Tuesday, October 4, 2011

ISI "harassing" Pakistani expatriates?

A few months back I found news articles from the American press about the ISI monitoring and allegedly "harassing" Baloch separatists hiding in America.

Unfortunately I am unable to locate and link these but wish to do so as soon as I find them. But regardless my memory on their message is quite clear. America and the West have always had their set of double standards when dealing with fugitives and separatists.
Even their covert operations around the world by their intelligence agencies is perfectly normal because to them it's dealing with terrorism and they have the full rights to do whatever they please to suit their interest.

After all that is what the American government has stated repeatedly that they will do whatever it takes to protect American lives. They usually state this when confronted on civilian casualties and other collateral damage.

When there are Al-Queda terrorists suspected of hiding in a certain country, either it is bombed and invaded or American intelligence agencies are dispatched to target these suspects. These operation are done with no regards to international law.

Even the European side has it's share of hypocrisy when dealing with Basque separatists or Irish Republican Army (IRA) members. They must be found and caught at all costs according to European governments.

Readers may not know, but there are plentiful Baloch and Sindhi separatist organizations in Western countries, some with close ties to the Indian intelligence and to the Afghan government.

There was even a case of the Pakistani government seeking extrication of a Baloch separatist leader from the Swiss government.

That case is still pending. But of course when Western governments need to go hunting for fugitives, they step up their extradition cases. And if not valid, they dispatch their spies to become the judges, jury and executioners.
If a fugitive wanted by the West is in a country that refuses to extradite him/her, that country is "guilty" of "harboring terrorism."

So why is it then that when Pakistan is dealing with separatists; especially those acquainted with it's traditional enemies -India and Afghanistan- that it is not entitled to track down these individuals? Also given that Western countries do not simply extradite criminals wanted by the countries they left.

They host them on "humanitarian grounds" and claim that they are "persecuted" in their home countries. In many cases this is true. But what happens when proven criminals such as Altaf Hussain run abroad and claim asylum to escape justice in their home countries?

Even amongst advocates of greater autonomy for the Pakistani provinces are brutally abducted, tortured and killed. But why is it that when Western governments and intelligence agencies behave like this, it is perfectly normal and justified in the name of protecting sovereignty?

So why is it any different when the Pakistani ISI is seeking out Baloch separatists working on behest of the Indian and Afghan governments and threaten the integrity of Pakistan? Plus it is unlikely America has agreed to extradite them otherwise there would be no place for them in America.

So since America does not extradite people wanted in other countries but insists other countries give it such a courtesy, what is the big deal about the ISI tracking these fugitives which the US media describes as "harassing?" Add to that the CIA has a history of illegal covert operations to target alleged terrorists.

The ISI is doing the same in this case. But because the ISI is doing it, it is dubbed by the hypocrite American media as "harassment."
Especially when it was clearly mentioned in those reports that the alleged "victims" were Baloch separatists.

There's little doubt in my mind that the ISI was doing what it was supposed to and that is protecting the sovereignty of Pakistan. They are going about this wrong way. They need to dismantle such activities through negotiations and should turn to military tactics only as a last resort. But because it was the ISI doing this to pro-Indian/Afghan Baloch separatists and not the CIA doing this to Al-Qaeda operatives, it is "harassment" at least according to the US propaganda media.

One has to remember that many Baloch and Sindhi organizations, though not all, have this same set of double standards and hypocrisy. When they get help from the Indian government or the Afghan Mellat, they try to justify it.

But when the Pakistani ISI gives the same support to ethnic and religious minorities in India and Afghanistan, they dub it as "supporting terrorists."

In this case until we can carefully study the cases of the ISI "harassing" Indian/Afghan backed Baloch separatists hiding in America, it should be interpreted as protecting Pakistan's sovereignty from those seen as dangerous obstacles to the country's harmony and not some innocent victims as anti-Pakistan lobbies around the world depict it as.

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