Pakistan: A State of Denial

26 November was a dark day in the history of India. 10 heavily armed terrorists held entire city to ransom as the rest of the country and the world looked on for nearly 3 days.

And as the smoke began to clear, and details of the terrorist attack emerged, it became clear that this attack came from just across the border. And once again, the finger pointed to Pakistan. But while questions rose over how valid these claims were, considering that the Samjhauta Express train blasts were carried out by Hindu extremists (though originally believed to be the handiwork of Islamic fundamentalists), it shouldn't have been as clear a case for this either. But it was. Unlike most previous major engagements with terrorists, this time the Indian personnel had captured one of them alive. With the exception of mindless killing in the station and on the streets, the people in the hotels were singled out based on their religion. If this was indeed a ploy by Hindu extremists to pass the blame on Islamic fundamentalists, undertaking such a suicide mission would be a stupid move.

Within days, the details of the lone surviving terrorist emerged. Foreign and local Pakistani media tracked down and captured on film the admittance by the parents of the surviving terrorist to be their son. Transcripts of telephonic conversations between the terrorists and their handlers were prepared and shared with foreign diplomatic agencies (not the public, as yet). Indian intelligence wire-tapped conversations between individuals who have been influential in the power politics of Pakistan. Yet, Pakistan denies it. In fact, they respond by whisking off these parents, and literally cordoning off the village. For a country that is claiming to be innocent, one wonders - why such a reaction?

The truth is that Pakistan is now in a state of denial. It denied that it had anything to do in the Kargil war. So much so, that it was willing to disown over 600 of its troops. Their casualties are believed now to have been as high as 4000. Nuclear proliferation was most rampant under both military and civilian adminsitrations.

And the denial, though frustrating for India in particular, is a classic example of how the left hand not knowing what the right hand does. The Pakistani military has been so entrenched in the country's politics, that you now have a state where there are essentially 2 entities that govern Pakistan. The Army (backed by the Secret Service) ... and the democratically elected government. And while all these misadventures are undertaken by the former, the latter is largely ignorant or unwilling to do something about it, other than face the rap on the international forum. Years of nurturing and funding the Islamic radicals has been eating away at the core of Pakistani society. There is a whispered acceptance that the problem is very much there, and compounded by the vested interests of some (if not many) in the Army. And many in Pakistan realize (including those within the political circles) that unless something is not done soon, it is a matter of time before the country turns into a second Afghanistan.

Like Kargil, it is possible that much of the civilian leadership was unaware of what some quarters of the Army was up to. However, the absence of any decisive move to get to the bottom of the Mumbai attacks on 26th November until now only reinforces the belief that Pakistan is unwilling to shake of its being in a perpetual state of denial. Bloggers online often report that Pakistani history text books in school indoctrinate or deny much of the rich history of the subcontinent to suit political agendas. If there is any truth in a nation denying its past, I guess, the denial of the present isn't a shocker after all! Pakistan, in that case, will remain... a State of Denial.