Musharraf steps back from the
US By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - "Pakistan is not sending
its troops to Iraq." So reads the most recent handout
from the Pakistani Foreign Office and the
clearest
signal yet that
President General Pervez Musharraf is finally attempting
to distance himself from the United States' sphere of
influence, even if only for domestic expediency.
Just days ago Islamabad refused to make such a
categorical statement, as demanded by hostage-takers in
Iraq holding two Pakistani contract workers. The two men
were subsequently beheaded.
Interim Prime
Minister Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain even paid a visit to
Saudi Arabia, where he announced that the countries were
developing a consensus on sending Pakistani troops to
Iraq. Earlier, Saudi Arabia had proposed the formation
of an all-Muslim force to be sent to Iraq to help with
security. Pakistan was to be a key part of this.
And the Pakistani parliament was unable to come
up with a resolution calling for troops not to be
dispatched to Iraq. Similarly, when US Central Command
commander General John Abizaid visited Islamabad last
week, apart from pressing Musharraf to deliver
"high-value" foreign suspects, he reiterated the US
desire that Pakistan send troops to Iraq. Pakistan said
it would do this "when the time is right".
For long caught between extremist Islamists on the one
hand and US pressures on the other, Musharraf appears now
to be distancing himself from Washington, as least as
far as troops are concerned. He is still handing
over al-Qaeda suspects on a regular basis.
Asia
Times Online has been told by security contacts that
well before Abizaid's visit, Hussain met with leaders of
the influential grouping of six religious-political
parties, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, and asked them to
raise a voice against sending the army into Iraq and to
hold protest rallies all over the country to "show to US
the extreme feeling of dissent" in the country.
An
observer from Karachi who was close to Musharraf when
he was a major-general and posted as director
general of military operations at General
Headquarters, Rawalpindi, commented, "Musharraf is
susceptible to pressures. He does not have the ability
to respond to pressures immediately, and always takes
some time before he fights back against the pressures,
and only when he is sure that he has the proper
support."
Mounting pressures
Islamic militants continue their insurgency in the
South and North Waziristan tribal areas, where, under
pressure from Washington, the army has been sent to
track down foreign militants. The troops are reportedly
under daily rocket and missile attacks, as well as
assaults from remote-controlled bombs.
Renewed insurgency in southwestern Balochistan
province, where anti-Pakistan Baloch tribals, who had
been courted by the US to counteract the Taliban, have
now regrouped and are inflicting serious casualties on
Pakistani troops.
The designation of pro-US banker and present Finance
Minister Shaukat Aziz as the next premier, subject to
him winning a by-election for the Lower House, has
alarmed many as he has no political constituency. This
has upset traditional feudal families who have
relations in the army and who fear they will lose
their political clout.
These developments have
caused recent tit-for-tat reactions:
Major-General Ayaz Khattak, in charge of operations
in South Waziristan, escaped death in a suicide attack
on his office. After the incident, when authorities were
inspecting the site, another bomb was detonated by
remote control, killing an Intelligence Bureau officer.
Premier-designate Aziz survived a suicide attack in
which 11 others were killed.
Feedback from the latest langer gathering.
(Langer means feast. The army has traditionally
staged feasts for officers, soldiers and their families.
They hold frank discussions, and military intelligence
then compiles a special report on the chit-chat, which
is presented to all corps commanders and the chief of
army staff. The mood was completely against sending
troops to Iraq.)
In addition, Pakistan's elite
intelligence agencies, including Military Intelligence
and Inter-Services Intelligence, have repeatedly warned
Musharraf about adverse developments in the army, that
is, against the leadership. Musharraf has even repeated
this in public, notably in connection with an
assassination attempt on his life in which army
personnel have been implicated.
Intelligence also points to stepped-up attacks by al-Qaeda and its
sympathizers, including against prominent federal
cabinet members.
Deadlines loom Two of
the most important dates since Musharraf assumed power
in a bloodless coup in October 1999 are close. By
October 7 he must replace two full generals who are due
to retire, and by the end of the year he must choose
between either the presidency or chief of army staff,
the two positions he now holds.
With
these two events in mind, Musharraf has opted to
give himself breathing space and take some of the heat out of the
political climate by ending debate on sending troops to
Iraq, and waiting until he has his new generals in place
as they are widely expected to be promoted on the basis
of loyalty to Musharraf rather than on seniority. This
will cause disaffected - passed-over - officers to
resign, further strengthening the general's grip.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times
Online's bureau chief in Pakistan. He can be reached at
saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.
(Copyright
2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
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clearest
signal yet that
President General Pervez Musharraf is finally attempting
to distance himself from the United States' sphere of
influence, even if only for domestic expediency.
