Dear Editor 

I would be amused at Mr. Ghosh's columns (Jan. 6 & 20, 2000), were he not using your publication to bash Pakistan and level baseless accusations on a regular basis. Is there anyone checking your columnists' work for fairness, accuracy and balance?

Mr. Ghosh is echoing the voices of his Indian paymasters perhaps, that Pakistan orchestrated the hijacking of the Indian Airlines aircraft. Neither he, nor the Indian government, whose sole interests he appears to be representing and using Time for, has proven the evidence to support these claims.

On the proposed Clinton visit to Pakistan, he writes that "American presidents are, rightly, loath to doing business with rulers in uniform."

On the contrary, the US has ALWAYS enjoyed the BEST relations when Pakistan was ruled by dictators, especially military ones. From Ayub Khan in the 60's to Zia in the 80's. The US apparently prefers to deal with a bureaucracy controlled country run as a one-man show, which makes it easy to "use" Pakistan (like other countries where this approach worked well) for US purposes. The US supported Ayub Khan to use Pakistan as a base for anti-Soviet intelligence gathering etc. Remember the U2? It supported Zia to use Pakistan as a base for anti-Soviet Afghan freedom fighters. So, your writer was being "plainly disingenuous" when he wrote his columns saying that Clinton should snub Pakistan.

Do I vehemently oppose dictatorships in Pakistan? Yes. 

Is General Musharraf an unelected dictator (who replaced a despotic corrupt "barely" elected crook)? Yes. 

Is it in US interests to re-develop ties with Pakistan? Yes. 

Should the US put EVERY available means of pressure on the illegal current government of Pakistan and arrange for restoral of (real) democracy? Yes.

Should the US put EVERY available means of pressure on the "democratic" government of India that refuses to give the Kashmiri people it's right to self-determination? Absolutely, YES.

Should Clinton, therefore, visit Pakistan and India, to make them both do the right thing, i.e. restore democracy in Pakistan, and START democracy in Indian Occupied Kashmir? A loud, resounding, absolute, YES! 

But I do not think Mr. Ghosh and his cronies will want to be reminded of India's genocide of Kashmiris and crushing of freedom seekers in other regions, that continues to this day.

Thank you for your attention.

Imran Anwar
http://www.imran.com
Heron Pointe, NY