Guest Column: Lie as an instrument – common to Congress & Pak machinations

Guest Columnist -------  Swati Deb

Pakistan is getting encircled in vicious cycle – the most of which is its own creation. This again came to the fore when Pakistan made use of or misused the F-16 fighter jet.

Senior Indian officials smell yet another ‘success’ on this and hopes that Uncle Sam would only testify this violation sooner than later; and act against Pakistan or pull it up.

"Sab kucch wahan haen (Everything is with them)," a key government source said in Delhi. Things like serial number, the name of the company .....everything is with the US.

If 'lie' is an instrument, Pakistan has won many battles against India. But at the end of the day, Pakistan remains a country where the truth easily gets countered by 'falsehood' and silence.

And that silence is actually a lie. Pakistan, as a result, post-Pulwama is only indulging in propaganda campaign and in full time business of peddling fake news.

Indian government has taken cognizance of these and sources say at the moment the intention of Pakistan government is to simply “pretend” before international community that they are taking steps against terrorism.

A series of media interviews by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is also seen in that perspective. At a recent closed door meeting of senior security analysts and a few top guns in the government – it was underlined that India’s pressure tactics on Imran Khan had worked and after the ‘no negotiation’ on Wg Cdr Abhinandan was heard in Islamabad “loud and clear” --- Pakistan was forced to release the captured Indian pilot.

Importantly again, it was also understood that the Foreign Minister of Pakistan was compelled to give two interviews to western media.

Importantly, from Indian government’s perspective – it was also understood Qureshi was defensive during the interview. “In the first place, Pak Minister acknowledged that Masood Azhar was in Pakistan and also that somebody in Pakistani establishment could contact Azhar”.

Besides these – it was also underlined that in one of the interviews at least for four times Masood Azhar was described as JeM chief – but on no occasion – Qureshi denied that fact. “This is important from Indian perspective as on the context of proposal for UNSC ban it has been argued that Masood Azhar is no longer the chief of that organisation....Qureshi not denying Azahr as JeM chief thus demolishes this argument”.

Pakistan has been champion in spreading lies. This happened post-Pulwama too. When the terror exporter was getting sidelined in the comity of nations across the world, some opposition Indian political parties and seasoned politicians joined the Pak lie only to give credibility to Pakistan's false narrative.

New Delhi has 'given proof' to Washington about the use of F-16 fighters. The fact that Pakistan has to resort to tactics and alleging that the missile came from a Taiwanese inventory and the Taiwan government clearly putting a denial simply indicate the desperation that Pakistan is facing.  

Pakistan played its usual game and apparently wanted to look for an escape route and said the wreckage could have been part of a missile sold by the U.S. to Taiwan. In fact, a Pakistan daily also reported - “How the wreckage of a missile sold to Taiwan ended up in the hands of an Indian military air vice marshal is something only New Delhi can explain".

The reference was to Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor statement that Pakistan has no other plane other than the F-16 to use the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) missile beyond visual range air-to-air missile. But the Pakistan's motives did not run for long and the bluff was called as the Taiwan Air Force quickly did their "checks and ascertained" that the identification numbers reported by Pakistan newspaper did not match any of its missiles. In fact, a section of Taiwanese media was also annoyed with such allegation directed against Taiwan and said the charge was like a case of Taiwan getting hit by a bullet while lying down.

Indian authorities feel – Imran Khan regime is gradually loosing ‘popularity’ in Pakistan but nobody has started questioning it, but some questions are obvious. Here comes the issue of fake news that Indian submarines had moved close to Pakistan coast and that Sukhoi Indian Air Force jets were brought down.

Brushing aside Pakistani claim that Indian Sukhoi jets were downed and submarines have been 'chased away', Indian officials have said many ongoing things can make one believe that "Imran Khan is himself perhaps not in the know of things".

Credibility of Imran Khan is at stake. In this context, one can obviously cite the fact that Pakistan Prime Minister himself claimed on February 27 that 'two Indian aircraft' were downed, but they have not able to produce any photographs of the same.

"Someone has to question Pakistan government on that, and why Pakistani media is not doing that," a key analyst said. Moreover, there has been constant discrepancy between what the Pakistani government is saying and what they are doing. At times, the versions of Pakistani diplomats have been in contradiction to what Pakistan government has said about terrorist groups.

 
The ‘desperation’ catching up with Pakistani government is palpable. One day they try to push the case of Imran Khan as contender for Nobel peace prize, another day a little known Pak Minister is sacked for his comments on Hindus.

The whole idea is also to ensure that the Pakistani population does not ask any "awkward question" on the government and what the Pakistani forces have done themselves.

