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| India-Pakistan |
| MFN protests |
| 2011-12-01 |
| [Dawn] LATE last week, hundreds of protesters came out onto the streets of Lahore and Muzaffarabad to protest Pakistain's intention to grant Most Favoured Nation status to India. The participants were largely members of right-wing parties and bad turban groups. But Pakistain has been considering granting MFN status to India for some time, and it has been weeks since the cabinet's intention to do so was made public. And while Jamaat-e-Islami ... The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independentbranch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... did hold protests across the country earlier this month, the demonstrations on Thursday and Friday consisted of a broader group of right-wing organizations, including JI, Jamaatud Dawa, and, according to some reports, Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... and Jaish-i-Mohammad. Both the timing of the protests, and the presence of groups that are either banned or are known to be associated with banned outfits, raise questions about who instigated them, and to what end. The most significant impact of the MFN decision will be on the business community, which has, by all accounts, been supportive of it, recognising the enormous economic benefits that can result from opening up trade with India. The commerce ministry has been taking industry stakeholders into account to help shape the regime and address the concerns of those who might feel threatened by an influx of Indian goods. Why, then, the need for these self-styled defenders of Pakistain to get involved? While the protesting groups -- at least those that are not banned -- have the right to demonstrate, their agenda is clearly ideological, not economic. Their rhetoric took full advantage of the misleading MFN label, which in reality simply means treating India at par with other trading partners. Much of the language in these gatherings also centred on Kashmire, betraying the old unwillingness to improve relations with India in any sphere without a favourable resolution of that issue. The entire thrust of the current dialogue with India, however, is that all issues should finally be on the table without preconditions. A one-track approach to the relationship was not working and has rightly been abandoned. Those backing the demonstrations that took place last week need to embrace the new way forward. |
| Posted by:Fred |