index
The colossal destruction and heart-rending human
misery wrought by the Muzaffarabad earthquake has
suddenly focused a beam of bright white light on
a stark, simple truth, which many South Asians
have suppressed, trivialised or forgotten:
namely, the India-Pakistan border is basically
political. In sharp contrast to the rifts and
divisions the border represents stands the lived
experience of flesh-and-blood people affected by
the disaster, itself rooted in their common
humanity and shared grief. Even the geological
processes that led to the earthquake cut across
borders.
You don't need a map of the subcontinent to
realise that the Line of Control is an
obstruction, a profound irrationality. The
easiest access to some parts of Pakistani Kashmir
lies through Indian terrain across the LoC. If
rescuing people and providing relief has any
meaning -- and what else matters at this point of
time? -- the border has none.
It's a sad irony that Indian soldiers crossed the
LoC not to provide desperately needed relief to
civilians, but to reconstruct a Pakistani
military bunker!
We citizens, therefore, have every right to be
infuriated at the cussedness and bloody
mindedness of our rulers, who still cannot rise
above the pettiest considerations of prestige,
protocol and precedent, nor spontaneously assert
a simple urge to relieve human suffering.
Pakistan has refused India's offer to conduct
joint relief operations. It won't welcome Indian
workers' teams crossing the border. It has only
accepted 25 tonnes of material and even spurned
the offer of light helicopters, which it badly
needs. What else is this but a move to block
direct human contact between the two peoples at a
time when it can make a life-or-death difference?
It's ludicrous to imagine that accepting
substantial relief from India, in particular
through joint disaster management efforts, would
be a sign of "weakness". But that's the sole,
perverse, rationale of the "sensitivities" that
President Pervez Musharraf cited while saying
"thanks, but no thanks" to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh. At work here is a fraudulent
notion of national security and power projection.
India, in turn, has refused to share seismic data
with Pakistan because it fears it might be used
to pinpoint the location of any future nuclear
experiments (full-fledged blasts or hydronuclear
tests) it might conduct. This fear is compounded
by India's opposition to the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty, under which seismic verification has
been agreed. Thus India hasn't joined the Global
Seismographic Network maintained by the
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
(IRIS), Washington, a consortium created by
universities which accurately monitors
earthquakes at 128 stations worldwide.
So the shadow of the mushroom cloud looms over
India's decision not to cooperate with Pakistan
even through IRIS. This is as self-defeating for
India as Islamabad's refusal of relief teams is
for Pakistan. Joining IRIS would give India
real-time access to seismic data and help
substantially cut the response-time to
earthquakes. This could save lives.
Our wretchedly callous governments won't
willingly shed their profound antipathy to their
own people or their Neanderthal-like militaristic
instincts. Not anytime soon. But that doesn't
mean that civil society organisations (CSOs)
should be passive and not push them. They must do
their utmost to establish people-to-people
contacts across the border using all available
means.
It's the CSOs' duty to reach out -- not only
because government-level efforts have proved
unacceptably inadequate. The Kashmiris, in whose
name we all speak, have themselves called for
such initiatives. Hurriyat chairman Umar Farooq
has said so explicitly while decrying the
relative inactivity of major NGOs in the present
case -- in contrast to the 2001 Bhuj earthquake
or last December's tsunami.
India's CSOs have a much longer and richer
experience of dealing with disaster relief thanks
to the Uttarkashi and Chamoli earthquakes in the
Himalayas (1991 and 1999), the Latur tremblor in
Maharashtra's plains (1993), besides Bhuj. They
have invaluable insights into what's needed --
not just in terms of food, water and materials,
but the way their distribution should be
organised involving local communities. They have
worked for years on building temporary shelters
as well as permanent structures which can resist
earthquakes.
The mountainous areas affected in Pakistan,
especially Azad Kashmir, are very similar to
those in India's Himalayan hill districts in
topography, access, quality and structure of
housing. Disasters in the hills pose different
problems from those in the plains. Here too, the
Indian CSOs' expertise could prove useful -- in
restoring ruptured communication links, or in
quickly erecting temporary shelters to protect
people from the cold and the rain.
I have been talking to many CSOs, earthquake
engineers, architects and other experts in Delhi,
Dehra Dun and Mumbai. They draw the following
lessons from their experience.
New Delhi is probing whether part of the $393 720 (R2,6-million at
Saturday's conversion rate) paid to a British agency by arms firm Denel as
part of its successful anti-matériel rifle (AMR) deal with India was
"round-tripped" back into the pockets of a trio of Denel executives.
Ash Kirpal, an attorney ousted this year as head of Denel's forensic
investigation unit, has claimed that Varas Associates Inc, the British
Virgin Islands-based company at the heart of the corruption allegations,
was a paper tiger that camouflaged Denel chiefs' practice of skimming
money from over-inflated "consultancy" fees.
But Kirpal has no documentary proof, Denel has flatly denied any
wrongdoing in the contract to sell 400 AMRs to India - and India is keen
to that unfreeze its Denel deals so it can acquire sought-after South
African artillery pieces, armour and avionics.
Saturday Star revealed that Varas Associates had been paid millions of
dollars Last Tuesday, our sister paper The Star reported that the Indian
military journal SP's Land Forces "said India had cancelled the
$3,86-million AMR deal because it had failed to disclose that it had used
an agent to secure the multibillion-deal".
But the Indian Defence Ministry said it was not true that any deals had
been cancelled, merely frozen: "The matter is being probed by the Central
Bureau of Investigation.
The probe is looking into the employment of middlemen in buying the AMR
from Denel. We have not reached a conclusion yet."
Still, last week the vice-chief of the Indian Army, Lieutenant-General S
Pattabhiraman, admitted that the freezing of all contracts with, and
pending orders to, Denel had hit the army very hard.
