It is Time

By Faiza Ahmed

The latest publication in dawn news (November 15) of US legislator accusing Pakistan for possible links with Texas shooter (Nidal Malik Hasan), a US Army psychiatrist, is totally infuriating as to why on Earth every crime occurring on the face of this earth is being linked with Pakistan? whether it be Mumbai terror, Iran’s blast, shootout in Texas or masterminding a terror attack in London. We, Pakistanis after putting at risk the lives of our soldiers, the lives of our civilians, after fighting a war which was not even ours have been perpetually tolerating these unreasonable and inevident accusations of the global elite, but now its TIME. One thing is for sure that our present government is not competent enough to step up to counter such false allegations except for a bit of murmuring here and there which would just be “mere” words without an action plan.

Orya Maqbool Jan with Dr Israr and Dr Javed Iqbal

Ghazwa-e-Hind

Ghazwa-e-Hind in the light of Ahaadeeth-e-Mubarka…

 

The Rise is Coming

 

Implications of the Waziristan operation

By Shafqat Mahmood

The mother of all battles it may not be, but success of the Waziristan operation is critical to the fight against militancy in Pakistan. It is the last frontier, an un-policed border land, a black hole in sovereign territory that has become a centre of terror. Without taking control of it, victory in Pakistan`s terror war is impossible.

The fighting is tough as was to be expected but in the end, superior force will prevail. Pakistani armed forces will eventually control South Waziristan physically. This will not be a small achievement because it is the hardest place to fight. Through the ages, every invader of the subcontinent from the north felt its heat and the super power of the 19th century, the British, also were terribly bogged down. If successful, the Pakistan Army will achieve what others were unable too.

While it is true that in this kind of war, occupation of physical space is only a small part of the equation. It is also possible that most of the militants may filter out to Afghanistan or other parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Yet, South Waziristan is one place where taking control of territory is important. Its space is being used as a sanctuary by Al Qaeda and other foreign militants, particularly Uzbeks. It has training schools for planning and execution of terror attacks. It is used for fabrication of terror material and for the production of suicide bombers. It is also a refuge for radical groups from Punjab and criminals of all kinds. Losing this area will be a setback to militancy.

Militants will regroup and strike in other places. No one has any illusions that this is a short war. But, bit by bit, the freedom for terrorists to operate has to be reduced. It was done in Swat and other parts of Malakand and though incidents continue to happen, the terrorists are on the run there and their ability to strike is reduced. Hopefully, this will be the result too after the success of the Waziristan operation. The terrorist will have to find new places to regroup and it will not be easy. The only problem is that the American angle has become murky at least in the media.

On the day that American generals, Patreaus and McChrystal arrived in Islamabad, there were stories in all the papers that American forces have removed their check posts on Afghan side of the border. The implications of this are quite alarming. If true, not only would this allow the South Waziristan militants to flee to Afghanistan, it would also potentially make it easier for the Afghan Taliban to join the fight against Pakistan Army. This story died as quickly as it surfaced but it raised intriguing possibilities. What were the Americans up to? The general assumption is that the South Waziristan operation has been coordinated with NATO/American forces in Afghanistan to the extent that they would play their role on the Afghan side to interdict any cross-border movement of militants from this side. Is this not the case?

This and some other ambiguities could get clarified, as the operation in South Waziristan proceeds. It is obvious that a great deal of preparatory work has been done to neutralise militant leaders Maulvi Nazir and Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan. These two are closely aligned to the Haqqani faction of the Afghan Taliban; who are a dominant force in the adjoining Afghan province. This would suggest that at least this faction of the Afghan Taliban has no interest in fighting the Pakistan Army and it may have advised its local acolytes not to do so. If this is indeed the case, it is unlikely that Afghan Taliban in the region, which is the Haqqani group, would join the South Waziristan militants in the fight. If it does pan out in this way, a wedge that is already visible between the Mehsud/South Waziristan militants and at least a faction of the Afghan Taliban will be further widened. It also means that their partners including Al Qaeda elements, fighters from foreign countries, Punjab-based militants, insurgents in Swat and other parts of the NWFP, will all have a reason to be alienated from at least the Haqqani faction of the Afghan Taliban. The Haqqani group is a significant presence among the Afghan Taliban. Does this mean that stories implying Mullah Omar and the Afghan Taliban are not opposed to Pakistan and have no interest in supporting the Pakistani militancy, are true? And if so, is this the reason that the Americans are cheesed off?

