Malik writes to Biden, seeks his help on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior and former Interior minister Rehman Malik has written a letter to US President-elect Joe Biden and extended him heartiest congratulations over his victory in elections and asked him for the USA’s humanitarian intervention, asking Indian Prime Minister Modi to lift the curfew in Kashmir with immediate effect and support Kashmiris to get their right to self-determination by having a date announced by India as per the UNSC resolution.

In his letter, he extended best wishes to Joe Biden and wrote: “I warmly extend heartiest congratulations upon your landmark victory in elections. I am confident that your success means a march towards a peaceful world, promising freedom and prosperity for all.”

He wrote that in reminiscence of Pakistan’s longstanding cooperation with the USA against the USSR since fifties, Pakistan fought side by side with the USA during the Cold War, whereas India abandoned its non-aligned policy and became a Soviet surrogate in the region and, with undeniable Soviet support, conspired and dismembered Pakistan in 1971.

He wrote that when the Soviet tanks rolled into Afghanistan in 1979, threatening the free world’s frontiers, Pakistan stood by the USA and fought one of the most significant guerilla war that routed the Soviets from Afghanistan. He said that in return, Pakistan bore the brunt of unbridled militancy and a tide of millions of Afghan refugees, that till date remains an unbearable burden on Pakistan’s economy. “The ungoverned space left behind by the USA provided space of all sorts to non-state actors who infiltrated into Pakistan through its long Pak-Afghan borders. Militants, who had been radicalized to function as ferocious Jihadists, were threatening Pakistan’s internal stability, and plunging its economy, while freely mingling with the Afghan refugees, and providing breeding grounds for today’s Al-Qaida, adding that it was a matter of time that this all would blow-back, and it did on 9/11.”

Malik stated that unfortunate and barbaric as it was, none of the actors was a Pakistani, or Afghan, nor trained or incubated in Pakistan or Afghanistan, yet, Pakistan was branded as Al-Qaida’s sympathizer, that only appeased India. “Irony is that India, which had been till the end playing Soviet surrogate, promoting terrorism through covert operations in the region, such as in East Pakistan and later in Sri Lanka, soon found a cozy berth with the USA.”

He highlighted that Pakistan is now confronted with the hybrid warfare unleashed by India, while India continues to support Daesh, under the full gaze of the world bodies and the UN yet India remains unanswerable. He wrote that if left unchecked, India under the direction of Modi, is all set to plunge the world into the WW-III.

He urged the US president to please revisit intelligence briefings as Pakistan has been continuously suffering since the day it decided to stand by the USA against the USSR and subsequently the American war on terror added the sufferings in terms of irreversible human and financial loss. Malik reminded him of the cooperation of Pakistan when Joe Biden was the chairman US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and subsequently as vice president.

He wrote that the cries of innocent wounded children, innocent victims of drones and multiple suicide attacks, causing huge number of killings just because of Pak alliance with the USA, call for justice.

The former Interior minister said that with the history of friendship, sacrifices in the American war on terror, and Pakistan’s consistent support in Afghanistan, Pakistanis should have been the preferred friend in this region but they feel neglected while India is still getting preferential treatment.

He wrote: “I have worked very closely with the USA administration during your tenure as vice president and had the honour of interacting with you and always found you a kind and visionary leader and I hope you will take personal interest to compensate Pakistan with high standards of friendship at the equal level based on our past sacrifice already fully in your notice.”

Malik stated: “We Pakistanis do not want monitory gains but recognition of our sacrifices and selfless friendship make this world more peaceful following the principle of interfaith harmony earlier initiated by President Barack Obama, whereof, in the presence of Secretary Condoleezza Rice, I had suggested that we need to have a common strategy to fight our common enemy/terrorists.” Malik suggested the following six points to be given priority:

A) The USA may like to withdraw its complaint against Pakistan to the FATF as it is not based on facts on ground and has adversely assailed our economy.

B). The USA’s humanitarian intervention asking Indian Prime Minister Modi to lift the curfew in Kashmir with immediate effect and support Kashmiris to get their right to self-determination by having a date announced by India as per the UNSC resolution.

C). India is misleading the USA about the ground situation regarding the CPEC whereas it is a peaceful and simple developmental project to enhance its trade with neighbouring countries including China. Hence the people of Pakistan will be happy if it is supported rather opposed.

D) The sabotaging role of Indians in the Afghan peace processes may kindly be examined and India be asked to refrain from derailing the peace process in Afghanistan for its own intelligence-driven objectives.

E) Modi is promoting his Hindutva ideology through RSS and killing innocent Muslims which is a matter of public record, that goes against all norms of new world order, which looks for religious harmony.

F) The USA had enlisted Modi/India as top 10 religious extremists, but, later, took him off the list, encouraging him to continue his crimes against humanity with impunity. The list may be judiciously revisited and if found culpable, Modi may be placed back on the blacklist.

Malik said: “I have taken this liberty to write to you because of my past working relation with your administration and to apprise you of true feelings of the people of Pakistan who have affectionately celebrated your victory here. My views are the real pulse of Pakistanis as per my experience and interactions as the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and as a former Interior minister of Pakistan.”

At the end, he again extended his best wishes to Biden and said: “I pray for your success and hope you will make an early visit to Pakistan where you will have the real warmth of our people.”