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The USZ Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has emerged as the
chief basher of Pakistan. He has been spewing venom against Pakistan from the
time he took over as Director CIA. He was the one who advocated making drone as
a choice weapon in war on terror and in accelerating drone war in Pakistan
since 2009. This is notwithstanding that the final approver is President Obama
and he signs the death warrants. Despite Pakistan’s loud protests to put an end
to extra judicial killings through drones which kills 97% of innocent people, Panetta
arrogantly says that drone strikes would continue. His attitude towards
Pakistan, particularly Pak Army and ISI has always been abrasive and hostile.
All the statements he made on Pakistan as head of CIA and now as Defence
Secretary were stinging and threatening.
Stiff necked and arrogant by nature, Panetta sees everything
in Pakistan with a jaundiced mind. We recall how he behaved after the shocking
2 May stealth raid in Abbottabad, asserting that either Pak Army/ISI were
complicit or inefficient. He is principally responsible for dissuading Obama to
extend a formal apology over Salala incident. He has been trying to intimidate
Pakistan to reopen NATO supply lines and made an issue over cost of transit fee
for containers. He provocatively stated that the USZ will not pay excessive
transit fee of $5000 per container knowing well that the USZ is currently paying
five times more to the Central Asian States to transport supplies via northern
route. He is the one having created hype over conviction of traitor Dr. Shakil
Afridi who worked as CIA agent and was linked with a terrorist group
Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Bara. Afridi-Mangal Bagh connection is another clue
that CIA is connected with LI.
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| Panetta: USZ is at war against Pakistan |
Finding that his bullying tactics are not working because of
the solid front put by Gen. Kayani and new DG ISI Lt Gen Zaheer, his blood
pressure has risen so high that he has become a madcap. On his recent trip to
New Delhi, in an attempt to irk Pakistan, he sang the tune of Hillary Clinton
provoking India to play a more active role in Afghanistan. At Kabul, he growled
that the USZ is at war in Pakistan’s FATA. He said that the USZ had reached its
limits of patience and it couldn’t tolerate Haqqani terrorists residing in
North Waziristan (NW), come across the border, attack and kill ISAF troops and
return back to their safe havens. He warned that Pakistan must eliminate insurgents’
safe havens in NW.
Let us examine the grouses of Panetta whether they have some
meat, or are capricious and motivated. If the militants belonging to one-third
force of Haqqanis under Sirajuddin are crossing over from 2-3 crossing points
into adjacent Paktia and Khost provinces where bulk of Haqqanis under
Jalaluddin are operating in eastern Afghanistan, why can’t ISAF and ANA
equipped with sophisticated surveillance equipment intercept the infiltrators crossing
the border by manning border posts and mining crossing places? NATO had
launched an operation in Khost last year; why couldn’t it subdue the main body
of HN or was it just a ruse to lure Pak Army? Why have most of the border posts
opposite NW and South Waziristan (SW) been withdrawn? Why can’t the
infiltrators be caught and killed when they marry up with their comrades across
the border and then travel upwards towards their intended targets well in
depth?
Why does the 480,000 strong combined force of ISAF-ANA-Afghan
Police-USZ security contractors expect Pak security forces to singly take on the
dual job of fighting the militants in all the seven tribal agencies and
adjacent settled areas as well as man over 1000 border posts all along the
porous western border and also check infiltration while the other side conveniently
adopts a rearward posture to avoid battle casualties and bad mouth Pakistan? It
complains like a fidgety and nagging mother-in-law.
It wants Pakistan to continue deploying 147000 troops along its western front
without expecting payments for services rendered. Rather, it wants additional
forces at the cost of thinning its presence on eastern front to launch another
military operation in NW but without asking for reimbursement of dues. Stoppage
of $800 million CSF is not aid money but the arrear repayments of 2010/11,
Washington owes to Pak Army.
