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British Colonialism and How India and Pakistan Lost Freedom by Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D.

British Colonialism and How India and Pakistan Lost Freedom

Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D.

Irony of Historic National Freedom and Unspoken Tyranny of Imperialism

29 Dec 2021 – Do nations and civilizations grow out of the moral mire of military conquests, killings of innocent people, political cruelty and subjugation by imperialism? For more than 800 years, India as a Moghul Empire was an economically well-integrated and politically viable entity and European maintained strong commerce, trade and political relationships.  After intrigued conspiracies and planned division, the British invaded India in 1857, committing cold-blooded massacres of two million people mostly Muslims opposing the military invasion described just as a “Mutiny” in the British chronicle. Bahadur Shah Zafar – the last Moghul emperor was deposed overnight in Delhi, his youngest son’s head was chopped off and put on a breakfast plate to strangle the Shah and make him surrender unconditionally.  Shah was hurriedly taken to Rangoon (Burma) and imprisoned in a garage and later on died and was buried only to write poems in loss of his freedom and beloved country.  Did the British overtake India to be a free country for democracy or to support the Hindu domination of futuristic India?  British robbed Moghul India and looted its wealth and heritage to become Great Britain and imagined India as an absolute entity of the British Empire.

Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Dr Mohammad Iqbal, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Khan though educated in British intellectual traditions but articulated new missions and visions for national freedom as a revulsion against the British colonial political traditions and continuity of the British Raj in India. Was this violent and ruthless indoctrination part of the British heritage or history-making efforts to besiege India forever?  Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy made sure that Indians will remain loyal and committed subservient to the futuristic blending of so-called celebrated national freedom after the 1947 partition into India and Pakistan. British by design failed to deliver the truth of national freedom to both nations in a universal spirit of political responsibility. Hindu mythology believes in “Mahabharata” (Greater India) and teaches school children that Pakistan and Afghanistan are part of the “Mahabharata” plan. Ironically, Hindus practise a caste system denying human equality in public life, whereas, Islam teaches the unity of mankind offering equality to all. The successive states of India-Pakistan both betrayed the reality of equal human rights and participation in governance.

History could not have confined the tyranny and oppression of “divide and rule of British imperialism against the will of the Indian masses. Canons of rationality clarify that national freedom granted to both new entities in August 1947 was a fake chronology of time and history. The so-called national freedom perpetuated a hybrid socio-economic and political culture – part human- part vulture, British made no security arrangements to ensure communal peace and harmony which resulted in millions of people being killed in ethnic violence while migrating from one place to another.

Tormented by injustice, public discord and political lethargy, British imperialism changed the Indian mindset and behaviour within a century, but India and Pakistan even after 75 years remained glued to the British colonial systems in thoughts, systems and governance. Does it not signal a naïve and void imagination of national freedom professed by both nations since 1947?  They continue to interact with one another as the most hated enemy of time and history, wars, the threat of nuclear arsenals, the Kashmir dispute and worst of all lack of direct people-to-people communication or business relationships – all seem to be part of a highly ruptured and purging pursuit of national freedom.

 Indian and Pakistani Leaders Follow Egoistic Agenda for the Future

The aerial view of New Delhi reflects an Islamic image of the city – Grand New Delhi Mosque, nearby historic and beautiful Taj Mahal, Old Fort and a lot more. The first book ever written on India was “Kitab-al-Hind” (Book on India) by Abu Raihan Al-Brunei – a 10th-century Muslim scholar. Under the Moghul Empire, Delhi was one of the most intellectually and economically advanced progressive capitals. To foreigners, it does not look like the capital of Hindu India at all. If this inference has any reality, the future of India and Pakistan should have been a collaboration and lasting friendship. India always wanted to subdue Pakistan and its national freedom.

Pakistan’s bad luck entailed many military coups breaking its integrity and trust in freedom. Egoistic and foolish Generals created bogus and corrupt politicians claiming to be the leaders of future-making. They lacked the moral and intellectual capacity to imagine their future with a new generation of educated, intelligent and proactive people who could have contributed to a promising future for Pakistan. Most pernicious consequences defy logic as most Indian and Pakistani elite lack intellectual foresight to connect national freedom to a continuous movement for the greater cause of nation-building. Despite the political independence in 1947, the nation-building goal was forgotten and lost in the symbolic values of national identity.

India’s political agenda was intact when in December 1971, East Pakistan disintegrated and Bangladesh was created by Mrs Indra Gandhi –the Prime Minister – a power conspirator in India. Pakistani governing elite would not dare to admit that it was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Genera Yahya Khan both major conspirators who led to the defeat of Pakistan. Even half a century later, Pakistanis still live in the delusional and unarguable conclusions of that historic misfortune.  As a graduate student, I met General PNK Choudry (the former Chief of the Indian Armed Forces) arbitrarily retired by Mrs Indra Gandhi and sent as an Ambassador (HC) to Canada. At a local university campus, we met when he was a guest speaker. Later on, I invited him for a class gathering with fellow students and lunch. During the summer while working at a photo store, General Choudry comes in with two cameras on his shoulder and many times we had lunch together and walked and photographed together.

On weekends, at the university library- often I got library books to share with him and we talked about global affairs and his past and India-Pakistan. He denied any alleged conspiracy against Mrs Gandhi to oust her and bring a military coup in India. My interaction with General Choudry continued for almost two years. After his diplomatic assignment, he was hired by McGill University, Montreal as a lecturer and that is where he died in 1975. He was a simple, 6.5 ft approx tall person, humble and spoke openly and truthfully as I recall him. As an Indian top army Genera,l he may have been a tyrant but as a human being and a diploma, the was a decent person. He fought wars with Pakistan and knew most of the military establishments. Here is what he disclosed during many conversations and it should be alarming to Pakistanis if they deny it:

