India, Pakistan workers must challenge war hysteria
Farooq Tariq, General secretary Labour Party Pakistan
The Bush "war on terrorism" has taken a new turn. It is possible that a real war could erupt between the two nuclear powers, Pakistan and India. This would not be the one way traffic as was the case in the US-Afghanistan war.
It would be the sort of war not seen by the world for many years, full of blood on both sides. Minor border clashes have already taken place, and the air forces of both countries are on high alert. There have been reports of massive army presence on both sides of the border.
The spokespersons of both governments are speaking the same language of war. The Indian Ambassador has been recalled, and the "Friendship" bus service and four times weekly train between Delhi and Lahore have been suspended by the Indian government.
(The Vajpai and Nawaz Sharif governments met in Lahore in 1998 and afterwards initiated the bus service as a token gesture of their newly-found friendship. The bus service was not even suspended during the 28-day Kargil war between India and Pakistan during June 1998).
This is in response to a terrorist attack on Indian parliament on December 13, which was in session at the time, in which 14 were killed. The Indian government claimed that this was an attempt by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan to wipe out the whole political leadership of India.
The attackers failed in their attempt to enter the parliament building, and were intercepted outside the building by Indian guards. Six of them were killed on the spot, plus the five terrorists.
The Pakistan government and media have with their usual demagogy tried to blame the Indian Intelligence service RAW, accusing it of engineering a plot against Pakistan. They claim that India will use this attack as an excuse to call on the international community to declare Pakistan a state harbouring terrorism.
The military spokesman of Pakistan warned India of dire consequences if Pakistan is attacked militarily. There were hysterical calls by India’s mainstream media to take action – not in words but in real actions against the Pakistani state, to ‘teach them a lesson’.
The Indian prime minister Vajpai has declared that all options are open to the Indian government, beginning with diplomatic efforts, but then discussing the possibilities of other options.
Pakistan’s General Musharaf, on a five day visit to China at the time, branded the Indian response as an arrogant knee-jerk reaction.
The Pakistani newspapers reported on December 23 that the Indian government is also calling for the scrapping of the Indus Water Treaty and the suspension of over flight facilities to Pakistani civilian planes.
The Indus Water Treaty of 1960 governs the distribution of water from the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan. If this treaty were scrapped, it would not only bring starvation to the Punjab and Sind Province of Pakistan, but to Pakistan as whole and Afghanistan.
Both provinces are heavily dependent on canal irrigation systems drawing from these rivers. Because of the ongoing climate changes there have been a drought conditions for the last many years in arid areas of Punjab. The food requirements of Pakistan are mainly met from the canal-irrigated areas of Punjab and Sind, which also constitute over 80 percent of total population of Pakistan.
The governments of both India and Pakistan are on a road to disaster. It is likely that the both governments will go further than economic and other sanctions against each other. These are the first steps on the road to a real war.
The two countries have gone to war several times in the past. The last limited war was in 1998.
The crazy politicians of India and military regime of Pakistan were on the same side with the "international community" during the Afghan-American war. Now they both blame each other for harbouring terrorists in the shape of armed religious fundamentalists on the question of Kashmir.
They want to take the American road to score their points. War is the only solution: that is the conclusion these mad rulers are drawing after the events of last three months.
The American war on Afghanistan has brought no peace or no relief from the so-called terrorists. On the contrary, it has increased the danger of the world peace. The world is closer to a nuclear war than ever before in history.
With the threat of a new war between India and Pakistan, all the claims of the US imperialism have been proved false. They claimed that bombing Afghanistan and taking the power out of the hands of Taliban would help to curb the menace of terrorism.
The attack on the Indian parliament, the failed suicide attack on an airliner on 23rd December, the killing of the brother of Interior minister of Pakistan on 22nd December at Karachi and the ongoing armed conflict in Palestine all show that terrorism cannot be stopped by state sponsored terrorism.
US may have "won"; the war and may be very pleased by the Taliban’s departure from power, but the dangers of terrorist attacks have not gone.
Instead the US has promoted the philosophy of war and war politics. Nor does the departure of the Taliban mean an end of religious fanaticism. According to one survey, published today by Pakistani press, despite the fact that the Taliban have not lived up to their promise to fight till the end, they still enjoy the support of 43 percent of Pakistan population.
