ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s premier military intelligence agency has lost control of some of the networks of Pakistani militants it has nurtured since the 1980s, and is now suffering the violent blowback of that policy, two former senior intelligence officials and other officials close to the agency say.
Actually, the militant networks were started in the mid-70s; Pakistan was cultivating Hekmatyar, Rabbani and Massoud even before the Soviet invasion of Pakistan. The purpose was first to gain influence in Afghanistan, to quash some of Pakistan's restive minorities, and later to wage a war of thousand cuts against India.
As long as the West, in particular America, had a friendly general in charge in Pakistan, it connived at, and if not aided directly, aided indirectly via money and material to the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies the growth of these militant (really - terrorist, but why quibble over euphemisms when reality is so visibly ugly) networks. America's partner in this crime was Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile the West preached equal-equal, accomodation with terrorists and sang of human rights to India.
Then 9/11, the Madrid and London bombings happened, and suddenly "Islamofascism" was a problem. For the West. Suddenly Pakistan is seen as a dangerous place. The savior, of course, is yet another general. Years of warnings by Iranian, Afghan, Pakistani liberals and by leaders of India were unheeded, that sustaining these networks is holding a tiger by the tail.
"Militants out of control" is one of the rare admissions that the most valued non-NATO ally Pakistan was all along a state sponsor of terrorism.
That India has to live in peace with neighbors such as Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and with some 150 million Muslims of its own, of which some tiny fraction can be incited into "militancy" also never occurs to the West. The Western sponsorship of Muslim militancy makes that very difficult. That constant unpunished "militancy" will provoke a countermilitancy among India's non-Muslims is never considered. Always it is India should swallow its losses and shut up, and remain a liberal, tolerant society.
The irony is that Americans are more abjectly afraid terrorist attacks than Indians ever have been. The world has to deal with the insecure, bullying, cowering superpower.
The veil slips but only temporarily. The Western policymakers and opinionmakers will go back to figuring out how to prop up Pakistan's latest dictator who will of course be given full aid to keep the "militant" networks going, except hopefully, aimed only at the right victims.
Very aptly put. However, the whole problem, as you would know better, Arun, is that no one in INDIA will heed you. They do NOT like the voice of reason in this country anymore.
ReplyDeleteNot until Aamir Khan makes a sad movie out of it. Like 'Taare Zameen Par'.
Sorry, that was me above.
ReplyDelete~Savyasachi