ZA Bhutto andSheikhh Mujib Were Appointed by Mrs Indira Gandhi  Beforeo the defeat and surrender of East Pakistan in 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had direct contact with Mrs Gandhi and wanted India’s help to become the next leader of Pakistan. India was looking for such an opportunity and wanted East Pakistan to become a new entity- Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujib Rehman was a nationalist and enthusiastic about a new homeland except to become the next elected leader of Pakistan. Bhutto-Yahya Khanwase competing for power even without elections. Sheikh Mujib’s Awami Party won the majority of seats in the 1971 elections of the National Assembly to be a legitimately elected leader of Pakistan. The inept and naïve Pakistani Generals had questions about Mujib’s futuristic intentions and delayed the peaceful transfer of power.  ZA Bhutto (Peoples Party) carved up his egoistic agenda for grabbing the political power even if Pakistan was defeated, otherwise,e Sheikh Mujib-Yahya could have become the next governing leader. Bhutto was a power-hungry individual without any political capacity to be a leader. Mrs. Gandhi helped both – ZA Bhutto and Sheikh Mujib and the price was the defeat and surrender of Pakistan. Mrs. Gandhi appointed Bhutto as the next President, Martial Law Administrator and Prime Minister of Pakistan and Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman as the next President of Bangladesh.  Some Pakistani would blame General Niazi for the surrender but in reality,y it was Yahya-Bhutto and the Pakistani Generals who should have faced full accountability and perhaps fired squads for their treachery and dishonesty to the national freedom and integrity of Pakistan. The lessons of history are ignored as Pakistani politics lacks accountability. To see more, please view the articles by this author:  “Pakistan: Leaders who Stabbed the Nation” (2009), “Pakistan: Leader or Criminals.” (2014); “Pakistan: Reflections on the Turbulent 69th Independence Day”, “Pakistan: How to Change the Culture of Political Corruption and Rebuild the Future.” (2014), and “Pakistan and India’s leader mark freedom from British Colonial Rule but Masses look for a Navigational Change.” (2020).

To General Choudry, if the whole of Pakistan was captured by India except for the Sindh province, ZA Bhutto would have gladly become the Chief Minister of Sindh to co-exist with India.  He disclosed, that there were five or six soft-hearted” Pakistani Generals willing to align and not to challenge India’s plan for Bangladesh.  General Yahya Khan and Bhutto were highly individualistic and morally corrupt. Mrs. Gandhi had daily briefings where Yahya and Bhutto held cocktail parties and slept with prostitutes.  Shocking as it is, future Pakistani leaders never held anyone accountable for the crimes against the nation. Were ZA Bhutto and Yahya Khan more important than the existence, national freedom and integrity of One Pakistan? Dr. Ishtiaq Qureshi (Editor Urdu Digest) wrote “Skoote –Dahaka Say Purdah Uttha Hey” (1972), in which he described the details of how Bhutto and Yahya Khan betrayed Pakistan and stabbed the nation. Dr Qureshi was imprisoned by the Bhutto government. This dreadful tragedy infallibly resulted to question the very basis of the originality of Pakistan and remains unacknowledged and districted by the Pakistani political elite even to this day. Are the Pakistanis still living in any rational denials of their chapter of history?

Moral and intellectual corruption is rampant in both countries. Masses are systematically compelled to bribe officials to get the basic services and official necessities of nationality ID, passports, driver’s license and a lot more in life. National freedom has changed from the enlarged scope of corruption and exploitation – the legacy of British imperialism. BothIndiana and Pakistani neo-colonialists look for an escape from reality and are allergic to seeing the mirror of the present and future. Allama Iqbal (pioneer of Pakistani national freedom) did not live to see his dream come true in Pakistan. Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist, and  Nehru died a natural death.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah passed away in a broken ambulance on a Karachi street, and Liaquat Ali Khan (first PM) was murdered by the then Pakistani politicians. Mrs. Indra Gandhi was killed by his Sikh bodyguard as revenge for the Indian armed attack on Sikh Golden Temple, Amritsar; Sheikh Mujib was murdered by his military commander and Bhutto was hanged for killing a political opponent. Both nations failed to produce proactive and intelligent leaders to usher in political change. Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu Janta Party and Prime Minister believes in Hinduvata domination of the sub-continent, Pakistani could not produce any leaders except Bhutto, Ms Bhutto, Zardari, Sharif and General Musharaf –conspirators and gangsters who stole wealth and committed heinous crimes and bought palaces in Europe to enjoy life.

Is There any Glimpse of Hope for People-Oriented Change for the New Generations?

India has multiple problems of socio-economic and political diversity. It is unable to counteract the national freedom movement of the Sikh Nation for an independent Khalistan. Kashmir was never a part of British Indian dominion and its masses continue to seek freedom from India’s occupation and violations of their basic human rights. Muslim, Christian and other minorities are oppressed underHinduvata-managed India claiming to be a secular and democratic country. The Hindu Janata Party under the current PM is committed to making India a Hindutiva State regardless of other nationalities and identities. Pakistani miserably failed to take proactive initiatives to support the freedom movement for the people of Kashmir. The old service men-led elite could not imagine new and creative strategies to organize international conferences or effectively communicate to the Western world to share the aspirations of the Kashmiri masses.

The degeneration of the Indian-Pakistani moral and intellectual culture is well in progress. The essence, meaning and purpose of historic British colonial systems are operative across all public affairs, policies and practices in India and Pakistan. The armed forces, the civil service and legal jurisprudence all remain under the sinister influence and disfigured reality of the two so-called free nations. Police still beats the protesters and open fire on peaceful demonstrators, be in New Delhi, Kashmir or Islamabad. National freedom does not empower futuristic societies to establish political absurdity, immoral and intellectual decadence and political injustice. Common people in both countries are besieged by obsolete systems of political governance except rich landlords and the affluent compete in the elections and gain power.

There is no charge for the people in the colonized landscape exceptthe enlarged scope of moral and intellectual corruption used as freedom. If you will question both elites having many common values of the British Raj, they would deny if there is anything wrong with their thinking, role play and management of public affairs. The new and young generation who could not imagine a new sustainable future vanishing fast and migrating to Europe and America in search of better opportunities. The old generations of landlords and retired civilian-military officials manage the governing bodies whereas people of the new and educated generation are deprived of any practical participation and migrate to Europe and North America and never return to their home countries.

