Why is Pakistan still helping Taliban/Bin Laden?

Why is Pakistan still helping the Taliban/Al Qaida?

By Officer Cadet Jawad Bangash

Listening to the news of the Osama Bin Laden and his whereabouts my brother who went to the Pakistan Military Academy, West Point/Sandhurst equivalent in Abottabad three years ago must be wondering, up above the skies in the highest battlefield in the world on the border not with Afghanistan, but with India, thinking to himself in the complete wilderness that is Siachin “Did I see the very ominous building where Osama Bin Laden was hiding during one of our routine exercises or even if the bearded man he came across was in fact Osama Bin Laden (there is a big shrine where a lot of Muslims come to visit)”.

As I see the pictures of Osama Bin Laden whereabouts I repeatedly am getting closer to the distant memories of the beautiful town in the amazing valley of Abottabad. My father was a Commanding Officer (LT Col) in the Pakistani Army and so many a times I have been to this hill town, home of the FF Rifles, former British Subcontinent Rifles, the regiment of my Father and PMA where all officers go for their initial training.

As I look deeper at the videos of the House, the very high fortified walls, the proximity to the garrison; it very much reminds me number of safe houses we stayed in during some of our vacations in Azad Kashmir. He was in the SSG the Special Forces part of the Army for a while, who work very closely with the CIA, MI6 equivalent ISI.

Whether or not the ISI, the Army or the Government knew of the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden one thing is certain that all cards have been played, is being played and will continue to be played in the brutal game of the battle of the National interests. It may come as a big surprise to many but Pakistan’s biggest threat is not the Taliban or Al Qaida in Afghanistan, it is India, and everything that Pakistan does revolves around this notion. Pakistan may as well be playing the double game or should I say the ISI who infiltrate every Army or Civilian body in Pakistan. But before we jump into any conclusions we need to look at the bigger picture.

If it is said the Army is the main institution in the Country, ISI is its subsidiary or even more so vice versa. Both don’t always cohere on the same objectives and even though the Chief of Army Staff is the head of the army, ISI pulls the major and minor leavers inside and outside the army. It has a monopoly like the civil service in the UK, if people don’t like it they don’t have the liberty to go to another civil service, at least not without changing the country or making a partisan country of their own. ISI doesn’t always work in line with the rest of the army if the DG ISI has different views than the Chief of Army staff, like the case of Lt Gen Nadeem Taj October 2007 - October 2008 of the ISI (who was later removed) and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani current Chief of Army Staff. Even some factions can work independently within the ISI without their superiors knowing about it.

Weather the support of the Taliban and Al Qaida comes from top of the leadership or small factions, it conspires from various different reasons. Unless these are resolved the victory in Afghanistan cannot be achieved.

According to the Ex ISI chief Gen Hamid Gull the government won’t be strong without the three Gs Gimhouriat (Democracy), Gisba Gehad (The will to go for holy war) and Gohri Kawuat ( Military, Atomic weapons etc). “Gisba Gehad amongst the public is like having another regiment without the Burdon on the taxpayer.” In Iraq this has been far more effective than the Army of Saddam Husain. But in Pakistan and Afghanistan it has back fired to some degree. Why is Pakistan still helping the extremists (not all, just the Taliban in Afghanistan and some groups who are anti India and some even anti America.)

The threat of India still exists. India has over 20 embassies and conciliates in Afghanistan. There is a huge speculation that these are very actively aiding the Tariq Taliban Pakistan, a partisan group inspired by Afghani Taliban but having lesser influence over the border and other small groups inside Pakistan. Allegedly India has nurtured TTP by giving them training, money and weapons in order to cause havoc inside Pakistan and destabilize the country. TTP’s agenda is to overthrow the government and place a Taliban government inside Pakistan. For India this will eliminate the threat of the Pakistani Army who sees eye to eye on its borders with their Indian counters. It’s played well for the Americans causing the Pakistani Army to take a stance against the extremists inside Pakistan and taking action against them. But it has increased the support of Afghani Taliban from the Pakistani ISI or the establishment in order to find an effective counter to the Indian influence, and many a times leading and planning attacks on the Indian embassies inside Afghanistan. So has India played a huge role in causing havoc inside Pakistan for example the bombing of French Engineers who were assisting the Pakistanis in building its own submarines and for example the bombing of Chinese Engineers in various development projects. These are surgical strikes, involving a very high level of intelligence and resources which neither the Taliban nor the Al Qaida have.