Particularly affected was its Bhim Project, whereby it would mount Denel's
world- famous 155mm artillery gun on an Indian Arjun tank chassis.
This is exactly the kind of defence industry synergy that was envisaged by
the so-called G3 pact signed by India, Brazil and South Africa in 2003 as
part of their strategic plan to build a powerful "South" bloc of nations.
The G3 partners are unlikely to allow problems with the AMR deal to derail
future co-operation.
On April 16, Saturday Star revealed that Varas Associates had been paid
millions of dollars, allegedly in part to influence India's choice of
Denel as its AMR supplier.
When Denel landed the deal in 2003, it was hailed as a coup for the group
although its AMR - known as the "new technology weapon" - was one of the
best in the world, a long-range sniper rifle, with heavy armour-piercing
incendiary shells, that is perfectly suited for use by special forces
against targets such as aircraft and lightly armoured vehicles.
But signed documents from the Denel treasury in this newspaper's
possession purported to show that Denel paid Varas Associates two sums on
January 27 2003 ($2 408 373 and $1 099 672) and $151 350 on June 19 2003.
There was no indication what the payments were for.
Acting Denel spokesperson Priya Pillay said that five months ago "the
Indian Ministry of Defence informed Denel of their intention to cancel the
contracts" with Denel. That threat appears to be receding.
The week after Saturday Star broke the story, both houses of the Indian
parliament were adjourned early amid chaos over the arms scandal.
Then, on April 20, the Indian Ministry of Defence and Defence Production
froze all deals with Denel while the Central Bureau of Investigation
probed the AMR deal.
On June 6, Ritu Sarin, the New Delhi-based defence correspondent of The
Indian Express newspaper, said the CBI had filed a charge against Denel
under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Marc Craigh Veitch, at that time, was a director of Varas Associates,
apparently one of a group of British companies of which he was director.
another was Africa Link Ltd.
The Manx registrar of companies had no listing for Varas, but said
Veitch's Africa Link had been registered in January 1997 and given its
business first as "investment company", and then, oddly, as "farrier" - a
maker of horseshoes.
Veitch and Varas Associates could not be reached for comment. The firm is
believed to have since shut up shop. The Indian Express reported in June
that Varas was based not on the Isle of Man, as stated on its invoices,
but rather on the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.
On May 22, Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad paid a low-key visit to
India, reportedly to deal with the fallout from the Saturday Star report
on documents in its possession purporting to show that Varas sent Denel
three bills totalling $987,530 for its "technical services".
Among these was a December 8 2002 invoice apparently signed by Veitch, for
$393 720, being for "fees for consulting and technical services as per
agreement" relating to the "AM2 & AM3" project, said by a Denel insider to
be the sale of the anti-matériel rifles plus ammunition and technology
transfer.
Following a massive arms kickbacks scandal in 198-88 involving a British
anti-aircraft system, a clause was inserted in all Indian defence deals
stating that a company can be blacklisted and contracts cancelled if it
uses middlemen.
In 2002 the Indian Ministry of Defence allowed the use of registered
agents only. What is at stake is whether Varas was a registered agent -
and whether it acted within the letter of the AMR deal and of the law.
Kirpal claimed that "apart from the commission paid [to Varas], there is
evidence that the commission was inflated to the benefit of people in
Denel".
But Kirpal admitted that his evidence was oral and that he had no
documentary proof.
Pillay responded: "Denel has sought legal advice in both South Africa and
India throughout its business dealings in India and can confirm no laws
were transgressed in the process, in either South Africa or India.
"It is also Denel's view, based on legal opinion obtained in both
countries that Denel did not breach any provisions of its contracts with
the Ministry of Defence, India.
The company, in co-operation with government and legal counsel, is working
to determine how this very complex and sensitive issue can be resolved."
NEW DELHI --- India and France today signed contracts for the
construction of six Scorpene class submarines in India under Project-75.
The project will cost around three and a half billion dollars.
According to the contracts, India will build the Scorpene class submarines
at the state owned Mazagon Docks in Mumbai, under transfer of technology
from France. The first submarine will be ready for induction into the
service within seven years of signing the contract. The remaining five
submarines will be delivered at intervals of one year each thereafter.
The thrust of Indian Navy's 30-year Submarine Building Plan of which
Project-75 is a part, is to develop national competence in submarine
building. Towards this end, the indigenous component of the machinery and
equipment fitted on the Scorpene is expected to go up to 60% during the
implementation of the project.
The selection of Scorpene was made after detailed techno-commercial
analysis of the available options that best suited the requirements of
Indian Navy. Scorpene is a state-of-the-art conventional submarine, which
incorporates advanced stealth characteristics that make its detection
difficult. It has a high level of automation and redundancy, which
contribute towards reduction in crew strength, enhanced endurance and
greater survivability. The modern sonar and electronic equipment fitted on
the submarine, lends the Scorpene superior capability in detection and
classification of surface and underwater targets.
The submarine packs a lethal weapon outfit with anti-ship missiles and
wire-guided torpedoes. It has an integrated combat system, which
effectively synergises the capabilities of its sensors and weapon systems.
Apart from India, Chile and Malaysia have also contracted to acquire two
Scorpene submarines each. The first submarine of the Scorpene class has
already been commissioned for the Chilean Navy.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash
said that the contracts had received repeated scrutiny at every level, by
different organs of the Government and the Parliament.
"In fact we were determined that in the interest of transparency and
probity we would accept as much delay as was necessary. In this context we
were particularly happy that for the first time an integrity pact has been
signed today between the buyer and the sellers This provision has been
included in the Defence Procurement Procedures 2005 at the request of the
Navy and will soon become a standard feature which will be promulgated at
the time Request for Proposals (RFPs) are issued so that subsequently
there are neither doubts nor apprehension in the minds of either the buyer
or the seller", Admiral Prakash said.
