Periscope on Pakistan

Periscope on Pakistan

Hard-boiled state!

We have heard of "rogue" states, "failed" states and "terrorist" states. Now we are informed that a state can be like a hard-boiled egg, "hard" on the outside and "soft" on the inside. Like India, for example? Indian hawks argue their state is "soft" because it treated "Pakistani-trained hijackers" with kid gloves and did a "deal" with terrorists. A real, "hard" state like Israel or USA would never have done that, they say, admonishing their own state. Many Indians are also telling the world that the Pakistani state is a "rogue" state and a "terrorist" state both hopelessly rolled into one grand "failed" state. All this is hogwash.

Equations of failure
If the Pakistani state has "failed" to adequately look after 100 million Pakistanis, as alleged by India, the Indian state has "failed" to take care of nearly 400 million Indians below the poverty line. If Pakistani exports of terrorism to Kashmir and Afghanistan are the rage, as charged by India, Indian exports of terrorism to Karachi and Sri Lanka are no laughing matter either. If Pakistani nuclear weapons are in rogue Islamic hands, Indian nuclear weapons are surely in fiendish Hindu clutches. If the Pakistani state spends US$ 2.75 billion beefing itself up, the Indian state weighs in at US$ 11 billion in "hard" military muscle every year. Finally, if the experience of non-Muslim minorities is anything to write about in Pakistan, ask Muslims, Christians and untouchable castes how they feel under the heel of the saffron state in India.