The other bitter reality is that none of the Taliban’s main leadership have been arrested or killed, despite the rain of bombs on their main bases. It has emerged now that Taliban left power with the full consent of the Amer-ican backed Hamid Karazai, with the promise that none of them will be arrested or killed. Karazai has so far fulfilled his promise.
The main reason could be the ethnic conflict within Afghanistan, in which Karazai still wants the support of Pushtun Taliban, in case he runs into problems with other Uzbek, Hazara and Tajik nationalist leaders.
The strategy of the US in Afghanistan could be compared with its strategy just after their victory in the Gulf War. US imperialism helped the defeated Saddam to remain in power and helped him to curb the popular uprising of Shia Muslims.
At that time, the US wanted to stop another Iran: now they have bowed to Afghanistan’s internal conflicts and contradictions. But this strategy has not helped to curb the religious fundamentalists.
Despite the fact, that Pakistan’s military regime helped the Americans in their war efforts, religious fundamentalist groups are openly organising in Pakistan. None of their camps have been closed, nor have they been banned from their recruitment of unemployed working class youth. It is business as usual. But it can not go very long.
The military regime has to change its policy towards these so-called Mujahidin organisations that are eager to go for an all out war with the Indian government.
The Indian government’s social base rests on Hindu chauvinism. It needs excuses like this to whip up the Hindi nationalism, and that is precisely what it is doing now.
It is not a war against terrorism. If that were the case, India would not indulge in gross violation of human rights in Kashmir.
The Kashmiris want independence. The religious fundamentalists want to turn this national struggle into a religious struggle. Part of ISI of Pakistan is helping these religious fundamentalists to achieve this goal.
General Musharaf is in a particularly difficult position. He has publicly defended the Kashmir policy many times. He had to leave the much-publicised Agra Summit in August this year for this very reason, because Indian Prime Minister Vajpai would not accept the centrality of Kashmir issue.
Vajpai offered to open the borders, more trade relations and other economic measures to bring the two countries closer to each other. But Musharaf rejected all these offers and insisted point blank that until the Kashmir issue is resolved, there will be no long lasting friendship.
The Indian ruling class under Vajpai would not accept any solution of Kashmir that will hurt their social basis. So they refused and the Agra Summit failed.
Only a month later, after 11th September, General Musharaf made a U turn in its policy of supporting the Taliban, and decided to side with Americans. It was another contradiction by Musharaf regime: on one side they were helping the Kashmir Mujahidin in their holy war against Indian occupation of Kashmir: on the other, they were supporting Americans against the Taliban.
Who carried out the latest attack on the Indian parliament? India says it was Muslim fundamentalists from Lashkar Tayaba (Holy Army) and Jaish Mohammed (Prophet Mohammed’s Army). General Musharaf has asked for proof. This is like when the Taliban were asked for proof before handing Osama bin Laden to the Americans.
After the war in Afghanistan, the morality of providing proof on any incident has become irrelevant.
The working class in Pakistan and India has to act, and act decisively in the present situation. They have to reject the excuses of their rulers in moving towards a war.
There is no excuse to start a war. Workers have to say no to war, yes to peace. The need for a peace movement in the Indian subcontinent is far greater at present than any other time in history.
The real losers in a war between India and Pakistan will be ordinary citizens of both countries. They have to pay the price of the war. The rich and the capitalists will make money out of war while workers will pay not only dearly with cash but with their lives as well. They have no safe place or any money to leave the country.
The Indian and Pakistan economies annually generate no more than $400 per capita. Together they have almost one fifth of the world population, and more than 70 percent of the world’s poor.
The economic impact of a war would be disastrous for both. Pakistan’s economy, ruined by the Afghan war is already on the verge of economic collapse, despite all the claims of international help. A war between India and Pakistan will roll back the standard of living of the masses to an unprecedented level.
But war has become a real possibility. It can only be avoided if General Musharaf makes another U turn on his policy towards Kashmir. If he does not, he may lose power – and his life as well. No ruler of Pakistan has voluntarily left power.
The Indian ruling class is all out for war. Border clashes can quickly spread all over the borders.
American imperialism may not be in favour of such a war, but the circumstances may be out of their control. They have created a mess by attacking on Afghanistan.
A strong peace movement on both sides can have a decisive influence to challenge the war hysteria. Labour Party Pakistan will be in the forefront and will initiate this peace movement in Pakistan.