Six different contracts, pacts and technical arrangements were signed in
today's ceremony:
Top officials of the Ministry of Defence including the Defence Secretary
Shri Shekhar Dutta and Secretary Defence Production Shri Dhanendra Kumar
were present at the ceremony.
India constructed two Type 209 submarines of German design at Mazagon
Docks Limited, Mumbai in the mid 1980s, demonstrating our ability to build
hi-tech submarines. Many of the skills and technological expertise
acquired in this process got dissipated in the 15-year hiatus that
followed.
However, with the signing of this contract, the Indian shipbuilding and
ancillary industries will once again acquire the strategic capability to
build submarines.
SRINAGAR, ISHAM (LOC), OCTOBER 11: As thousands
wept while they prayed for the quake victims,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who led special prayers at
Srinagar's Jamia Masjid today, sent the rest of
India a wake-up call: "It is sad that people
have not responded to this great tragedy. This
was not expected. When Latur and Bhuj were
ravaged, big industrialists stepped forward to
help. But no one seems to be coming to our aid."
"This is a national tragedy, a tragedy for
Kashmiris on this side of the LoC and on the
other side. This tragedy has not recognised the
LoC. For the first time, we have been witness to
such destruction, put to such a test. Thousands
have died in Uri, Tangdhar, Muzaffarabad and
Rawlakote," he said.
As the Mirwaiz recalled scenes of devastation and
demanded immediate restoration of communication
links between J&K and PoK, tears rolled down
cheeks of those assembled there. Outside the
Grand Mosque, people offered funeral-in-absentia
for those killed in Uri, Tangdhar, Muzaffarabad
and elsewhere.
The Mirwaiz called for a complete shutdown on
Friday as a mark of respect for those who died.
"The coming Friday will be observed as a day of
mourning. All shops and offices will remain
closed and Hurriyat will start a door-to-door
campaign to collect relief for victims," he
announced.
What the Mirwaiz said about India Inc and NGOs
not doing enough in Kashmir's hour of need is
being repeated by people everywhere, be it
Srinagar or Uri or Tangdhar.
With the government still missing in villages
along the LoC, people are also beginning to
notice the absence of voluntary groups. Other
than the Army, which has moved at great speed to
rush relief, it has been left to hundreds of
young men from across the Valley to come to the
aid of the affected.
Youths have been carrying sacks of rice and
flour, milk powder packets, clothes, pots, water
bottles and blankets for the quake survivors.
Hours after the quake, young men formed village
and mohalla committees to collect relief and then
despatched hundreds of volunteers to the
worst-hit areas. Despite torrential rains in the
entire Uri region today, young men brought food
and respite to the people who say they have been
"abandoned" by the civil administration. "We
are shocked. Our own government is lying to the
world that they are helping us," says Ali
Hussain Abbassi of Isham.
"We went to Uri today to complain. We heard that
the Prime Minister was visiting. He would have
heard us but the police didn't let us speak to
our own ministers and chased us away," he said.
In Dardkote, Mohammad Akbar Mir is angry with the
state government. "Do you think they don't know
that nothing has reached us? There are 100
villages in Uri, almost 90 are hit. They could
have sent five-six police battalions with
rations. If these young volunteers can reach us,
why can't the government? There wouldn't have
been a single hungry person here," he says.
School teacher Firouz Din Shah is shocked that
voluntary groups still haven't shown up: "Forget
the Central government, we can't believe that no
NGO has come. Where are the people who set up
community langars when a similar tragedy hit
Gujarat? Only the Nehru Yuva Kendra is in Uri. We
heard that a Sikh group from Punjab has reached
Srinagar. Where are the others?"
In the context of nuclear weapons, CBMs are
inadequate and there can be no meaningful
co-operation
Assessing the progress in the ongoing
Indo-Pakistan dialogue is becoming tiresome.
There is nothing new. There is the usual
incremental advance. Both sides are determined to
soldier on to the Third Round. This determination
to go on talking is strange. Is it an effort by
both sides to keep the Americans happy? But that
may be unfair. The stoppage of bilateral dialogue
means a return to an open-ended deadlock that can
occasion war, conceivably nuclear. So let them go
on talking.
Three reasons prevent settlement. First, Kashmir
is actually insolvable. This land is linked to
the honour, self-esteem and prestige of both
sides. India would keep Kashmir State. Pakistan
would take it. As it happens, Pakistan cannot
wrest it. India is not prepared to even dilute
its control. Kashmiris are now too alienated from
both; left to themselves they would keep both out
while expecting them to help them. But they are
unable to win their right to be free. India is
unable to win over the Kashmiri hearts.
The second major reason preventing settlement is
the two rival nuclear deterrents sitting so close
to each other. Atomic weapons are of use only to
attack and that too pre-emptively. There is no
defence against them. Period.
All talk of anti-missile defence boils down to
slightly more accurate rockets that will
ultimately be used for offensive purposes, when
it is not a sales pitch for rocket manufacturers.
Neither Islamabad nor New Delhi can really trust
the other so long as there are nuclear-tipped
rockets sitting in the other's arsenal.
Neither side can so lower the guard as to allow
the citizens of the other country to swarm around
them. A close friendship involves lots of
cooperation, trade and tourism. Spook agencies,
on both sides, are conscious of the other's
capabilities and are always paranoid about open
borders and free travel. Inside governments the
securitywallahs always win over other departments.
The Pentagon would use nukes on suspected third
world countries pre-emptively. That is their only
use. No other use is possible. Thus the presence
of these weapons destroys trust radically. A
close neighbour, possessing the ability to
suddenly incinerate any city, cannot be trusted
on the hoary doctrine that it is the capability
that counts; intention can always change.
That basic mistrust disallows close economic,
trade and cultural cooperation. It is this that
does not permit either side making significant
concessions. Some trust is a precondition for a
cooperative dispensation to being agreed upon.
Even insipid normalisation eludes.