 
Now, what Congress and other opposition leaders have tried to say -  the authenticity of Balakot attack.  If Pakistani media and army is saying is correct and Balakot terror camp has not been 'destroyed' – the obvious question why are Pakistani media not taken to the site even after seven days.

Over to Congress: Brand game of False Allegations

If desperation is catching up with Imran Khan; – in India – a class of politicians who often ‘sympathised’ with him seem to share the Pakistani game of lie, falsehood and utter shamelessness at times.

If such sweeping remarks appear too harsh, one must scan through the tweets of Kapil Sibal and Digvijaya Singh. The former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh – who once was a virtual guru of Rahul Gandhi – has now called Pulwama terror attack – “an accident”.

Sibal for his part want to bank more on a section of foreign media and questioned the authenticity of Balakot strike and its impact. For his part, the Air Force chief Air chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said the aerial strike on February 26 achieved its target and the Pakistani retaliation itself was the ample proof about it. "We hit the target......If we had dropped bombs in the jungle, there would be no need for them (Pakistan) to respond”.

In fact, Congress president Rahul Gandhi added to his list of faux pas when he tweeted horrifying lines on the Ordinance factory at Amethi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Amethi said the factory was inaugurated by Rahul Gandhi in 2007 but it did not materialise due to UPA negligence.

Mr Gandhi wasted no time – and tweeted in hurry that he had inaugurated the factory in 2010 and that Mr Modi was only telling a lie. BJP leaders Smriti Irani and Kiren Rijiju released a photograph that showed that the function was held in 2007 - as mentioned by Prime Minister in his speech.

"Please take a closer look at the photograph, it shows 2007. When you really laid the foundation stone for Amethi and when you destroyed Amethi, please come clean," Smriti Irani it out at Rahul Gandhi in Hindi.

Kiren Rijiju, MoS Home went a step further.  "Rahul Gandhi ji is holding a responsible position. Why don't some sensible people in Congress party tell him that compulsive liar is a person who tells falsehoods out of habit, sometimes for no reason at all," Union Minister Mr Rijiju tweeted.

But more vital question is what does Congress and other opposition parties stand to benefit by questioning the authenticity of Air Force strike of February 27?

First reason is obvious – it wants to deprive Modi and the BJP all credit for the muscular policy it displayed post Pulwama and especially remained firm on February 27-28 after Indian pilot Abhinandan was captured. 

Opposition camp and apologists among ‘left-liberal and sickular’ media tried to make a big cause of Congress party cancelling its meeting in Ahmedabad and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal putting off his hunger strike for Delhi statehood. In fact, there was nervousness in the opposition camp as the BJP went ahead with its political programmes. However, they are not appreciating one that PM Modi has been monitoring every inch of the development and officials in Ministry of External Affairs and Defence confirm how things are in ‘total control’

“It is firmness with which Prime Minister has been working that Pakistan has been put on defensive more than once,” a senior government functionary in the know of strategic matter said.

On the contrary, Congress and opposition parties started getting quoted in Pakistan media. None would miss the point that the opposition camp was giving credibility and fodder to the Pakistani narrative whereas the fact of the matter was Pakistan was getting sidelined in the comity of nations.

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Pak isolation in own backyard

Even the most 'neutral historians' among Pakistanis, including those settled in the US, would say that the 1965 Indo-Pak war had 'ended in a stalemate' --- something which is far from truth. There are records to suggest that before and after 1965 debacle Pakistan resorted to propaganda machination by setting up a so called ‘revolutionary radio’ --- the 'Radio Sada-e-Kashmir'. The new 'radio station' used to claim of Kashmiri 'revolutionary council' setting up "parallel government in India- administered Kashmir". There would be also claims that at least crucial bridges on main road linking Jammu with Srinagar and the Kashmir valley have been 'destroyed'.

Hence, despite the claim of enforcing principles of 'Naya Pakistan' - as claimed by its new Prime Minister Imran Khan - Islamabad has not yet given up the old habits of trying to thrive in propaganda.

It is certainly this machination that made authorities in India's western neighbour delay the release of captured Air Force pilot Wing Commander Pilot - as he was 'made to undergo' a video recording wherein he is made to say among other things - the Pakistani Army is "very professional and I am impressed by it".

A retired Army officer and now a BJP leader says - "This is part of their medieval history legacy. None will question an authority even if it is utterly falsehood. They will not seek reform and instead sit back and endure and look for loopholes and theories to deny the fact".

"Archives of media reporting in custody of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan show that grossly exaggerated and false claims of 'military success' were made by the Pakistan military both during 1965 and 1971," the source said.

In Abu Dhabi, after successful speech by Sushma Swara, India’s only foreign minister to address OIC, Pakistan stands ‘isolated’ in its own backyard.

ends