The hub of political culture is divided and delusional about national freedom and sustainable future-making. There are no wars for the people of the sub-continent to fight but they are fighting wars on several fronts without reason- known and unknown. The compelling realities across the beleaguered sub-continent demand new thinking, new visionary leadership, men of new ideas and plans to deal with the unwarranted exploitation of masses, communal deaths, and deliberate destruction of the historic culture and millions of people looking for a change and a new beginning of cordial borders and relationships.

______________________________________Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international relations-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest book: Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution: Approaches to Understand the Current Issues and Future-Making, Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 2017.


Tags: British Colonialism, History, India, Pakistan, UK

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Russia-Ukraine Military Standoff Global Implications Part-2 by Brig Gen(Retd) Asif Haroon Raja

Russia-Ukraine Military Standoff

Global Implications

Part-2

Asif Haroon Raja

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” – Frederick Douglass

USA’s Policy of Sanctions

To compel Russia to pull out its troops, the US and EU took no time to impose a series of tough sanctions on Russia, and closed airspaces for the Russian air movement. The US told Europe to boycott Russian goods and not to buy oil and gas from Russia. Russia’s $ 300 billion have been frozen in the US/European banks.

Consequently, Russia has become the most sanctioned country after Iran.

Purpose is to isolate Russia, make it bankrupt, bring a regime and install a puppet regime in Moscow.  

Blackwater in Ukraine has been activated by the CIA to create trouble.

In Poland, Joe Biden gave a call saying “Putin cannot remain in power”.  Russians are being invited to topple Putin’s regime. He also hinted that it will be a long war. Nine months earlier, he had declared that “it’s time to end the war forever”.

He is now justifying the long haul under the plea of fighting a great battle between democracy and autocracy, between liberty and repression. He uttered these holy words ignoring that George Bush senior and junior had also raised similar slogans to justify their brutal invasions. He also forgot that Poland is ruled by an ultra-right xenophobe regime under President Duda. Biden’s jingoism points towards another New World Order.      

Moscow-China’s Pre-planning

In anticipation to deal with harsh western sanctions, Russia amassed some $600 billion, yuan and gold in reserves, stored huge stacks of grain and other commodity items, and reduced its trade in dollars by 50%. It has replaced visa and master cards with Chinese cards.

China’s central bank operationalized its digital yuan CBCD in 2015 to break the monopoly of petrodollars in trade of oil and gas through US controlled SWIFT.

China’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) is equivalent to the SWIFT financial transfer system developed in 2014. SPFS is likely to be integrated with China based Cross Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS).

The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and China have agreed to design the mechanism for an independent international monetary system.

In case Russia and China succeed in importing and exporting oil and gas in ruble, yuan and gold, it will cause a deadly blow to the power of the dollar.

Sanctions are painful but have never been productive. They proved ineffective against Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and Venezuela and wouldn’t bend Putin.

USA’s Relations with Arabs & Iran

Some cracks have appeared in the US relations with Saudi Arabia and UAE.

The two princes didn’t answer the phone calls of Biden, and declined the US desire to increase production of oil so as to lower oil prices in the international market that have crossed $ 140 a barrel.

They are going by the policy of OPEC, in which Russia is a key member, and is the third largest oil producing country, and is the largest producer of gas.  

Saudis and UAE, the two largest oil producing countries are considering trading oil in yuan.

Boris Johnson air dashed to Riyadh on 16 March on a one-day visit to convince MBS to enhance the oil production, but couldn’t get a commitment.

UAE, which has put the F-35 jets deal on hold has been put in the grey list by the FATF.

Iran has made the renewal of the nuclear deal with the US subject to clearance from Moscow. Iran doesn’t want its oil and gas trade with Russia to get affected by the renewal of the 2015 deal to which Russia is one of the signatory.

Contrasting Foreign Policies

Russia’s past is as sinful as of the West, with Stalin presiding over the massacre of 20 million people in the 1930s.

However, after the end of Cold War, Russia has not embarked upon any external military adventure, nor has meddled into internal affairs of other countries, or ridiculed Islam.

Likewise, China also adopted a defensive policy of peace and friendship after 1978.   

Russia and China increased their spheres of influence in the developing world through peaceful means. Putin adopted friendly policies towards the Muslims in Russia and made Chechnya a close ally.

Conversely, the US used its military might, financial power and diplomatic clout to enlarge its presence all around the globe. War on terror was used as a ploy to rob the resources of the Muslim world, and to neo-colonize it.

Sanctions, embargoes, human rights, World Bank, IMF, FATF and proxy wars are other tools of coercion. The UN, ICJ and other world institutions are the US handmaidens.

Islam was ridiculed and demonized by the Western media under a calculated agenda to undermine Islam.

The US has the biggest stockpile of nuclear missiles, and well knowing that Russia has the second largest nuclear arsenal, the US has been constantly provoking Russia by breaching its perimeter of security.

The US administration under the domination of Military Industrial Complex is anti-peace and pro-war, and has established over 800 military bases all over the globe. Since WWII, the US indulged in 19 wars causing deaths to millions.

The US is a Bully

The US behaves like a bully and has never directly locked horns with a big power. It always chose a weak country to fight and yet never won. The two glaring examples are its humiliating defeats in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

China has been warned by the US to stay out of the conflict and not to provide a lifeline to Russia.

The US has also made it clear to its allies to cut off relations with Russia, or be prepared for the consequences. Pakistan is among the countries that was threatened on March 7. Reportedly, it sponsored the no-trust motion moved against Imran Khan’s Government by the band of opposition parties. Imran is being penalized for daring to run an independent foreign policy.

China has made it clear that it will not accept another round of cold war and proxy war in this region.   

For the first time the US is provoking the two titans, Russia in Ukraine, and China in South & East China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

The US-Russia showdown has commenced and the US-China showdown is in the making.

Europe as well as Pakistan and India will get sucked into the fight of the big elephants if the war gets prolonged. 

NATO’s Prestige Smeared

The Ukraine crisis has given a new lease of life to the West and has helped in uniting the divided EU and NATO, and both the US and EU are taking punitive steps to pressurize Russia to step back.

