CONVOZINE
Pakistan, a victim of terrorism itself and hemmed in a number of financial, political and social challenges has continually been criticized by some think tanks, opinion makers and news analysts worldwide in the name of freedom of expression over indefinite objectives.
It is Farid Zakaria, Kelvin Hulbert, Hussain Haqqani or now Carlotta Gall’s new analysis, Sunday Review, Feb. 7 in The New York Times “Pakistan Hand in the Rise of International Jihad”; each of them ferries the readers to a world of drama, falsification and pessimism.
Quoting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani“It depends on how much regional cooperation we can secure, and how much international mediation and pressure can be exerted to create rules of the game between states”, she says “What he means is it depends on how much international pressure can be brought to bear on Pakistan to cease its aggression”.
Not a soul could refute Mr. Ghani’s thoughts that there must be no cross-border interventions by any country to neighboring or any other state globally but tagging Pakistan without knowing the regional realities, no sensible being could buy this argument.
For instance, in the very next section, she herself renounces his assertion referring to Afghan assessors “Critics of the Afghan leadership say it’s not Pakistan’s fault that its neighbor is falling apart. They point to the many internal failings of the Afghan government: political divisions, weak institutions, warlords and corruption”.
But, despite divided opinions in Afghanistan itself, she continues to substantiate that experts have found enough evidence for Pakistan help Taliban offensives and the United States and China seeking Pakistan’s support to persuade Taliban in establishing peace in the region.
Again, she overlooks the regional grudge since who undermined the peace process when Pakistan had facilitated peace talks between both Afghanistan and Taliban in Islamabad last year where the United States and China were also attending as observers?
If Pakistan had gathered all the stake holders on the table then linking it with just one of them truly sounds prejudiced. She is either lacking trust in her own the United States’ government or stocking some malafide intentions.
AL JAZEERA
And likewise, if facilitating talks with Taliban is scandalous then why the United States and China has been involved in the whole proceedings. While it is not far back when Taliban were allowed to open an office in Doha, Qatar to resume talk with whom? Also in 1980s, President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, hold discussions with the Afghan rebels turned Taliban to downfall USSR declaring them “These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers”.
Laying charge on intelligence services of Pakistan to intervening in a number of foreign conflicts is yet another imaginary landscape hypothesis of her. Had Pakistan been managing international mujaheddin why it is being target by terrorists from many parts of the world?
The epic fraction of the analysis surfaces when Ms. Gall startlingly from nowhere, just on the basis of speculations, made an evil shot to blot Pakistan on the rise of Islamic State (ISIS).
This has been very strongly and justly responded by Nadeem Hotiana, Pakistan’s Press Attaché in Washington “Her reference to report that Pakistan is responsible for the rise of ISIS in the Middle East ignores the increasingly complex regional politics. Likewise, her suggestion that Pakistan was involved in moving 300 Pakistani jihadists to the core of the ISIS fight is far-fetched”.
“Putting blame on Pakistan for every ill of the world may rather be construed as yet another attempt to undermine the fledgling reconciliation process in Afghanistan, where Pakistan, together with China and the United States, is trying its best to bring peace to the region.”
Then she goes on to disparage Pakistan for the latest Taliban offensive at the time of withdrawal of United States and NATO forces from Pakistan, acknowledging at the same time the Pakistan’s efforts to hit Taliban bases, torture chambers, ammunition dumps and clearing towns and coping a million of IDPs.
It is more like “Neither Here Nor There” tale. If Pakistan does not respond to the United States call for “war on terror”, it is unpardonable and if it cracks down the evils of humanity, yet Pakistan role is indistinct.
In fact, Pakistan kicked off “Zarb-e-Azb” in the wake of Karachi Airport attack in 2014 and stepped up with the brutal massacre of innocent kids in APS, Peshawar. Linking it with the pulling out of the United States and NATO forces is nothing more than some of sort of frustration.
Now it is the collective responsibility of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States to not walk out on this war on terror unsettled and take harsh measures inside their territories so that the terrorists could be contained and knocked out rather opting for feeble way out to escape.
Focusing the attacks from Pak-Afghan borders against American, international and Afghan target ignoring mass casualties in Pakistan from the same area is agonizing. A comprehensive series of air strikes and ground attacks have been and are being launched by Pakistan armed forces which are failed to notice in this review.
“Pakistan using Taliban selectively” is giving an insight as Taliban are the troops of Pakistan and obey its constitution whereas hundreds of thousands of civil and armed casualties discards the legitimacy of this premise. Interestingly, the author completely takes out India’s continued endeavors to destabilize Pakistan through Afghanistan and Baluchistan, a province of Pakistan.
The existence of Ayman-al-Zawahri in Baluchistan-Pakistan must be clandestine information for the Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States who all remain oblivious on such dazzling facts notwithstanding plunking all social, intelligence and technological resources.
Shouldn’t be shared officially, off course secretly, to capture high valued target instead of releasing through media?
Why would Pakistan guard Taliban and Al-Qaeda who have claimed responsibility for killings of bloggers and activists in Karachi-Pakistan and Bangladesh?
And then the author tries to emasculate Pak-China enduring relation by quoting Chinese Uighurs with one of those she met more than 30 year ago. China never inquired Pakistan on such a crucial national issue and instead its support and cooperation across sectors with Pakistan has been beefy and unparalleled, self evident of how seriously China takes these conspiracies. We are now living in 2016 and descending in the past would unlock many hidden sagas like the United States proxy war in Afghanistan.
Lastly, let’s take a look on these media reports Taliban Are Not Terrorists, or So Says the White House ABC News; 29-January2015 and Taliban Not a Terrorist Group, White House Deputy Press Secretary Says The Washington Times; 28-January-2015 where Pakistan hopefully cannot be accused on.
Then Jeremy R. Hound's "How the CIA Helped Fuel the Rise of ISIS" dated January 20, 2016 and "NYT Continues to Downplay How CIA-Funded Arms to Syrian Rebels Helped Strengthen Jihadists" dated October 23, 2013 unveils the truths so as Roberts Gates in Business Insider dated January 20, 2016 "Former US defense secretary describes the 2 main factors that led to the rise of ISIS".
Did any of responsible government officials from any of the countries around the world regard these contrived stories ever? Why should Pakistan pay heed to it now?