April 13, 2007
 

'Daughter of the East' wanted to go further east

In a new revision of her autobiography, "Daughter of the East", Benazir Bhutto has claimed that Mirza Aslam Beg, in 1989, and Pervez Musharraf, in 1996, had offered/claimed to capture Srinagar. Extracts from this autobiography are being published by Outlook magazine, in the next issue.

"I once again heard how Pakistan would take Srinagar if only I gave the orders to do so. Musharraf concluded the briefing with the words that a ceasefire would be in place and Pakistan would be in control of Srinagar, the capital of Indian-held Kashmir. I asked him, ‘And what next?’. He was surprised by my question, and said, ‘Next we will put the flag of Pakistan on the Srinagar Parliament’.

"‘And what next?’ I asked the general.

"‘Next you will go to the United Nations and tell them that Srinagar is in Pakistan’s control’.

"‘And what next?’ I pushed on. I could see General Musharraf had not been prepared for this grilling and was getting flustered. He said, ‘And you will tell them to change the map of the world taking into consideration the new geographical realities’.

"‘And do you know what the United Nations will tell me?’ I looked General Musharraf straight in the eye, as the army chief sat silently by and the room grew still, and pointedly said, ‘They will pass a Security Council resolution condemning us and demanding that we unilaterally withdraw from Srinagar, and we will have got nothing for our efforts but humiliation and isolation.’ I then abruptly ended the meeting."

For one, this is hardly surprising. Everyone knows that Pakistan has always had one both eyes on Jammu & Kashmir. At least she made the sane choice. An attack on Srinagar would have been a disaster for Pakistan, politically & diplomatically for sure, if not a military one. She also refers to Pakistan deliberately disowning Pakistani soldiers who died in Kargil.

An army-connected friend informed me that the dead bodies of soldiers were kept in frozen lockers and released in small tranches to prevent the news spreading of the high casualties inflicted during the conflict.

Labels: bhutto, india, jammu and kashmir, musharraf, pakistan, terrorism

Rambled @ 11:49 AM

Did you like the post? [ Subscribe to the blog feed - | | Tweet ]

0 comment(s)

I'd prefer if you posted comments with your real name to add more credibility to your opinions. Obviously comments containing offensive and unsuitable language will be deleted. The opinions in the comments are your own views. You are welcome to provide a URL to your own blog, especially if it discusses issues you find here.

Post a Comment