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Old Wednesday, February 04, 2009
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Post Messieurs President, PM & COAS: put nation before the US

Messieurs President, PM & COAS: put nation before the US


Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Shireen M Mazari


So now President Zardari wants US money to fight terrorism! Clearly he still has not understood the hard realities beyond the money factor! There is a persistent inability within our ruling elite – both civilian and military – to accept the most obvious messages coming out of Washington, if they do not fit into our baseless euphoric expectations of our so-called ally the US. Look at our political leadership harping on how Obama's inauguration as president would halt the drone attacks and generally put the Pakistan-US relationship on a more sound footing. On what was this optimism based? Certainly no rhetoric coming from the Obama camp. Or was this simply a ploy by our political and military rulers to fool the hapless public when in reality they were hand in glove with the US in consenting to US attacks against Pakistani civilians?

Anyhow, the drone attacks that followed the Obama inaugural certainly left no room for doubt as to the aggressive US intent towards the Pakistani people. And with the statements made by Biden and Gates, we should be left in no doubt that the US will not only increase the drone attacks, it will send its forces into Pakistan also in the near future. And if the resuscitated chorus regarding our nuclear programme is anything to go by, then the US eventually targeting our nuclear assets should also be a given. Finally, our great financial expectations from the US have also been slammed since the Biden Lugar bill is effectively dead and a new bill will have to now be introduced – the Haqqani spin on this notwithstanding. So why are our rulers hell-bent on lying to and deceiving their people?

But worse than the lying, is the seeming inability of the Pakistani leadership to counter the US killing of Pakistani citizens in the tribal belt. If the Pakistani military, even after its huge budget, is unable to protect its borders, territory and citizens, then we may as well divert that budget elsewhere. President Zardari may think he can sweet-talk the nation and the military leadership – the latter through joint walks in the closed environment of the presidency where even the sewers have now been protected against "terrorist" access – but how can the military simply allow the sort of violations of our territory and the killings of the our people by the US?

The point simply put is this: We need to devise our own national strategy to deal with our multiple problems of terrorism and extremism, but the beginning has to be made by distancing ourselves from the US unless the latter changes policy direction. The military needs to be withdrawn from Swat and FATA, but there cannot be a void so a political framework is required alongside the use of paramilitary forces under civilian command (many suggestions have been floated in this regard also). The present military-centric approach is not only ineffective, it is simply resulting in death, destruction and a permanent civil-military cleavage within our society which will be extremely costly in the long run.

Our rulers are only succeeding in the confusion they are causing – but even if that is by design, it certainly undermines the state's credibility. We issue statements that we then withdraw on and backtrack as rapidly as we issued them! The whole post-Mumbai behaviour of the government reflected that syndrome and it continues to date as the real issues get swept under. So while the media focuses on our ageing rep in London's declarations and clarifications regarding where Mumbai was planned, the troubling issue of consular access to Kasab to discover what he is all about, the follow-up to the arrested Indian spies from Lahore and whether India had accepted at least one of them as a RAW agent, the bizarre allegations of Indian security personnel having killed two Pakistanis around New Delhi – all these issues which require answers from the government have been swept under. The question is "why"? Are we also now moving into such a compromising stance with the Indians that we are not prepared to be assertive when needed? After all, there are those within our elite who are actually declaring that Indian spies are harmless – clearly they have not seen what RAW did in Sri Lanka or Nepal or is doing in Bangladesh! But back to the issue, how can Pakistan even begin to respond properly to the Indian dossier without consular access to Kasab and DNA tests on him? Or will the present leadership simply accept US dikat on this issue also?

Coming to US diktat, anyone who has met the Iranians recently will know how upset they are over the presence of Jundullah in Balochistan and the protection the US is offering them on our soil as it uses them to create instability in Iran's Sistan province. Are we willing to destroy our relationship with a neighbour with whom we not only have no conflict but also have close cultural and historic linkages? And for what end? Simply one more dangerous compromise with the US? From what one has learned, it is not the issue of pricing that is actually delaying the IPI project but the Jundullah issue. So the US has succeeded in sabotaging the IPI through this and Pakistan will again be the great loser since Obama will begin talks with Iran and we will be left isolated on that front also!

As for our dialogue with the Obama administration – well we have already accepted the US framework that is being sent us through that great Zionist supporter Holbrooke. It is a success of the Indians that they have removed Kashmir from his brief. Now if only our leaders could tell him that without Kashmir, there was no possibility of talking substantive peace in the region – but will our president or prime minister suddenly show that backbone that they have not found so far to confront the US where our vital interests are concerned.

Instead, we have watched with anger and frustration as the leaders have continued to whine and plead helplessly to the US and its allies to stop the drone attacks – as if we cant do it ourselves if the political will is there – while secretly having consented to these attacks in the first place. It is sad to see the political elite least concerned about the country's future which they have compromised to the US, and more concerned about pointless and expensive trips abroad which achieve nothing. Davos was in the same vein where the prime minister's sizeable entourage stayed in a most expensive hotel and demeaned the office of the head of government by sitting on panels comprising the defence minister of Afghanistan and the foreign minister of another country. Is the desperation for foreign exposure so great that official dignity can simply be compromised?

But where is the dignity in focusing on government perks and privileges and political intrigues against rivals while the country begs for effective governance? With the Senate elections coming up, deal making and unholy compromises are at their peak just as those in opposition are being politically threatened to compromise on principles. That is all that seems to be concerning the rulers presently – which is why none of them have felt the need to go to Swat or FATA to see the fate of their people they have left unsecured against attacks by the US. And then they wonder why the space for extremists is increasing? Where is the military's advice against a military centric approach functioning in a political void; or has the military made its unholy compromises with the US and with the ruling elite? How costly will the civil-military walks in the presidency be for the hapless citizens of this country?

And, finally, where is the dialogue that is needed amongst all the Pakistani stakeholders? What a cruel joke on the nation for the political leadership to declare that they will not dialogue with those carrying arms! It is precisely with these people that the dialogue is needed. Ask the British government in the Irish context. Messieurs Zardari, Gilani and Kayani should realise that it is not US money or US drones that will solve our problem of terrorism and extremism, national consensus, dialogue with all stakeholders backed by state force, and effective governance based on rule of law and an independent judiciary where people feel they can get redress for their grievances peacefully.

A tall order, but at the very least, surely, before meeting with Holbrooke, our leadership should commence the dialogue (instead of seeking surreptitious compromises with individuals like Sufi Mohammad only) and also get a policy consensus from parliament – after all, if nothing else, it may provide the much needed backbone to the present set of decision makers.


The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=160692
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