Reasons for quarrelling
Why have Pakistan and India been quarrelling all
along? The reason has many constituents. Emphasis
on religious communities was a colonial legacy.
That resulted in communal rivalry that
progressively got worse; communalism was the
shortest route to political success if the other
community was sufficiently demonised. Muslim
communalism demanded being treated as equal to
Hindus for having once been dominant. They tended
to be toadies to a "central" power to save one's
privileges, mainly lands. Muslim politics was a
quest for saving privileges that evolved into
Muslim separatism.
Pakistan inherited an assumption of equality with
Hindus. Meantime Hindus evolved a nationalism
with Hindu ethos and another based on
Indo-Persian civilisation superimposed with
secularism and democratic values. Thus in Indian
and Pakistani states, the colonial period's
communal rivalry survived as foreign policies.
Indians think they are a great power. But
Pakistan's UN representative has observed: "In
the strategic and defence areas, Pakistan always
demands and deserves parity with our neighbour".
This is rivalry in the context of nukes. With
such mindsets can they work out a friendly
settlement?
Factually, not one out of eight disputes has come
nearer a solution after two Rounds. Two have been
dealt with, viz, Kashmir and atomic forces, and a
brief mention made of the third: rival states are
based originally on communal consciousnesses.
Today the reality is rivalry between the two
states that caused several wars and the cold war
continues. Popular pressure to get out of this
vicious cycle is there. Which is why the two
governments do not let the dialogue die. American
nudges and pushes are also responsible.
If anyone in Pakistan would listen there is a
solution of Kashmir: let's stop seeking a Kashmir
settlement, unless territorial aggrandisement is
what motivates Islamabad. It is a matter of
Kashmiris' aspirations vis-ŕ-vis India and their
rights. Well, let these two sort it out. Pakistan
should loudly proclaim it has no locus standi. If
Kashmiris want a different future, let them
struggle and achieve it.
The second issue concerns atomic weapons. Well,
there is no solution of this problem. The only
solution is that both countries should
simultaneously get rid of them. The bomb-loving
lobbies on either side think it is not a
practical proposition. Islamabad and New Delhi
pretend that confidence building measures are
adequate.They aren't. The CBMs look good in
normal times; when tensions are high they are
ignored.
Work of time
Time will reshape assumptions, attitudes and
purpose of the two states. Their identities must
rest on firm cultural and historical foundations.
A people-to-people reconciliation and friendship
between them, indeed among South Asians, will
transform the prospect.
But a fourth issue is trying to climb up the
list. It is river waters. The Baglihar Dam is
already with the World Bank. Other water problems
require a fair-mindedness. It is absent. Siachen
and Sir Creek, half-solved issues, could not be
clinched.
Agreement on trade, transit trade and economic
cooperation, as also free travel and cultural
cooperation depend on Islamabad realising that no
contacts with Indians is no lever on India.
Islamabad ready to accept relief supplies from India but not for joint relief and rescue operations
ISLAMABAD: Even as it became clear that the death toll in Saturday's earthquake in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) could be well over 30,000, Islamabad on Monday said it would receive relief goods from India.
However, it maintained that there was no "possibility" of joint relief and rescue operations with India on the plea that the Line of Control (LoC) was not inhabited.
Hours after Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran announced in New Delhi that a planeload of relief materials would be ready to leave for Pakistan, the new Foreign Office spokesperson, Ms. Tasneem Aslam, told The Hindu here: ``Yes. We have indicated our requirements to New Delhi and relief materials would begin coming from there from tomorrow onwards. However, I am not sure about the mode of transport."
It appears India offered to lend the services of a few helicopters as well as experts to help in the rescue of stranded people but Pakistan did not accept the suggestion.
Earlier, Ms. Aslam told a news conference that Islamabad had offered assistance to New Delhi to help the victims on the other side of the LoC.
On the possibility of a coordinated approach by the two countries, she said the Pakistan Army was operating in villages and towns in PoK, including in far-flung areas but not along the LoC. Asked whether security concerns were involved in relief operations in PoK, Ms. Aslam said: "I don't know. Maybe, the Indian media has reported about security concerns."
She said: "We remain willing to help Indians if we are needed for any kind of assistance, like the Indians offered us."
The counter offer by Pakistan to India has surprised diplomatic observers here considering the magnitude of its problem.
UNICEF projections
On the basis of field reports and projections, the United Nations Children's Fund has estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 people died in Pakistan and PoK. Children accounted for 50 per cent of the population in the affected areas in northern Pakistan and PoK.
The UNICEF projections were corroborated by the grisly footage telecast on local channels. On Monday, television crews reached Muzaffarabad and shot images of flattened structures and terrified residents in the PoK capital.The only consolation was that authorities were successful in reopening roads to this city of 2.5 lakh people and other big towns. United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations reported that trucks carrying relief supplies began arriving in the region.
The United Jehadi Council, a conglomerate of militant groups engaged in operations in Jammu and Kashmir, announced suspension of its activities. Its chairman and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin chief was quoted as directing the cadres from Muzaffarabad to engage in rescue and relief efforts.
The trauma of the communities hit by the October
8 earthquake is immeasurable and unending. This
tragedy that has hit Pakistan and India - nations
united by geography and divided by history -
reminds us of a common humanity and common sense
of grief and loss. It should lead to a shared
desire and purpose to mitigate the suffering
being played out on a gigantic scale before our
eyes. This is a South Asian tragedy. It requires
a national response without doubt. But it also
demands a South Asian response.
There is, of course, cruel irony in the fact that
the region most affected by Saturday's killer
quake is also the area that has been most marked
by political tensions between India and Pakistan.