The relationships between Afghanistan and Pakistan have always been very bitter. Afghanistan has openly accused Pakistan of Harbouring terrorism and always been quick to blame everything happening inside Afghanistan to Pakistan. Pakistan has accused the Afghani Government in aiding insurgencies inside Pakistan by giving India a free hand in its back yard. There is a huge mistrust amongst the two. Also Afghanistan has in the Past demanded NWFP province of Pakistan, where the majority of the population are Pashtuns, be given to Afghanis. This is an issue of territorial integrity and Pakistan will never allow this to happen. But again if Afghanistan becomes powerful enough then there is a threat of Afghanis demanding this province again therefore a weak Afghani government may be in the Pakistan’s best interest. Unless ISAF brings both to a common ground, the support for Taliban will be hard to snub from inside Pakistan.

Then there is the aid that Pakistan’s and Afghanistan’s governments have received. Little has it changed the perception of the general public who don’t get to see the benefits. It mostly goes in the pockets of the politicians and bureaucrats. Most of these people are upper class feudal or war lords who have little or nothing in common with the public, and acing on their own self interests and short term gains rather than long term socio economic development. For example the president Zardari (husband of the deceased Bhutto) also called Mister ten present for his widespread alleged corruption, on the occasion of the biggest floods in the history of the country, decided to go abroad to meet the dignitaries of different countries and his son in Uk for days and took weeks to even visit the effected regions. Little do these people care about the public. This adds to the disillusionment about Western Interests and support for the radical extremists.

Like the late General Hamid Gul said, “America will be long gone but the Taliban will stay”. Whose basket should the Pakistanis put their eggs into, the Taliban or the Americans. The long term support and cooperation was promised after the Soviets would be defeated in Afghanistan during the cold war. But as soon as the soviets collapsed the Americans and the rest of the world turned its backs on the region, which intern has caused the situation we have at the moment. Leaving Pakistan to deal with the largest number of refugees in the world and whatever fall out that came from Afghanistan. More recently the diversion of attention away from Afghanistan to Iraq, when again it looked as if Americans have left the less well equipped, thinly spread but very professional British Forces and Pakistani forces to deal with the situation. Victory for ISAF was becoming gloomy and this is when the greater ambiguity came from Pakistan who started to talk to Taliban in the light that they may very well be back in Power not very long after.

I think the solution lies in making a very strong and stable Afghani army and Government as well as supporting Pakistan, in long term projects like Major power plants which takes years to make insuring and assuring the long term commitment. Energy is the biggest shortfall of Pakistan at the moment after extremism and providing a Power Supply will win both the public and government. There can be greater cooperation and trust building with the ISI without whose goodwill stability cannot be achieved in Afghanistan. These are the people who made the Taliban (with the help of the CIA of course in the soviet era) and they hold the key to end the support of Taliban from Pakistan and their sanctuaries.

I have always advocated for developing Sandhurst, West point level officers from the Afghani army who will train here, will be loyal to the Afghani government and the Western world and intern develop their own army, lead them against the Taliban and maintain a strong foot hold. After all no one know Afghanistan and Afghanis better then themselves. They will be able to rally support of the locals and tribal elders who have so far not trusted the Westerners (who they call Kafirs). This will take the ISAF out of the direct line of fire and insure to the Pakistanis that even when they are gone, Afghanistan won’t collapse giving way to the Taliban/Al Qaida take over again.

Critical is building bridges of trust and cooperation and dispersing any ambiguities, by acting in joint exercises, or joint operations. It is invariably said we need to have better coordination with the ISI by more joint intelligence gathering and making the channels of communications easier and more effective. Bringing all the parties Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and ISAF at the same table is very important. It is merely not enough to micromanage the war and acting pragmatically on the back foot inside Helmand or Kandahar or Kabul without looking and dealing with the bigger picture.

Weather justified or unjustified the biggest looser from all of this mere bloody war of national interests have inevitably been the common people of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have little to do with insurgency but are taken hostage by the situation. There is very little economic development and whether or not this is helping some at the moment, mishandling of this issue will be a big loss for many in the long run.

It is not the time to build suspicions but to build trust and an extremely high level of cooperation, which so far we have not been able to achieve. Surely the way to victory or even stability in Afghanistan is hard graft, and a bumpy road but it definitely goes through Pakistan. In effect to achieve victory against the Taliban and Al Qaida, Pakistan may very well be more strategically important than Afghanistan itself.

Reference:

Gen Hamid Guls interview on Geo TV

Chinese Engineers Killed in Baluchistan.

Reference:

Gen Hamid Guls interview on Geo TV

Chinese Engineers Killed in Baluchistan.