Last week’s killing of two dozen Pakistani soldiers by a NATO airstrike shows why the war in Afghanistan will continue to weaken, not stabilize, neighboring Pakistan, contrary to what U.S. officials and analysts claim. Perhaps the gravest outcome from this latest “tragic, unintended incident” will be the widening gulf between Pakistan’s senior military leadership and its junior officer corps, a chasm that opened under President-General Pervez Musharraf (1999-2008) and threatens to open far wider.
Pakistan’s alliance with America has always been a liability. After 9/11, Musharraf forced the reassignment or resignation of those regarded as pro-Taliban or Islamist, because his decision to support U.S. counterterrorism efforts undermined his support among key military officials. In 2003, he narrowly escaped two attempts on his life—within eleven days of each other—that involved the collaboration of junior officers. The attacks came two months after al-Qaeda’s then second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released an audiotape urging Pakistanis to overthrow the military general.
B. Raman, the former head of the counterterrorism division for India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), writes that while many in India might rejoice at this intramilitary split and the further deterioration of U.S.-Pakistan relations, “This need not necessarily be a beneficial development for India. It is in our interest that the U.S. retains the ability to influence the behaviour of the Pakistani military leadership.”
That is exactly what Washington risks losing the longer it prosecutes this ill-conceived quagmire in Afghanistan. “Imagine how we would feel if it had been 24 American soldiers killed by Pakistani forces at this moment,” said Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) on Fox News Sunday. Fanning public anger in Pakistan is Jamaatud Dawa, Hizb ut-Tehrir and other organizations that stand to gain whenever anger at the U.S. spikes. But is it any wonder that Pakistani streets and newspaper editorials were brimming with anti-American sentiment? Such escalating pressures against General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the chief of the army staff, come just after Pakistan’s security establishment was publicly humiliated for either being complicit or incompetent in America’s Osama bin Laden raid and was accused of attempting to stage a coup in the recent “memogate” scandal.
Compounding the partnership’s endless string of controversies are recurring incidents along the Af-Pak border. These incidents hurt the honor of Pakistan’s military, decrease the country’s resolve to cooperate with America, and highlight a glaringly obvious problem with America’s current strategy. U.S. officials claim the coalition cannot fight its way to victory in Afghanistan. But by continuing to attack indigenous insurgents before withdrawing or engaging in negotiations, the coalition is undermining the potential for a diplomatic solution. Look no further than Pakistan’s refusal to attend this week’s Bonn summit. As Pakistan’s foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar told Dawn News television this week, “It is definitely not Pakistan’s intention to work against the rest of the world. But the rest of the world also has to understand that if they have pushed Pakistan into this corner, violated red lines, then they have denied the basis of partnership.”
An iteration of this discrepancy comes from Pakistani columnist Ejaz Haider, who wrote last year:
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Any relationship, may it be between human beings or nations, is difficult to be sustained unless it is bases on mutual trust, respect and accommodating interests of each other. And, to make this relationship enduring and profound, the bigger partner has to play bigger and more magnanimous role.
One should analyse US - Pakistan relations in the light of above perspective. The fact is that Pakistan has been strategic partner of US in South Asia ever since it's genesis in 1947. From being an active and staunch ally in SEATO & CENTO in 1950s to defeating the Soviet aggression in Afghanistan in 1979 - 80s, to fighting together against Somali guerrillas, it has been the country on the right side of USA. In the aftermath of tragic event of 9/11, in which no Pakistani was involved, it has been the Maj non - NATO Ally of US in GWOT. US successes in overthrowing the Taliban regime and operations thereafter in Afghanistan could not have been possible without Pakistan' s support.
What did Pakistan get in return. About 20 billion dollars in the name of "aid" over ten years - something US keeps sarcastically reminding Pakistan about every second day. The worst gift which Pakistan got was that the support of US' war resulted into opening a bloody war domestically in Pakistan. Result is well - known to us all i.e. Over 35,000 killed and wounded ( including 5,000 security personnel) in hundreds of suicide and other terrorist attacks, creating serious fissures in the society. Economic losses to the tune of 50 billion US $ was also suffered by Pakistan over the decade as well. Added to this, US has not bothered to pay any heed to Pakistan's interests, while trying to guard it's own so jealously. It preferred India over Pakistan, disregrding the regional realities, and dubbed Pakistan as being unreliable, dubious, playing double - game, supporting Taliban and what not. If this was not enough already, US has started attacking Pakistani troops by helicopters and aircrafts - the same troops who were deployed to block the movement of Taliban entering into Afghanistan to fight with NATO forces. This has been horrendous. Pakistan's recent strong anger and reaction need to be reckoned in the same perspective. War in Afghanistan is at a critical juncture now and there is no denial to the fact that without Pakistan's cooperation, positive results cannot be obtained. An introspection of policies towards Pakistan is needed to win the trust and cooperation of this critical ally.
To role over Pakistanis and to deprive ethnic minorities of Pakistan i.e. Balochs and others from their basic human rights, Pakistani Military has always used the "Islami Card" by killing the Baloch, Sindhi, Pashtu & ,Gilgit-baltastani nationalists, a fail strategy for en enforeced marriage to be the part of Pakistan. UNSC should come forward and end the genocide of Balochs and help them like the Arab Spring. Pakistani Military is the name of Talibans who in civil dresses are talibans to kill NATO forces in Afghanistan. The main purpose of Pakistani Army is to keep Afghanistan in stone age with their purpose to coninue their illegal occupation of Balochistan and Pashtun-land and revival of Durrand line which is already expired. Now, it`s the "declaration of War" by Pakistan against NATO/ISAF/Afghan forces in Afghanistan. The only solution to keep peace in this part of the world is the "freedom of Balochistan". Balochs including Khan of Qalat, have clearly expressed that the use of air-space over Balochistan is the sole right of Balochs and with the Baloch consent, NATO forces can use air-space over Balochistan for the supply of logistic suppies to their forces in Afghanistan in exchange for the full independet Baloch State.
Even despite the fineness of this piece by Mr. Innocent and the fineness of the comment by the first Mr. Khan above I still don't think that the magnitude of the disaster that we've started and which has just started to manifest itself in Pakistan has been realized. (Nuclear-equipped Pakistan, it should be remembered.) Certainly not in our political/foreign affairs circles, and certainly not by our major foreign-affairs' talking heads who make the major media. There are simply no words to describe the stupidity of Mr. Bush, Jr.'s ME policies handing Iraq over to Iran and destabilizing Pakistan, nor the nefariousness of the neo-cons who urged him and us to adopt same. For the latter, making every last arab and moslem on the planet our enemy is only something to be celebrated, and boy are they ever succeeding. And while people bemoan the human and economic costs we have already incurred for following their policies the full bill has nowhere near to come in yet. Nowhere near, and it has the potential to prove horrendous. We have ransomed ourselves to stupidity and manipulation.