The USZ is at war with Pakistan since 2002 but kept it hidden
till Obama took over in January 2009. By accelerating drone war in FATA and
stepping up covert war and propaganda campaign after declaring Af-Pak region as
a single combat zone, the USZ had subtly converted its covert war to overt war. Since
March 2009, SW and NW have been mercilessly hit by CIA operated drones killing
hundreds of innocent civilians, mostly aged men, women and children, sleeping
in their houses. Although big claims have been made that high profile Al-CIA-Da
leaders were targeted by drones, the fact is that 97% of victims are civilians
and veracity of 3% killed "suspected" militants has never been substantiated. If the safe havens are in NW as alleged by
Panetta, it boggles one’s mind as to why the Predator and Reaper drones,
supposed to be precision guided systems didn’t destroy any of them? The only restraining
reason could be that the USZ considers all the towns and villages in NW as sanctuaries
and want Pak Army to destroy all of them.
If the ISAF with the help of ANA had been successful in
overpowering the strongholds of Taliban in Eastern and Southern Afghanistan,
which constitute 60% of total territory of the war torn country, it could then
justifiably lament over the adverse impact of safe havens across the border and
blame Pakistan? Reality on ground is that the ISAF and ANA have utterly failed
to contain the rising power of Taliban what to talk of subduing them. It was
because of stiff resistance put up by the Taliban that the USZ was compelled to
order complete withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan by December 2014. Hardly
a day passes when no clash or bomb blast takes place resulting in fatality of
occupation troops and such incidents occur in all parts including Northern,
Western and Central Afghanistan including Kabul.
So how come, the whole onus of ISAF’s performance is attributed
to few crossings in NW by elements of HN? How come, a tiny portion of HN in NW
has become such a dreadful monster that it has crippled the military power of USZ-NATO-ANA?
If it is such a horrifying fiend, why it is expected that it can be tamed by
Pak military? Safe havens and HN are not
the problem; the real problem is that groups under the command of Maulvi Nazir
in SW, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Haqqani group in NW refuse to tow American line
and are not confronting Pak Army. The USZ is forcing Pakistan Army to mount an operation
in NW so that all militant forces including pro-Pakistan groups gang up against
it.
Let us now examine the conduct of Pakistan’s so-called allies
bunched up in Kabul. Isn’t it true that the CIA invited RAW to Afghanistan to undermine Pakistan? Isn’t it a
fact that the USZ and Karzai regime helped India in establishing dozens of
Pakistan specific consulates filled with RAW officials and in establishing over
100 training camps closer to Afghan-Pakistan border to train saboteurs and in
allowing India to transport thousands of tons of arms, ammunition, explosives
and military trainers to Afghanistan under the garb of road construction
projects? Who would believe that RAW, and RAAM created by former, carryout
covert war against Pakistan at a massive scale without the knowledge and connivance
of Washington, USZ military, NATO and CIA? It
is now an established fact that a group of six colluding intelligence agencies
under CIA stationed at Sehra Naward near Kabul are assiduously working on an
agenda to secularize, denuclearize and balkanize Pakistan.
Who can deny that Pakistani
Taliban were the creation of CIA and Mossad to defame Islam and Afghan Taliban,
and to incapacitate Pak Army? Who doesn’t know that Nek Muhammad was the
first one cultivated by CIA to confront the Army, and when he learnt that he
had been wrongly briefed and he signed a peace deal with Lt Gen Safdar at
Shakai Fort in June 2004, he was killed by CIA operated drone. It is a well
known fact that Abdullah Mehsud after his arrest in Afghanistan in November
2001 was shifted to Gitmo Prison where he was thoroughly brainwashed and then
infiltrated into FATA via Afghanistan in 2005 to galvanize Taliban movement. Likewise,
his cousin Baitullah Mehsud was also brought in line and the two worked
independently but in unison to establish TTP. Both had been led up the garden
path that the USZ will help in creating Islamic caliphate in FATA.
