Resolving the Hijack Crisis

ASYMETRIC RESPONSE

One of the problems faced by india in dealing with jihadic forces is the asymetry in response. It took only days for the jihadists to torture, mutilate and kill the indian soldiers in Kargill. The following report from a pak news paper about the treatment of a jihadist tells of the asymetry problem, the cause of the death of a few tourist before and now the hijack.

Another interesting religious response and interpretation difference is the detention of the widow by the hijackers. In an indian culture the natural reaction would have been to allow the person to mourn with the relatives, but apparently not in some other cultures.

Faith healer to fellow prisoners

JAMMU (NNI): Maulana Masood Azhar, one of the men the hijackers of an Indian Airlines plane wanted out of the jail, is a faith healer to fellow prisoners at the Kot Bhalwal sub jail, reports The Times of India News Service on Wednesday.

The report said Azhar continues to stick to his word that he is an Islamic cleric who is not connected with any extremist organisation.

It said the Islamic studies graduate, who has taught at an Islamic institution in Karachi, has been taking care of minor aches, especially headache, of fellow prisoners by his self-assumed ``healing touch``. He reinforces it with ``blowing of breath`` on the sore part in the true fashion of one possessing magical powers, the report said.

``He has also been blessing jail inmates with talisman who have served on the prison staff.``

According to the jail staff, Azhar is a deeply devout Muslim, who says his prayers five times a day and has a rosary in his hand, with which he even goes to sleep.

``Strict watch, however, has been kept on him since the Al Faran group demanded his release, after they kidnapped six foreign tourists in Pahalgam in the Valley in July 1995,`` the report said.

It said earlier this year, however, the prisoners had succeeded in digging a good part of an escape tunnel before it was detected. ``According to official reports, Sajjad Afghani, who had been held along with Azhar in the Valley in February 1994, died inside the tunnel from suffocation, when he kept hiding in the tunnel when it was detected.``

Azhar is said to be soft-spoken and detached and one who commands the respect of fellow-inmates. ``He is gifted with a persuasive diction which he uses to good effect in brainwashing young minds.``

The report said in the sub-jail, which exclusively lodges captured militants, the Kashmiri and ``foreign militants`` are rigidly separated.

``The prison in the beginning (early ninetees) boasted to be almost a reform home, with the prisoners hoisting the (Indian) national flag on the Republic and Independence days. Later, with the lodging in the jail of some fundamentalist Hizbul Mujahideen activists, and later of foreign mercenaries, the reform process was fast reversed with these extremists re-brainwashing the moderated elements,`` the report said.

Response to 53 (Harish)

I came to know a Hindu physician friend of mine. One day he told me that he has been to Pakistan. When I asked him how did that happen, he replied that he had gone to see his grandfathers ``kabar`` where he is buried. He narrated the story that his father had come to India just before partition but could not go back home because of violence. His grandfather refused to leave because they had stayed there for generations. Old man still believed that people would still live side by side, be it Hindu or Muslim, as they always lived. After partition, he learned that family was told either convert to Islam or get killed. So his family was forced to embrace Islam as they had no choice. There were hundreds of thousands of such people who were forced to change their faith. Anyway families were in touch with occasional greetings. His grandfather passed away but he always had the desire to go to Pakistan and see for himself where his beloved garndfather was buried whom he never met.

When he visited Pakistan he was greeted by his uncle and all the cousins. They showered him with love because he was their blood and flesh. He lived with them for few weeks. When he was leaving to return to India, he was asked by his muslim relatives why he wants to return to India.

He was advised ``tusee ethe he reh jao, musalman ban jao, tuhada nikah wee kara deyange``. He was advised that he could marry one of their cousins. My friend found it very curious. I am not surprised. Although Islam does not singular God and respect for all, it is modern day Musalmans who are fanatics. They have no respect for other`s

point of view or faith. History shows that it has always been very violent and extremely militant. it is full of murders, tyranny, lawlessness and loot. The time Islam flourshed there was peace in

the Middle East. Maximum bloodshed occured during 15th and 18th century from Europe to Asia. It was the Great Britain which ended cruelty of Ottoman Empire in Europe and Muslim interference in Asia. The modern day radical Islam is practiced by Pakistan which is still searching for its identity and is loath to dance to the tune of Saudi Arab. The truth is Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Kuwai, Muscut and Oman are much more moderate, modern and progressive countries than Pakistan. Libya and Afghanistan are Pakistan`s friend. You will see that Taliban is going to bring destruction to Pakistan`s very survival. FOR THIS YOU SHOULD CONGRATULATE NAWAZ SHARIF - A REAL SNAKE.

To Soorya and Harish3 (Relies 30,31):

Please read the following article on Rediff today:

http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/30us.htm

Barnett Rubin offers some interesting thoughts.

