His master's voice

Courtesy:OCTOBER 12, 2011

MALIK MUHAMMAD ASHRAF

While the echoes of US allegations of ISI fighting a proxy war in Afghanistan could still be heard loud and clear, the Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also thought it fit to have a swipe at Pakistan by saying that the Taliban could not make any move without a nod from Pakistan. Though put in different words, the essence of US allegations and the incriminating statement of Karzai have an unmistakable synergy.

It has not come as a surprise owing to the fact that what Karzai is saying or has been saying about Pakistan's alleged nexus with the Taliban is a part of the pressure tactics that the US has been employing right from the beginning to coerce Pakistan into compliance mode. The murder of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani and throwing its blame on Pakistan are also ostensibly links of the same chain of a grandiose plot to find a fall guy for the American and Nato failures in Afghanistan. Poor Karzai who is nothing but a puppet of the US and Nato alliance and who's survival depends upon their continued support has no choice but to speak in his master's voice.

The American strategy of counter-insurgency that it employed in Iraq to tackle the terrorists by wooing the local population against those foreign operators, has miserably failed in Afghanistan for the simple reason that the Taliban are the natives of Afghanistan and have a widespread support among the Afghan masses particularly the Pushtuns, a major segment of the Afghan population who view the US and Nato troops as an occupying force. The US attempts to create fissures among the Taliban have also boomeranged. That clearly indicates the US failure in evaluating the Afghan psyche despite their long association with the Afghan resistance during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Different segments of the Taliban might have differences with each other characterised by their tribal bent of mind, but when it comes to fighting an invader they are united like a rock. That is an historic reality.

The Americans are not known to learn from their mistakes and they will not learn from the setbacks in Afghanistan. There are verifiable portents to suggest that the US is not going to get out of Afghanistan as per the road map given, with a cut-off timeline of 2014. I had predicted that in one of my recent articles, a perception which has now been corroborated by the statement of Defence Secretary Leone Panetta that since there were terrorists in Afghanistan, the US was not getting out of that country. The ruse of the pullout often repeated by President Obama and his administration, is a ploy to assuage the hostility among the American public to the futility of the continued war in Afghanistan with slightly over one year left to the next Presidential elections in the US, thus stands exposed. The US, in fact, is feverishly engaged in pursuing the Dick Cheney Doctrine of re-fashioning the world while the US enjoys the status of a sole Superpower, as is evident from its support and sponsorship of the Arab Spring and the so-called humanitarian intervention in Libya by the gang of three (US, Britain and France). The US also has strategic designs in our region. It is trying to prop up India as a regional power with a view to counter-balance the rising Chinese influence and as a part of that strategy also desires perennial Indian involvement in the Afghan affairs. The US acquiescence to Indian involvement in the insurgency in Balochistan, accepted by the Indian Prime Minister at Sherm el-Shaikh in a meeting with Prime Minister Gilani, also raises many questions about US sincerity in building a strategic partnership with Pakistan. Pakistan and US despite their collaboration in the war on terror have divergent strategic interests in the region. The US policy in the region runs counter to our strategic interests. Our uninhibited groveling to US wishes, while on the one hand has served US strategic interests, on the other it has damaged our long term strategic interests besides fomenting internal instability and the burgeoning existentialist threat to the country.

It is however encouraging to note that our leadership, both civilian and military has finally seen through this game and decided to resist the US machinations that jeopardise our national interests. The convening of the APC and the resolve expressed as a result of its deliberations to revisit the mode of co-operation and not to succumb to the US pressure tactics, conforms to the all pervading public view. The strong signals emanating from it have undoubtedly called the American bluff as there are discernible signs of backtracking by the US on the position taken by Admiral Mike Mullen. The government, the military establishment and the political leadership of the country deserves credit for this sagacious move. The statement of the COAS that Pakistan has already done much in the war on terror is also very reassuring.

The focus of our future engagements with the US must be on convincing her that Pakistan has not resiled from its commitment to the war on terror but is only seeking a change in the methodology to take the war on terror to its logical end and also to act in the best interest of Pakistan in the light of the deliberations of the APC. There are other ways of ending the conflict in Afghanistan than the military means if the ground realities are recognised and appropriate adjustments are made in the strategy to deal with the situation. The APC resolve to initiate parleys with the Pakistani Taliban that could possibly result in ending militancy and terrorism within Pakistan can also help in improving the situation in Afghanistan.

There are, however, very remote chances of US abandoning its current policy in the region and in all probability it will be in Afghanistan for a very long time to come unless something drastic occurs on its domestic scene. That means Pakistan must be ready to face the fall out from the Afghan conflict for a long time to come and should prepare herself for any such eventuality, while simultaneously remaining engaged with US and continuing its efforts to see an early end to this senseless war. The best way to tackle the existing and emerging challenges, however, is to strengthen internal unity by resolving the Karachi and Balochistan issues and making the system of governance attuned to serve the interest of the masses rather than the elitist and privileged classes.