Pak's jihadist delusions and its own past

India Today

10-05-2025

Those who do not learn from recent history are condemned to repeat their mistakes. And what happens to those who do not learn from mediaeval history? They turn into a jihadist Pakistan, a delusional nation that dreams of dividing the Subcontinent yet again on religious lines.On Saturday, the world witnessed the launch of a fresh season of Pakistan's perennial chimera of a fragmented India when it announced 'Bunyan-un-Marsoos', a military strike on India. The symbolism of the operation and the surrounding propaganda underlines a larger insidious plan to use Islam as a ruse to support terror, rally support and destabilise the Subcontinent. It had deja vu, or more like delusional vu, written all over it.advertisementPAK'S INSIDIOUS PLAN'Bunyan Ul Marsoos' is an Arabic word derived from the Quran. It implies a solid structure-symbolising strength and unity. According to the Pakistani media, the operation was launched soon after the morning prayers. The launch was accompanied by visuals of ecstatic soldiers chanting the slogan of god's greatness - "Naara-e- takbeer, Allahu Akbar".
Many armies use religious cries and symbolism to fire up their soldiers. So, the Pakistanis have every right to resort to religious fervour in their fight against India. But, according to CNN, this religio-military zeal was accompanied by a wider call for jihad, even to Muslims in India.Analysing the conflict, CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Roberstson, reported the Pakistani state media was calling for "Muslims in India, Bangladesh and east of India to rise up and join them in this fight."advertisementThe media was taking its cue from the government's poisonous agenda. Just a few hours before its announcement of 'Bunyun Ul Marsoos', Pakistan's military spokesperson claimed India had fired on its own territories in Punjab, and on targets in Afghanistan-a canard aimed to divide and confuse.THE MEDIAEVAL OBSESSIONThis is not Pakistan's first experiment with Islamic imagery. In 1947, Pakistan launched 'Operation Gulmarg', led by 'General Tariq' - a pseudonym for Brigadier Akbar Khan. It was inspired by the Umayyad General Tariq ibn Ziyad, conqueror of Spain in 711 AD.In 1965, Pakistan trained razakars and army regulars as guerrillas and sent them into Kashmir in 9–10 groups, each named after a mediaeval unit of fighters. Its name, 'Operation Gibraltar', was drawn from the 8th-century Umayyad assault on Spain.Both these adventures had a common theme. They were based on the hope that the people of Kashmir would rise against India and help Pakistan annexe the Valley. What actually transpired shocked Pakistan: the people of Kashmir reported the intruders to the administration, and helped the Indian Army drive them back to their camps in Pakistan.THE LIONS OF INDIA What does Pakistan know about India's Muslims and Sikhs? On current evidence, nothing. Reams can be written about the valour of India's Sikh and Muslim patriots. But a few examples would refresh Pakistan's jihad-addled memory.advertisementWhen the Pakistani invaders entered Kashmir in 1947, the commander of the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir was Major General Kulwant Singh. The 1, Sikh Regiment that threw out the first wave of intruders was led by Colonel Harbaksh Singh. And who can forget Brigadier Mohammad Usman, the Lion of Naushera?In December 1947, when the Pakistanis captured Jhangar, the base of the Indian Army on the Mirpur-Rajouri axis, Brigadier Usman vowed to sleep on the floor in the cold of Kashmir until he had reclaimed Jhangar from the Pakistanis.In February 1948, Brigadier Usman repulsed a massive attack by the Pakistanis on Naushera, pushing them back even when his forces were outnumbered. A few days later, on the eve of the battle, Brigadier Usman wrote a letter to his soldiers that is etched in gold in Indian history:"The eyes of the world are on us. The hopes and aspirations of our countrymen are dependent on our efforts.We must not falter-we must not fail them.To every man upon this earth,Death cometh soon or late,advertisementAnd how can man die better,Than facing fearful odds.For the ashes of his fathers,And the temples of his gods.So forward friends, fearless we go to Jhangar. India expects everyone to do his duty."A few days later, when India had recaptured Jhangar, a cot was finally laid out for the brave Brigadier, and his name was forever etched in the annals of Indian history as the Lion of Naushera.Pakistan is living in a fool's paradise if, even after several attempts, it is expecting Indian patriots on religious lines. At the cost of repeating a cliche, Islamabad needs to be reminded that more Muslims decided to stay back in India after the Partition-and a large number of them taught unforgettable lessons to Pakistan in the subsequent wars. Remember, Param Vir Abdul Hameed, the hero who sank eight Patton tanks with a gun in the Battle of Asal Uttar?THE JOKE CALLED 'TWO-NATION THEORY'Vagaries of history had handed over two gifts on a platter to Pakistan-Eastern Pakistan because of the Partition, and Afghanistan because of the 'Cold War.'Because of its own follies, Pakistan lost its eastern wing, turning it into a graveyard of Bengalis because of ethnolinguistic differences. In 1971, it launched 'Operation Searchlight'- a murderous assault on Bengali politicians, intellectuals, artists, and even security personnel.advertisementThe genocide led to the largest humanitarian crisis in the Subcontinent after the 1947 Partition. Millions were displaced, thousands were killed because of Pakistan's policy of ethnic cleansing. Its butchers invited India's wrath, and the humiliating defeat, surrender and dismemberment in the 1971 war.Pakistan is now inviting the same Bangladesh it was planning to decimate for a war against India. Does Pakistan even realise this isn't just ironic, it is clownery befitting a delusional country that suffers from incurable amnesia?The same can be said of its pathetic attempt to incite Afghanistan with fake narratives of an Indian assault. In the entire history of the world, there is no match for Pakistan's treachery in Afghanistan. It first helped the US fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Later, in the post-9/11 era, it became an international joke with its policy of hunting terrorists in Afghanistan with the US and hiding them in its own backyard.Such has been Pak's shameless double-speak on Afghanistan, that Kabul now sees it as an enemy, a resounding slap of reality to Islamabad's dream of an Islamic axis against India.advertisementEveryone in the world knows Pakistan is a failed state, driven to suicide by its own obsession with India, and its jihadist dreams. Every few months, it goes around the world begging for funds. But for China's support, Pakistan would have been a global pariah because of its flawed policy and finances. Two of its provinces are fighting to separate from Pakistan, incensed by the hegemony of its Lahore-lobby.Only a nut case cut-off from reality would dream of enlisting the support of others in its war against India. But, those who don't learn from their own past, are destined to suffer Pakistan's fate.Tune InTrending Reel