By the way, my true colors are red, white and blue

via green and white.

Ras Siddiqui

Response to reply # 49

Indians and Pakistanis can’t really talk to each other about anything without “dragging up those old enmities.” They are at the core of what makes one an Indian and one a Pakistani. You can’t talk about the hijacking without talking about Kashmir and you can’t talk about Kashmir without talking about Partition itself. So lets talk about.

Two questions:

1. Do Pakistanis really believe that Kashmiri muslims are the sole victims in the Kashmir conflict; that the only group with blood on their hands is the Indian military?

2. How is the formation of Pakistan any different then the formation of Israel? Millions of Hindus, Sikhs, and other religious minorities were forced to flee their homes upon the formation of the religious state in the same way that Palestinians were forced to flee. Why does the muslim world find it acceptable in one instance (Pakistan) and not in the other (Israel)?

I read this article with great interest. It shows the incompetence of The BJP government. They are nazis and as desparate as Talibans. The present leadership of BJP is old. They have been fighting the Congress party for four decades. They could not believe that one day they will form the government. Now that Nazis are in power, they do not know how to govern. They know how to misgovern. Why did the plane leave Amritsar ? Now they are asking the Afghans to disarm the hijackers. It is laughable.

I do not think that Gen. Pevez or the army asked the hijackers to do this job. But directly or indirectly they share the blame. The hijackers are Pakistanis and Pakistan can not turn a blind eye as if nothing has happened. Pakistani psyche is so fixated with ``India`` syndrome that they are not capable of thinking anything else. World is also getting aware of Pakistani terrorism from World Trade Center, Bin Laden, Kargil, shooting of CIA agents by Pakistani some five years ago, beheading of foreign hostages by Harkat-ul-ansar, Pakistani terrorist caught in Manila and now this IA hijack. A person is judged by the company he keeps. Pakistan is in company of Bin Laden and Taliban. Pakistanis think all is well. It is not. It is a narcoterrorist state.

Oophs. What a list. Mashalah... Jenab where have you been hiding all these years. Looks like emeritus professor of forgotten history of the world just woke up from sleep. Aiye.. Aiye... Aiye .ji. Tashreef rakhiye .. Please remind us again all those names from Sweden etc. No one knows who they are except for Martin Luther and Albert. Correct me if I am wrong, I mean you do not seriously mean MLK or Martin Luther King Jr. For the record I mean it is not Prince Albert but Albert Einstine, the Jew. I agree with your last choice which I suspect you included so as not to look too foolish.

I think any list could be proposed. It depends upon your point of you. Let me propose my list.

1. Maddona for thrilling millions of people for her defiance. She brought billions of dollars to our adopted country. So if you enjoy your green card, do not forget her.

2. Mohammad Ali Jinnah - Qaed-e-azam, who talked qaeda or law to lawless society causing a painful ceasarian section to deliver an orphan child. He dreamt of a beautiful country. But the Panjabi army has destroyed his dream. God grant him Peace.

3. Bill Gates - For creating what an average person from Afghanistan can not grasp how their world is going to change. He does not know that Afghanis consider watching TV an unislamic. I advise my Pakistani friends to seriously distance from Taliban or this ``truck`` mafia is going to finish our cherished land.

4. King Faizal of Saudi Arab - for injecting the venom of Wahabism in Pakistan. Pakistan was is polarized that every house hold in our country is never the same again. This is a revolution of some sorts. Thank you for funding a city Faizalabad. We love Saudi money even if they behead half a dozen Pakistani every year

5. M.K. Gandhi whom every Pakistani loves to hate not realizing without him whole subcontinent would still be slave. If you love your freedom, thank him.

Time magazine editors are not bunch of fools. Your list was incomplete and biased. So is mine. At least it includes both - Qaedeazam and Mahatama Gandhi.

Jay:

Each time you open up your mouth, its just long enough to take one foot out and put the other back in. Here is what I suggest for you and your ilk. Take a deep breath and say out aloud three times:

``I hate Pakistan and I hate Pakistanis``.

Don`t you feel much better now!! Please throw away the pontifical robe of ``mutual understanding`` and ``constructive dialogue``. We Pakistanis(not withstanding the usual retard) hate you guys(with an exception or two for the usual chick!!) and yet some of you are our best friends. We kid each other about it and make fun of it. We realize that we ARE different. Once we`ve reached that realization we are ready to make the hard choices. We don`t have to keep beating about the bush like you guys with all your intellectual high-sounding buffoonery. How about starting a group on the lines of Alcohol Anonymous for all the closet ``across the border`` haters? Admit you have a problem, only then can we move towards a solution.