Kashmir, even while being visited by a calamity
of such rare magnitude, continues to remain a
victim of its geo-political location. The
question really is this: can we rise above the
limitations imposed by the past to urgently
address a situation that is embedded in real
time? There have been instances - few and far
between - when India and Pakistan have been able
to throw lifelines over borderlines. Take that
moment in 2001, when Pakistan despatched tents
and blankets for those affected in the Bhuj
earthquake [in India]. Just a year earlier, the
armies of the two nations were locked in an
eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation. India has, from
time to time, made available its medical
expertise to Pakistani patients. These are
examples that can and should be multiplied as
tensions wind down - and never more than today
when whole villages have disappeared under
rubble, when countless survivors have nothing but
the sky as shelter.
That [Pakistani] President Musharraf should
respond to [Indian] Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's offer of help with great circumspection
is not surprising. He is much more comfortable
with western assistance and is frank enough to
explain that there are "sensitivities involved"
in accepting aid from India for a region that is
the source of conflict between the two nations.
He doesn't say it, but he is worried that the
world would read this as a sign of Pakistani
weakness, of its inability to administer to a
region that it believes should rightly be its
own. These are understandable concerns - but for
more normal times. Today, Pakistan is facing the
biggest natural disaster in its history and India
has a great deal to contribute, not just because
of its proximity to the sites of devastation but
it enormous experience in handling such
calamities. Ways can always be worked out to
address Pakistan's sensitivities and protect its
interests. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the
Hurriyat Conference, spoke a good deal of sense
when he appealed to both countries to "come
jointly to the rescue of thousands of people
here".
Natural disasters recognise no boundaries,
present nobody to blame, and can affect people
across the socio-economic divide. The massive
earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale
with its epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountains,
exhibited all these three characteristics. The
temblor devastated parts of Pakistan, Pakistan
Occupied [read administered] Kashmir, India and
Afghanistan; it was the result of nothing but the
Indian tectonic plate's gradual and unstoppable
northward shift and collision with the Eurasian
plate; and it brought down everything along its
deadly fault line, from posh buildings and
high-rises in Islamabad to entire villages in
Kashmir. The full magnitude of the destruction
and a more accurate assessment of the death count
(which could be over 30,000 according to some
estimates) will become available only in a few
days. Aid and rescue operations have been
hampered by snapped power and telephone lines.
Moreover, blocked roads due to landslides have
made the job of reaching remote and far-flung
villages, a challenge in the best of times, even
more difficult. The scale of devastation in POK
is so great that the destruction on the Indian
side, huge though it is in absolute terms, pales
in comparison. Muzaffarabad, the principal town
in POK where an estimated 70 per cent of the
buildings are either flattened or damaged, faced
the worst of "nature's fury."
The terrible tragedy may have taken place in
disputed territory but it has united the two
parties that stake claim to it, India and
Pakistan, in a common grief. At one level, New
Delhi's offer of rescue and relief assistance,
which was made just hours after the earthquake by
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to President
Musharraf, reflected the new warmth in ties. At
another level, and perhaps more importantly, it
has opened up the possibility of bringing the two
countries closer on an emotive issue, one that
will strike an immediate chord with their
peoples. If India and Pakistan had agreed to
coordinate their disaster relief operations, such
mutual assistance would have constituted an
important confidence building measure. But
Islamabad, which has turned down this proposal,
is obviously worried about the political
ramifications of allowing the Indian Army, which
undertakes much of the relief and rescue work,
access into POK. Given such sensitivities, it may
be far too optimistic to expect that the
earthquake will pay a large peace dividend, but
some sort of cooperation between the two
countries can and must be set in place. Large
numbers of people on one side of Kashmir have
relatives on the other and it is imperative - as
the moderate Hurriyat leader, Mirwaiz Umar
Farooq, has stressed - for the two countries to
restore communication links and facilitate the
free flow of information across the line of
control. The earthquake has damaged Aman Setu,
the bridge connecting the two parts of Kashmir
that symbolises the thaw in their ties. It will
be repaired shortly but the tragedy has offered
New Delhi and Islamabad a greater opportunity:
that of establishing an emotional bridge between
the two countries.
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
(HRCP) chairperson, office-bearers and council
members have expressed sorrow over the massive
human loss and devastation caused by the
earthquake.
"The HRCP has directed our correspondents,
core-group activists and members to offer
whatever assistance and succour they can to
earthquake victims, and to help Edhi Trust teams
for this purpose. Aiding those unable to access
relief is particularly important at this time,"
said a statement issued on Monday on behalf of
HRCP Chairperson Asma Jahangir and General
Secretary Syed Iqbal Haider.
The HRCP is coordinating its relief operation
with the Joint Action Committee for Peoples
Rights (JACPR). "Sungi Foundation, a
non-government organisation, will be the focal
point and HRCP members will provide vital
information and identify groups for relief
distribution," the statement said.
The scale of the tragedy demands wholehearted
efforts from all citizens, especially people's
rights activists, it added. All donations should
be sent to the Joint Action Committee, Islamabad
(House No. 7A, Street 10, F- 8/3, Islamabad.
Phones: 051-0092-51-2282481, 2282482).
The HRCP hoped that the government's relief
efforts would be completely transparent,
especially as many months of effort would be
required to rehabilitate and re-house survivors.
"An assessment of the relief operation's
effectiveness may become necessary at a later
date, as the emerging picture regarding measures
taken becomes clearer in the weeks ahead," the
statement concluded.
43,000 people injured, still no access to three districts in Pakistan occupied Kashmir
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
70 pc of houses destroyed in PoK districts
Musharraf seeks international aid, Rs. 1 lakh compensation for next of kin of victims
British team on mission to rescue survivors under rubble of multi-storied block
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMABAD: On the basis of preliminary estimates, Pakistan announced on Sunday that 20,000 people were killed and 42,397 injured in the earthquake that struck on Saturday.
The final toll may be much higher. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told a news conference here after an emergency Cabinet meeting that the Government still had no access to three of the four worst-hit districts in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
PoK Communications Minister Tariq Farooq told the local media that the death toll in PoK alone could reach 30,000 as the focus so far had been only on the main towns, not the mountain villages.
