TieCon 2002: Innovating for Success

THE NAB COURT JUDGEMENT:

The National Accountability court has sentenced the Warton educated Asif Saigol to 14 years in prison for not paying a loan installment on time on grounds and also judging ``that it is public knowledge that Mr. Saigol has sent money abroad``. The court or the prosecutors failed to provide any evidence of funds missing or taken abroad. The court furthermore did not acknowledge that it is public knowledge that Pakistani judges and generals regulary amass wealth by criminal acts of bribery and extortion and blackmail and abuse of power.

Well Ras - good for you to be optimistic about Indo-Pak economic cooperation. But I don`t see it happening in a long shot. See below and ponder:

http://www.dawn.com/2002/07/02/op.htm#2

by Shahid Javed Burki

This person writes exclusively on economic issues, prescribes measures to be taken for economic advances and probably considers himself some kind of expert on pakistani economy ( if at all there is any entity like that). But when it comes to India - even this guy as paranoid as the illiterate mullah next door. I would expect better sense from a self-proclaimed economist.

He thinks - what India really wants is to make Pak a sattelite state, settling Kashmir is secondary. Even while recognizing the fact that India is making rapid progress on many economic fields - he does not think it is necessary that Pakistan shed its inferiority complex and become a economic partner to benefit from the growth that India is generating from its vast resources. He keeps the same confrontational attitude, same dogmatic believes, same paranoia as the mullahs.

Compare this attitude to the that of other neighbours and near-neighbours in the vicinity: Sri Lankan PM was in India recently lobbying for tighter economic integration with India, leasing its ports to India, signing MOUs building a bridge over the ocean. Bangladesh, despite being a mullah-infested nation and its bizzare brand of confrontation politics, is vying for more economic participation(recently banned import of used japanese cars which critics believe is going to benefit India car builders ), Nepalese King was here recently lobbying for all kinds of cooperation in the Himalayan state. Nepal needs some serious help and India is going to do everyhting possible to stabilise that country.

Outside the immediate neighborhood - Iran is a economic partner , China is is all gung-ho about IT partnerships, Indo-China countries are already part of the Indian economic sphere, Roads are being built into Myanmar, Singapore is carrying FDI into India in truckloads. Except for China, which of these countries is bigger than India in size - how come none of them worried about being a indian ``satellite``? Look at Bangladesh - it is another muslim country, surrounded on all sides by India, has no army strength to speak of - how come that country is not worried about being a ``satellite``?

When are the pakis going to realise that by trying not to be an Indian ``satellite``, they have ended up being a doormat state to everybody else in the region and beyond?

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re:Reply #: 8

Layman,

There is no reason for me to be goody-goody. I only state what i perceive as facts. I may be wrong.

I do not for a moment think that India was at fault in fighting terrorism in Kashmir tooth and nail. I think JS and Company have done a great job. But i am perturbed at the way this diplomatic victory has been played up by BJP politicians. I do not know why they just can`t quietly enjoy this victory without having to shout from the roof-top. Who was ABV talking to when he said in a speech that India won without firing a bullet? We all know India was able to convince western powers that the people crossing the LOC were terrorists and not ``freedom-fighters`` as claimed by Mushy. But why tell the obvious? Why rub salt into the Pakistani wound?

I think BJP is also playing to the home audience. Of course, things will get clearer when India has general elections, which are still 2 years away (i think or am i wrong?).

Diplomacy works at all levels. If Mushy does not see reason, there are others in Pak who do. I see a lot of introspection going on in Paki English press. India needs to be silently ``diplomatic`` and diplomatically ``silent`` when the situation demands it.

sridhar

Famine in India

There is famine in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, Gujarat. This is a serious matter. The tragedy is that while people starve, the godowns are overflowing. 300 to 400 million Rupees are being spent daily to stock food of which 35% is rotting. What was the reason that the government under pressure of rich countries, decided to let the people starve merely in order to reduce the budget?

