Zeroing in on Pakistan

With the memo issue thrown in the open, along with another stunning revelation alleging that the President of Pakistan and the just relieved Pakistani Ambassador to Washington were privy to the May 2 US Abbottabad assault, one does not need to go far back to recap for public consumption, how the alleged central character in this case had helped construct the terms of the Kerry-Lugar Bill, to which, besides the political opposition and media, the Pakistan army took profound exception. One respects former Ambassador Hussain Haqqanis emotional breakdown the other day, while recounting his services in fighting the countrys case on the diplomatic front as against anti-Pakistan exhortations and manoeuvrings in the past by Mansoor Ijaz - his villain in the memo episode. For all one cares, if Ijaz turns out to be a CIA agent programmed to fabricate and create internal turmoil in Pakistan, a horrible example should be made of him. I am, nevertheless, constrained to quote from Haqqanis book, titled Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, in which he writes: Pakistan was created in haste without much thought given to different aspects of the national and State construct, and that the US should use aid as a lever to influence Pakistans indigenous policies. So, this is what the US is doing exactly. The title of Haqqanis book and its contents reflect sarcastically upon Mosque - the symbol of the great religion of Islam - that is the reason for the countrys creation, and upon the army that guarantees its existence. No wonder, the gentleman was a widely acclaimed diplomat in the American circles and also a favourite of the Pakistani President. But having said that, I strongly disagree with opinions pending a judicial probe that Haqqani was guilty because he resigned. On the contrary, it should be viewed as a positive sign to facilitate an independent enquiry. In my article on the Kerry-Lugar Bill, published in October 2009, I wrote: No country worth its salt would allow any outsider to require limiting the role of State institutions, particularly the armed forces and their intelligence arm, in the affairs of the State, dictate their promotion policy, insinuate the presence and support to terrorist camps in specified areas of the country, demand information and access to the countrys strategic assets and expertise in the guise of preventing nuclear non-proliferation and seek to bring these assets under a more pliable civilian control. Washington sought to do just that in the much-hyped Kerry-Lugar Bill. Followed by the bill were steps like issuance of hundreds of visas to American personnel in the guise of security contractors and trainers by Mr Haqqani without involving the Foreign Office and with a wink directly from the 'Boss; clandestine activities of these personnel across the country surfacing with the Raymond Davis espionage episode and his getting away with blue murder of Pakistanis; the Mehran Base assault; and the Abbottabad intrusion by US Navy Seals readily applauded by the government, rather than condemning the incursion that sought to ridicule and embarrass the Pakistan Army. One wonders, how the presidential camp saw that kind of American aid in line with the policies of the Pakistan government. With striking similarities in the content and purpose of the Kerry-Lugar Bill, the infamous memo and the latest Ijaz revelation about May 2, one understands as everything falls in place. And now that the issue is sub judice, why should Haqqani stick his neck out to categorise the memo contents as objectionable, rather than treasonable. The plot thickens with no less a person than the former National Security Advisor, General James Jones, acting as a courier to Admiral Mullen without verifying the authenticity of the memo. Several weeks ago, Admiral Mullen had suddenly declared that the ISI was a veritable arm of the Haqqani Network and is, therefore, not all that innocent or ignorant about the contents and purport of the memo loaded against our military. His utterance, in fact, points to a step in the direction of its implementation; a view further strengthened by the prompt unwitting reiteration of US support for the so-called democracy in Pakistan in the wake of the memo. Conversely though, if both allegations by Ijaz were proven true, why would Washington allow Zardari and Haqqani doing its bidding so well, to be gunned for and lose them in the process, unless Ijaz was seeking recompense from God Almighty for the wrongs he had been doing to his original homeland and its defenders, the armed forces of Pakistan. General Kayani needs to be given a medal for exemplary foresight and restraint, despite continued provocations from home and abroad. He not only salvaged the badly bruised image of the armed forces, but unlike the unsavoury compromises made by Musharraf on Pakistans sovereignty, stood like a rock against all intrigues targeting national strategic power and assets acquired by the nation at great sacrifice. Few seem to realise that the General has thwarted American designs to draw Pakistani forces into full-scale retaliation and denied the US an excuse to transfer its war theatre to Pakistan, be it May 2 incursion in Abbottabad or the deliberate Nato assault killing 24 men in uniform on the border with Afghanistan. But with Isaf insisting on escalation, as declared by its commander John Allen, Pakistan must take a diplomatic initiative with the UN, OIC and member nations to expose, protest and bring censure upon the US to abandon its wanton aggression, or else Pakistan would be justified to respond, for which General Kayani has already sounded the bugle. The writer is a freelance columnist. Email: zaheerbhatti1@gmail.com