The people who justify the hijacking as a desperate act by an opressed people should be ashamed. when is killing innocent people ever right and how does this strengthen pakistan`s argument on kashmir? as i`m sure most would agree, all parties involved in kashmir have blood on their hands. for every atrocity committed against a kashmiri muslim by an indian soldier, there is an equally heinous atrocity committed against a kashmiri hindu pandit (most of which have fled) by a separatist.

that being said, why should india let kashmir join pakistan? in order to do that, one must accept that partition was a good idea. it was not a good idea. estimates put the death toll that resulted from partiton as high as 2 million, and countless millions more were forced to flee their homes in the same way that Palestinians were forced to flee their homes upon the creation of another religion based state.

furthermore, pakistan has failed in achieving the goal it was created for -- to allow a south asian religious minority to escape the perceived threat of oppression by the religious majority. judging by the ethnic and religious conflict that plagues most pakistani cities and provinces to this day, they have utterly failed in this regard. given india`s pluralistic and multi-religous society, india, at least, has some excuse for its communal unrest. what excuse does pakistan have?

while pakistan still struggles with the question of whether it is a democracy or a theocracy 50 years after independence, india, despite its many problems, has remained committed to a secular, democratic ideology. ultimatley, the kashmiris, like all south asians, should want individual freedom -- freedom to live their own lives and raise their children as they see fit. pakistan has shown no signs of being able to deliver this environment to its citizens. kashmir belongs to more then just its muslim majority, and it must remain part of a state that is committed to principles of individual liberty regardless of faith.

individual liberty, however, is not simply achieved by breaking off, as history has amply demonstrated in the story of pakistan. In the previous century, U.S. president, abraham lincoln made a fateful decision when he decided not to let the southern states break away, thus throwing the United States into Civil War. It was a decision that allowed the U.S., in the 134 years since the Civil War, to develop into one of the most dynamic and free societies in the history of human beings. Lincoln put it best when he remarked simply, “The Union must prevail.”

Its unfortunate that we south asians didn’t’ have our own Lincoln in 1947.

Apologies for the length.

Looking over the replies which came up over this hijacking, I have to admit that I am extremely dissapointed with some of the replies that I have had the misfortune of reading. India did this, Pakistan did this, ISI was there and RAW was mucking around there, Indian army shot up kashmiries so its fine for the hijackers to shoot the hostages, and so on and so forth. Folks, please, lets not get into chest thumping here and dragging up those old enimities, its turning into something very silly indeed!. The Indian Government screwed up badly initially, but now the negotiations are going on, and inshallah, something good will come out of this entire fiasco. In the meantime, lets please be adults and discuss like adults.

yours in fond hope

bd

Delhi coughed up $ 25,000 for landing rights



Josy Joseph in Delhi

Everything comes for a price in Kandahar -- even SOS missions.

Thus, New Delhi has had to pay the Taleban government $ 25,000 for permitting the Indian Airlines plane carrying negotiators and medics to land in Kandahar.

External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh has been in touch with his Taleban counterpart Mullah Wakil Ahmad Muttwakil. Sources told rediff.com that Kabul made it clear that India would have to pay for landing rights.

``(It was) an exorbitant demand, but there was no other way,`` Indian officials said.

The payment, they added, was made through ``diplomatic channels.``

The landing fees have disturbed some in the government. They feel the negotiators are walking the sword`s edge in Afghanistan. However, the government has maintained complete silence on the topic and praised the Taleban administration for co-operating with New Delhi.

The Indian team landed at Kandahar on December 27 after the Centre agreed to make the payment, sources said.

The delegation, comprising bureaucrats, engineers and doctors, started negotiating with the hijackers late on Monday night. Two rounds of direct talks were held the first day.

Now, nearly 48 hours later, four rounds are over -- but without much success.

Re: temporal Reply #: 41

Gustakhi muaaf. No disrespect intended.

What I meant in my earlier post was that, with India`s open declaration of ``no first use``, what ``terrifying thought`` can pakistanis have, or for that matter Brian Cloughly have. If pakistan start a nuclear war then they have no reason to crib anyway.

Regarding the hijack: We can only speculate on various aspects of the incident from the little that has come out. The reality may be quite different. Add to that various covert intrigues by the many parties involved and we are completely lost. Its easy to pass comments with 20/20 hindsight about what should have been done where. In India we don`t live under a siege mentality like Israel. But with this hijacking something will be done to prevent these in future. The Indian govt. will handle this hijacking in its own unique Indian govt. way !

regards,

AN

Quote :

If they can`t manage to take the initiative during a hijack, with over two hours` notice to act (and a further forty minutes while the plane was in Amritsar), what hope is there of balanced response should there be a nuclear crisis requiring instant decisions? This is a terrifying thought.``

- Brian Cloughley

End quote.

