BBC America's coverage on Kashmir problem is simply disappointing
I occasionally view BBC America for the world news when it airs in the PBS TV around 7:30 p.m. (eastern time).
Tonight, I was simply disappointed to see that Ms. Ayers of The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) was interviewed to discuss the Kashmir problem on March 1. She is a well-known pro-Indian propagandist who has been using her position within the CFR to create pro-India policy for the US government. Her suggestion that the root of the Kashmir problem is all about home-grown terrorist organizations that operate from Pakistan.
No, she is wrong. The root problem is India's refusal to honor a UN mandated plebiscite on Kashmir by its inhabitants to resolve the problem for more than seven decades. Instead of holding that plebiscite, India has killed nearly 95,000 Kashmiri Muslims (just in the last two decades) who are tired of India's double talks by trying to avoid holding such a plebiscite. India refuses to understand that the so-called terrorist activities by disgruntled Kashmiri Muslims would not have happened had they felt good about being part of India. Indian government has no respect for the rights of Kashmiri people to decide their fate. Indian democracy is a sham when it comes to minority groups, esp. the people of J&K!
CFR has long been a pro-Israel and pro-India think tank with its sinister plan to bring war against the Muslim world. Since 9/11 it continues to play that hideous role to ruin every Muslim country.
I am simply disappointed to see Ms Ayers's interview aired in the BBC America news program. She and her likes are biased pundits with hideous agenda and should not be interviewed in the BBC for their shallow opinion, which only create atmosphere for more war and destructions.
===============
Here is my personal letter below that I sent to Ms. Ayers:
Dear Ms. Ayers,
I was simply shocked to hear your expert view on Kashmir problem in this evening's BBC America News program (PBS TV), March 1. Your opinion that the root problem of the crisis owes it to terrorist organizations that operate from inside Pakistan is a grossly faulty one. What a shallow analysis from a pundit like you! A high school student in J&K would have a better answer to the decades-old problem than what you aired. Shame on you!
Is it too difficult to find the root cause on the Kashmiri problem for any researcher, if he/she is serious? I don't believe so, after all, the problem is older than seven decades when the British colonial administration left the problem unresolved. India promised to conduct a plebiscite to honor the people's wish in J&K. Afraid that the Muslim majority region would opt for independence, if not join with Pakistan, the so-called democratic India (that you are so fond of promoting as an utterly biased researcher) never allowed such a referendum to be held. India has broken promises and has never been sincere.
You can't be ignorant of the fact that some 95,000 Kashmiri Muslims have been killed by Indian government forces in the Indian occupied territories in the last two decades alone, not to mention tens of thousands that have simply disappeared. Why are the people of J&K so furious about Indian rule there? Have you ever visited the territory and interviewed those disgruntled Kashmiris? Instead of resolving the issue India's heavy handed attitude, rape of Muslim women by its forces, and vigilante activities of BJP hoodlums have simply made the situation worse than any time before. It is this frustration that is fueling anger by the young folks who are tired of Indian double-talks and 'expert' opinion of pro-Indian pseudo-pundits who are for the status-quo and not for the peaceful resolution of the problem through referendum. Why don't you ask for such to be held to resolve the issue? Did not we see such referendum for East Timor? Why double standards when victims are Muslims?
Your hypocrisy cannot be hidden under the rug! It is inexcusable and shameless!
While I don't justify violence by anyone, but I can understand why someone would commit suicide attack when he/she sees no light at the end of the tunnel, dug by pundits like you, and the Indian fascist BJP government, which is whipping up bigotry all across India.
Rather than talking about the daily suffering of the people of J&K and their frustration, which breeds freedom fighters (your 'terrorists') you shamefully ignore the root cause and talk about symptoms. What a sham! You give a bad name to analytical thinking and common sense.
Your biased and faulty opinions about Kashmir are not worthy at all to be shared with the international community. They are for warmongers and yellow journalists. They are wrong and only provide justification for continuing suffering of the persecuted people, something that we had seen too often with the White minority rule in South Africa until its coffin was nailed. It was people like you that supported the white supremacist rule there at one time. Now with the new reality, many 'experts' had changed their color, but cannot hide the ugly past of supporting a heinous regime until it fell. Wake up and become a real human being and help the world by standing for justice and demanding such unequivocally. Is that too difficult a task?
Regards,
Habib Siddiqui
Philadelphia, USA
p.s. I am not a Pakistani and have no family connection with the country or its people.
=======
Note: Alyssa Ayres is senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). At CFR her work focuses on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia. Her book about India’s rise on the world stage, Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World, was published by Oxford University Press in January 2018. In 2015, she served as the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S.-India Relations. Ayres served previously as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia from 2010 to 2013 and providing policy direction for four U.S. embassies and four consulates. Prior to that, Ayres was the founding director of the India and South Asia practice at McLarty Associates, which enjoys a close on-the-ground, decade-long partnership with Dua Consulting in New Delhi, supplementing our expert capabilities with veteran Indian government affairs professionals and an extensive network of former Indian officials.