Alternately, if at some stage Gul Bahadur and Nazir do change their stance or, the Afghan Taliban join the fight against the Pakistan Army, will this create an unbridgeable gulf between the two and lead to a greater impetus in hunting down Taliban leadership in Pakistan? The Americans seem to be willing this to happen. The repeated drone attacks in North Waziristan in the past greatly angered the Gul Bahadur/Nazir faction. This did create a wedge between them and the Pakistani Army and led to an unexpected attack in the North some weeks ago that inflicted heavy casualties. Pakistan army leadership displayed a great deal of patience and no retaliatory attacks were launched. This has paid off in the truce that is visible now.

The future of Pak American cooperation on the military side depends on the decision made by President Obama regarding Afghanistan. If there is a huge surge and an all-out assault is launched on the Afghan Taliban, there is bound to be tension between the Pakistani military and American/NATO forces in Afghanistan.

This will be for two reasons. One, the Americans will continue to accuse Pakistani military of providing sanctuary to Afghan Taliban leadership in Quetta. Since the war in Afghanistan is not easy and a surge will not bring victory, the scapegoat will be Pakistan providing sanctuary to the Taliban.

Secondly, and hopefully it would not come to that, there would be pressure in the US to attack so called Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan, from the air and even on ground. This will have truly horrendous consequences and lead to so much anger in Pakistan, that it will make any Pak-American cooperation in the war on terror very difficult, if not impossible.

If on the other hand, Obama decides to indentify Al Qaeda as the real enemy and open negotiations with the Afghan Taliban, it will change the scenario completely. It is an outcome that Pakistani strategist have been advocating and will allow both countries to focus their effort in removing Al Qaeda and its partners from this region.

It will also allow for a more focused broad based fight against militancy in Pakistan, where American assistance both military and non-military would be very effective. The Pakistani federal cabinet has, as predicted, accepted the fig leaf offered by the explanatory statement to the Kerry-Lugar Bill. The aid can start flowing. But, its future depends on how the situation unfolds on the military front both in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In serving US interest this Pakistani Government is in a class of its own

By Ahmed Quraishi

You must be hearing a lot these days from the apologists of expanded US influence in Pakistan that every government in the past has accepted humiliating US conditions.

In fact, on Wednesday, government’s PR wizards working under the direction of the PPP media team published a preposterous propaganda piece on the front page of one of the national dailies alleging that, “Jinnah also appealed for US aid.”

The government media team is keen to convince Pakistanis that humiliating foreign conditions on aid are kosher because that is what previous Pakistani governments have been doing. Shamelessly, even the Quaid-e-Azam has been dragged into this government propaganda.

While the record of previous governments is debatable, what’s beyond doubt is that this is the first government in Pakistan that came through a ‘deal’ brokered by US and UK diplomats, whitewashing the illegal wealth of individuals who enjoy a dubious record. This has never happened before in the history of any Pakistani government.

I bet even the Americans have never seen before this kind of an ‘easy’ pro-US government in their decades-old record of meddling in other countries.

This alone should put to shame anyone who defends these shady characters in this government.

Pakistanis should rest assured of one thing. The challenge of governing Pakistan and subduing this nation in the service of a foreign agenda is a difficult task. It’s above and beyond the intellectual capacity of the rulers in Islamabad today.

As the challenge mounts, these shady characters will run away abroad in a few months’ time with their fat bank accounts and will never look back.  They will leave and never look back sooner or later.

While criticizing this ruling class, we need to send a note of thank you to Mr. Musharraf for ‘dealing’ us this hand as a parting gift to the nation.

Pakistanis should recognize this distinction about the current Pakistani government in the debate over the record of past Pakistani rulers in dealing with Washington.

The current government, in this debate, is in a class of its own.

Obama signs the Kill Bill – What Can Pakistan Do

By Ahmed Quraishi

President Obama has signed the ‘Kill Bill’ [Kerry-Lugar bill] despite the reservations of most Pakistanis on offensive language in some clauses.

Pakistanis do not doubt the intentions of President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Senator Kerry.  We know they are friends of Pakistan.  We just do not trust the Washington establishment.  Exhibit A: political conditions embedded in a bill that is packaged as a token of sincere friendship.