The US-NATO have yet to prove whether they can stand up to the challenge and turn the tide.

Russia is exposing the impotence of NATO which has already tarnished its reputation in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Paranoia in India

India has got hedged between the USA, Russia and China and is finding itself caught between the devil and deep sea.

On one side is Russia with which it has had a strategic relationship since the late 1940s. 60-65% of India’s defence equipment is Russian origin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the other side is the USA to which it had got married in 1990 out of expediency. India has been drawing huge economic and military benefits, and the US is helping India to become a global power.

China, closely aligned with Russia and nuclear Pakistan, is breathing over India’s neck in the Himalayas.

The US is now expecting that India should pay back by severing ties with Russia, and also become an effective member of QUAD to counter China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

For India, joining China-specific QUAD is getting highly risky. 

Coming months will see whether India bends down to the dictates of the US, or makes another volte face, quits QUAD and reverts to nonalignment and extends a hand of friendship to China and Pakistan.

Reinvigoration of Cold War

The new Cold War has resurfaced and the two belligerent camps are forming up. 

The Ukraine crisis, if not defused, could lead to the worst economic crisis which will have a catastrophic impact upon the world.  

With so many flash points, and the climate crisis morphing into an existential threat to humanity, the world has become a powder keg and needs a matchstick in the wrong hands to ignite.

Standoff in Ukraine has revived fears of a nuclear clash and possibly a third world war.

Ground Realities

The realities that cannot be ignored are that shrunk Russia has bounced back on the global central stage, China is the emerging superpower, the US is a declining power, and its global hegemony is unsustainable.

Unipolar world has been replaced by the multipolar world.

NATO will neither establish a no-fly zone, nor become a part of the Ukraine war since it would put the whole of Europe at risk.

Without physical support of the US-NATO forces, Ukraine wouldn’t be able to push back the Russian forces, and will have to come to terms with Moscow through a political settlement.

The US-NATO wants Ukraine to become another graveyard for Russia, and is preferring proxy war over open war, but this time the end result will be not like in Afghanistan. 

In case Putin comes out of this war as a victor, it will make Biden politically weak, and his party will have slim chances to win the midterm elections in November 2022.

The Zionists and extremist Jews wishing to rule the world, after pitting Christianity against Islam, has pitted USA against Russia, and will also try to pit USA against China.  

Israel is maintaining a balancing act and has so far not imposed sanctions on Russia or provided military support to Ukraine.

After fighting communism for decades and burying it, the US created a new threat and defined Islamic radicalism and terrorism the biggest threat to its international order and capitalism. For next three decades the US-NATO forces bombed Iraq twice in 1991 and in 1998, invaded and occupied Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, and in its bid to change the regime, destroyed Syria. Yemen, Sudan and Lebanon were also mauled. Large-scale destruction and massacre were undertaken through invasions, proxy wars, drones, sectarian war, in order to gain global hegemony, and to earn profits for the arms industry. Democratic, legal and human rights were thrown out of the window.

The Muslim specific war coupled with expanding NATO’s outreach into East Europe were the most egregious crimes in the post-cold war era.

From 2018 onwards, threat of terrorism has been replaced by Russia-China combine as the new threat to the US national security, for which Biden has sounded war bugles and is quite prepared to soak Europe in blood.

End Result

The US efforts to disrepute Putin have utterly failed. He has become more popular, and as per Levada Centre, over 80% of Russians support his actions. Conversely, Biden’s graph is dropping.  

The minimum that Putin might agree on will be to make the Donbas region independent, with Luhansk and Donetsk as People’s Republics, Crimea part of the Russian Federation, and Western Ukraine to become a neutral country.

Zelensky has agreed not to become a NATO member and to make Ukraine neutral subject to security guarantee. He might agree to make Donetsk and Luhansk semi-autonomous instead of independent, and acknowledge Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea.

The US, EU and NATO might reconcile with this arrangement, and would agree to make Ukraine a buffer state between East and West Europe. 

Conclusion

Wars, conflicts, civil strife, intrigues, deceit, lies and hypocrisy have become a norm. Putin has called the West an empire of lies. Piety, tolerance and forbearance have been replaced by immorality, intolerance and egotism.

The Western leaders have the moral obligation to call for an immediate end of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. The atrocities of war must stop immediately and the sanctity of human life and habitats must be assured by all within the global systems of political governance. 

Author

Asif Haroon Raja – The writer is a retired Brig Gen, war veteran who took part in the epic battle of Hilli in former East Pakistan in 1971, he is defence, security & political analyst, international columnist, author of five books, Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan & Director Measac Research Centre, takes part in TV programs, and delivers talks. asifharoonraja@gmail.com

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Russia-Ukraine Military Standoff Global Implications Part-1 by Brig.Gen(Retd) Asif Haroon Raja

Russia-Ukraine Military Standoff

Global Implications

Part-1

Asif Haroon Raja

“Remember when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received, only what you have given, a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” – St. Francis of Assisi

Cold War

After the end of the 2nd WW, the world was divided into two camps, one led by the USSR and the other by the USA. The nuclear capability of the two superpowers deterred the two rivals from clashing with each other, but they got involved in a prolonged Cold War, which raged till 1991. 

Western Pledge to Gorbachev

Once the Soviet Empire built by Lenin-Stalin began to totter after the defeat and ouster of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in Feb 1989, followed by fall of Berlin wall, the 14 Soviet Republics and the Soviet satellite states started declaring independence.

A conference was held at Bonn in 1989 attended by the officials of USA, UK, France and Germany to discuss the German unification modalities. The participants gave a categorical assurance which was conveyed to Gorbachev through the US ambassador in Moscow Jack Matlock that NATO would remain confined to united Germany and would not push into the territory east of Germany, i.e. Elbe. It was stated that East European countries wouldn’t be offered NATO’s membership.

