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Sunday, June 22, 2008
Alizeh Haider
The rise in militancy in the Northern Areas, the never-imagined-before
suicide bombings in the heart of our cities and the threats of attack on our
western borders by Afghanistan should not come as a surprise to anyone.
Since the beginning of Pakistan's involvement in this so-called war on
terror, Pervez Musharraf's over-eagerness to buddy up to President Bush was
foretold to have damning effects for Pakistan. What started with the
rhetoric of Pakistan and America being "coalition partners" to make this
world a safer place has but been an excuse for brazen violations of
Pakistani airspace and unauthorised American incursions on our land,
resulting in the spilling of Pakistani blood on Pakistani soil, soldiers and
civilians alike.
The attack on Pakistani troops in Mohmand Agency by the American forces from
across the border in Afghanistan marks the beginning of an uneasy chapter in
the two countries' relationship. The unjustified attack by America has
notched up anti-American sentiments to an unprecedented high and is
pressuring our government to say "enough!" to the US.
However, while the anger and resentment is building against American
operations in Pakistan, Washington is showing no signs of comprehending
these sentiments.
The cracks in the relationship are beginning to show, now more than ever. It
is becoming increasingly apparent that America and Pakistan are failing to
see eye to eye on many critical strategic matters on how to conduct this
war.
While Pakistan is increasingly proffering reasons to choose dialogue over
military operation in dealing with the militants, America, with its fetish
for warfare, seems to have stepped up its military operations, to the point
where it matters little if in the process it is overriding the sovereignty
of its most important ally, or even killing its people.
The attack on Mohmand agency is ominous in terms of what lies ahead for
Pakistan and the string of developments following this attack bode ill for
Pakistan's future.
First, there is the rather belligerent Hamid Karzai, who is said to be
acting upon America's nod and threatening to send Afghan soldiers across the
border into Pakistan in order to fight militants. While Karzai may be
justified in urging Pakistan to act against those elements that are making
Pakistan and Afghanistan insecure, his comments are just one aspect of the
overall American strategy to escalate military operation in, and
consequently against, Pakistan.
Then, there is news that in his recent trip to England Bush has convinced
the English premier to increase his infantry in Afghanistan and "enlist
British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama bin Laden before
he leaves the White House."
Probably basing its strategy on the belief that Osama bin Laden is hiding in
the Bajaur tribal zone in northwest Pakistan, the Pentagon feels that in
order to blow Osama's cover, "we [America] just need to occupy Pakistan's
tribal territory to stop its Pakhtoon tribes from supporting and sheltering
the Taliban."
Unfortunately, America's myopic vision does not allow it to see that such
action will not only enrage Pakistanis across the country but might also
make the pro-Taliban Pakhtoons' retreat deeper into the country and seek
refuge in the cities, taking the entire country in their grip, killing
thousands of civilians and creating a warlike state. In such a situation it
might become inevitable for the Pakistani Army to clash directly with the
American forces.
As Bush revs up for that winning dunk before his time is up, that last great
sixer which will embellish his legacy forever, Pakistan is for the first
time seriously entering into political dialogue with the same Pakhtoon
tribes the Americans are attacking. Reportedly, the US is "prepping for a
major battle" as Bush is running out of time and is restless to win Osama's
head; Pakistan, on the other hand is proposing a policy of social reform and
political discourse in order to win the trust and cooperation of the tribals.
This may require time and patience, but is slated to yield better results
than what we have after eight years of aggression in the name of finding
peace
Unfortunately, America still fails to see how counter-productive and futile
its "war on terror" has been. Today, the world has more terrorist and
suicide bombers than there were at the time this war began. The death of
innocent civilians and tribesmen in Pakistan by US attacks have only served
to stoke anti-US sentiments amongst the tribals and ignite their zeal to
defend their own people, even if that means siding with the Taliban. The
bombs dropped upon villages and the Hellfire missiles attacks by the
Predators or Reapers may be successful in killing some militants, but they
also kill and displace many civilians. While these raids might eliminate
some militants and "terrorists," they birth many more such terrorists and
suicide bombers seeking to avenge American aggression.
The time has come for Pakistan to set some clear boundaries for the US and
redefine the terms of its cooperation. It is important for the present
government to display a clear shift from the policies of the Musharraf
regime and devise a working relationship with the US which would not
compromise the sovereignty of the country.
Change in government in both countries brings hope and provides us with an
opportunity to break away from, the "tried and failed" policies of the Bush
and Musharraf regimes and tackle the situation from a fresh new perspective.
The time has come for the new governments to write a new chapter in the
history of Pakistani-US relations. And the time has come for the Americans
to salvage whatever little the Bush administration will leave behind in
terms of trust and mutual respect between the two countries.
While Obama is clearly the more transformational candidate, one hopes that
both the White House candidates will represent a change over Bush. However,
Pakistan must be wary that with the ushering in of the new government and
the likelihood of a Democrat win, a sudden and unplanned roll back of US
from the region does not leave Pakistan high and dry to clear up behind
them. We must remind ourselves of the time when the State Department and the
CIA ended cooperation and vacated Afghanistan without a proper exit strategy
to facilitate the country to resettle and Pakistan was left bear the brunt
of refugees, drugs and Kalashnikovs.
The recent US Supreme Court judgment on Guantanamo Bay reflects that America
is conscious of the ills of Bush's policies and acknowledges that they were
unethical, devoid of human rights considerations and political etiquettes.
Pakistan must seize this opportunity and appeal to this consciousness that
the Bush philosophy on war on terror is inherently flawed and in the long
run has cultivated terrorism rather than curbing it.
The writer is a barrister and human rights activist currently based in the
UAE. Email: alizeh.haider@yahoo.com
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