Current affairs *Wednesday, Jun 10 2009* The case for Union of South Asia <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1448>
The present day Pakistanis, who are fed on fables and stories of long century old struggle for Pakistan, find it strange and don’t understand why and how *Quaid-e-Azam* (Mr. Jinnah), accepted a formula for United India as late as 1946? … maybe his demand for Pakistan was in fact an attempt to get maximum political benefits and space for the Muslims in India and in the Cabinet mission’s zonal scheme he got the best deal. … Recently Indian Prime Minister *Manmohan Singh* also said something similar, but added that the process may restart from same point where it discontinued, if Pakistan shows willingness to bring the perpetrators of Mumbai carnage to justice and give exemplary punishment to these criminals. *Essentially the Indian demand is justified* and must be met with all sincerity and seriousness, why should Pakistan protect a bunch of dozen or so criminals who masterminded the Mumbai acts of terror? Even if these non-state actors did so on the prompting of certain people in some state agency in Pakistan, which might have used them as pawns in its proxy war with India, they should be tried and jailed without any further delay, and no legal or bureaucratic haggling should delay this process. And why can’t people like *Daood Ibrahim* and other Indian criminals, who are hiding in Pakistan, be handed over to the Indian authorities? The Pakistanis must realize that these criminals and perpetrators of terrorist acts are not their asset; they are in fact burden and liability; as because of the wrong doings of these people, and their protectors, many million people in this area are suffering poverty and are deprived of basics of human requirements and rights… The *Mulla-Military alliance* no more exists. The extremist groups have very few supporters in political arena of Pakistan; however this small group leaves no chance to malign India in all the acts of terrorists and insurgency in Pakistan. Their conjecture that India wants to destroy Pakistan from day one of its inception has been proved baseless by history; India, if so desired, could do that by taking over East Pakistan during war in September 1965, when less than 5000 army personnel were posted in that virtually undefended part of Pakistan; and again in 1971 when Pakistan Army had already been embattled, badly beaten and had surrendered in former East Pakistan. India could then ransack the western part with ease, because the then Pakistan army was highly demoralized by that defeat, but India desisted. The claim that India is fuelling insurgency in Baluchistan too has never been proved, no Indian counterpart of ‘*Ajmal Qassab*” has ever been nabbed by Pakistanis agencies; unless that is done these allegations remain a fable. -- *Soulat Pasha, **a Karachi-based political commentator.* 3 Comments More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1448> War on Terror *India can’t simply wait for America to deliver on Pak <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1454>* Let us, not, therefore depend on the US to deliver on Pakistan unless we show much greater determination and will ourselves. We have concentrated far too much and too long on verbosity, when reciprocity should have been the keyword. When Hillary Clinton arrives, we need to tell her that we will resume the dialogue with Pakistan in our own time, when our security concerns have been met, not just US security interests. We need to assert that if another Mumbai-type attack takes place, when US state department advisories claim is possible, then it would be politically unacceptable in India to respond only with a diplomatic response. In such an event, we expect the US and the West to warn Islamabad in no uncertain terms that India’s reaction would be justifiably harsh. In fact, it may be wiser to send messages to Pakistan in advance, advising restraint. The onus of preventing another war lies with Pakistan, not with India. Good relations with the US is important for us and also for Americans (though in their present state of confusion they might not think so); but this cannot be at the cost of India’s security. Kashmir is not on offer, and India is not willing to be the sacrificial lamb. -- *Vikram Sood* More.<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1454> Islam and the West *RSS ideologues on Obama’s address to Muslims <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1449>* I found two things missing in Obama’s speech. Firstly, he did not explore, even tangentially, the theological roots of religious intolerance and extremism. Secondly, he nowhere mentioned India in his descriptive, analytical or normative narrative. After all, India is home to the second largest Muslim population in the world. More important, in its own 1,400-year-old interaction with Islam, India has changed it in ways that would certainly interest Obama. And unlike Egypt, India’s pre-Islamic civilisation or spirituality did not simply vanish in this interaction. In talking about the “proud tradition of tolerance” in Islam, Obama says, “We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today.” Mr. Obama, if Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, presents a tolerant picture of Islam, it certainly has something to do with the civilisational and spiritual history of India. -- *Sudheendra Kulkarni* ------- What saddened me most about President Obama’s speech was that without actually apologising for America’s mistakes he made it sound as if all the mistakes were on one side. It would have been nice when he mentioned American mistakes if he had mentioned a few made by Islamic countries. Pakistan ran a black market in nuclear bombs. Saudi money builds madrasas in Indian villages that poison our happy heathen atmosphere. The war with the United States was started by Osama bin Laden. India is under constant threat from terrorist groups that continue to be nurtured by the Pakistani state. The release of Sayeed is proof. And, the reaction of President Obama’s government is to give Pakistan more aid than ever before. President Obama seems not to know that there are more Muslims in the Indian sub-continent than anywhere and that we lived in relative harmony till Saudi money started to fund Wahhabi Islam. -- *Tavleen Singh* 3 Comments More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1449> Syed Asadullah --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Asalam o Alaikum, You Are Receiving This Message, Because You Are A Member Of FOCUS ON ISLAM, A Google Group [..:: The Best Group For Nice Islamic Mails ::..] \/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<<<<>>>>\/<>\/ You can Post Your Comments and Suggestions to Me [Moderator of this Group] on this email address: [email protected] To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.google.com/group/focusonislam/ To post messages/mails to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Please forward our Mails to Your friends, and convence them to join our Group. 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