With due respect, I have plenty of interactions with Punjabis and Pathans and they have no love lost for Muhajirs.
If that was true, 'Mohajirs' such as A.Q.Khan & Musharraf would not have had popular support of the Pakistani people. Musharraf still has a lot more support than Zardari ever will. There might be certain Punjabis/Pathans that do not like certain 'Mohajirs', individuals like Pervez Hoodbhoy that openly speak against Pakistan's nuclear program & generate anti-Pakistan sentiments, just like there are Indians that do not like people like Arundhati Roy or Teetsa Setalvad for speaking out on Hindu extremism. But that doesn't mean Punjabis/Pathans harbor ill-feelings towards the 'Mohajirs' as a group.
The fact that they are called Muhajirs even after 67 years is something to note.
No one is called 'Mohajir', they are called 'Urdu speakers' or 'Urdu speaking people'. I have never been referred to as a Mohajir in Pakistan. In most cases, Pakistanis are not even concerned where one is from: people are called Pakistanis, & that is good enough for most people. Even the Mohajir Qaumi Party became
Muttahida (united) Qaumi Party. So there is no such thing as a Mohajir, & no Pakistani that migrated from India thinks of him/herself like that. When I use the term 'Mohajir' in this forum, I use it for clarification purposes, as most Indians are not familiar with the term 'Urdu speakers' for the people that migrated from India to Pakistan in 1947. Urdu speakers are the most well-off ethnic group in Pakistan.
But moreover, the hate shown by terrorist groups like JuD, LeT and others who advocate killing of people in India inclusing muslims just because they don't hold their point of view is well known.
Pakistan supported the LeT in the 90s, not after that. The violence from the LeT is not the common sentiment of the common Pakistani though. Remember, Pakistan is a diverse country of 180 million people, even if there are 500,000 LeT terrorists, & a few million supporters of the LeT, the support they have would still be about 1-2%. Most people want amicable relations with India, & a peaceful resolution to Kashmir.
Alliances can change overnight ofcourse, but when you see the usual Israel, India US conspiracy theories escpicially by those websites that are known establishment media wing, then you have to wonder.
Conspiracy theories come from international media outlets as well. This is not something exclusive to Pakistan. In Pakistan, one has the complete freedom to express his/her views, which is why you see a wide range of opinions of people, from reliable sources like Dawn/Tribune.com.pk, & crap ones like rupee.com/news.com.pk. Take your pick.
Only genuine people of the masses, maybe like Nawaz Sharif who can channel popular sentiment of the masses to have good relations with India and can show the army/ISI their place i.e. under civilian control; then we might see better relations.
India tried to influence Sri Lanka for at least 2 decades, while Pakistan mainly influenced Kashmir through proxies only for a decade. It was the Tamils that got training in India that were responsible for suicides in Sri Lanka. My point being, nations try to influence their neighbors in the region, it is futile to point fingers at one another when one nation is just as bad as the other.
I think the poor and less educated in Pakistan tend to have better opinion of India. Atleast that is my feeling. They seem to not have the inbuilt bias that "Pakistan studies" creates in people who have gone through the Pakistani education system. Or those Pakistani origin people who have not gone through the same system andhave done O levels e.t.c.
Most Pakistanis do not harbor ill-feelings against India/Indians, & their hospitality is experienced by Indians that visit Pakistan. It is futile to make baseless generalizations.
We should included statistcs from 1950-2011, and compare literacy, per capita incomes, poverty levels, no.of graduates and no. of people killed in violent campagins. In all of them I think Indian muslims would come out looking better. But the real comparison should be minorities of India compared with minorities of Pakistan. That is what you should be comparing.
Indian Muslims fare better than Pakistani Muslims in literacy, but in every other parameter, Pakistani Muslims fare better than Indian Muslims. What's the use of education if it still results in abysmal conditions for most Indian Muslims? In most of the years since India & Pakistan's 63 years of independence, Pakistan as a country has fared better than India.
Bottomline is, Pakistan needs to set its own house in order. If it needs help from its neighbour, they will have to improve their relationship with it. But by staying hostile, its bad for Pakistan. Rest is upto you to decide.
This I agree with.