This pledge was dishonored after the fragmentation of the USSR in 1991 and getting reduced to the Russian Federation. Russia was not even accepted as part of a unified Europe. George H.W. Bush had declared that the First Gulf War against Iraq would usher in a ‘New World Order’ led by the USA. In 1992 came the Wolfowitz Doctrine, envisaging prevention of re-emergence of a new rival. With the demise of communism, Islamic fundamentalism was declared as the new threat to the US international order and capitalism.  

NATO’s Eastward Expansion

The US-NATO launched five waves to expand eastwards. In the first wave, Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic were taken in the fold of NATO in 1999.

In the second wave in 2003-2004, the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia were made members of NATO thereby threatening the eastern border of Russia. Pro-Moscow socialist regime in Georgia was replaced with a pro-West regime through color revolution in 2003. Russia reacted in 2008 by making two provinces of Georgia independent.

The 3rd wave was in 2009. In the 4th wave in early 2014, a regime change was made in Ukraine through another color revolution. In reaction, Russian forces captured Crimea in March that year. The 5th eastward wave was in 2019.

In 2021, Washington and Brussels announced their intentions to make Georgia and Ukraine members of NATO. Membership of NATO jumped from 12 to 16 and then to 30.

The last indirect intrusion was in Kazakhstan in Jan 2022 where widespread anti-government protests had almost toppled the pro-Moscow regime, but was rescued by the Russian troops.   

Most of the former Soviet Republics barring few happily helped the US and NATO in encircling Russia. Poland and Romania agreed to deploy the American Ballistic missiles defence system.

President Zelensky allowed the US to establish 25-30 bio-chemical weapons labs in Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa. Reportedly, Israel was also in this business. There are reports of corona virus research labs as well.   

Importance of Ukraine

Ukraine is important to both Russia and the EU since it is the largest country in Europe and rich in mineral resources. It is Europe’s breadbasket and a major exporter of grains.

It provides direct access to Russia’s Gazprom gas field and oil pipelines to Europe. 40% of the gas, and one-quarter of crude oil, are supplied by Russia through Ukraine to Europe. Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are the largest importers of Russian gas.

Loss of Ukraine will directly threaten the security of Russia.

Hence Ukraine which provides strategic depth to Russia, is the vital ground for Russia’s geo-economic and security interests.

Imposition of sanctions on gas from Russia will oblige the EU to import it mainly from the US at triple the price.

Brzezinski stated that ‘Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be an empire, but with Ukraine, suborned and then subjugated, Russia becomes an empire’.

 

Moscow’s Reminders to Washington

The US-NATO were repeatedly advised by Moscow to abandon their Cold War approach, and to respect the sovereignty of other countries and interests, but drunk with power the haughty US-NATO paid no heed to Russia’s security concerns.

Vladimir Putin instead of taking proactive measures to block NATO’s encroachment, he adopted a conciliatory policy with the West. He even collaborated with the US in its war on terror, and didn’t object to the growing US influence in Central Asia.

He and Trump were pally with each other, so much so that Trump was accused by the Democrats of seeking help from Russia to win the 2016 elections.   

Putin Loses his Cool

Once Putin assessed that the aggressors were not prepared to halt their expansion and to remove the strike weapons deployed close to Russia’s borders, and to close the bio-weapon labs, and were about to make Ukraine a member of NATO, he lost his cool, and gradually deployed up to 1, 30,000 Russian forces on the borders of Ukraine from Nov 2021 onwards, and then invaded Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022.

If the US could legalize its policy of pre-emption and step into Afghanistan and the Middle East located 7000 miles away to safeguard its homeland, why can’t Russia do it when its immediate backyard is threatened?

 Ongoing Operations in Ukraine

Large bridgehead has been made in the Donbas region in the east where Luhansk and Donetsk, who had declared their independence were recognized by Moscow on 22 Feb.

From the direction of Crimea in the Kherson region, Russian troops have made deep penetrations and have closed up to Odessa. The southern port city of Mariupol is about to fall. Northwestern suburb of Bucha is entirely held by Russian forces including parts of Irpin, and Kharkiv in the northeast.

Invaders are gradually encircling the capital city Kiev to choke it and force the defenders to surrender. Chernobyl nuclear plant has been seized, and several US funded and run bio-chemical labs destroyed.    

Chechen forces allied with Russian forces are fighting the Ukrainians. 15000 Syrian fighters have volunteered to join Russian forces in Ukraine and Putin has given them a nod.

So far, other than Kherson, no major city has been captured due to stiff resistance by the Ukrainians. 

Over 4 million Ukrainians and others have fled and have become refugees in neighboring states with bulk in Poland. The Refugee issue will blow up further and would create social problems for the host countries.

Both sides have suffered casualties. But, these are no match to the killings and destruction caused by western forces during the war on terror.  

Russia has put its nuclear assets on high alert. Belarus has shed off its non-nuclear status, enabling Russia to deploy its nuclear weapons there. 

Putin views all the former USSR Republics as artificial states propped up by the west, and has sternly warned them to stay out of the conflict. 

Russia is determined to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. He is in no mood to pull out his forces until and unless his security concerns are addressed.

He allowed human corridors for the exit of civilians, but actually he wanted to deprive the Ukraine army of the human shield.

He is drawing strength from the support of China, which is also a victim of the US belligerence.

Battle in Ukraine is the battle for the new world order. Like Lenin and Stalin, Putin is seeking to overthrow the US imposed world order which in his view is selfish and unjust. 

Much against the expectations of Putin of a short and swift outcome, the war is dragging on and is likely to get prolonged.

Zelensky’s Pleas Fallen on Deaf Ears

Zelensky, a Jewish TV comedian, is beseeching the US and NATO to come to his rescue, and establish a no-fly-zone to prevent Russian jets from bombing the cities.

UK, Germany, France and other NATO countries have dispatched heavy consignments of missiles, anti-tank and air defence weapons to Ukraine to bolster its spirits. At Brussels, it was decided to double NATO forces on Russia’s border.

The US has deployed two additional Patriot batteries in Poland, sanctioned $ 15 billion aid, and committed a $ I.5 billion military aid package. Biden is now thinking of sending long range anti-aircraft guns for Ukraine.  

Biden declared that the US will defend every inch of NATO territory with full might of a united and galvanized NATO, but will not fight war against Russia since he cannot risk a 3rd WW.

