Defending the indefensible

Though beleaguered by a spate of controversies owing to his film-making enterprises and embroiled in at least two alleged financial scandals, he could not have become a liability for the military government in such a short time. Having defended the coup before his appointment, he had emerged, much to the chagrin of his admirers, a staunch and vocal supporter of Parvez Musharraf. quot;He supported the military dictator General Zia, then Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, and now he is the greatest fan of another military dictatorquot;, writes M. Anwar Khan, chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Peace Committee. I believe that was Akbar Ahmed8217;s fatal error. A man committed to liberal and democratic values had no business to accept an assignment under a military government.

He is an excellent communicator and wields a powerful pen. Author of scores of books he wrote during his stay at Cambridge, his friends fail to understand why he abandoned the secure world of scholarship to legitimise a military junta. Was he a victim of his own personal ambitions? The jury is out. Anyhow, I turned to the High Commissioner for his views on Indo-Pakistan relations. Sadly, he skimped on his own vision. Instead, he bashed India for quot;behaving like a bully on the block and for being stuck in an anti-Muslim mindset. The virulence and arrogance of the statements emerging from Delhi threatening to wipe out Pakistan are disappointing.quot; His views obscured the fact that what he had to say substantively differed little from what is being repeated ad nauseam by his countrymen.

When I pointed out that not everybody in India was a Pakistan-baiter, he turned to me angrily: quot;Where are the people of goodwill and the people of good sense in India? Why are they allowing those with hatred in their hearts to poison the South Asian atmosphere?quot; This rhetoric failed to carry conviction. In fact, one was saddened, if not disappointed, to discover that a man with a scholarly background was unable to steer an independent course in formulating his world-view. Often, this is what happens to some people who, having been catapulted into prominence, stray into the world of international diplomacy.

Are you not obsessed with India? I asked. quot;Yes, I am. Every Pakistani is. India is, after all, active in promoting Pakistan8217;s negative image. This has a resonance in the West. Reme-mber, India cannot hope for its much-vaunted take off with 400 million people living below the poverty line and its resources being diverted to a full-scale military confrontation with Pakistan.quot; When remind-ed that his country had waged war against India and aided and abetted terrorism in Punjab and Kashmir, Akbar Ahmed changed the subject and proclaimed loudly: quot;Pakistan8217;s destiny is the vision of Quaid-i-Azam 8212; a vision based on human rights, women8217;s rights, respect for the minorities and integrity in public and private life. Jinnah8217;s Pakistan will be alive as long as there are Muslims who feel for the dignity, the identity and the destiny of other Muslims, and who care for the oppressed and the minorities in their midst.quot; I wanted to tell him that a stable and democratic Pakistan suited India, but Akbar Ahmed was not in a moodto listen. How, then, does Kashmir fit into his scheme of things? quot;The core issue is Kashmir. It is widely felt in Pakistan that Mountbatten and his allies in the Congress cheated Pakistan by depriving the newly-created nation of Kashmir. Today, Kashmir must not be seen only as a political problem between the two countries.

There is also the human rights dimension of thousands and thousands of ordinary people who lost their lives and properties. They have become the victims of geo-politics, the victims of history and they must not be forgotten.quot; This was too simplistic a view for me to pay attention to. However, what made sense in Akbar Ahmed8217;s conversation with me was his plea that the countries of South Asia should build cultural bridges and forge strong economic ties. quot;If South Asians can overcome their political, ethnic and religious divisions they can fulfill their destiny in a short period; If not, it is a bleak future and they will be lodged at the bottom of the world league.quot; He underlinedmoreover the need to emphasise the cultural richness and diversity of the region. The stature and quality of the founding fathers, he added, are unrivalled anywhere in the world. Mercifully, Ah-med8217;s list had the names of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Bose, Ambedkar and Azad. For years Akbar Ahmad has alternated between the realm of scholarship and the open-ended world of diplomacy.

Suddenly, his world has turned topsy-turvy by the military regime. It would not be easy for him to negotiate his position vis-a-vis the scholarly community: already, the financial scandals have damaged his reputation. At the same time, the decree from Islamabad has clipped his wings and may have brought to an end his career as a diplomat. Perhaps, when he performs the Haj next year, he will receive the inspiration to lead a life of scholar.

He can then tell his friends: quot;I had a feeling of duty done, of serenity acquired 8211; and a new sense of perspective which is still with me.quot;