LAHORE, March 18: Federal Minister and Tehrik-i-Takmeel-i-Pakistan president Mahmud Ali has said that India dare not commit atrocities in Kashmir and upon its Muslims minority in other parts of the country, if Pakistan had not been an instable nation, not in military but in political and economic terms.

Talking to this correspondent here, the 81-year-old veteran leader of the Pakistan Movement said that India had been perpetrating atrocities upon Muslims in occupied Kashmir for the past 12 years.

The Hindu majority had killed thousands of Muslim men, women and children in communal riots during the past 55 years in different parts of India. Recently over 1,000 Muslims had been massacred and most of them burnt alive mercilessly in Gujarat. It were the worst of all anti-Muslim riots in India.

He said that if Pakistan had been a strong and stable country it could deal with India at equal level.

He said that strength of a nation lay in self reliance and not the one borrowed from other countries in the form of aid or loans which had become a great liability for Pakistan which was under a foreign debt of $38 billion.

He said that half of Pakistan’s Rs5 billion budget was consumed in debt servicing which mostly included the interest on loans. The position was so much critical that Pakistan had to negotiate fresh loans to pay the previous loans’ instalments.

It had become very difficult to come out of this maze unless Pakistan tightens its belt and learns to live on its vast natural resources.

He said that before the partition Hindu money lender used to suck the Muslims by advancing loans. That was exploitation at individual level and now the entire nation was being sucked at collective level by the foreign donors. This was not the fate of Pakistan alone but all poor countries of the Third World were the victims of this international exploitation.

Mahmud Ali said that Pakistan had come into being under the able leadership of the Quaid-i-Azam despite the tough opposition by the Hindu and the British.

About 100 million Muslims of the undivided India had struggled and voted for Pakistan in the hope that the new Muslim country would safeguard and protect their interests and would come to their rescue in the need of hour. But it had not happened as Pakistan had never been in a position to help the Indian Muslims.

He said that after the death of the Quaid-i-Azam and the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, the leaders and the political parties that ruled over the country had rather made it a weaker and an instable country.

He said that Liaquat Ali Khan was killed in a conspiracy hatched by the feudal lords because he had plans to abolish jagirdari system in the country. So they colluded with then feudal rulers and bureaucrats and got the first prime minister of the country shot dead.

“The same spirit with which independence was won, the same enthusiasm, unity, faith and discipline are now required to make Pakistan a political and economic power based on self reliance.” Only then the hapless Muslims and other minorities of India and the Kashmiris could feel secure from the fanatic and extremist Hindus of that country, he added.

He regretted that Islam was being maligned as a creed of terrorism. “In fact, Islam is the religion of peace and tranquillity and abhors terrorism. Islam stands for humanity and the welfare of mankind.”

It was for this love for humanity and mankind that the Muslims had demanded a separate homeland in the subcontinent where they could struggle to achieve the ideal of welfare of mankind.

“Islam is against concentration of wealth in a few hands and wants that its benefits should be spread to all sections of the people in a state.”

Referring to the situation in Afghanistan, Mahmud Ali said that Afghans had never surrendered themselves before any power nor would ever surrender in future. What happened there was because of the weakness of the Ummat. “You cannot fight against terrorism with terrorism.”

He said that the US would not get any support for attacking Iraq from the Arab countries nor from its allies elsewhere in the world with the exception of Britain where the people as well as the cabinet members were divided on the issue.

The European Union, France, Russia have already declared their opposition.