Srinagar, Oct 29 (IANS): Because liars can defend themselves only to an extent before the truth reveals itself, they resort to mindless practices like maligning others' reputations even at the cost of their existence.
Such is the story of Pakistan, the shameless aggressors of war crimes against humanity and playing victim before international bodies.
As India remembered October 22 as the 75th Black Day marking the Pakistani invasion of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir in the garb of the tribal raid and illegal occupation of what is known today as Pakistan-cccupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), it is undeniably ridiculous how Pakistan blames India for being perpetrators of bloodshed in the region.
On the eve of October 22, 1947, 6,000 armed tribal militia ran wild through the state, pillaging, raping, and killing thousands of innocent people of the valley, regardless of their religion and caste. This was the first jihad waged by Pakistan.
Kashmiri treasures were plundered. Their animal instincts freely made sex slaves of women; girls poisoned themselves to die in dignity. Some were sold as slaves to Pakistan. Thousands were forcibly converted to Islam. Innocent children were massacred. Hundreds of thousands became homeless overnight.
Maharaja Hari Singh turned to India for help four days later. The Indian forces landed in Srinagar the next day just in the nick of time when marauding 'raiders' were just 35 miles from the Srinagar airport and pushed the Pakistani tribals from the region. On November 7, pitted against a determined Indian force, the Pakistani tribesmen were forced to retreat home.
The mastermind behind the invasion, Major General Akbar Khan, later revealed in his book, "Raiders in Kashmir", how Pakistan orchestrated the invasion.
Another book authored by a writer from PoJK, Mohammad Saeed Asad, titled "Yaadon Ke Zakhm" (Wounded Memories), reveals the brutalities of the raiders and Pakistan Army on Kashmiris. They even defaced and burned the Holy Quran in many places.
Over the years, Pakistan continued breeding terrorists and sending them to J&K to create a state of perpetual unrest and bring the economy to a standstill. They pretended to be Kashmir sympathizers while massacring their own Muslim brothers in PoK, Balochistan, and parts of Sindh and Punjab because of their ethnic background and religious variance. Since 2001, five thousand Shia Muslims have been slaughtered by the state of Pakistan. Minorities in Pakistan live in fear as hardliners use fake allegations of blasphemy, to cancel anyone who stands against them. The state has been exposed worldwide for the genocide of minorities.
Today Pakistan is a sinking ship. And it only has itself to blame. To quote Pakistani daily Dawn, "Pakistan is literally and figuratively under deep water".
Its economic growth is low, inflation and unemployment are high, fiscal deficits are in excess, investments are falling, the external balance is deteriorating, and terrorist violence is rising. Taliban's conquer of Afghanistan has fixed their feet in their old sanctuary, Pakistan. The Army and militants are violently taking over the natural resources of Gilgit-Baltistan, Sindh, and PoK.
The US President, in one of his statements, called Pakistan "one of the most dangerous countries in the world" with "nuclear weapons without any cohesion". Ruled by an unstable coalition of incompetent politicians and trained military elites desperate to contain the threat of domestic unrest, Pakistan is the best example of a ticking bomb. If jihadis attain nuclear weapons, they will be a threat to the entire world.
And yet even after Pakistan's treachery in Kashmir, India announced $25 million in assistance to Pakistan for flood relief in August. Despite countless foul plays and breaches of trust by Pakistan, India always answered their request for aid including potatoes, onions, and tomatoes, and Pakistan welcomed the aid with both hands. And when they were well-fed and energized, they used the same hands to attack J&K.
While the whole world is trying to raise Pakistan to its feet again, they remain ungrateful. Last month a shocking viral video exposed how Sunni extremists destroyed tomatoes brought in from Iran on streets because the aid was from a Shia country. They are indeed a bunch of self-destructive people.
How can those who could not be loyal to their own, be loyal to anyone?
While there is no letup in Pakistan's activities in spreading terror globally, little does this rogue country realize its diminishing credibility and inching closer to extinction.
Today Pakistan's real intentions are known to J&K's youth. Naya Kashmir is the face of progress and triumph. The youth have given up the gun culture for a life worth living and maintaining durable peace. They have fully dissociated themselves from the indoctrination imparted by Pak ISI. Pakistan's facade, wolves dressed in sheepskin, is peeling.
Their worst nightmare has come true, despite years of violence subjected by them in the region, Indian Kashmir thrives.