What is really terrifying is idiots like Brian Cloughley. His question has the inanity of ``can a country that mishandled the WTO riots in Seattle safely handle the nuclear button ?``. A hijacking is a minor thing compared to a nuclear holocaust, and the scale of readiness for each is different by orders of magnitude.

India has a no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons. If India is hit first, then the reply will take a while in coming, there worst there will be no instant response. This might actually be a good thing for mankind as a whole.

-arun gupta

I`m slowwwwly learning about the great religion of Islam. One of the things I learnt today was that it is UNISLAMIC to exhume bodies and demand monetary ransom, presumably because money to be worth something is denominated in dollars!!! Dollars after all is the currency of the great ``Satan``

That is the first lesson.

The second lesson follows from the first and tells me that hijacking and hostage taking is an ISLAMIC act and that killing a young man on his honeymoon too is an ISLAMIC thing to do. Once you have killed this kid, then the ISLAMIC thing to do is to keep holding onto his widow.

The Taliban getting the hijackers to follow its wishes also tells me that the Taliban are hand in glove with the hijackers, public posturing notwithstanding.

Probably Indian Intelligence cobbled together with the Islamic Taliban so as to embarass the great nation of pakistan..a nation that only politely gives moral and diplomatic support to freedom fighters can never be capable of being involved in such acts can it? After all they never sent soldiers to fight in Kargil and only helped bring about peace by ``persuading`` ``freedom fighters`` to leave and thus saved the world from a nuclear holocaust. If saving the world from a nuclear holocaust is not a noble thing to do, then what is? How can such a nation ever be part of a hijacking drama. I hope the very bright Kargil general is nominated for the Nobel peace prize for his efforts and sacrifices.

At least India does not claim a religious basis for fighting exported thugs and terrorists.

Sorry, but can`t wish you a happy new year cuz just yesterday I read in CNN that it may be an UNISLAMIC to do so. Or was it just a Y2K bug?

May the hijackers live long, breed more, hijack the world at gunpoint and bring glory to ISLAM. Just make sure that $$$`s and graveyard bones are not included in the equation.

I think it is clear to anyone with an average

IQ who is behind the hijacking. We can see

them taking great pains to explain that they

condemn all such acts. We also saw a similar

campaign a few months ago when there was a limited

war in Kargil. This is just another example of

people turning to the wrong methods when they

find out time and again that they cannot achieve

their goals through civilized means.

We always hear about the struggle of the

Kashmiri people. What are they fighting for?

Civil rights? Religious freedom? What do those

people gain by becoming part of Pakistan? How

many of them really want to be part of Pakistan?

GJ.

Jay,

Why can`t the chowkwallas accept the simple fact that Pakistanis and Indians have a pathological hatred for each other that cannot be brushed aside by pedantic, hypocritical and pietistical protestations to the contrary.

As long as the Kashmir problem exists and Pakistan suspects India of hegemonic designs, this feeling will persist and conflict is inevitable. This, of course is from the Pakistani point of view and I am sure the Indians have equally good reasons.

So what is the solution? I have always maintained that a decisive war is the only possible solution even though the odds are heavily against Pakistan..... nothing to worry about if there is anything to the ``rising Phoenix from ashes`` story.

Sounds drastic ? Maybe - but reality is never pretty even though Shania Twain is.

P.S. Yes, it is the same old Hamid. My friend Tehsin the Turncoat, is in West Palm Beach vacationing while I freeze in the mid-west. He still believes in the basic goodness of Man, a ``Contact`` after-life, a loving God, Indian pacifism, the Tooth-Fairy and Bill Gates.

Anarayan:

You wrote, ``I think in your posts you sometimes forget who you are - a pakistani. A person living under dictatorship and ruled by an adventurist army which actively supports terrorism. Please keep that in mind.``

Aray bhai kiyouN bura maan ga`ye?

Achcha hu`a aap nay yaad dilaya kay hum kon haiN.

Funny thing is that I have been in the diaspora for so long that somehow I think of Indians and Pakistanis as one people here. Subconsciously, perhaps I think of India and Pakistan as one. As they were. As they perhaps may become in the next millenium. Who knows.

Leha`zaa humaiN apni auqaat yaad dila nay ka shukriya.

The ``terrifying thought`` I echoed and you referred to was not mine but Brian Cloughley`s.
This is what he wrote at the end of the column,
``If they can`t manage to take the initiative during a hijack, with over two hours` notice to act (and a further forty minutes while the plane was in Amritsar), what hope is there of balanced response should there be a nuclear crisis requiring instant decisions? This is a terrifying thought.``

rgds

t