Western media is severely condemning Putin and is painting him a butcher, deranged, an evil monster and a war criminal.

Parleys are taking place between Ukraine and Russia at Istanbul, but so far no breakthrough has been achieved.  

Ukraine’s Legitimacy

It has been revealed that the borders of Ukraine were never demarcated and registered in the UN as a sovereign state. Hence, officially it is part of the former USSR of which Russia is the officially recognized successor state.

Moscow can now claim Ukraine to be its integral part, and whatever is happening there as its internal matter.

 Third World Wooed

The USA and Russia are trying to win over as many countries of the third world to their side to swing the diplomatic balance on their side.

China and Russia stand on a higher moral ground to win the support of the countries of Asia, Middle East and Africa.

China has been helping the debt ridden countries by providing easy loans for social programs, and developing infrastructure.

Russia helped Iran in its missile/ nuclear programs and in easing sanctions, and had a key role in saving the Assad regime in Syria.

On the other hand, prejudice, malice and discrimination against the non-whites have been the guiding principles of the western world.

Today the West has no justification to dub Russia as a war monger since Russia didn’t for once step into the backyard of USA, nor meddled into the internal affairs of other countries, or indulged in proxy wars, or imposed sanctions on any country.

To be continued

The writer is a retired Brig Gen, war veteran who took part in the epic battle of Hilli in former East Pakistan in 1971, he is defence, security & political analyst, international columnist, author of five books, Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan & Director Measac Research Centre, takes part in TV programs, and delivers talks. asifharoonraja@gmail.com   

 

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Ukraine Being Destroyed by Proxy War, Not for Peace or Sustainable Future-Making   Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

Ukraine Being Destroyed by Proxy War, Not for Peace or Sustainable Future-Making

 

Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

 

Witness to Killing and Destruction – Ukraine fast becoming the Epic Centre of cataclysm

Cynicism about politics is endemic across all cultures. When intelligent people think and plan war, it negates the very human nature of reasoned mind at peace within its own consciousness and balanced tranquility. The earth trembles with continuous shelling and bombing, sirens sound alarms of coming of killer hypersonic missiles, frightening thought of deaths and destructions and common citizens wonder where to hide in safety across Ukraine.  Russian military operatives deny shelling the civilian habitats but civilian causalities on the ground in Mariupol, Khraiv and Kiev speak another language as if Ukraine and Russia live in conflicting time zones being unable to understand the reality of human existence, peace and survival.  The perpetuated chaos and nationalistic ideals of the few are leading to collapsed civilizations and resumption of dark ages. Could wars be ever the source of conflict resolution or peacemaking?  No matter how time exists in a frozen intellect, Reason will haunt the present and future generations if war was a prelude to peace-making. What are the so called intelligent leaders of NATO, America or the EU waiting for? Is America, the EU and NATO waiting and watching how Russia and Ukraine will end up in this cruel insanity of war?  Or what advanced weaponry is being used by Russia to annihilate another neighbour?  Is Ukraine a test ground for any futuristic planning and administration of more insane conflicts?  Surely, men who are universally hated and feared are active in this staged drama of embittered insanity against a helpless nation and people. The need of time is urgent for the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to meet face to face and stop the insanity against the people they claim to serve.  Those pushing the mankind to war and destruction lack the basic qualities of rational thinking and actions.

We, the People witnessing a planned scheme of things to exterminate humanity with superior weapons hitting targeted civilian towns and daily bloodbath as a new normal. Have we not learned any lessons from the European nationalistic wars of First World War and the 2nd World War?  We, the Humanity continue to argue if wars have become part of new normal – unknown and unthinkable to human civilizations and rational thinking. We, the People are entrapped and entrenched by dirty politics of the few. It needs a formidable challenge to rethink about the continuity of the current tragedy in Ukraine.

Few Waging War are a Menace to Human Life, Earth and Future

Few egoistic politicians are destroying the living beings, the earth and human habitats without any reasoning.  Leaders are violating the TRUST of keeping the planet’s safety to its Nature of Things. The planet Earth is not a dead orbiting object but a living entity providing continuous nourishment to human life and existence and to all other living beings. Its governing laws are defined by its Creator. Dead things do not sustain life in this context but livings do make the difference. When individuals and nations start acting like wild beasts in complete disregard to the accepted norms of human values and ethical principles, surely, it impacts all and everything whether we acknowledge it or not. No humans can become God or act like God – a plain fact of life.  We, the People are witnessing many leaders acting like beasts without any regard to protect human cultures, life and civilizations. Global politicians are increasingly showing perpetuated ignorance and wilful arrogance in their policies and practices. None of the leading superpowers appear to be heeding to warnings from God. When people and nations challenge the sanctity and limits of the Laws of God and violate all known norms and principles of human behavior, they could well become an object of unthinkable natural calamities, deaths and destruction.

All the Divine Books of the Abrahamic Faith – TheTorah, The Holy Bible and The Qur’an are full of such revelations and warnings as REMINDERS to those people who are open to listening and learning and care for accountability and the future.  These are staunch warnings to change the thinking and behavior or else could face the ultimate consequences of demise as it happened to all self-claiming adventurous and powerful kingdoms, dynasties and nations of the past. Russia leading the War, not a “Military Operation”,  against Ukraine, is facing critical crises of rationality and legitimacy of war for its survival and socio-economic and political future but likewise this is what most other Western leaders too  lack  understanding and realities of the real world affairs.  Ukraine and its people must be protected and should not be allowed to vanish in the dust of shelling and hypersonic Russian weaponry.

 The Need for Reasoned Dialogue:  One Humanity at Peace and Unity for Peaceful Co-Existence

Sanctity of human life is grounded in realization of peace, dialogue and co-existence. A rational analytic approach would compare things to figure out the difference between truth and falsehood, cruelty and piety often not combined in one character. After four weeks of warmongering, Russia and Ukraine are active, living and not destroyed. The on-going onslaught makes no sense to rational thinking and political accountability. American, European and NATO leaders appear more like spectators rather than active participants to conflict resolution and peace-making. They are not posing any challenge to the absurdity of one-sided war on Ukraine. Their lip service to aid Ukraine and its people is mere a repetitive cry for public consumption. It is a challenging time and question of survival and its urgency must be understood by those having power and influence to call for an immediate ceasefire and warn of the dire consequences for its failure.

