It’s not acceptable Mr Holbrooke

M Ashraf Mirza




US President Barack Obama's special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan has made two highly provocative observations in his TV interview in Washington on Thursday to the effect that he was not sure if the Pakistan Army and ISI back President Zardari's commitment to eradicate terrorist sanctuaries from the NWFP and that those who were behind 9/11, Mumbai attacks and who seized Swat had the same roots and were located in the same area. He has also linked the announcement of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation by the NWFP chief minister 'to military's reluctance to support President Zardari's anti-terrorism policies'. Mr Holbrooke has thus unjustly painted a melancholy picture of the security situation in Pakistan especially in Peshawar and Lahore .




Whether it's a pretext to adopt harsher policy towards Pakistan to the extent of physical intervention by the US army in the Tribal areas and Swat or is a crude attempt to create wedge between civilian administration and the establishment in Pakistan is obviously premature to comment on at present since a review of the policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan by the US is on the cards. The remarks have, however, made it clear that Pakistan is going to be in hot soup in the days ahead irrespective of the Obama administration's boasts of support to the democratic dispensation in the country. It's seemingly an indicator of reversion to the Bush administration's doctrine of military-civilian coalition that had made Musharraf and Benazir to agree to work together in the pursuit of the US objectives pertaining to the war on terror. It also reflects a new thinking at the Capitol Hill on the basis of Holobrook's motivated evaluation of the situation along the Durand Line as well as in Pakistan and Afghanistan . Or does it manifest a design to seek change in the military leadership in Pakistan . Or is it designed to create a situation that can at some stage be exploited to create doubts about Pakistan 's ability to protect its nuclear assets from the terrorists and militants as it's established that Pakistan 's nuclear assets are an eye sore for the West especially the United States . The contours of such a thinking are, however, expected to emerge from the outcome of the review of the US policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan at a meeting scheduled be held in Washington next month.




The knee-jerk US reaction to the announcement of Nizam-e-Adl for the Malakand division including Swat has, however, not come as a surprise to the people of Pakistan . They have long endured the US coercion and witnessed bloodshed of the citizens at the hands of their own government. Holbrooke's remarks are meant to make Pakistan 's civilian and military leadership wage war against its own people to kill them indiscriminately. It's a well known fact that the US has not only consistently opposed the dialogue path with the tribal elders and leaders for restoration of peace but had also sabotaged the process whenever Pakistan attempted to seek peace in the Tribal areas through the dialogue process. It virtually killed the accord that the government signed with the Tribal elders of South Waziristan .




The quagmire that Pakistan finds itself in today in the context of Tribal areas and Swat is, in fact, the result of the unabated US insistence upon Pakistan to do more militarily in the tribal belt. The US wants the Pak army to use its military muscle extensively to annihilate the Pakistani citizens despite the fact that Washington knows full well that force alone is not the solution to the problems in Afghanistan and the Tribal areas.




No one should know it better than the US itself since it has always miserably failed to achieve its political objectives through the use of military force. Vietnam and Iraq are the glaring examples of the failure of its doctrine of force. US is bound to face a similar defeat in Afghanistan as it did in Vietnam primarily due to its dependence on force in its arrogance on account of its military power. History bears testimony to the fact that no political dispute has ever been resolved through the use of military force. All wars end ultimately on the negotiating table. The US should not, therefore, be jittery over the announcement of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation for enforcement of Shariah law in the Malakand division. Pakistan is a Muslim country and its constitution provides that no law repugnant to Islam will be enacted in this country. The Regulation is, therefore, fully in consonance with the constitution. It represents acceptance of prolonged demand of the people of the Malakand division.




Pakistan should, however, watch its own interests and should see that it is not further sucked into the mire at the behest of the United States . It must also not succumb to US pressure on this count and take pragmatic and prudent decisions suited to the country. It has got practically nothing from the United States for its all out support to her in its invasion of Afghanistan on the pretext of war on terror. It has endured bloodshed and destruction. It has lost about 1500 of its soldiers besides suffering huge civilian casualties. It has borne the suicide bombings besides bomb blasts at the places of worship, religious gatherings and political rallies with massive deaths. And in return it has faced intimidation, coercion and blackmail.




It's, therefore, hoped that both President Zardari and COAS Gen Pervez Kayani will not fall prey to the US machinations and will conduct themselves discreetly in the supreme national interests. A special responsibility devolves on President Zardari to rise above his personal motives since it's evident from the American journalist David E. Sanger'a book that he was facilitated into the presidency by Washington . He has to be steadfast rather than capitulate in the face of American pressure for the sake of power. Pakistan is obviously faced with monstrous challenges at present. On the one hand, militants and terrorists are eroding the government's writ and country's sovereignty while on the other the US is exerting undue pressure to use force against its own people. The country's economic situation is also far from being satisfactory. Mr Hobrooke's sweeping statement thus amounts to rubbing salt in the wound. His contention that the perpetrators of 9/11, Mumbai carnage and Swat violence has the same roots and were located in the same area is simply unacceptable. The US envoy has, in fact, jumbled up the three incidents to make his case of taking on Pakistan on one count or the other. It's seemingly an attempt to pit the civilian and military leadership against each other by casting doubts about the commitment of Pak army and ISI to pursue the democratic government's fight against terrorism. And more outrageous is the timing that he has chosen to make the statement since the COAS Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has already left for a weeklong visit to the United States.