Eight hundred tribal children have died of starvation in Maharashtra. Four starving women from Orissa tried to sell her child for 300 Rupees in Calcutta. In the famine stricken regions of Orissa, children are being sold for a few thousand rupees because of starvation. Wives are being sold into bondage

rsridhar #5:

``You can make similar argument about BJP. It alone benefits from this standoff with Pakistan. Its belligerant speeches are however more directed towards the home audience. When the elections come. BJP is going to tell the people that it has been so successful in warding off a nuclear war and putting Pak in its proper place.``

Whoa, I think you are carrying this a bit too far, in trying to be goody-goody. I will not blame the BJP (or NDA or whatever you call it) govt for our policy w.r.t. Pakistan. What exactly has the govt done wrong? As mentioned numerous times, it tried peace at Lahore. ABV, who then had the statesmanship to make hard decisions, spoke of moving away from the beaten path and also of `insaaniyat`. Musharraf screwed up Agra by not `giving in` on cross-border terrorism.

Sridhar, how exactly would you have wanted the Indian govt (of any political hue) to respond to the attack on the Parliament, and repeated terrorist strikes in J&K, other than doing what it has done? It downgraded diplomatic ties, severed road/rail/air links, amassed troops on the border only to stop Pakistan supporting terrorism. And best of all, it has succeeded (at least temporarily). Do you think the govt should have done otherwise? Do you think the Indian PM should have gone to Islamabad for talks after Dec 13 or the next day after Kaluchak?

Pakistan is making a big mistake in thinking that a war of a 1000 cuts will make India fold. At some point the cuts will become painful enough that India will do away with restraint and hit out. Both countries will then have to pay for Pak`s stupidity. Pakistan has a history of underestimating our resolve. In 1999, it thought it could take over Kargil and hence Siachen, and India would keep quiet due to Pak`s nukes. In 1965, it thought it could attack India in J&K and we would keep quiet across the international border. Now it thinks it can carry on the 1000-cut war and India will do nothing about it. I only hope Pakistan does not underestimate our resolve this time, or it will only drag both countries down.

Despite what others say, I think war is still a big possibility - it all depends on how Pakistan behaves in the coming months.

rsridhar #1:

``Unfortunately, nothing is possible when a dictator rules in one country while hindu zealots are raising their ugly heads in another.``

While the `hindu zealots` have much to be blamed for in internal politics, I fully support their foreign policy, esp w.r.t. Pakistan.

The same hindu zealots tried twice at Lahore and Agra to find peace - once with a democrat and next with a dictator. It is really for Pakistan to give up its obsession with Kashmir and get on with life. They are the ones unhappy with the status quo.

Ras,

Did you know Desh and Narayan Murthy are brother-in-laws (they are married to sisters) ? At the TieCon (Atlantic) a few years ago that I was at (pregnant as a duck !) in Boston, Desh came and gave the keynote address even after getting the news that his father-in-law (and Murthy`s) had passed away the night before.

The old man sounded wonderful from Desh`s description in his speech - he was a Doctor and had been treating patients at a free clinic when he died. Anyway, just one of those things that makes you realize how amazing some of these guys really are.

I also heard Safi Qureshy speak at one of the earliest meetings in Boston - he was talking about setting up some educational foundations for women in Pakistan - did anything come of it ?

re:Reply #: 2

Romair,

Considering that Army is the only institution left intact in Pak, it is not surprising that people like you and tahmed have reposed so much confidence on this institution. A little bit of introspection will show that you are mistaken and betting on the wrong horse.

I am sure you will agree that in order for both countries to prosper, there has to be peace in the region and free trade in the subcontinent. I do not have to remind you how the ASEAN has prospered with the concept of regional trade. This concept is now very strong among economists and was the reason for the creation of SAARC.

What is then preventing India and Pak from becoming friendly nations?

Nations, in order to have peace, must have a vested interest in peace (unfortunately, peace also comes at a price!). If Pak had a representative democracy and there was trade booming between the 2 countries, i can assure you a friendly climate would be created for discussion of Kashmir problem. Friends can discuss all outstanding problems and come to a compromise. No such compromise is possible between enemies.

Who then benefits from this perpetual enmity between India and Pak? I humbly suggest, the beneficiaries are: Pakistani Army and the Hindu Zealots (VHP, Bajrang Dal, elements in BJP and the like).