Pakistan has ample proofs of foreign support to Mullah
Fazlullah in Swat. He and his followers after
being dislodged from their base have been provided safe havens in Nuristan and
Kunar from where they are carrying out acts of terror in Mehmand, Bajaur,
Dir and Chitral duly aided by Kabul regime and agencies. Unlike state sponsored
cross border terrorism from across western border, Pakistan or its Army and ISI
are not involved in abetting cross border terrorism into Afghanistan or even in
Kashmir where genuine freedom movements are waging. While the other side has no
proof against Pakistan, the latter has abundant proofs against Afghanistan
based intelligence agencies.
It is an open secret that the training centre run by Mossad in Badakshan for which Muslim religious
teachers were provided by India imparted ideological training to young recruits
and trained them as suicide bombers. Targets given to them were military
convoys, mosques, shrines, funerals, wedding parties, schools and religious scholars.
Can the USZ deny that Blackwater secretly inducted in Pakistan in early 2008 is
the extension of CIA? Documents seized from the car of Raymond Davis and diary
containing addresses and phone numbers revealed that he and his colleagues were
linked with all terrorist groups in Pakistan and a huge CIA network was
operating in Pakistan.
Isn't it true that despite the policy of appeasement, top
officials of Pakistan have been off and on mentioning in categorical terms that
RAW is involved in Balochistan? PM Gilani had handed over proofs to Indian PM
Manmohan at Sharm-el-Sheikh in 2009 which shook him. India’s RAW-run websites like www.saag.org
openly claim India hand behind Balochistan. Karazi has been shown proofs by
ISI on several occasions that Afghan soil is used by RAW and others to
destabilize Balochistan and FATA. Dissident Baloch Sardars like late Balach Marri,
Brahamdagh Bugti and several others that led the insurgency were provided safe
havens in Afghanistan and were patronized by CIA, RAW, MI-6 and Mossad.
All these agencies have established their tentacles in
Balochistan and in league with BLA, BRA and BLF are involved in attacking
security forces, target killing non-locals and Hazaras, abductions, and
mutilation of dead bodies. 30 Farari (training)
camps are operating in Afghanistan and 121 in interior Balochistan to train
Baloch terrorist groups as was disclosed by IGFC Balochistan in his press
conference on 2 June. He said our agencies are confronting 20 foreign
intelligence networks in Balochistan. Several runaway Baloch rebels are
living in luxury in European countries and USZA and are encouraged and helped by
foreign powers to pursue their separatist agenda. USZ Congress, Senators and
media are audaciously running a campaign for independent Balochistan.
Having forced the Army to take up a backseat, the rebels and
their mentors now want the paramilitary forces to also pack up and clear the
way for foreign intervention unopposed. For this reason, issue of missing persons is being blown out of all proportions. Retired Justice Javed Iqbal heading the Commission
on missing persons stated that there was concrete
evidence to show that foreign intelligence agencies were responsible for making
Balochistan restive as well as the disappearance of Baloch nationalists. He
decried the baseless propaganda by foreign and local media about missing persons
that FC and agencies were involved in this racket.
What I have failed to comprehend is the infuriation of chief
justice Iftikhar over the press conference of IGFC Balochistan Maj Gen
Obaidullah concerning foreign intervention and worsening law and order situation
of Balochistan. He has further tensed the situation by stating that he might
summon Gen Kayani before the court if enforced disappearances didn’t get
controlled. I went through the contents of IGFC’s briefing and found nothing
objectionable in it. He substantiated what Justice Javed had said and is doing
a wonderful job to preserve the sanctity of the federation under adverse
conditions. He should be encouraged rather than discouraged particularly when
the police and civil administration are not playing their due role to provide
security to the people. Now that his services have been placed directly under
Chief Minister Raisani, the latter should order elimination of rebels training
camps which are training target killers and saboteurs and terrorizing people of
Balochistan. I am sure, the USZ and India so fond of eliminating sanctuaries and
training camps in other countries would have no objection to this act against
terrorism. Or else, the USZ could be requested to divert few of the drone strikes
from FATA to Balochistan to destroy Farari camps.
