Not A War For America’s Pakistani Apologists
Not A War For America’s Pakistani Apologists
Prime Minister Gilani, Foreign Minister Qureshi and Interior Minister Malik are now talking about support for the terrorists – the so-called Pakistani Taliban – from Afghanistan. Why did Mr. Qureshi and Mr. Malik not mention this when both were in Washington? And why no one is taking up the venomous anti-Pakistan propaganda in the U.S. media? A weak official stand is adding to the confusion over the real meaning of the latest military operations in our northern and western belts. Suddenly we have American apologists inside Pakistan, including some political parties, claiming vindication for the exaggerated notion of ‘Talibanization’. Unfortunately, this is a sad example of using the occasion to settle scores in the secular-religious debate. It is about Pakistan making a final push against criminal militants in the north and the western belt adjoining Afghanistan after concluding that a large portion of this insurgency consists of shady terrorists and handlers pushed inside Pakistan from a neighboring country.
Prime Minister Gilani, Foreign Minister Qureshi and Interior Minister Malik are now talking about support for the terrorists – the so-called Pakistani Taliban – from Afghanistan. Why did Mr. Qureshi and Mr. Malik not mention this when both were in Washington? And why no one is taking up the venomous anti-Pakistan propaganda in the U.S. media? A weak official stand is adding to the confusion over the real meaning of the latest military operations in our northern and western belts. Suddenly we have American apologists inside Pakistan, including some political parties, claiming vindication for the exaggerated notion of ‘Talibanization’. Unfortunately, this is a sad example of using the occasion to settle scores in the secular-religious debate. It is about Pakistan making a final push against criminal militants in the north and the western belt adjoining Afghanistan after concluding that a large portion of this insurgency consists of shady terrorists and handlers pushed inside Pakistan from a neighboring country.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Not a single official from the Pakistani political leadership visiting Washington recently dared say a word about it. But back home, these officials are now beginning to shyly speak up about the best kept secret of the criminal insurgency inside Pakistan: how it stays alive through support from someone in U.S.-occupied Afghanistan.
Not a word in Washington despite the fact that Islamabad is currently at the receiving end of the worst kind of disinformation campaign mounted exclusively by the American media, a campaign based on leaks by unnamed American officials feeding worldwide confusion about Pakistan. Compare this to how U.S. diplomats react to the slightest criticism of America in the Pakistani media. In 2007, while working for PTV, I received a call in my office from a U.S. diplomat threatening to ‘report me’ to senior government officials if I did not stop ‘spreading anti-Americanism’. What about U.S. media spreading anti-Pakistanism, I asked. ‘Does Musharraf know what you’re doing?’ the diplomat retorted, using the oldest trick in intimidating anyone. All I did was to criticize U.S. blunders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Which pales in comparison to the trash the U.S. media is producing everyday on the demise of the Pakistani state.
Recently there has been a concentration of advocates of Pakistani separatism on the U.S. think tank circuit, which is disturbing considering another little reported story: how various U.S. government departments have quietly established direct contacts with Pakistani ethnic-based parties and the kind of access we have given to American spooks inside our most troubled areas: Balochistan and NWFP.
Not a word in Washington despite the fact that Islamabad is currently at the receiving end of the worst kind of disinformation campaign mounted exclusively by the American media, a campaign based on leaks by unnamed American officials feeding worldwide confusion about Pakistan. Compare this to how U.S. diplomats react to the slightest criticism of America in the Pakistani media. In 2007, while working for PTV, I received a call in my office from a U.S. diplomat threatening to ‘report me’ to senior government officials if I did not stop ‘spreading anti-Americanism’. What about U.S. media spreading anti-Pakistanism, I asked. ‘Does Musharraf know what you’re doing?’ the diplomat retorted, using the oldest trick in intimidating anyone. All I did was to criticize U.S. blunders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Which pales in comparison to the trash the U.S. media is producing everyday on the demise of the Pakistani state.
Recently there has been a concentration of advocates of Pakistani separatism on the U.S. think tank circuit, which is disturbing considering another little reported story: how various U.S. government departments have quietly established direct contacts with Pakistani ethnic-based parties and the kind of access we have given to American spooks inside our most troubled areas: Balochistan and NWFP.
All of which feeds on genuine Pakistani problems that we need to resolve, meaning we hold the key to stopping this mess. But the point here is: We remain America’s most abused ally. Washington is not helping where it really matters, in the propaganda war and inside Afghanistan itself. America’s apologists inside Pakistan’s power structure these days cite the massive U.S. aid plans but conveniently gloss over the humiliating strings in the fine print, including the emerging disturbing signs that freezing funding for Pakistan’s classified advanced strategic weaponization programs is part of the deal. The mechanism for the release of the new U.S. aid is yet to be defined.
