Al-Qaeda scare jolts Pakistan into
action By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - The level of tolerance between
the government of President General Pervez
Musharraf and Islamists elements, whether they are
part of the establishment or outside it, has
reached a point of no return, a development with
vast implications for the US-led "war on terror".
Islamist elements are determined to push
until one side breaks, while Musharraf, a key US
ally in the "war on terror" and under intense
pressure from Washington, has to take rapid steps
to contain the rise of militancy in the region,
which has Pakistan as
its
nucleus.
The recent discovery of a planned
al-Qaeda-backed coup against Musharraf's regime,
which included men in uniform associated with
sensitive strategic institutions, underlines
Musharraf's difficulties.
According to
information obtained by Asia Times Online, the
coup plot was hatched in the Waziristan tribal
area headquarters of al-Qaeda. The conspiracy was
uncovered after a mobile phone used to activate a
rocket aimed at the president's residence was
traced to an air force officer. More than 40
people, both inside and outside the military, were
subsequently arrested.
The most alarming
issue for the Pakistani establishment was not only
the involvement of air force officers, but the
apparent deep penetration of al-Qaeda into highly
sensitive areas.
Those arrested in the
conspiracy plot include air force engineers
associated with the Air Weapon Complex (AWC) of
Pakistan, a leading organization in the field of
air-delivered weapons and systems. Its personnel
are subjected to vigorous and intrusive background
checks.
The personnel arrested were
employed in the high-profile research and
development section of the AWC. The linkage of
such security-cleared people with al-Qaeda, who,
according to Asia Times Online's information, were
to carry out the attacks on signals received from
Waziristan, sheds light on the vulnerable security
situation in Pakistan. At the same time, it shows
the depth of feeling in segments of society who
reject Pakistan's role in the "war on terror".
Pakistani security officials have
confirmed that the rocket plot to assassinate
Musharraf was an al-Qaeda-linked conspiracy. At a
press conference, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao
announced that eight al-Qaeda militants had been
arrested.
Significantly, however, the
establishment has not admitted publicly that any
military officers were involved in the conspiracy,
as they were in at least two previous attempts on
Musharraf's life since he seized power in 1999.
When quoted an Asia Times Online article
saying that air force officers were involved (Pakistan foils coup plot
Oct 14), Sherpao dismissed it. But later, he did
concede that those arrested included some air
force officers, yet he rejected the idea of a
coup.
This attitude reflects the state of
denial of Pakistan's leaders, who will not admit
that renegade Islamist elements have infiltrated
the armed forces, so much so that they have even
entered institutions like the AWC's research and
development section.
Musharraf's main
constituency is the Pakistani armed forces.
Whether officer or soldier, the majority hail from
Punjab province's rural areas or the Pashtun
tribal belt, and belong to the traditionally
martial races of the region. Because of their
traditional background they are often over-zealous
in their religious beliefs and practices.
World events after September 11, 2001,
especially the overthrow of the Taliban in
Afghanistan, have further radicalized this already
strong religious passions among soldiers and
officers. Musharraf's abandonment of the Taliban
and attempts to purge society of radical religious
ideas have heaped fuel on this fire.
Inevitably, then, as Musharraf pursued his
plans to abandon all traces of sharia law and
contain militancy in the country, he faced a
serious backlash. He was therefore forced to adopt
a policy of "two steps forward and one step back".
Nevertheless, the pace of events in the past few
months has taken Pakistan to a point where it has
to play a decisive role, and of course Musharraf
is in charge of this mission that requires quick
and uncompromising steps.
The main task -
as reinforced by Washington - is to destroy the
command and control centers in Pakistan of the
Taliban-led Afghan resistance. Word has filtered
out that Islamabad will launch a major action in
the next few days in the northwest and southwest
(Balochistan).
Any northwest operation
could involve the sensitive and semi-independent
North and South Waziristan tribal areas on the
border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban
have a strong footprint here and recently
negotiated an agreement with Islamabad which
included the army pulling its troops out of the
area. This accord could now be in jeopardy.
"I do not know whether it was a coup
attempt or not, but certainly we would support any
coup for the cause of Islamic sharia," retired
squadron leader Khalid Khawaja, a former Inter
Services Intelligence official and once a close
friend of Osama bin Laden, told Asia Times Online.
"Nevertheless, if the coup is without any cause
and is just a grab for power, we would oppose it,"
Khawaja said.
At the core of the struggle
in Pakistan is this contradiction between many in
the strategic institutions, dominated by
hardliners, and Musharraf, who is a genuine
liberal-minded person by comparison and fully
committed to the "war on terror".
While
these opposing forces have coexisted in the past,
Afghanistan has proved a decisive trigger as the
Taliban have gone from strength to strength, in
large part because of their support bases in
Pakistan. With just weeks before snow sends the
Taliban's offensive into hibernation, Musharraf
needs - and wants - to act very soon. His
opponents are in no mood to back down.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia
Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be
reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
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