It's time Pakistan got

slammed for harbouring

terrorists

R Vaidyanathan

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

[ Army-controlled as it is, the country will not mend its ways unless forced
to ]

The three-day-long terror strike on the country's financial capital was

devastating in terms of its reach and impact. It has left Corporate India badly
shaken and the elites numb.

It is no more about bombs being thrown at bus stations or trains getting blasted.
It is no longer about only Nagpada or Govindpuri residents losing limbs and
lives. Terror has now climbed up the value chain. As the new age
entrepreneur Kiran Majumdar Shaw told a Bangalore newspaper, "So far, the
terrorists targeted common people. Now the society's elite, the business
sector, is the target. What happened in Mumbai is a loud wake-up call for all of
us to do something to protect ourselves."

Corporate India did not bat an eyelid when Mumbai train blasts took
place, or when Sarojini Nagar was burning on a Diwali day, or Hyderabad
was weeping two years before. But today, every corporate captain is angry,
and so are the celebrities who people Page 3 of newspapers, due largely
because the attacks on the three top hotels were directly aimed at those
who frequent these places, for business or pleasure (contrast this with the
scant coverage of the carnage at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, for
example, where commoners were involved).

All the same, the bleeding-heart liberals would be back to their routine
ways after a few days. They will lament that the captured terrorist has not
been given his favourite food and not allowed to watch TV or use his cell
phone; they will say his human rights are violated. Just wait for the
chorus. Of course, this time it will be between Page 3 and the jholawalas
(activists) and that should be an interesting match to watch, but that's
another story.

In the last ten years, not a single session of any seminar sponsored by the
CII or Ficci or business/ general journals has focused on terrorism. When
this writer once broached the importance of talking about it, a
senior business captain said it is for the government to deal
with. Many of those seminars gave importance to Musharraf and now
Zardari, as if they are going to provide any solution when they are a part
of the problem. Now, at least, terrorism is being realised as a problem
facing the country.
Let us summarise what the real situation is and corporate sector should do if we
are serious in fighting terrorism on our soil.

1. Recognise and treat Pakistan as a terrorist state. The state policy of

Pakistan is terrorism and their single-point programme is to destroy India.
This needs to be internalised by every business baron including the owners
of media.

2. Now, the elite of Pakistan are more angry, since India is growing at 7% and
they are given CCC rating and stiff conditions for borrowing from IMF. Many
an academic from that country, who I have met in global conferences, has
openly lamented that nobody talks about Indo-Pak relations anymore, but
only Indo-China or Indo-American, etc. They want to be equal but they
are in deep abyss

3. Pakistan is the only territory in the world where an army has a whole
country under its control. This is an important issue since studies have
found that a large number of corporates in Pakistan are ultimately owned
by the Fauji Foundation (FF), Army Welfare Trust (AWT) Bahria
Foundation (BF), Shaheen Foundation (SF) all owned by different wings of
armed forces (See paper presented by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha on
"Power, Perks, Prestige And Privileges: Military's Economic Activities In
Pakistan" in The International Conference on Soldiers in Business—
Military as an Economic Actor; Jakarta, October 17-19, 2000). Hence, do
not try to think of Pakistan without its army, irrespective of who rules that
country temporarily and nominally. At least 70% of the market
capitalisation of the Karachi stock exchange is owned by the army and
related groups.
4. There are three groups in India, who are obsessed
with friendship with Pakistan. One is the oldies born in
that part before partition and who are nostalgic about
the Lahore havelis, halwas and mujras. The second is
the Bollywood and other assorted groups, who look at it
as a big market. The Dawood gang has financed enough
of these useful idiots. The third is the candle light
holding bleeding heart liberals (BHLs) who cannot
imagine India doing well without its younger brother
taken care. All three have been proved wrong hundreds of times, but
they are also opinion makers. Shun them, avoid them and
ridicule them.

5. We should categorically, unambiguously, unequivocally boycott

Pakistan in all aspects for a decade or more. Be it art, music, economy,
commerce, or other hand-holding activities. That army-controlled
state has to realise that it has done enough damage to global
civilisation. More than 100 acts/attempts of terror recorded in
the world since 9/11 have had their roots in Pakistan. More
than 40% of the prisoners in Guantanamo are Pakistanis.

6. Weshould recognise that it is our war and nobody in

the world is going to wage it on our behalf. What the
Americans are thinking, or what the Britishers are
going to do will not help. A determined country should
have a sense of dignity and independence to fight its
war.

We should stop interviewing leaders from that country who mouth the
same inanities that "you have not produced any proof." Government of
India should perhaps create a museum of proof between India Gate and
North block.

I am amazed that a country of billions is required even to furnish proof. If

one-sixth of humanity says that the terrorist state of Pakistan is the root
cause of global terrorism - it is factual. Let us not fall into the trap of
providing proof to the culprits.

7. We should realise that a united Pakistan is a grave threat to the

existence of India. Hence, we should do everything possible to break up
Pakistan into several units. This is required to be done not only for our
interest, but for world peace.

8. We have made a grave blunder by suggesting in the

international fora that "Pakistan is also a victim of
terror." That is a grave error and it will haunt us for
decades. They are perpetrators and our government is in deep illusion
if it tries to distinguish between organs of power in that country thinking it
is like India. There is only one organ, namely its army (with ISI as a sub-
organ) in that country, which owns and controls at least 70% of the GDP
in that country.

If we want the world to treat Pakistan for what it is, then we should start
practising it. Always call it the 'terrorist state of Pakistan' and never have
any illusion that it is going to be any different. If corporate India,
including electronic/ print media, starts practising this, we should see
results in a few years. Are the elites listening?

The writer is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of

Management - Bangalore.