Aftershocks continue
The aftershocks, which continued through the second day, only added to the woes of people stranded in the affected areas. In the capital city, every time a tremor was felt people ran out into the streets. Most people preferred to spend the night in the open.
Mr. Sherpao said 70 per cent of the houses in the three worst affected districts in PoK, including the capital city of Muzaffarabad, were destroyed. Landslips triggered by the earthquake blocked road links to the region, cutting it off.
The Pakistan Army suffered casualties in PoK; 200 personnel were killed and 450 Army officers and personnel injured.
After PoK, the North West Frontier Province was the worst hit. Around 1,760 people have been confirmed dead and 1,797 people are believed to be injured. The Government does not have estimates of the number displaced in the province. It may run into the thousands if not a million as in at least three districts in the province, 50 to 70 per cent of the houses have been reduced to rubble.
With the arrival of a team of experts from Britain the operation to remove the debris of the 10-storied Margalla Tower in the capital was intensified in a bid to rescue people trapped under it. By Sunday evening, around 80 persons were rescued from under the debris.
After an aerial survey of the affected areas in PoK, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf asked the international community to assist the country with supplies of medicine, tents, cargo helicopters and financial assistance.
"We do seek international assistance, we have enough manpower but we need financial support so that we may utilise it in a required way to cope with the tragedy. Then there is a need for large supplies of medicines, tents and cargo helicopters to reach out to people in far-flung and cut-off areas, the bigger these copters the better," he said on the State-run Pakistan Television.
Gen. Musharraf said there were reports of extensive damage in Muzaffarabad with 50 per cent of the hilly city believed to be devastated; a number of schools and hospitals had collapsed and children were trapped inside the schools.
In the Mansehra and Balakot areas, there were massive losses.
Due to the landslips, the administration is dependent on air services to reach people in PoK. Civil aviation helicopters were pressed into service and the C-130s of the Pakistan Air Force were ready to drop food, water and emergency medicine.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told journalists after an aerial tour of the affected areas in the Frontier that a three-day mourning would be observed to express solidarity with the people who had lost their relatives in the natural disaster.
Mr. Aziz said the Cabinet decided to pay Rs. 100,000 to each of the victim's families. It would help survivors to repair infrastructure. The Cabinet will meet daily to review relief operations and Ministers had been asked to monitor and supervise work in different areas.
Delhi: Monday, October 10, 2005
As I switch channels - unable to cope with either
the pictures of the havoc or of the monotonous
display of quivering bodies of another kind on
the countless music(?) stations - I catch a
popular compere on QTV asking another member of
the morality-grows-on-your-chin brigade if the
quake was a "Test of Faith or even Divine
Retribution", the 'capitalization' almost audible!
Another click. Another channel.
A saffron-draped man ends his bhajan, pauses
until his much-practised serene after-glow look
has time to register on the TV camera, then asks
the viewers to pray for forgiveness lest "they,
too, be punished for forgetting the
'All-Pervading' and focusing on materialistic
desires."
The audience sits, heads bowed in shame.The
phrase, "materialistic desires", echoes for a
while in their ears: Audio-technology, combined
with Advertising can be a potent combination.
But not enough in this age of words being replaced by a thousand pictures.
So, for a fleeting moment, my mind fills the gap
and conjures up grotesque Daliesque images:
Bleeding children, with begging bowls full of
Kentucky Fried Chicken Chunks, and wound-festered
infants sitting in the rubble and nibbling Oreo
Cookies, while loving parents, in tattered
clothes, weep with joy as they look at their
progeny from the power-windows of their gleaming
overturned Hondas.
Such insane views and insensitive comments are
not just the domain of 'backward' India and
Pakistan: one only has to google Jerry Falwell or
Pat Robertson to find out that similar freaks
exist in the world's most 'advanced' nation,
where the President claims that God talks to him
and instructs him to invade His creations
elsewhere.
What, I wonder, do such warped persons think the
400 schoolgirls, who were killed in just one
school, could have done to deserve this? And why
would any merciful god have punished those who
rushed in to save them?
I can only suggest to those who believe in such a
possibility that, perhaps, the children died as
an unavoidable fallout of Divine Fury, directed
at the real sinners - the damned Religious Right,
which unleashes acts of political and personal
aggression against those who challenge them in
any way, or disagree with their version of Faith.
Surely, they, with their misuse of the Hudood
Ordinances, falsification of blasphemy cases,
killing of worshippers who belong to another sect
or belief system, sodomizing of children trusted
to their care for 'religious' education,
torturing of spouses in ways that even the
Marquis de Sade did not imagine, the inventing of
'traditions' and issuing 'fatvaas' to suit their
personal purposes - and the covert incitement to
countless forms of terrorism - deserve such fury
more than the poor souls they successfully
misguide.
The Hindu, October 9, 2005
40 aftershocks cause panic; 400 children, 200 soldiers killed
ISLAMABAD: At least 2,000 people were feared killed and several thousand injured as a powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit large parts of Pakistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Saturday morning.
The epicentre of the quake, which lasted over a minute, was near Muzaffarabad, capital of PoK. Reports said the town was the worst hit. Agencies said more than 1,000 people died in PoK alone, mostly in the capital. In the North West Frontier Province, 400 school children were killed when their school buildings collapsed. In the same province and in PoK, 200 soldiers were killed.
According to Shaukat Sultan, Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 50 per cent of the buildings either collapsed or were damaged in Muzaffarabad.
As the communications systems collapsed, details of the destruction were not yet known.
There was panic in the national capital as the earth began shaking at 8.52 a.m. (9.22 a.m. IST). With prayers on their lips, people ran out of their houses. The scene was no different in government offices and commercial buildings. (On account of Ramzan, offices in Pakistan begin functioning at 8 a.m.). Minutes after the quake, most buildings were empty.
