Hamas wooing Urdu-speaking population in India, Pakistan
(Hindustan Times)

Two significant events, both directly emanating from Dictator Musharaff have led to this headline:

• Musharaff’s sudden wooing of Israel (link via the Acorn)
• And his consequent heartwarming speech to the American Jewish Congress (pdf of full text of the speech)

The first overture, and specifically the speech, amply shows the finesse of a cultivated double dealer. Musharaff urgently needs to recuperate his shattered media image all over the world; more so from the US on which he dearly depends. The powerful Jewish lobby in the US serves as a backdoor entry to achieve this objective. Some glimmering samples from his speech:

Israel must come to terms with geopolitical realities and allow justice to prevail for the Palestinians

At the surface this sounds innocent but the import is clear: Israel is doing injustice to Palestinians. And further,

I am convinced that peace in Palestine that does justice to both the Israelis and the Palestinians will bring to a close the sad chapter in the history of the Middle East (and) will revive the historical ties between Islam and Judaism.

Well said. A brief glance into the Prophet’s life will expose the true nature of the said “historical ties.” A sad tale of butchering en masse. And then Musharaff makes a clincher:

He also criticized Islamic societies for failing to embrace modernity. “Many of us remain wrapped in a time warp, still struggling to reconstruct our political, social and economic systems to respond to the challenges of our times,” he said.

Exactly what the West–with its subconscious fear of Islam especially post-Sep 11–wants to hear. However, we see at least two problems with this. One. Mian Mushy’s own statement that earned him…well..tons of brickbats (link via Sepia Mutiny’s excellent take on Musharraf’s support for line on rape)

You must understand the environment in Pakistan,” Musharraf added. “This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped.

Get out of a time warp? Go get yourself raped and apply for a Canadian visa. The other problem has to do with Musharraff’s guts. What’s the wager that he’ll make a speech like this in Pakistan and get away with the consequences? Which brings me to the focus of this entry.

The Dictator’s feelers to Israel is already causing jitters among the sections that for long had counted Pakistan as their brothers-in-the terrorist cause. On its part, Pakistan had performed–and continues to–extremely well in its Jihad against India. So a prominent section among the Terrorist Freedom Fighting Brotherhood, Hamas it seems, has decided to take the game directly to Pakistan and India.

Islamic militant faction Hamas has recently revived its website in Urdu, in a bid to reach out to the people of India and Pakistan.

“The website, though launched a few years ago, had been lying dormant for some years but recent developments have made the organisation feel the need to activate it,” sources said.

Pakistan’s recent overtures towards the Jewish state has made the organisation feel the need to caution people in the Indian subcontinent against such a move, they said.

Several rallies organised by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, following the meeting of Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri in Istanbul, had condemned Islamabad’s move as “a stab in the back”.

But the Dictator was quick to make amends:

Musharraf plays safe on Israel recognition[...] President Pervez Musharraf has said Pakistan would move ‘carefully’ on recognising Israel and doing business with it while pointing out that Tel Aviv is a technologically advanced state and Islamabad could benefit from it. [...] He said the influential Jewish community could be used to pressurise the American administration ‘if and when needed’. On the advantages that would accrue to Pakistan by normalising relations with Israel, Musharraf said that the Jewish state was technologically advanced state and Islamabad could benefit from it.

That should put some tense nerves to rest. For the time being at least.

For India however, things are bound to remain the same as ever. A few buses blown away in remote Kashmir, a couple of houses burnt, tens of people mowed down… only the Freedom Fighting group would have a new name: Hamas. As it were, we have so many of them, what’s the harm in welcoming another?