Ever since the Balakot airstrikes by India against Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps, the ‘Aman ki Asha’ brigade, spearheaded by Barkha Dutt, is in top-notch form. For some odd reason, as soon as news surfaced that India had penetrated deep inside Pakistan territory to strike at terrorists, instead of revelling in the fact that there were a few terrorists less in the world, the quintessential pseudo-liberal cabal started hankering for peace, playing the nuclear card and hoping for talks between India and the neighbouring terror nation, Pakistan. Hashtag #SayNoToWar trended on Twitter, while #SayNoToTerror became a “Right-wing conspiracy”.
India, however, stood firm. It thwarted the misadventure of Pakistan where they tried to attack our military installations in response to us flattening their terrorist camps and when Wing Commander Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, India refused to negotiate. Instead, it hammered Pakistan on the Line of Control, refused to let Pakistan create ‘Kandahar like passions’, and eventually, per the Geneva Convention, Imran Khan was forced to release Abhinandan.
Even in this scenario, for the peaceniks, Imran ‘Taliban’ Khan was the hero. Not the Indian state for refusing the budge. But Imran Khan, the chap who has expressed his Taliban sympathies multiple times. Leading the ‘aman ki asha’ cavalcade, was Barkha Dutt.
As soon as the news surfaced, the first reaction of Barkha Dutt was to thank and appreciate Imran Khan and then hope for de-escalation. Of course, she ignored the fact that India’s fight was against terrorism. That Wing Commander Abhinandan’s return doesn’t blur the fact that Pakistan continues to bleed India with “non-state actors”.
I think we should welcome this gesture from @ImranKhanPTI on the release of #Abhinandan. The door for deescalation has been opened. And this is really not the time for dumb and needless gloating by tv anchors
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) February 28, 2019
As an afterthought, she did mention that India’s key concern was terrorism. However, according to Barkha Dutt, ‘it was time to leave it up to the diplomats’.
Of course India’s key concern remains impunity with which Jaish E Mohammed& Lashkar operate in Pakistan and that has to be pursued firmly. But my view is India proved its point with the #BalakotAirStrike and now, with #Abhinandan coming home, its time to leave fight to diplomats
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) February 28, 2019
Barkha Dutt is a journalist who was earlier even praised by Hafiz Saeed, the chief terrorist of Pakistan and has been a part of track-2 meetings with Pakistan in the past. It was thus amusing that Pakistan’s nefarious designs were exposed on her show, in the Mecca of secularism and ‘aman ki asha’.
In a brand new show hosted by Barkha Dutt, ‘This is Us’, Squadron Leader Wing Commander MS Grewal (Retd) exposed Pakistan and delivered a deathly blow to the ‘aman ki asha’ gang, that wishes to paint the people of Pakistan as doves of peace.
Barkha Dutt :- Pakistan civilians are good people .
Air Force person who was held for 1 year in Pakistan during 1971 :- Pakistan civilians hate Hindus , they think Hindus should not rule anywhere
Barkha left th topic pic.twitter.com/QlKJZwZuBR
— Chintan Shah (@chintan20) March 4, 2019
Squadron Leader Wing Commander MS Grewal (Retd) was a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 war. He had escaped Pakistan’s captivity after a year in prison. He said that Pakistani civilians are worse than the Pakistani army and are deeply anti-Hindu.
He said that out of the several pilots who laid their lives down during the 1971 war, there must have been some who were killed in the same fashion that Pakistan civilians attacked Wing Commander Abhinandan. He said that anti-Hindu sentiments are deeply ingrained the psyche of Pakistanis and that in the video released by Pakistan, it was evident that the civilians were baying for blood, while, thankfully, some army personnel came and warded them off.
He said that when he was a POW in Pakistan, very often he was told that Hindus never ruled India and in fact, it was the Mughals and then the Britishers took over. Civilians hate Hindus, he said.
What Squadron Leader Wing Commander MS Grewal (Retd) said points towards a greater malaise not only of Pakistan but also of Indian ‘aman ki asha’ gang. The ‘aman ki asha’ gang has always maintained that Pakistani civilians want peace and harbour affection for India. They have often reiterated that the conflict between India and Pakistan is political and diplomatic, and not that of Jihad against India.
However, with Squadron Leader Wing Commander MS Grewal (Retd)’s statements, that myth stands shattered. The average Pakistani civilian harbours a deep hatred for India and Hindus alike. For average Pakistan, Indians are ‘Kuffars’ who need to kneel before the believers and Jihad against the ‘non-believer’ is the only way forward.
It is time that India and Indians acknowledge that the issue at hand is not only political in nature but also of deep religious indoctrination that diseases the Pakistani psyche. Unless India acknowledges this simple fact, the war against terrorism or the pursuit of peace would be futile. The fact that this revelation happened in the Mecca of ‘aman ki asha’, was simply poetic justice.
