses a serious health hazard because the area was used in the past for nuclear testing and because the detention authorities are indifferent to their plea for reasonable living conditions. Refugee groups have contested the figure of 55 saying that as many as 300 people were involved in the protest.
Instead of sympathy or even the slightest show of consideration, Australia’s immigration minister has said that sewing one’s lips constituted a wasted effort since it would have no effect whatsoever on the consideration of their applications. And, that even from a medical point of view, he said, the method chosen by the protesters, was not exactly life-threatening. Clearly, these refugees have been driven to desperation by their terrible plight, resorting to such extreme measures as sewing their lips because they felt there was no other option. Even if the changed situation in Afghanistan merits a review of the conditions under which they initially had sought asylum, the very least the Australian government can do is show some compassion and improve the conditions at such camps and expedite the disposal of their long pending cases.
WHEN one thinks of Swat the first thing that comes to mind is a lush green countryside, snowy peaks, temperate weather and rivers and streams stocked with fish. However, this is gradually changing, and as usual the cause has to do with the demands of a growing local population, coupled with an inability on the part of the authorities concerned to keep such demands within reasonable bounds. The fisheries department in the NWFP’s Malakand division allows controlled fishing in the region. Would-be anglers are required to apply for a permit to fish after paying a nominal amount. However, of late reports have been coming in of people going on a fishing binge without applying for a licence. To make matters worse, the methods adopted to catch fish are the worst imaginable for the area’s pristine environment. In some cases dynamite is being used to kill fish and in other instances poison used normally for killing rodents is being poured into the streams by the poachers to get their share of the catch.
Unfortunately, the fisheries department and the provincial government do not seem interested in stepping these harmful practices. For one thing, there is a direct loss in revenue to the government since the illegal fishermen do not pay for a permit. Then, their activities not only kill the fish in bulk, they also affect the ecosystem as a whole, making life difficult for other forms of wildlife. Other than that, lacing the streams and rivers with toxic chemicals or using dynamite explosions to kill fish makes the catch dangerous for human consumption, besides contributing to the contamination of water. Guards who are there to prevent poaching are too few in number and ill-equipped to do an effective job of monitoring and enforcement. We would strongly advise the NWFP government to pay special attention to this problem by providing more resources to the fisheries department so that it is in a position to implement the relevant laws more effectively and is able to prevent the stock of fish in the region being decimated by dynamites and poison.
TRUE to the long established pattern India has again blamed Pakistan for yet another act of terrorism — this time an attack on the American Centre in Kolkata on Tuesday. In Kolkata, Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani blamed a group alleged to have links with the ISI for the terrorist attack, while in New Delhi an Indian external ministry spokesperson pointed an accusing finger at two Kashmiri militant groups and an unspecified Pakistani agency with which the attackers allegedly had links. What is amazing about these right-on-cue accusations is the haste with which Pakistan has been involved in various terrorist attacks in that country.
Just as they did in the case of the attack on the Indian parliament building last month, so also in this case has India dragged Pakistan into the affair even before preliminary investigations had begun. Most important, Washington itself does not believe that the American Centre was the target of the attack by unknown gunmen. FBI chief Robert Muller, in New Delhi for talks with Indian officials on collaboration between the two countries in fighting terrorism, correctly observed that it was too early for him to comment on the motive behind the attack and that he was unaware of any specific reason for a possible attack on US interests in Kolkata. In Washington, the State Department spokesman said the US did not know who was behind the attack. In fact, he was not sure whether American interests were the target of the attack at all and hinted that the incident might well be an act of revenge on the West Bengal police for something that had nothing to do with America. In contrast, Indian publicists have discovered one Farhan being involved in the attack. Farhan belongs to India’s underworld and was responsible for the kidnapping for ransom of a Kolkata businessman. However, the Indians have felt no hesitations about linking him to “some Pakistani agencies.”
It is significant that in all such crimes, India has always declined offers of joint investigations by interested governments. In the case of the attack on the Indian parliament building, Islamabad offered a joint inquiry but New Delhi promptly rejected it. And when Washington offered FBI assistance, India turned down that, too. In the Kolkata attack, West Bengal Chief Minister Bhattacharya said that FBI would have no role in the investigation. It seems Pakistan will now have to brace itself for a long and unending barrage of Indian propaganda.