Pakistan has dedicated its Independence Day to highlight the Kashmir conflict. Experts say the Islamic country's political discourse still revolves around Indian hatred even after 69 years of independence.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Sharma
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The Kashmir conflict continues to dominate the political discourse of Pakistan as the country celebrated its 70th Independence Day on Sunday, August 14 - a day before its arch-rival India commemorates its own freedom.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought two of their three wars since independence from British rule in 1947 over Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
Violence in the Indian-administered Kashmir has claimed over 50 lives in the past one month. While New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the Kashmiri insurgents, Pakistani authorities accuse India of committing human rights abuses in its portion of the valley.
The Kashmir conflict features so prominently in Pakistan that Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, dedicated his country's 70th Independence Day to the "freedom of Kashmir" from Indian rule.
Pakistani PM Sharif dedicated his country's 70th Independence Day to the 'freedom of Kashmir'Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Khan
"This Independence Day is memorable as the spirit of independence in occupied Kashmir is at its peak nowadays. The new generation of Kashmiris has raised the flag of freedom with a new vigor," the prime minister said.
Commenting on Pakistan's pre-occupation with Kashmir, Varad Sharma, an Indian expert on Kashmir, told DW that Islamabad had always termed Jammu and Kashmir as an unfinished business leftover from India's partition in 1947.
Independence Day in the midst of violence
But many political analysts are of the view that Pakistani officials use the Kashmir rhetoric to divert people's attention from the various crises their nation faces today. A week ago, a Taliban faction killed over 80 people in a suicide attack in the western city of Quetta.
The Pakistani government claimed the Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) was behind the Quetta bombing.
"The 'Indian agents' thinking is deeply entrenched not only in the mindset of our policy-makers, but also among the general public. Unfortunately, the media too, promotes the 'foreign forces-did-it' narrative," Zeenia Shaukat, an activist working for a labor rights institution in Karachi, told DW.
The Islamic country reels under home grown Islamic militancy, and that could be the reason why there was no huge military parade in the capital Islamabad, to mark the Independence Day. The jihadists have even attacked military installations in the past.
A week ago, the Taliban killed over 80 people in a suicide attack in the western city of QuettaImage: Getty Images/AFP/B. Khan
The world – especially the US and other Western countries - are keeping a close eye on the instability of nuclear-armed Pakistan. If the state were to disintegrate, it could result in a regional catastrophe beyond anyone's control.
Not much to celebrate
In this backdrop, there are many people in the Islamic Republic who believe there isn't much to celebrate about the "independence" of a country whose economy is so heavily dependent on the World Bank and the IMF. Inflation and unemployment in Pakistan are currently higher than ever, and a lot of young Pakistanis are desperate to leave the country in search of jobs.
Critics of Pakistan's ubiquitous army, blame the military generals for not allowing democracy to flourish in the country, and for supporting religious extremism to serve their own ends.
At the same time, there are others who maintain that Pakistan has not entirely failed. They point to its vibrant civil society, to its functioning - albeit corrupt - legislative body, and its somewhat independent - albeit incompetent - judiciary.
Karachi-based classical dancer and theater actor, Suhaee Abro, told DW that, "it would have been better for the people of the Indian sub-continent had they lived together."
Islamabad-based filmmaker and social activist, Wajahat Malik, went to the extent of calling the partition, "one of the biggest blunders of the 20th century."
"What benefits have the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent reaped from the partition of India, except that they are now scattered in three different countries [India, Pakistan and Bangladesh], and are subjected to sectarian and communal violence?" said Malik in an interview with DW.
In his view it is ironic that "religious bigotry, extremism, sectarianism and tribalism are shaking the foundations of a country which was carved out in the name of religion."
Many young Pakistanis believe their country needs to improve ties with IndiaImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Press Information Bureau
Peace with India
Many young Pakistanis believe that their country needs to start anew, get rid of its religious identity and improve ties with India and other countries in the region. They don't believe Pakistan can prosper if it is not at peace with its neighbors.
Malik believes that the best way for India and Pakistan to develop a closer relationship is through more interaction between their peoples. "People-to-people contact, trade and tourism are the way forward for the two countries. When people come together, the states will follow suit," he says.
Khizar Sharif, who works for an internet company in Karachi, told DW he didn't believe a solution would be found until both India and Pakistan reduce their defense budgets and spend more on social development and people's welfare.