People gathered in open spaces and frantically tried to establish contact with their kith and kin.
The fears triggered by the quake intensified as the first aftershock occurred within 18 minutes.
A sense of uneasiness prevailed throughout the day as the aftershocks continued. An aftershock recorded at 3.40 p.m. (4.10 p.m. IST) was of the magnitude of 6.5.
By evening, 40 tremors were recorded but the Pakistan Meteorological Office categorised them as "usual aftershocks."
Experts said the earthquake was the worst in Pakistan's history.
Over 300 people were killed and more than 700 injured in Jammu and Kashmir in Saturday's earthquake. More than 2,000 houses were damaged, and thousands became shelter-less in minutes.
All parts of the State were jolted but the border districts of Kupwara, Baramulla and Poonch bore the brunt, due to their proximity to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where the epicentre of the quake lay. The entire Uri town, adjoining Muzaffarabad district of PoK was flattened. Officials of the 15 Corps told The Hindu that more than 120 persons were killed and over 300 injured in the Uri sector of Baramulla district. In the same sector, 20 Army personnel were killed and 37 injured.
Authorities in Baramulla district told The Hindu that more than 90 per cent of the houses in 54 villages were completely destroyed. Many people were feared buried under the rubble. Baramulla town also suffered damage. Two persons were killed and 80 others injured there.
In the Tangdhar sector of Kupwara district, another forward area north of Baramulla district, 20 persons were killed and more than 100 others injured.
In Poonch district, 10 persons were killed. The famous Moti Mahal building in the heart of the town, housing soldiers of the Poonch brigade, was completely destroyed. The soldiers were evacuated and taken to the military hospital.
Official sources said the bodies of 197 civilians and 36 Army personnel were recovered all over the State. The number of injured stood at 650, including 82 Army personnel.
The full impact of the quake could not be known as roads to many of the affected villages remained inaccessible due to landslips. No contact could be established with many villages and people protested against the poor response of the administration. As the roads were blocked, relief was sent by air to Uri and Tangdhar. However, the Baramulla-Uri and the Kupwara-Tangdhar roads were opened in the evening.
The Government cancelled the leave of absence sanctioned for all medical and para-medical staff. Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed visited the affected areas. The Government said those who lost their houses would be accommodated in school buildings.
The most that can be said about Foreign Minister
Natwar Singh's visit to Pakistan is that the two
neighbours have barely managed to salvage their
dialogue from a downturn. There was no
breakthrough on any issue, including the
relatively tractable Siachen and Sir Creek
disputes. But India and Pakistan have
successfully taken out the gravely, discordant,
note out of their conversation, which became
audible in New York last month in references to
United Nations resolutions and cross-border
terrorism. The return of a degree of cordiality
and earnestness in India-Pakistan exchanges is
more than a little welcome.
Yet, it's evident that both states are proceeding
with the utmost caution. Take the language of
their joint statement. Its boldest formulation
says: "The two sides exchanged ideas on the
Siachen issue and agreed to continue their
discussions so as to arrive at a common
understanding before commencement of the next
round of the composite dialogue ..." On other
issues, officials merely "welcomed the ongoing
diplomatic discussions in a framework to promote
a settlement... on a mutually acceptable basis".
Natwar Singh has since even played down the
optimistic note on Siachen by declaring that
"there is no deadline", but "we hope the talks
will move forward". One can only hope he was
being overcautious. The substantive agreement on
Siachen is specifically focussed on six issues:
identifying the positions currently held by the
two armies, agreement on the positions to which
their troops shall withdraw, defining the areas
of disengagement, creation of arrangements to
monitor the pullback, establishing a verification
mechanism to rule out future violations; and
settling the Line of Control beyond reference
point NJ-9842.
This detailed formulation leads to the inference
that India and Pakistan may be close to reaching
an agreement, just as they were August last year,
indeed, as far back as in 1989. Nevertheless,
worries and reservations persist among their
military leaders.
The Indian military is keen to demarcate its
troops' precise existing positions -- something
that Pakistan's brass believes will amount to
endorsing India's "aggression". India reportedly
holds two of the three crucial passes around the
glacier. It does not want to surrender this
"advantage" without its troops position being
recorded. Pakistan is reluctant to identify the
location of its troops.
The "advantages" are mostly illusory. The
considerations at work are largely about false
notions of "honour", "prestige", "humiliation"
and "surrender". They must not be allowed to
block agreement. Siachen, it bears repeating a
hundred times, is the world's highest-altitude --
and also it's most pointless and strategically
ludicrous -- war. It costs India Rs20-25 million
a day, and Pakistan perhaps only slightly less.
The two countries have lost thousands of soldiers
on the glacier's icy slopes -- not so much to
gunshots as to frostbite.
A much larger number of those who serve in these
ultra-harsh conditions amidst total desolation
have developed severe psychiatric problems,
including extreme anxiety, stress disorders and
chronic depression. These colossal human and
material costs would be hard to justify even if
Siachen had exceptional strategic importance. But
it has no strategic significance whatever. The
glacier leads nowhere. Control over it gives no
privileged access to another strategic location
either.
It's hard to understand how military leaders who
even minimally respect the rights of soldiers
("our boys") countenance such wanton destruction
and gratuitous assaults on their bodies and
minds. Such callousness beggars belief. It also
calls for a political initiative to take matters
out of the generals' hands. They often don't make
wise, discriminating judgments about strategic
issues, leave alone human rights.
That's exactly what India and Pakistan need to
do. Leadership is all about that. If Manmohan
Singh and Musharraf can't summon up the will to
crack even the Siachen dispute, they will have
proved that they don't lead from the front. They
will also have proved the hollowness of the
promise to make Siachen a "mountain of peace".
Rather, Siachen's glacial speed will literally
set the pace of the India-Pakistan dialogue.
