Pakistan: DEAD END ON WAR ON TERROR

War on Terror

05 Sep 2008, NewAgeIslam.Com

Pakistan: DEAD END ON WAR ON TERROR

By Najam Sethi THE war against extremism and terrorism in the NWFP and FATA is taking a significant turn. Three new developments are noteworthy. First, the Pakistan Army has finally taken the battle to Bajaur in South Waziristan where insurgents, militants and terrorists of all shades are said to be holed out. Over 500 Taliban and Al- Qaeda terrorists are reported to have been killed in recent days while others are said to have fled from the area. A ceasefire announced by the terrorists has been rejected by the military authorities who are encouraging thousands of refugees who fled the fighting earlier to return to their homes now.   Second, Rehman Malik, the advisor to the Interior Ministry, who is the chief anti- terrorism coordinator between the Army and the civilian governments in Islamabad and Peshawar, has articulated a new way of looking at the issue. He says that that the old policy distinction made by the Musharraf regime between the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistan Taliban, and the foreign Al- Qaeda fighters, is largely misplaced. His argument is that there is an unholy nexus between all three elements and both strategic and tactical policy against them should reflect an understanding of this network.   He explained that " Tehreek- e- Taliban Pakistan ( TTP) is an extension of Al Qaeda" and argued that Al Qaeda couldn't move in the tribal areas without the facilitation of the TTP, and that " the TTP is a host to Al Qaeda and is its mouthpiece". He went on to also note the movement of Al Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman Al Zawahiri, in the TTP- protected Tribal Areas and Kunar and Paktia provinces of Afghanistan.   REPORTSof increasing American aerial attacks in FATA against suspected terrorist hideouts without the prior approval of, or coordination with, the Pakistan Army as in the past, is the third factor. The Governor of the NWFP, Owais Ghani, claims 20 people, mostly noncombatants, died in the latest NATO attack at Angor Adda in South Waziristan. Ghani has accused NATO of violating Pakistani sovereignty and demanded that the Pakistan Army " give a befitting reply in defense of the homeland". On the face of it, there seems to be a contradiction in these developments.   If Malik is right about the Three- in- One network, then he seems to be flying against the grain of the policy pursued by the Pakistan Army so far. Indeed, in various background briefings to the media, Army spokesmen have been at pains to point to the different politicomilitary approaches that need to be taken to tackle each of the three elements – military action against foreign Al- Qaeda terrorists, containment of the Afghan Taliban because they may prove to be Pakistani pawns in a greater longterm game in the region, and peace overtures towards the Tehreek i Taleban Pakistan ( TTP). Indeed, Malik's formulation also rubbishes the common perception and media assertion that " we are fighting our own people in America's war" and proves those of us right, who have long insisted that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, attempts on the life of President Pervez Musharraf and the spate of suicide attacks on the Pakistani military and police in the settled areas and cities of the country are all the handiwork of Al- Qaeda inspired and managed terrorists.   The Pakistani Army's recent attack on terrorist hideouts in Bajaur is also significant.   It preceded a meeting between the Pakistani Army Chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, and the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US armed forces, Admiral Mike Mullen, on an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. Considering that Admiral Mullen remains a frequent visitor to Islamabad, one can only conjecture that General Kayani flew to the aircraft carrier for a detailed briefing by the US High Command, following which Admiral Mullen made reassuring noises about how both he and General Kayani were on the same page on the war on terror.   Cynics have pointed out similarities between the Bajaur operation and others in the past on the eve of summit meetings between the top brass of both sides on foreign soil. Indeed, General Musharraf used to make it convenient to launch counter- terrorism attacks in FATA just before embarking on a trip to Washington. The even more curious thing about the Bajaur operation is that it was mostly an air operation with no follow- up by Pakistani troops in hot pursuit of the fleeing terrorists, many of whom managed to escape. One is also intrigued by the worth of a statement by a spokesman of the TTP that there was " twenty- five per cent greater resolve and purpose" in the Pakistani attack this time round, almost as though the enemy is giving a certificate of war- worthiness to the Pakistan Army.   FINALLY, the latest NATO attack in Waziristan has provoked an unprecedented response from Governor Ghani. It is as if he is going out of his way to pinpoint the " civilian casualties" from the NATO helicopter attack instead of trying to cover NATO tracks by focusing on terrorist casualties, which is quite the opposite of his position in the Bajaur operation by the Pakistan Army in which the fleeing civilians tell quite another story.   There are other disquieting reports about what is going on in the tribal areas.   The Pakistani intelligence agencies say that the Pakistani Taliban include criminal elements which are funded by the Indians and Russians to create anarchy in the region and undermine the Pakistani state. Whether this is meant to motivate our demoralized paramilitary forces into a spirited response against the traditional enemies or a disinformation campaign aimed at de- linking these elements from the larger Al- Qaeda inspired and managed network named by Rehman Malik, is not clear.   Since the Pakistan Army handed over " ownership" of the war against terrorism to the civilian government in Pakistan, neither the mainstream civilians nor the Americans are happy with the turn of events. Certainly, the civilian regimes in Islamabad and the NWFP both fear and abhor the terrorists and would dearly love to crush them. But they are severely constrained in making appropriate policy by the popular perception that this is not our war. Meanwhile, the traditional national security establishment is still propagating the view that Pakistan is in the grip of conspiracies by regional powers and America to undermine its sovereignty and integrity. Therefore, the fact that the three key players – America, Pakistan Army and the democratically elected civilian coalition – are still not on the same page doesn't augur well either for the war on terror or for the transition to a stable and functional democracy in the country.   The author is Editor in Chief, The Friday Times/Daily Times View Source article: www.mailtoday.in