The Tragedy of Ukraine – Caught in the International War For Power Between -The Russians & The Americans -We Salute Ukrainian Mothers are Heroines of this War-The Women of Steel Trekking Hundreds of Miles with Toddlers & Young Kids in Tow.

America, Europe, Russia and NATO’s historic record is plagued with violence and extravagant ideas to have invaded and killed millions and millions across the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.  Lacking rationality of a just war, they have killed and displaced millions of people in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria. Their claims of piety and credibility for the good are full of lingering suspicion and discard to be the office bearers of peace and security of the world. The need is urgent to foster a peaceful dialogue between Russia, Ukraine, America and NATO or else lack of rational imagination and action could destroy the national freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine. It is imperative that people of Ukraine should not be left to a terrible sense of helplessness, inhumanity and insanity to lose their national freedom. The voices of reason are loud and clear as global humanity cannot suffer the penalties of tyranny and war-mongering.  We, the People draw rational results what we see and what we hear, therefore, we are different, we are responsible and we cannot act or live animals. There is a moral sense of spirituality and humanity to co-exist in harmony with the rest of all creations on this Earth.

 

Modern wars represent sadistic and cruel minds to undermine human rights, dignity and life. They destroy all that is built over the ages that we call human civilizations. All of the Abrahamic Faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) reveal the truth of “Trust” – human beings took to be responsible and be at peace with the Nature of Things.  Any favorite perversion would contradict this Trust and embark on killing and destruction of human habitats as history has witnessed during the Two WW, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and ongoing in Yemen. This TRUST and its reminder are explicitly mentioned in (The Qur’an, Chapter 33: 72):

 

 “We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth; And the mountains but they refused; To undertake it, being afraid thereof: But man undertook it; He was indeed unjust and foolish.”   

 

The Earth is a living entity and is meant for us – the human beings. We, the People wonder who else except God created life, the Earth and the living Universe floating in space well balanced and functional since time immemorial. If Immanuel Kant’s ‘Perpetual Peace’ was taken seriously, today’s Russia, America and Europe would have been at peace and avoided the proxy war within themselves and with the global community. The sudden and inexplicable plunge into continued war will dehumanize the global culture of rational thinking and actions. We, the People of the globe reject the violent assumptions of a just war against the people of Ukraine. The crush for war is instinctively part of human ignorance and arrogance.  Ferocious conceptions of a war and usage of advanced weaponry will destroy the Earth and living environment. Nothing will grow out of the bombed lands and charcoaled human communities as it reflects in Mariupol, Kyv and Khariv. Those talking of crimes against humanity are simply uttering words without actions. The essence of time and urgency calls for a reasoned dialogue for peace, not for blame games. One wonders why Russia was evicted from G-8 and why a meeting of G-20 could not be arranged in an emergency situation. The Western leaders (America, NATO and the EU) have the capacity and moral obligation to call for an immediate end of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. The failure to hostilities must define the consequences and accountability. The atrocities of war must stop immediately and sanctity of human life and habitats must be assured by all within the global systems of political governance.

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 12/2019.

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America, Russia and NATO look for New Frontiers of Influence by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

America, Russia and NATO look for New Frontiers of Influence

Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

 

Why the Lessons of History are Ignored

America, Russia and NATO’s Geneva diplomatic talks ended in failure without any formal course of action to avoid military confrontation on Ukraine’s border.  Other vital issues include how to treat each other in a futuristic imaginary encounter of common interests. The global community is watching the prelude to a staged drama of unwarranted warfare with profligacy, malevolence and unknown miseries of unthinkable multitudes.  All the superpowers – the stage actors of the 21st century have fictitious monsters equipped with innovative sophistry and captivating eloquence to talk about peace, security, human rights, global order and justice. They are master of deception playing on the passion of entrenched and exhausted mankind as if they could stop the emerging pains, horrors and devastations of warmongering to ensure a return to normalization of human affairs. To an inner human analytical eye encompassing proactive sense of global peace and harmony, it does not appear rational to articulate fears and misleading intentions to safeguard human peace and dignity while all the actions speak of a different language of obsessed assertions based on their own despotic national interests. There appears to be mythical contradictions in their claims of superiority and perhaps politically looking for an escape from the obsessed invincibility of superpowers. They claim peace but talk about threats of wars – how to rationalize the irony of human wickedness and inherent deception. Was the same stage drama not enacted during the First and 2nd World Wars killings millions and millions of people across this Planet Earth? 

Human progress and future-making are jeopardized when lessons of history are deliberately misinterpreted and ignored by the paranoid, vengeful and suspicious leaders.  If war is the only avenue to seek peace, we are on the wrong side of history and thinking of our future. It took several centuries to Europeans to understand the false shadows of apprehension of peace and harmony and to come to terms with nation-building, some resemblance of democracy, human equality of rights and unity for future-making via the EU. A reasoned perspective would illustrate that Russia after breakdown of the former USSR is not the same inheriting entity of Communist authoritarian ideology, leadership, institutions, political thought, policies and practices within the working systems of global order. There are visible progressive movements for political change, open communications, elections, institutional developments and global interactions and seeking reunion with the global order, UNO, world institutions, friendly relationships with adversaries and balanced socio-economic ties with others.  To enlarge the scope of reason and understanding, Russia needs formidable change as it appears to be forging on different national strategic interests; its position on Ukraine is not the same as eluded by most NATO members. Ukraine and Russia have common geography and history just like Britain, France and Germany have.  Would it not be a matter of extreme political-strategic sensitivity if other perceived enemies would dare to come close to military confrontations in Western Europe?  It is logical that true friends of humanity will not act blindly to cause wild uproars and evil-mongering against the people anywhere on this planet.