How does Pakistani Army benefit? To answer this you need to anwer: where does Army get its money from. It is from:

1. The money allocated in the defense budget

2. Any kind of money that Generals may earn thr` defense purchases (I once saw a list of Pakistani billionaires posted in Pakdefense forum and guess what? Majority of them were ex-generals). This includes commission through defense contracts etc

3. Trade in narcotics. It is not a secret that much of jihad in Afghanistan (during soviet occupation) was funded by US and profits from narcotic trade. I bet this is still going on.

As long as Army is in command, it gains by creating this bogey of Indian dominance, imminent threat etc and keep hiking up defense budget. Are you not surprised that this year`s defense budget should have gone up in Pak when the economy needs a boost in other areas? What happened to the nuclear deterrence then?

Now see what will happen the moment Pak has a democracy and a P.M. Trade with India will become not just lucrative but even necessary. There will be a vested interest in such a trade (no doubt creating some unavoidable corruption but that is how the world works. It ain`t perfect). Defense hike will not have a meaning in this scenario.

You can make similar argument about BJP. It alone benefits from this standoff with Pakistan. Its belligerant speeches are however more directed towards the home audience. When the elections come. BJP is going to tell the people that it has been so successful in warding off a nuclear war and putting Pak in its proper place. Will the people buy this argument? Only time will tell. It is sometimes heartening to know that even today, the ``bread and butter`` issues dominate most elections. BJP would like to unite the entire hindus population in its hatred of Pakistan (and by extension, of muslims themselves; hence the pogrom in Gujarat to test waters, so to speak).

I am a firm believer that trade and good relations must precede talks on contentious issues like Kashmir. Create the atmosphere, vested interests and then everything will fall into place. All this will not be possible as long as Pak`s army is in control of people`s destinies. Needless to say, BJP will have to be defeated in the next general elections.

Sridhar

Shocking news from Pakistan!

Hard to believe it was a suicide?

Former Pak minister committed suicide: police

http://www.khaleejtimes.co.ae/subcont.htm#storyj

KARACHI - A former minister of Pakistan`s military government Omar Asghar Khan, who was found dead in a relative`s house here on Tuesday, committed suicide by hanging himself, police said. Khan had resigned as minister for local government, overseas Pakistanis and environment in General Pervez Musharraf`s government earlier this year and was planning to contest general elections due in October.

``He was found dead with his body hanging from the ceiling fan in his bedroom,`` local police officer Waqar Malhan told reporters. Relatives said Asghar had left a note for his family, but declined to discuss the nature of his death. ``On Tuesday he had normal appointments but when he did not come out from his room the door was broken down and his body was found,`` said a statement read out by his relative, Saleem Siddiqui.

``He left a note for his family. The family deeply regrets his untimely death,`` Siddiqui said, without elaborating. - AFP

romair #3

You are sooo full of wisdom. Pakistan is led by a military dictator, lacks democratic processes, funds terror in India and throughout the world. These are promising signs for the future.

India has a democratic system with some unpleasant hard right-wing goverment members. There is a multi-party system with more and more emphasis on regional autonomy. The electorate is likely to punish the BJP for its record in Gujarat and its romance with the VHP. This is clearly reflected in a free (and often furious media). This is definitely not promising at all. It bodes ill for the future.

You must really inhabit an alternative reality. Or perhaps you have suspended taking your medication?

rsidhar #1: There is a big difference between the, ``dictator`` and the, ``hindu zealots.`` The dictator may have been the best thing to happen to Pakistan, in the past forty years. The hindu zealots may have been the worst thing to happen to India in the past forty years.

On the whole, most people in Pakistan still look towards Musharraf, as a, ``hope.`` I don`t think Indians look towards the BJP as a, ``hope.``

In the end, both will be judged and remembered for what they did for their own countries.

As for the entrepreneurs, I agree, they need to get in touch, more and more. Full marks to the founders of TiE, for promoting this. They recently opened a branch in Karachi and Lahore.

re: the article

Ras Siddiqui,

A good summary of the conference.

My fond hope is that someday these entrepreuners will be able to dictate terms to politicians in India and Pak. A colloboration, tie-up or whatever name you may like to call it, is the way to go. Unfortunately, nothing is possible when a dictator rules in one country while hindu zealots are raising their ugly heads in another.

Sridhar