Washington rejected Pakistani concerns saying that’s what Congress wants.  But no word about the heated and passionate debate in the Pakistani parliament where the pro-US government is dangerously isolated.  Pakistani parliament wanted to pass a resolution making the will of Pakistanis clear before President Obama signed the bill.  In ignoring the Pakistani parliament and rushing to sign the bill, Washington sent a clear message. America will do what it wants. If it thinks that Quetta and Muridke are centers of terror, then that is it. Pakistan needs to accept it and move on. And don’t dare ask Washington for evidence.

American politicians are smart people. But so are Pakistanis.

The Pakistani parliament can still pass a strong resolution rejecting the anti-Pakistan conditions in the bill and affirming that Pakistan will not be bound by them.

This way, US will give aid to our government at its own discretion. This way no one in the future will be able to say, ‘Hey, you accepted in the Kill Bill that Quetta and Muridke are centers of terror,’ or ‘Hand over so and so nuclear scientist because you agreed to in the Kill Bill’.  Pakistan will be able to point to the parliament resolution and say, ‘You know what, we made our position and intention clear and still you gave us the money. That was your choice. We never accepted your claims and we told you so and yet you paid us.’

Let the Americans pay aid with a clear message from Pakistani parliament that we’re not bound by your conditions.

This way, clauses in the Kerry-Lugar bill [Pakistanis are exchanging text messages calling it ‘Kill Bill’] that seek to contain Pakistani military and strategic capabilites in exchange for aid will be rendered ineffective.  Washington will also be put to the test: Will it still give aid to Pakistan?

After all, if this bill is really a ‘true reflection’ of American friendship with the people of Pakistan, then what’s a few cumbersome conditions between friends, right Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lugar?

General Hameed Gul on GHQ attacks

An explanatory note from Washington to Pakistan

By Ahmed Quraishi

Genuine Pakistani concerns about the Kerry-Lugar bill have been summarily dismissed thanks to arrogant US congressmen, a politicized Pakistani ambassador in Washington, and an inept pro-US elected government in Islamabad that has lost the trust of a majority of Pakistanis.  US Vice President Joe Biden should seriously look into who turned his brilliant idea into a huge blunder.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—When the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stood in Washington last night to say, ‘This is a historic document’ and tried to act excited, a distinct look of confusion was visible on the faces of the two Americans standing to his right and left: Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

For a second it seemed as if both Mr. Kerry and Mr. Berman were looking at Mr. Qureshi and saying to themselves, ‘Is this guy for real?’

There is a reason why the two seemed distrustful of the minister.

Only a few hours earlier the Pakistani Foreign Minister addressed a press conference with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton where Mr. Qureshi appeared far more excited about the Kerry-Lugar aid bill than his host.  [Ms. Clinton had to point out a couple of times she couldn’t be more ‘eloquent’ than the Pakistani minister in describing the aid bill.]  At one point, Mr. Qureshi rebuffed a Pakistani journalist who said Pakistanis back home were concerned about offensive language in some clauses.

“I’m very glad that they [Americans] have no intentions of micromanaging Pakistan, nor will Pakistan permit micromanagement,” Qureshi said.  “Never will we allow any compromise on Pakistan’s sovereignty.”

But no sooner he returned to Islamabad than he was back on the plane to Washington.  He had no choice, especially after an uproar in the country where a clear majority in the parliament, media, the public opinion and in the armed forces accused his government of accepting humiliating language that stops short of accusing Pakistan of running terrorist training camps and continuing to proliferate nuclear knowhow, both of which are accusations not backed by any evidence except unsourced US media reports and noise on the US think-tank circuit. The language in at least one clause is carefully drafted to push the civilian government to pick up fights with the military on issues ranging from officer promotions to excluding military input from nuclear-related policy.

So when Mr. Qureshi was back in Washington acting excited all over again, both Kerry and Berman were  understandably unsure whether they should believe the minister or wait for him to go to Islamabad, get an earful again and come back with more reservations.

But a far more serious issue is how Washington’s establishment appears to have dismissed genuine Pakistani concerns with a mere ‘explanatory’ note.  You just have to admire the sense of humor behind naming this piece of paper a ‘joint explanatory statement’ that will be attached to the Kerry-Lugar bill.

Since the Pakistani parliament is still debating the bill and is yet to pass its final resolution on it, it is too early to say how will Mr. Qureshi be received back home [he is en route as these lines are written.]

But here is an initial assessment.