The hard part of the India-Pakistan talks is yet
to come -- Kashmir, nuclear weapons,
demilitarisation, complete end to all support to
hostile groups, water, trade, freer movement of
people. So far, India and Pakistan have dragged
their feet over implementing even what they
agreed to -- for instance, reopening consulates
in Karachi and Mumbai. Even on the Nankana Saheb
and Poonch-Rawalakot bus services, they insist on
holding "technical-level" talks, as if the
schedule and capacity of the buses were a highly
complex issues soluble only with uncommon
expertise.
Such ultra-conservative, ossified mindsets must
change if there's to be a breakthrough, indeed if
the dialogue is to be sustained through the
present stage. It's not easy to see how this can
happen. As this Column has argued earlier, there
is merit in non-reciprocal, unilateralist
approaches -- whether on visas, trade and
investment, or demilitarisation.
On Kashmir, there's some hope. There's a
cross-LoC dialogue for the first time ever, and
the Indian government and the majority faction of
the Hurriyat Conference have met. The dialogue
needs to be expanded and speeded up. But it's
already clear that the Kashmiris have a mind of
their own, and will follow an independent
approach, given a chance. By all accounts, there
has been a remarkable improvement in the
situation in Indian Kashmir. This too should
facilitate resolution of the dispute within the
agreed parameters.
It's on the nuclear and missile issues that
there's no cause for hope or optimism. Both India
and Pakistan continue to pretend that their
nuclear weapons are not destabilising -- when
they manifestly are. This is an extension of the
charade the two played out in the 1980s and most
of the 1990s. Then, each tacitly accepted that
the other was developing/had developed nuclear
weapons; that was only "normal" and "natural". On
missiles too, the two have shown deplorable
complacency.
After their nuclear tests, they should have
agreed to a missile tests-flight ban to delay the
deployment of nuclear weapons on delivery
vehicles with a far greater reach than warplanes.
Instead, they have plunged headlong into a
missile race, which has dangerously shifted
beyond the ballistic level, to include cruise
missiles.
The agreement signed last Monday permits both
sides to test-fire ballistic missiles from as
close as 40 km inside their border, with an
impact-site (where the missile can land) limit of
75 km. Apparently, India wanted the test-site at
least 120 km inside the border. But Pakistan
insisted on 40 km. This was an insane bargain,
given that both have whole classes of missiles
with a range several times greater than 120 km.
The deal's implications are clear. The two
adversaries, with no strategic distance worth the
name between them, have cynically chipped away at
margins of safety and assurances regarding
unusual occurrences. Now, missile tests
perilously close to the border will be considered
"normal" within the context of a
half-century-long hot-cold war.
This is a retrograde step even in relation to the
nuclear and missile confidence-building measures
agreed in 1999, themselves inadequate. This is
bad news for India-Pakistan relations in general.
Unless the two stop regarding each other as
strategic adversaries - what else are nuclear
rivals? - they cannot talk peace in ways that are
authentic or organic to their security interests.
The writer, a former newspaper editor, is a
researcher and peace and human-rights activist
based in Delhi
Only hours before Islamabad and New Delhi signed
an agreement on warning each other prior to
testing any ballistic missiles, India test fired
an Akash missile from a sea-based launcher, not
once but three times, and without warning
Pakistan. In fact, it never needed to because
Akash, being a surface-to-air missile, does not
fall under the jurisdiction of the agreement
which covers only the testing of
surface-to-surface missiles.
The agreement, signed by Foreign Minister
Khurshid Kasuri and his Indian counterpart Natwar
Singh after reviewing the second round of the
on-going dialogue process between the two
countries, therefore, at best warrants partial
celebrations. The missile programmes of both
India and Pakistan intend to acquire everything
that technology can offer: From long-range
air-to-surface ballistic missiles like Pakistan's
Shaheen and India's Agni to cruise missiles which
the former is developing as Babur and the latter
as BrahMos, with various machines of short and
medium range falling in between, their arsenal is
too varied to be covered by anyagreement which
fails to cover all types of missile technologies
available.
A welcome development in its own right, however,
the agreement is yet another step in the
direction of preventing fatal and strategic
accidents that may be caused by un-intentional,
untargeted acts by the two countries. It's indeed
a perfect follow up on 'Prohibition of Attack
Against Nuclear Installations and Facilities'
that was signed by the two South Asian neighbours
on December 31, 1988.
But the failings of the agreement on missile
testing are as glaring as its achievements. On
August 11, 2005, only five days after a
memorandum of understanding was signed as a
precursor to the agreement signed on Monday,
Pakistan test fired its first cruise missile
Babur. Now India's testing of Akash on the same
day the agreement was signed only serves to
highlight that any missile control regime in
South Asia needs to go further than it has
already gone.
The Akash test is certain to evoke a response
from Pakistan, first through diplomatic channels
informing on its fall-outs, followed by
scientific and military ones which can be
translated as the testing of a similar looking
machine. We have already observed India and
Pakistan conducting tit-for-tat missile tests not
once but on a number of occasions. This race to
outmatch each other in the destruction, range,
speed and accuracy of their missile systems will
unfortunately go on, agreement or no agreement.
The real need, therefore, is not to look for an
improved agreement on missile testing or a
different agreement covering different missiles,
for none of them can be comprehensive enough to
cover all the types and ranges of missiles the
countries have, but to have an altogether
different agreement: The one which ensures that
Pakistan and India carry out no more nuclear
tests at all. South Asia will become a safe
region only once we stop producing weapons of
mass destruction, along with the technology to
deliver them, and ensure that the ones we have
already acquired are not used. Till then, the two
sides will keep benefiting from one flaw or the
other in the early warning regimes to have an
upper hand.
index |  HOME Landelijke India Werkgroep | pagina KRUITVAT INDIA-PAKISTAN |
Landelijke India Werkgroep - 21 oktober 2005