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Pakistan struggles to keep its end
up
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - In a potential setback for the United
States and its global "war on terror", one of its "most
important partners", Pakistan, is struggling to keep up
its end of the bargain as a valued ally of Washington.
Last week, US ambassador to Pakistan Nancy
Powell said that the US "was committed to building a
strong, long-term and comprehensive bilateral
relationship with Pakistan". Speaking in Karachi on
Pakistan-US relations, she added that since September
11, Pakistan had become "one of the most important
partners of the US in fighting this most challenging of
wars [against terrorism]". "We are working closely and
cooperatively with the government of Pakistan to
neutralize the remnants of al-Qaeda and the Taliban that
remain in the region."
As a reward for this
cooperation, during President General Pervez Musharraf's
visit to the US in June for talks at Camp David,
President George W Bush announced plans for a US$3
billion aid package over five years for Pakistan, half
of that $3 billion, still to be approved by Congress, is
intended for defense spending.
But recent
events, despite attempts to paint a rosy picture, have
the potential to undermine Islamabad's relationship with
the US as it is emerging that Musharraf is losing
crucial support among his colleagues for the "war on
terror".
Well-placed sources in the Pakistani
establishment have told Asia Times Online that - the
Pakistani government's denials apart - there is a
serious split between those who decide (generals) and
those who implement (field commanders) Pakistani policy.
An operation in the Southern Waziristan agency,
which caught pro-US elements and US authorities based in
Pakistan by surprise, is a case in point. This agency in
the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in the west of
Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan is the most
sensitive in Pakistan; it is not under the direct
administration of the central government, but indirectly
governed by a political agent, and it is a hotbed of
resistance.
The US and Pakistan jointly launched
an operation in Southern Waziristan in search of
al-Qaeda fugitives, many of whom are known to take
advantage of the lawlessness and inaccessibility of the
region to seek refuge. Officially, the operation was
said to have netted several important suspects, but this
is not the case.
The joint operation actually
began in September, but was aborted almost immediately
as tribals attacked Bannu airport with missiles. Later,
in October, with new plans and with heavy
reinforcements, a new operation was launched in South
Waziristan.
The operation was initiated on
pressure from US authorities, who apparently had been
tipped off that some major al-Qaeda operators were holed
up in the region, including top men such as Jamal Asim
and Abdul Hadi Iraqi. This information was based on
intercepted telecommunication conversations.
However, the only people rounded up were a few
minor Central Asian operators, Afghans and Pakistanis.
Intelligence sources say that the US operators
had been so sure of the quality of their information
that they are now convinced that the escape of the key
al-Qaeda operators was the result of "collusion" within
the Pakistani operations team.
This suspicion is
confirmed by another incident. A US Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) team based in Islamabad informed its
Pakistani counterparts about a communication they had
intercepted, as a result of which three Arab Afghans had
been apprehended in Islamabad (just near the BBC's
bureau). During interrogation, the men said that top
al-Qaeda operators had been in the South Waziristan
area, but they had been tipped off before the joint
Pakistan-US raid.
The three detainees also
spilled the beans on a plan of their local Pakistani
counterparts to assassinate President General Pervez
Musharraf. As a result, two young armed men were caught
near the Islamabad airport shortly before Musharraf was
due to pass through. One of those arrested was named
Tariq, and they both came from a Kashmiri family now
settled in England.
These five arrests were made
solely as a result of the FBI's efforts, and their work
is being made all the more difficult now as it does not
have the full weight of Musharraf's security apparatus
on its side as the general's ranks are clearly becoming
increasingly divided.
The chief of the powerful
Jamaat-i-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, said in a recent
press conference that the combined opposition will
launch a powerful street campaign after the month of
Ramadan towards the end of this month. He stressed that
"army representatives" have been informed about the
campaign, and some apparently will join in.
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All
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