Tonight, I was simply disappointed to see that Ms. Ayers of The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) was interviewed to discuss the Kashmir problem on March 1. She is a well-known pro-Indian propagandist who has been using her position within the CFR to create pro-India policy for the US government. Her suggestion that the root of the Kashmir problem is all about home-grown terrorist organizations that operate from Pakistan.
No, she is wrong. The root problem is India's refusal to honor a UN mandated plebiscite on Kashmir by its inhabitants to resolve the problem for more than seven decades. Instead of holding that plebiscite, India has killed nearly 95,000 Kashmiri Muslims (just in the last two decades) who are tired of India's double talks by trying to avoid holding such a plebiscite. India refuses to understand that the so-called terrorist activities by disgruntled Kashmiri Muslims would not have happened had they felt good about being part of India. Indian government has no respect for the rights of Kashmiri people to decide their fate. Indian democracy is a sham when it comes to minority groups, esp. the people of J&K!
CFR has long been a pro-Israel and pro-India think tank with its sinister plan to bring war against the Muslim world. Since 9/11 it continues to play that hideous role to ruin every Muslim country.
I am simply disappointed to see Ms Ayers's interview aired in the BBC America news program. She and her likes are biased pundits with hideous agenda and should not be interviewed in the BBC for their shallow opinion, which only create atmosphere for more war and destructions.
===============
Here is my personal letter below that I sent to Ms. Ayers:
Dear Ms. Ayers,
I was simply shocked to hear your expert view on Kashmir problem in this evening's BBC America News program (PBS TV), March 1. Your opinion that the root problem of the crisis owes it to terrorist organizations that operate from inside Pakistan is a grossly faulty one. What a shallow analysis from a pundit like you! A high school student in J&K would have a better answer to the decades-old problem than what you aired. Shame on you!
Is it too difficult to find the root cause on the Kashmiri problem for any researcher, if he/she is serious? I don't believe so, after all, the problem is older than seven decades when the British colonial administration left the problem unresolved. India promised to conduct a plebiscite to honor the people's wish in J&K. Afraid that the Muslim majority region would opt for independence, if not join with Pakistan, the so-called democratic India (that you are so fond of promoting as an utterly biased researcher) never allowed such a referendum to be held. India has broken promises and has never been sincere.
You can't be ignorant of the fact that some 95,000 Kashmiri Muslims have been killed by Indian government forces in the Indian occupied territories in the last two decades alone, not to mention tens of thousands that have simply disappeared. Why are the people of J&K so furious about Indian rule there? Have you ever visited the territory and interviewed those disgruntled Kashmiris? Instead of resolving the issue India's heavy handed attitude, rape of Muslim women by its forces, and vigilante activities of BJP hoodlums have simply made the situation worse than any time before. It is this frustration that is fueling anger by the young folks who are tired of Indian double-talks and 'expert' opinion of pro-Indian pseudo-pundits who are for the status-quo and not for the peaceful resolution of the problem through referendum. Why don't you ask for such to be held to resolve the issue? Did not we see such referendum for East Timor? Why double standards when victims are Muslims?
Your hypocrisy cannot be hidden under the rug! It is inexcusable and shameless!
While I don't justify violence by anyone, but I can understand why someone would commit suicide attack when he/she sees no light at the end of the tunnel, dug by pundits like you, and the Indian fascist BJP government, which is whipping up bigotry all across India.
Rather than talking about the daily suffering of the people of J&K and their frustration, which breeds freedom fighters (your 'terrorists') you shamefully ignore the root cause and talk about symptoms. What a sham! You give a bad name to analytical thinking and common sense.
Your biased and faulty opinions about Kashmir are not worthy at all to be shared with the international community. They are for warmongers and yellow journalists. They are wrong and only provide justification for continuing suffering of the persecuted people, something that we had seen too often with the White minority rule in South Africa until its coffin was nailed. It was people like you that supported the white supremacist rule there at one time. Now with the new reality, many 'experts' had changed their color, but cannot hide the ugly past of supporting a heinous regime until it fell. Wake up and become a real human being and help the world by standing for justice and demanding such unequivocally. Is that too difficult a task?
Regards,
Habib Siddiqui
Philadelphia, USA
p.s. I am not a Pakistani and have no family connection with the country or its people.
=======
Note: Alyssa Ayres is senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). At CFR her work focuses on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia. Her book about India’s rise on the world stage, Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World, was published by Oxford University Press in January 2018. In 2015, she served as the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S.-India Relations. Ayres served previously as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia from 2010 to 2013 and providing policy direction for four U.S. embassies and four consulates. Prior to that, Ayres was the founding director of the India and South Asia practice at McLarty Associates, which enjoys a close on-the-ground, decade-long partnership with Dua Consulting in New Delhi, supplementing our expert capabilities with veteran Indian government affairs professionals and an extensive network of former Indian officials.
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