Pakistan’s alliance with the USZ has proved very costly. It suffered
a loss of 150,000+ human lives, $100 billion+ economic loss and extreme social trauma. Pak security forces have suffered 10,000+
fatalities while combating militants, mostly aided by foreign powers. No other
country involved in fighting terrorism can match Pakistan’s sacrifices. Had it
not been for the excellent fight put up by the Army, Frontier Corps, Frontier
Constabulary, Levies, Khasadars, Police and tribal Lashkars and routing the
strongholds of the militant forces in Swat, Shangla, Malakand Division, tribal
agencies of SW, NW, Bajaur, Mehmand, Kurram, Orakzai, Khyber and Dara Adam
Khel, as well as provincially administered tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
terrorism would have flooded Pakistan and then spilled over to India, Iran, Afghanistan
Central Asian States, China and Russia. ISAF could not have stayed on for that
long in Afghanistan. In other words, Pakistan
is absorbing the major brunt of terrorism as a frontline state at a very heavy
cost and easing the pains of all these countries. Its sacrifices are unparalleled
and resolve unshakeable.
Instead of appreciating its difficulties and rewarding it for
what no other country could do, Pakistan is being unjustly distrusted and
punished by the USZ and neglected by the world. Pakistan’s interests are
disregarded and sovereignty repeatedly violated. Pakistan has been rendering
full support to USZ even after finding out that it was being treated as a foe.
NATO containers were allowed to transit through Pakistan from October 2001 till
26 November 2011 free of cost which made Pakistan suffer $60 billion+ worth of damage to its road infrastructure. Pakistan continued to follow the policy of
appeasement despite Washington’s spiteful attitude and didn’t run out of
patience. It blocked the supply routes
only when the USZ arrogantly refused to own up its deliberate brutal killing
of 24 soldiers of Pak Army at Salala and to tender an apology and to stop mutilating
Pakistan’s sovereignty by ceasing drone attacks.
The USZ wants the supply routes to be reopened or else it will
block the aid supply and may even impose sanctions, or attempt another
unilateral military action. The USZ behaved in a similar haughty fashion when Raymond
Davis was arrested and when the USZ Navy SEALs carried out a unilateral strike in
Abbottabad. Believing in the dictum of ‘might is right’, power drunk American
leadership wants Pakistan to accept its insults, humiliations, discriminations and
lies without uttering a word of protest
and behave like a slave country. America
is the most impatient and trigger-happy country which acts on its whims, but Panetta
incongruously says the USZ is losing patience. His Asst Defence Secretary
Peter Lavoy also came with a swollen head thinking that the threatening posture
of his boss might have softened up Gen Kayani, but he got the shock of his life
when Kayani fittingly refused to meet him. Times have changed and earlier the
USZ understands it, better will it be for it.
It is time for the USZ to admit its follies in Afghanistan and
stop playing a double game of fighting and talking with the Taliban in the same
breath. Time for fighting is over and
now the entire focus should be on negotiations to ensure a safe and speedy
withdrawal of 130,000 troops and heavy equipment stranded in Afghanistan. At
the same time, the USZ should also pick
up moral courage to admit that it has made mistakes in dealing with Pakistan and
should take immediate steps to alleviate the hurts it has caused to Pakistan and
to remove its security concerns. Both are possible only if Obama wriggles out of the heavy-handed influence of Pentagon and CIA
and relies more on Pakistan to help in ending the endgame on a positive note
favorable to all the stakeholders. At the same time our leaders should also
become more assertive in highlighting the perverse role of foreign powers in
internal affairs of Balochistan and present solid proofs to the world bodies
and international community at the earliest.
Written by Brigadier (r) Asif Haroon Raja
The writer is a defence and security analyst and a freelance
columnist who writes for national and international newspapers/websites and has
authored several books.
Related:
Mildly edited by Pakistan Cyber Force Web Desk
Pakistan Cyber Force
Pakistan Cyber Force
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