It has been brought to my attention that a blog posted by honourable LK Advani, MP, Senior Leader of BJP, that cited an excerpt from an article on Pakistan written by me in 2001 in my personal capacity as an academic has drawn a lot of attention and some controversy. I had written that article, “Pakistan: Stalking Armageddon” in my personal capacity, after I had taken early retirement from Bangladesh government service and had joined the University of Maryland in the United States as a Visiting Scholar. The article was published in Contemporary South Asia, an UK-based academic journal (ISSN 0958-4935 print/ ISSN 1469-354X online/01/01/010131-19) in early 2001. The article has been in the public domain, as indeed many other articles, op-eds and chapters contributed by me in my personal capacity to books and journals during the period 2001-2008, when I wrote on various subjects relating to South Asia. The views expressed in this article published more than a decade ago, and all other articles/ op-eds/ chapters written by me during the period 2001-2008, represent my personal views and opinions, and do not in any way reflect the views or policy directions of the Government of Bangladesh which I happen to represent now on contractual appointment as High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India in New Delhi. Mr Advani, or any one else, is free to cite my works that are in public domain at any time as long as they do so without infringing my personal intellectual property rights.
Tariq A. Karim,
High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India,
New Delhi, June 26.