Anti-Pakistan sentiment

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Anti-Pakistan sentiment or Pakistan-phobia^[1][2][3] is a sentiment against Pakistanis as a people and nation in a generalizing manner. Some political parties use these feelings to garner votes. Foreign governments, peoples and even media outlets are routinely accused by Pakistani nationalists of displaying Anti-Pakistan sentiment. Its opposite is pro-Pakistan sentiment.

India

The Bharatiya Janata Party has used anti-Pakistan rhetoric to garner support.^{[4][when?][clarification needed]}

In 2004, a Pakistani newspaper article claimed that some Indian Bollywood films depict Pakistan in a hostile manner by portraying certain anti-Pakistan stereotypes.^[5] Bollywood movies, however, have been highly popular in Pakistan and India's Bollywood movie actor Shah Rukh Khan has advocated India-Pakistan reconciliation. Although Bollywood films were banned for 40 years prior to 2008, there had been an active black market during the period and little was done to disrupt it.^[6]

Afghanistan

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Afghanistan and Pakistan are engaged in a border dispute over the Durand Line. The Durand border, cutting through Pashtun tribal areas and what was once known as historic Pashtunistan (Afghanistan) thereby taking away territory from historic Afghanistan, especially by the Afghan Pashtuns, is regarded as having been imposed on Afghanistan by then British India (now Pakistan). Meanwhile Pakistan regards the territory as rightfully inherited by British India. From 1947 till 1960, a regional dispute increased the tensions between the two countries.

From the mid-1970s onwards Pakistan supported Islamists such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, first against the republican government of the progressive Mohammad Daud Khan and later against the Soviet-backed communist government. The U.S. joined Pakistan in that policy at the end of the 1970s. In turn U.S. government institutions allege that Afghan communist intelligence agencies, beginning in the early 1980s until the late 1980s, conducted attacks in Pakistan. Afghanistan KHAD and Indian RAW are the secret service agencies believed to have conducted terrorist bombing in Pakistan North-west during the early 1980s;^[7] then by late 1980s U.S state department blamed WAD (a KGB created Afghan secret intelligence agency) for terrorist bombing Pakistani cities.^{[8][not in citation given][9][not in citation given]} Afghanistan security agencies supported Al zulfiqar, a terrorist organization, since 1970's-1990's. This group was responsible for the hijacking in March 1981 of a Pakistan International Airlines plane.^[10] This accusation was again brought forward by a US institution. Al-Zulfiqar was itself a Pakistani organization "formed in 1977 by Mir Murtaza Bhutto, the eldest son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was deposed by a military coup in July ... Al-Zulfikar's goal was to overthrow the military regime that ousted Bhutto".^[11] After March 1981 Al Zulfiqar claimed no further attacks.^[12] The communists and the Pakistani Bhutto family in Pakistani military dictator Zia shared a common enemy as Zia was the one supporting attacks agains the Afghan government.

In the 1990s, Pakistan's support to the anti-nationalist Afghan Taliban regime led to strong anti-Pakistan sentiments in Afghanistan. According to Pakistani Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid, "between 1994 and 1999, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Pakistanis trained and fought in Afghanistan" keeping the Taliban regime in power.^[13] The role of the Pakistani military during that time has been described by international observers as a "creeping invasion" of Afghanistan.^[13] UN documents also reveal the role of Arab and Pakistani support troops in Taliban massacre campaigns.^[14]

In the course of the Taliban insurgency (2003–present) anti-Pakistan sentiment was again fueled after a spate of suicide bombings by the Taliban, which in 2011 caused 80 % of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan, and which the Afghan government and many international officials claim is supported by Pakistan.^[15][16] Demonstrations in Afghanistan have denounced Pakistan politically for its alleged role in Taliban attacks.^[17] Afghan leaders such as Amrullah Saleh or Ahmad Wali Massoud (a younger brother of Ahmad Shah Massoud) have said, that their criticism is directed at the politics of the Pakistani military and not at Pakistan as a country. Both reiterated the distinction by saying that the Pakistani people had been very generous in providing shelter to Afghan refugees but that it was the policy of the Pakistani military which had caused so much suffering to the Afghan people.^[18]

In 2011, while lecturing at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf claimed the reason for anti-Pakistan sentiment was Afghanistan's relationship to the former Soviet Union and India.^[19] His statement came despite Afghanistan being known for its historically fierce anti-Soviet resistance.^{[original research?]}

United Kingdom

As of 2005^[update], the United Kingdom had the largest overseas Pakistani community, who are known as British Pakistanis.^[20] There have been periodic ethnic tensions faced by the Pakistani community. The first recorded use of the term "Paki" in a derogatory way was in the United Kingdom. It has also been used for non-Pakistani ethnic groups. The word is being reclaimed by younger British Pakistanis, who use it themselves.^[21]

Pakistani reactions

Pakistani cable operators have accused foreign news organisations of airing "anti-Pakistan" material, according to the BBC. In November 2011 that organisation was itself blocked from view in Pakistan after it broadcast a documentary called Secret Pakistan in which Pakistan's connection to the Taliban were explored. The BBC noted that while it was officially the action of broadcast operators in the country, "the Pakistani government is likely to have put pressure on [them] to impose the ban". The government denied this, saying that it was committed to "freedom of press and media".^[22]

References

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