Although terrorism is best thought of as a modern day phenomenon which has affected the whole world but its use as a strong policy option by states is as old as the human acceptance to use violence to affect others is. Ancient records show that Sicarii was the first century Jewish terror group which used to murder their enemies and partners in their crusade to throw out the Roman rulers from Judea. Terrorism’ success also depends on the mass media to create an aura of terror and fear among the target people and its characteristics flow from the international system of nation-states.
Pakistan, from its very beginning in 1947, is continually facing Indian hegemonic designs- aiming to ultimately create a ‘Greater India’ by taking over all neighboring states including Pakistan. However, Pakistan is too large a stumbling block in Indian designs, and history proves that Hindus always make attempts to win through conspiracies, what they can’t succeed through wars. Same is the case with Pakistan.
Pakistan, being the 6th most populous country in the world, has its own security compulsions, which can be well understood in context of Indians’ explicit involvement in training, arming and providing money and ammunition to militant terrorists fighting in Pakistan’s tribal belt against the state and bent upon destroying every infrastructure to weaken the writ of the government. The training, fighting skills and abundance of heavy weaponry with the Taliban terrorists prove that they are patronized by some state and it is not an individual’s handiwork. Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Rehman Malik has also recently disclosed that every Taliban fighter is getting 500 US dollars monthly salary. One can easily understand from where it is coming from. Certainly, Indian ‘investments’ in Afghanistan, is speaking louder in shape of Taliban terrorism in Pakistan. Now, the situation has reached to a crisis point that Pakistan has to get even with full strength as Indian sponsored Taliban terrorists have already played too much havoc with the country, bringing bad name to national image and economy. Fiscal downfall, flight of foreign investment and trade, violence and gasping economy are other ramifications which we have suffered.
During the Swat Operation, Pak army captured huge caches of Indian army used Vickers-Berthier light machine guns, Indian made automatic machine pistols namely GLOCK-17 9mmx19mm, Indian machine guns Heckler & Koch MP5A3 9mmx19mm, Indian made Sterling L2A1 sub-machine guns besides, US made M-249 automatic machine guns, US made Glock pistols, Indian hand-guns, FN Browning GP35 9mmx19mm, Israeli licensed & Indian made UZI 9mmx19mm sub-machine guns and German Walther-P1 pistols. This is the finest military inventory an army can feel proud of and also shows heavy investment of our enemies. In February this year, CNN channel has also reported that more than one-third of all the weapons procured by the US for Afghan government are in fact ‘missing.’ One can now easily understand where they are ‘missing’ and why.
India is spending huge human as well as financial capital in Afghanistan so that it could build a strong base of operations against Pakistan. Officially, there are only four ‘consulates’ and 13 ‘information centres’ but each fake ‘consulate’ has ‘consular offices’ and each ‘information center’ has ‘sub-sections’ and ‘desks.’ In addition, Indian companies working in Afghanistan provide RAW agencies open access to their facilities and offices. While, India has, formally declared, only 14 consulates in Afghanistan, but on ground, they have 107 centers. And, 20 other intelligence units are doing every effort to knock off balance against their perennial enemy, Pakistan. RAW has used similar facilities to do violence in Pakistani cities in the 80s.
It is interesting to note that the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan was deliberately provoked by the US. In his 1996s memoirs, former CIA director Robert Gates disclosed that the American intelligence services actually began to aid the mujahedeen guerrillas in Afghanistan not after the Soviet invasion of that country, but six months before it. In a 1998 interview with the French weekly magazine, Le Nouvel Oberservateur, former US President Carter’s National Security Adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, clearly confirmed Gates’ this statement. According to him, it was in fact July 3rd, 1979, when President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul while the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. More startling details can be found in ‘Mission to Iran’- a book written by William H. Sullivan-the last US ambassador to Iran before Islamic revolution, disclosing that American CIA initially covertly goaded the USSR to occupy Iran for gaining access to huge Caspian oil reserves.
Subsequent Afghan imbroglio, after the 9/11 inferno, has proved that India is the main beneficiary along with the US; as the New York saga has given India ‘chance of the century’ to pull out to Afghanistan and then, fully encircle Pakistan, from both sides. Indian policy makers would be thankful to the perpetrators of 9/11; for it is an opportunity to exploit American trepidation in South Asia.
We are living in a geographical hemisphere which is already home to many a conflicts and political instability, including internecine wars. Our policy planners need to develop all options to counter India as this is the most complex war and our media, civil society and the whole nation should give unanimous support to army in its fighting against Taliban. Military planners should also give due consideration to adopting new military innovations and promoting the culture of R&D. Perhaps we may also learn from Israeli military where Israelis learn to lead and manage people, improvise, become mission-oriented, work in teams, and contributes to their country. Perhaps our economic success will be the key component in convincing the US and India that Pakistan has come to stay in the South Asian region.
And, Brzezinski when asked about any regrets to American support to Islamic fundamentalism, which then resulted in giving rise to future terrorism, replied back that “What is more important in world history? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some agitated Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?”
And, this is the most conspicuous portrayal of American mind.
By Qudrat Ullah
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