Rubbing salt into wounds

The Nato Chief, Anders Rasmussen, has conveyed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan that deaths at the Salalah post in Mohmand Agency were unintended. He has written: The deaths of Pakistani personnel are 'unacceptable and 'deplorable. This was a tragic, unintended incident. This is called rubbing salt into wound. How can the Nato Chief say that it was unintended; Nato gunships were flying over the post for four hours and firing on Pakistani troops with live ammunition. Were they throwing flowers on the ground and the soldiers they killed incidentally? Despite this insulting attitude, he declares his determination to work with Pakistan. Pakistan military is the only institution that had maintained its cohesion, credibility and national confidence. It is gradually losing that perception in the masses. The trauma of Abbottabad episode had not yet fully faded that this attack has again brought our vulnerabilities to light. Our reactions are slow and sluggish. It appears that the Americans with the backing of the West are systematically undermining the image, prowess and capability of Pakistan military. This writer has spent 34 years in the army and with experience of two wars, can confidently say that the rank and file of the forces looks up towards their senior leadership for guidance and inspiration when they face the odds. If the senior leadership dithers, a kind of despondency and hopelessness -demoralisation in military semantic - sets in the rank and file. This despondency cannot be removed with statements from service spokesmen. The rumours floating in the military circles -serving and retired - indicate that the troops under attack were requesting, rather begging for support and assistant but none was directed for the fear of escalation. A self-styled defence analyst, who happens to be an ex-senior military officer, tried to defend the high command for not responding to this attack in a TV talk show and parried blunt and direct questions. The attack was well planned, deliberate military action and requires direct and strong combined military, diplomatic and civil response. The fact that these gunships had flown in close support of Isaf troops, who had launched an attack on Pakistan belies the contention of Nato Chief. It has become abundantly clear now that our politico-military leadership hedges the truths. There was delayed reaction after the Abbottabad episode; the air force came out with conflicting statements - radars were jammed, they were not looking West, and they were shut down for maintenance - the truth was evaded. The military acted after lapse of some days and it was proudly announced that the Nato supplies were stopped and we will not tolerate another attack on Pakistan territory; the sovereignty and integrity will be defended. It took a few high-level military and diplomatic liaisons and we went back to the status quo. According to one estimate, since our involvement in this American war on terror, there have been more than 300 drone attacks that destroyed more than 400 targets killing over 2,000 innocent Pakistanis. The ISPR reports death of 72 military officers and men by the American and Nato forces, wounded number about 250. The Salalah episode has raised blunt questions: Are the Americans with the connivance of a weak leadership trying to mar the image of Pakistan military forces? The military must realise that the territorial integrity is being constantly violated; they have to rise and uphold their declared aim - the defence of geographical and ideological boundaries of Pakistan. The Salalah attack has exposed some painful truths. The Shamsi airbase was being used by the Americans from where they flew the drones that attacked Pakistani territory. Someone tried to say that the drones did not fly from there, but landed there after the attacks. The culpability of facilitating attack capability cannot be passed on. The assertion that this base was leased to UAE rulers for hunting trips, and they subleased it to the Americans, is not tenable. The military, especially PAF, should have known that the base has changed hands without the consent of Pakistan and should have opposed its subleases; they were quiet for 10 long years. When Pakistan government announced the blockade of Nato supplies and closure of Shamsi Base, I had indicated that a forceful military-diplomatic blitz will be launched to persuade Pakistan to continue the relationship. The UAE Foreign Minister came to Pakistan requesting not to close it. Though Pakistan had rejected the plea, the fact that he had a one-on-one meeting with the President leaves some doubts; under the prevailing circumstances he should not have agreed to an exclusive meeting. Pakistan should now withdraw airport and base lease facility to UAE; they have undermined our national integrity. They should be charged for landing, parking and fuelling facilities when they make hunting trips to Pakistan. This secret lease depicts that Pakistan is on sale for dollars; it is an insult to national pride and integrity. The diplomatic pressure increased gradually. Americans adopted the proverbial carrot and stick approach. The US diplomatic and military leadership has stressed and is still stressing on the importance of Pak-US partnership. This is a strange partnership in which one partner kills the other at will without any remorse. The Pentagon has asked the CENTCOM to investigate the attack on Pakistani post. This is adding insult to injury; Nato in Afghanistan operates under CENTCOM operational control. The attack could not have come without clearance from them. It is akin to making the accused the judge and the jury; CENTCOM investigations will absolve the Nato of any responsibility. So, Pakistani military political leadership needs to stand steadfast and stick to the decisions that have been taken. There was a debate going on whether Pakistan should attend the Bonn Conference; they should have and strongly voiced their concerns that Pakistan is not willing to keep this partnership any more if its citizen and soldiers are killed at will. We should also demand heavy compensation from Nato to alleviate the hardships of affected families. The unintended deaths are not acceptable any more. If the USA and Nato do not agree to our demands, Pakistan should cancel the Agreement of Alliance. What can happen if we get out of the American yoke? There were some doves on the talk shows expressing dangers that the USA might militarily move against Pakistan; yes, they can But we are a nuclear power and we boast about it. The way things are moving Pakistan seems to have become weaker after this capability was acquired. The golden eggs that we have are meant for use when the going gets tough. Pakistan may be attacked, but cannot be defeated if we have the courage to stand up. Death is not desirable, but at times dying with dignity becomes the essence of life; that is the lesson that Month of Muharram gives us. Pakistan military is the insurance policy, the nation has taken out for which they pay a heavy annual premium; the policy is seemingly lapsing. All I ask the military leadership is not to fail the nation; the nation collectively will back you to the end if you resolve to face the dangers bravely. The writer is a retired brigadier and political analyst. Email: arjerral639@hotmail.com