Prime Minister Gilani, Foreign Minister Qureshi and Interior Minister Malik are now talking publicly about support for the terrorists – the so-called Pakistani Taliban – from Afghanistan. Why did Mr. Qureshi and Mr. Malik not mention this when both were in Washington? And why no one is taking up the venomous anti-Pakistan propaganda in the U.S. media?
A weak official stand on these two points is adding to the confusion over the real meaning of the latest military operations in our northern and western belts. Suddenly we have American apologists inside Pakistan, including some political parties, claiming vindication for the exaggerated notion of ‘Talibanization’. Unfortunately, this is a sad example of using the occasion to settle scores in the secular-religious debate.
The military operation is certainly not an exercise in semantics.
It is about Pakistan making a final push against criminal militants in the north and the western belt adjoining Afghanistan after concluding that a large portion of this insurgency consists of shady terrorists and handlers pushed inside Pakistan from a neighboring country. This insurgency is using Islam to gain sympathizers and recruit the gullible, but its tactics are classic Insurgency 101: Secretive ruthless commanders who excel in the art of slaughter designed to spread terror and force villagers to submit. They plant themselves among a civilian population in a manner where any government action results in innocent deaths that feed into the terror propaganda machine. These terrorists can’t survive without continuous supply of money and weapons. Large stacks of U.S. dollars and Pakistani rupees, lots of anti-aircraft guns and other advanced equipment, and ruthlessly trained butchers to help sustain the fight against Pakistan and Pakistanis.
This is exactly the profile of LTTE terrorists, UNITA rebels and other shadowy militias that litter the Cold War history. The emergence of these new Pakistani warlords over the past four years in Swat and the tribal belt, flush with money and weapons, recruiting the innocent using Islam and Pashtun identity, is part of a wider problem. It is not just ‘Talibanization’ as U.S. officials and some of their Pakistani apologists are claiming.
Our suave Foreign Minister can demand that our American ally cease the support that terrorists here are getting from Afghanistan. He gave this statement almost a week ago. Did anyone listen? Mr. Qureshi should instead do something to grab attention, like, for example, stop being apologetic about maintaining contacts with some members of the Afghan Taliban, like Haqqani and others. We have interests in this region. These contacts do not amount to supporting terrorism. The Americans themselves are secretly in touch with the Afghan resistance, most recently with Hekmetyar’s men. The Afghan Taliban can help Pakistan in isolating and discrediting the fake Pakistani Taliban.
Prime Minister Gilani, Foreign Minister Qureshi and Interior Minister Malik are now talking publicly about support for the terrorists – the so-called Pakistani Taliban – from Afghanistan. Why did Mr. Qureshi and Mr. Malik not mention this when both were in Washington? And why no one is taking up the venomous anti-Pakistan propaganda in the U.S. media?
A weak official stand on these two points is adding to the confusion over the real meaning of the latest military operations in our northern and western belts. Suddenly we have American apologists inside Pakistan, including some political parties, claiming vindication for the exaggerated notion of ‘Talibanization’. Unfortunately, this is a sad example of using the occasion to settle scores in the secular-religious debate.
The military operation is certainly not an exercise in semantics.
It is about Pakistan making a final push against criminal militants in the north and the western belt adjoining Afghanistan after concluding that a large portion of this insurgency consists of shady terrorists and handlers pushed inside Pakistan from a neighboring country. This insurgency is using Islam to gain sympathizers and recruit the gullible, but its tactics are classic Insurgency 101: Secretive ruthless commanders who excel in the art of slaughter designed to spread terror and force villagers to submit. They plant themselves among a civilian population in a manner where any government action results in innocent deaths that feed into the terror propaganda machine. These terrorists can’t survive without continuous supply of money and weapons. Large stacks of U.S. dollars and Pakistani rupees, lots of anti-aircraft guns and other advanced equipment, and ruthlessly trained butchers to help sustain the fight against Pakistan and Pakistanis.
This is exactly the profile of LTTE terrorists, UNITA rebels and other shadowy militias that litter the Cold War history. The emergence of these new Pakistani warlords over the past four years in Swat and the tribal belt, flush with money and weapons, recruiting the innocent using Islam and Pashtun identity, is part of a wider problem. It is not just ‘Talibanization’ as U.S. officials and some of their Pakistani apologists are claiming.
Our suave Foreign Minister can demand that our American ally cease the support that terrorists here are getting from Afghanistan. He gave this statement almost a week ago. Did anyone listen? Mr. Qureshi should instead do something to grab attention, like, for example, stop being apologetic about maintaining contacts with some members of the Afghan Taliban, like Haqqani and others. We have interests in this region. These contacts do not amount to supporting terrorism. The Americans themselves are secretly in touch with the Afghan resistance, most recently with Hekmetyar’s men. The Afghan Taliban can help Pakistan in isolating and discrediting the fake Pakistani Taliban.
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