But the dancer Abro is more optimistic. "We need more support from the people of both Pakistan and India. It is a long road and we need to be patient. I am sure there will be a change," she says.
Pakistan: A decade of deadly terrorist attacks
Radical groups have killed thousands of people since Pakistan joined the United States and its allies in a war against terror in 2001. Here is a look at some of the major terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the last decade.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Khan
2007 - Twin blasts rock Karachi on former PM’s return
Two bomb blasts struck former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s motorcade on October 18, 2007 in the southern port city of Karachi. Bhutto was returning to Pakistan after almost eight years. The attack left 139 people dead. Bhutto, the first democratically elected female head of an Islamic country, died in an attack two months later, on December 27 in the northern city of Rawalpindi.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Khawer
2008 - Wah bombing
The Wah bombing was a double suicide attack on the Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) in Wah on August 21, 2008. At least 64 people died in the attack, which remains to date the deadliest on a military site in Pakistan's history. A spokesman from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Khan
2008 - Insurgents target luxury hotel in the capital
At least 60 people died and over 200 were injured when a truck filled with explosives detonated in front of the Marriot Hotel on September 20, 2008, in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Five foreign nationals were among the casualties, while another 15 were injured.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Matthys
2009 - Peshawar bombing
A car bomb was detonated in Mina Bazar (a market for women and children) in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The bomb killed 125 people and injured more than 200 others. The Pakistani government put the blame on the Taliban, but both Taliban and al-Qaida denied involvement in the attack.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A Majeed
2009 - Market in Lahore targeted
The December 2009 Lahore attacks were a series of two bomb blasts and a shooting which occurred in a crowded market in the country’s second largest city of Lahore on December 7. At least 66 people were killed. Most of the victims were women.
Image: DW/T.Shahzad
2010 - Suicide bomber targets volleyball match
A suicide car bomb killed 101 people at a village volleyball game in the northwestern district of Bannu.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Azam
2010 - Lahore Massacre
The May 2010 Lahore attacks also referred to as the Lahore Massacre occurred on May 28, 2010, during Friday prayers. 82 people were killed in simultaneous attacks against two mosques of the Ahmadi minority. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Image: Getty Images/N. Ijaz
2010 – Bomber targets market in tribal area
A suicide bomber killed 105 people in a busy market in the northwestern tribal district of Mohmand. The suicide bombing occurred on July 9 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The target of the attack was believed to be a meeting of tribal elders. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Majeed
2011 - Police training center in Charsadda attacked
A double bombing occurred on May 13, 2011, in Shabqadar Fort in the Charsadda District of northwestern Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Two suicide bombers killed at least 98 people outside the police training center. At least 140 people were injured. The explosions occurred while cadets were getting into buses for a ten day leave after their training course.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Ahmed
2013 - Peshawar church bombing
On September 22, 2013, a twin suicide attack took place at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan. It was the deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the country, killing 82 people. The TTP-linked Islamist group, Jundalah, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Khan
2014 - Peshawar school massacre
On December 16, 2014, seven gunmen affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The militants opened fire on school staff and children, killing 154 people, including 132 school children. This was the deadliest terrorist attack ever to occur in the country.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/A Majeed
2015 – Gunmen target bus in Karachi
Eight gunmen attacked a bus on May 13, 2015, in Safoora Goth, in Karachi, Pakistan. The shooting left at least 46 people dead. All of the victims were from the Ismaili Shia Muslim minority. Banned militant group Jundallah claimed responsibility for the shooting. Also, pamphlets supporting the Islamic State terrorist group, with whom Jundallah claims allegiance, were found at the crime scene.
Image: STR/AFP/Getty Images
2016 – Lahore park bombing
On March 27, 2016, at least 75 people were killed in a suicide bombing that hit one of the largest parks in Lahore. The attack targeted Christians who were celebrating Easter. Fourteen of the dead were identified as Christians, while the rest were Muslims. The majority of victims were women and children. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a group affiliated with the TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Ali
2016 – Quetta hospital bombing
On August 8, 2016, terrorists targeted the Government Hospital of Quetta in Pakistan with a suicide bombing and shooting that resulted in the death of over 70 People. The fatalities were mainly lawyers who had assembled at the hospital where the body of fellow attorney, Bilal Anwar Kasi, president of the Balochistan Bar Association, was brought after he was shot dead by an unknown gunman.