With the so-called ‘Joint Explanatory Statement’, Washington has rebuffed President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and ISI chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who huddled for a couple of hours before designating Foreign Minister Qureshi to fly to Washington and seek changes in the controversial clauses or simply the removal of the three or four controversial clauses so that the remainder of the bill focused on aid and cooperation could move forward.

If the bill is accepted in its present form, Pakistan wil:

1. Effectively be accepting that two major cities Quetta and Muridke are centers of terror as the bill alleges without any real evidence

2. Pakistan will also be accepting that it will entertain possible US requests for access to suspected nuclear proliferators as demanded by US and without stipulating that evidence be produced for such a demand

3. Pakistan will also be allowing Washington to demand reports from Pakistani civilian leaders confirming their control over internal military promotions and appointments.  Interestingly, this clause opens the door for more US meddling in Pakistani politics since politicians will be using this clause and Washington’s muscle to reign in the Pakistani military.  The clause is a recipe for endless civil-military tensions.

4. Pakistan will also not be in a position to dispute unfounded US and British accusations that seek to shift the blame to Pakistan for failures in Afghanistan.

Mr. Qureshi has essentially sold off Pakistani interest on the basis of an ‘explanatory statement’.  He failed to defend the Pakistani position or prevail on the American officials on the core issue of the insult that most Pakistanis feel today because of the humiliating language in the bill.

Another problem is how the Pakistani embassy in Washington, under Ambassador Husain Haqqani, continues to feed a wrong picture of the debate back home in Pakistan. Mr. Haqqani is under tremendous attack in the Pakistani parliament for his role in failing to stop the controversial clauses. Members of his own government feel that the buck should stop at his desk for the fiasco.  To save his position, it seems Mr. Haqqani is feeding his friends in the US media and the Washington establishment that the angst is Pakistan over the bill is ‘manufactured’ by ‘anti-America forces’ and is ‘manipulated’ by the Pakistani military.  Some of his friends in the US media are peddling the theory that Mr. Haqqani is under attack because of his anti-military writings when he was out of government.

What Mr. Haqqani is not telling the Americans is that politicians in Pakistan have accused him, and not the US Congress or the US government, of deliberately inserting anti-military clauses in the Kerry-Lugar bill with the help of lobbyists paid for by the Pakistani exchequer and in pursuance of a domestic Pakistani political agenda [in other words, settling domestic scores.]

It is also possible that some quarters in Washington that are not very Pakistan-friendly helped push the bill with unnecessary military-related clauses in a document that is focused on US-Pakistani partnership.

The bottom line is this: While his government spokespeople in Islamabad refuse to recognize there is anything wrong with the US bill [even US Ambassador has conceded the language was a mistake’], Mr. Qureshi could not have been expected to put any real effort into convincing US officials to chance the offending language, especially when it is already beginning to look like a battle between his government on the one side and the media-public opinion-political opponents-military on the other side.

It is unfortunate that an effort that most probably was undertaken in good faith by Vice President Joe Biden has degenerated into a major blot on the face of US-Pakistani ties because of overbearing US congressmen, a politicized Pakistani ambassador in Washington, and an inept government in Islamabad headed by insecure leaders.

Pakistan is left saddled with a bill whose language represents a major Pakistani policy concession on military, nuclear and terrorism issues.  A government that passionately defended the bill’s language inside Pakistan made little effort to force a change in language in Washington.

The worst part is that future US legislation and government policy can now always look back and use the clauses that are part of the bill to perpetuate popular US accusations against Pakistan.

Does Mr. Qureshi really believe he will receive a hero’s welcome in Islamabad tomorrow morning?

Pakistan gets first of 18 F-16s

KARACHI: The first Block-52 F-16D aircraft of the Pakistan Air force rolled out on Tuesday at a ceremony in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman attended the ceremony as the chief guest.

Pakistan had signed a contract with the US government in September 2006 for supply of 18 Block-52 F-16 C/D aircraft from M/s LM Aero. These state-of-the-art F-16s will bolster PAFís fleet of high tech combat aircraft and will enable it to undertake wide variety of missions across the entire spectrum of operations.

After the completion of testing and integration of the new system, the first batch of†F-16 C/D aircraft is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan in June 2010, and the delivery of all 18 F-16s is planned to complete by December 2010.

Speaking on the occasion, Rao Qamar Suleman said that this programme had seen many ups and downs since signing of the contract. The roll-out of the first aircraft shows that the programme is on track. Besides the air chief, the ceremony was also attended by Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Hussain Haqqani and others.