Is NATO relevant to the 21st Century Emerging Conflicts

The focal issue seems to be the prospective membership of Ukraine to the community of NATO in Western Europe. America and Russia and other EU members enjoin conflicting views on this issue. Ukraine claims its freedom to join any international organizations for its betterment, peace and security. Russia and America should not be concerned except that they want to draw certain strategic gains out of this chaotic perceived tragedy of futuristic warfare. After the dreadful consequences of the Two World Wars, NATO was formed by the Europeans to maintain peace and security and avoid futuristic unwarranted national wars within the European hemisphere. Its formation and scope is limited to nationalistic conventional warfare in the European theatre. One wonders, what wars did NATO fight to protect its ideals and strategic priorities after the 1945 WW?  What NATO had to do with Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya?  Were these accidental engagements or simply an extension of planned mischievous catastrophic instances of tyranny against the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere who never posed any threat to NATO, America or to any Western European nations? American and European leaders pushed soldiers to fight unwanted draconian wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other parts of the Middle East. Millions of innocent Afghans, Iraqi and Libyan civilians and Western troops were killed during the US-led NATO wars in these regions. Could any American-European leaders explain why every day approximately 18-25 US war veterans commit suicides?  (“Why Do Soldiers Commit Suicide and Global Warlords.” Uncommon Thought Journal, USA). 

How would one rationalize the role and actions of NATO in a global theater of strategic interests?  The history of NATO and its plans and ideological motives are equally distorted and disfigured on the global screen of reason, honesty and accountability. Russia overtook eastern parts of Ukraine – Crimea by forces aligned to Russian speaking masses and trying to integrate those territories into the Russian federation.  This issue has been discussed between Russian President Putin, former German Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron on several occasions. Could America, Russia and Europeans not talk again for a peaceful resolution of this and other related problems? 

 

Looking for Hope of Peace Beyond the Lens of Geopolitics

Scott Ritter (is a former Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD): “What War with Russia Look Like”  (Global Research: 01/11/2022): explains the irony of current affairs:

If the U.S. tries to build up NATO forces on Russia’s western frontiers in the aftermath of any Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia will then present Europe with a fait accompli in the form of what would now be known as the “Ukrainian model.” In short, Russia will guarantee that the Ukrainian treatment will be applied to the Baltics, Poland, and even Finland, should it be foolish enough to pursue NATO membership. Russia won’t wait until the U.S. has had time to accumulate sufficient military power, either. Russia will simply destroy the offending party through the combination of an air campaign designed to degrade the economic function of the targeted nation, and a ground campaign designed to annihilate the ability to wage war. Russia does not need to occupy the territory of NATO for any lengthy period—just enough to destroy whatever military power has been accumulated by NATO near its borders.

Is NATO being managed by those people who lived in the distant past and perhaps post WW2 historic culture is still alive and flourishing? Is there any glimpse of hope for change and new reasoned relationships between America, Russia and West European people? The future of violence and nationalistic resentment looks embedded into the distorted strategic necessities of the current affairs, be it the argument of Russia or American-led NATO and or the EU on its own. NATO is run by the wrong people, glued to wrong thinking and doing the wrong things without any rational sense of time, people’s interest and history. Craig Murray (“NATO-an idea Whose Time has Gone.”: AntiWar.com), a former British diplomat and Rector of the University of Dundee, UK, foresees the body as obsolete to emerging strategic thinking  and needs of the Western alliance:

It is also the case that the situation in countries where NATO has been most active in killing people, including Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan, has deteriorated. It has deteriorated politically, economically, militarily and socially. The notion that NATO member states could bomb the world into good was only ever believed by crazed and fanatical people like Tony Blair and Jim Murphy of the Henry Jackson Society. It really should not have needed empirical investigation to prove it was wrong, but it has been tried, and has been proved wrong….NATO’s attempt to be global arbiter and enforcer has been disastrous at all levels. Its plan to redeem itself by bombing the Caliphate in Iraq and Syria is a further sign of madness. Except of course that it will guarantee some blowback against Western targets, and that will “justify” further bombings, and yet more profit for the arms manufacturers. On that level, it is very clever and cynical. NATO provides power to the elite and money to the wealthy.

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was US Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and is author The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West, How America Was Lost, and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order.Provocations Have A History Of Escalating Into War: Can War Be Avoided and the Planet Saved?” Information Clearing House: (8/31/2018), strikes a proactive caution to all Western policy makers:

The Zionist neoconservatives who rule in Washington are capable of the same mistake that Napoleon and Hitler made. They believe in “the end of history,” that the Soviet collapse means history has chosen America as the model for the future. Their hubris actually exceeds that of Napoleon and Hitler. When confronted with such deluded and ideological force, does turning the other cheek work or does it encourage more provocation.

 

 The fear of losing complete control over the narrative is frightening for the pro-Israel lobby [John Minchillo/AP] The fear of losing complete control over the narrative is frightening for the pro-Israel lobby [John Minchillo/AP]

 

Every beginning has its end. America needs Navigational Change after January 6, 2021 Trump’s Revolutionary attack on democracy and the Constitution, and so does Russia and NATO in their search for peaceful transition to sustainable future-making. We, the People of global community live on one floating Planet Earth, and we must be conscious – who we are, how connected we are in human solidarity and where are we heading to in our imagination of the present and future. It is awful and a tragedy of human conscience to be speaking of military conflicts and territorial gains when mankind urgently needs an effective cure for the Covid-19 pandemic. George Floyd cries continues to be heard all over the globe: “I can’t’ breathe.”  We are One People, One Humanity ignorance, natural disasters, and man-made fatalities know not any borders, flags and nationalities but surge like wildfire as being witnessed in the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Again political absolutism heightens animosity and hatred rather than human understanding and cooperation for a precious cause of saving human lives on Earth. To save life of one human being is to safeguard the whole of humanity. We are all born equal One Humanity: – the Divine Message of Al-Qur’an clarifies the truth:

“Proclaim in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created,                                                                                                                    Created man (human being) out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood,                                                                                                   Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the Pen,                                                                                    Taught man (human being) that which he knew not.”

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 12/2019.

 

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