Cameron must apologise
Comment
Salahuddin Haider
David Cameron looked like more of an entertainer than a politician and responsible government head of a great country like Britain. Joining him at the press conference in the Indian capital was Manmohan Singh. Their remarks were interesting. Though varying in character and connotation, they, yet, will be remembered for long, and may perhaps be recorded in joke books for their wordage, and the occasion they were spoken at. They need to be preserved in known record books of the world, if not for future historians to understand his mindset , the intellect level but also to determine whether he was the correct choice of being at such high pedestal.
Asking for his apology to the Pakistani nation, for accusing it of “exporting terror and looking both ways” will only be a half hearted measure. Apologise he must. There is no escape from that.
The foreign office too has to lodge a strong de march to him and President Zardari, although did well to summon the British high commissioner and record his resentment over the premier’s remarks, but reflecting the enraged sentiments of the people of his country, he should cancel his scheduled visit to UK of August 3 as a mark of protest to the British leader’s action. Cameron insulted the entire Pakistani nation by pointing an accusing finger towards an independent, proud and self respecting nation, forgetting conveniently and completely overlooking the fact that Pakistani people and their armed forces had paid heavily in men and material.
They suffered enormously in economic progress, was labeled rather notoriously by the world community of being a risky State for foreigners to travel for tourism or investments in a market, which until only 2007, was a lucrative location for them, and paid very dearly in a war which was never its own, and will be called by the coming generations as the one fought for others. Britain is one of the beneficiary, and yet Islamabad continues to face uncharitable comments from Washington, White House, Pentagon, their senators and house representatives, and also from London, European Union etc. We fought for others and instead of being compensated adequately, were extended charities in the form of Kerry-Lugar Bill, or loan announcements from London etc. How much did America give to Egypt for the Camp David accord with Israel, and what kind of military hardware, fighter aircraft were given to Tel Aviv, and whether those given to Pakistan, were a real match to them or not?
As a self self-respecting nation, Pakistan government must ask for British premier’s unconditional apology. He unabashedly stuck to his guns, while Premier Yusuf Reza Gilani, surprisingly and very meekly, remarked that he would take up the matter at diplomatic level. He should have issued instantly a strong worded statement to satisfy his people and to preserve the prestige, honour and dignity of his country and its people. That he did not would be a costly mistake, which may, in coming days, encourage the world to treat us much more shabbily than what has already been done, or continues to be done to us now.
Pick up a clue from India and Iran, Mr Gilani. The government of Iran galvanized his people, and remained steadfast to its programme of producing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Iran is within its inalienable right to pursue a project of vital interest to it. American and European threats of sanctions, sometime applied, sometime hastily retreated, just did not work in the wake of a determined nation’s intentions to protect its interests. India, way back in the 70s, threatened to cancel an entire deal of buying Hunter aircraft from Britain for subjecting an Indian girl to pregnancy test at the airport immigration in London. Why should anyone and how can anyone forget the Indian demand to put a precondition on Queen of England’s visit to India to tender an apology before visiting India for the massacre of 10,000 innocent Indians at the Jallianwalla Bagh by the British occupation forces. The Queen not only tendered the apology but also laid a wreath on the memorial of those slain by the British general. That’s how self respecting nation earn recognition internationally, and given respect by those wanting to have ties with them
Cameron comments in Delhi has been an Indian diplomatic coup against us. Their prime minister Manmohan Singh too held the Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi responsible for the breakdown or failure of the recent Islamabad parleys of the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers. Qureshi did exactly what he was supposed to do to explain the Pakistani point of view to the outside world. Indian foreign minister Krishna has been on record in statements after returning to Delhi that interior ministry of his country, was responsible for deadlock in parleys whose success could have immense impact on the India-Pakistan ties , in improving the political and diplomatic climate in the region, and helping to strengthen the cause of the world peace. Why does the Indian premier then blame the Pakistani foreign minister. In these very coloumns, Qureshi was pulled up for being naïve, and incapable of being the foreign minister.Now that he has learnt his lessons, and begun to reflect the nation’s sentiments in his dealing with foreign dignatories, he should be given the credit for that. Lately, he has been looking the man with a purpose and conducting himself, doing his duty, with considerable efficiency, and effectiveness.
Cameron of the conservatives can be asked to answer a simple question as to how many British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, and he should also answer, his country being a permanent member of the Security Council and an emphatically strong Western ally, as to how many NATO or US soldiers were killed in that war-torn country. What was the ratio of their sacrifices, compared to Pakistanis, civilian or military. How many innocent lives were lost in the Khyber-Pukhtoonkhawa, and how many attacks were launched on the defence and police posts or establishments in Lahore, and other places. Does he have an answer? Unhesitatingly and without reservation, it could be said that he will have nowhere to look to. He would have no answer, no logic or no statistics to defend himself.
Given the allowance of his being new to the coveted office, Cameron must be asked as to what has been the British casualty in Afghanistan, and whether he wanted Pakistan to be treated as a self respecting nation, and a true economic and military partner, or does he have some other agenda for disturbing the military balance in the region, or destabilizing Pakistan?
E-mail:
salluhaider@gmail.com
