Daily Times

Daily Times placed a fair amount of nicely tucked and overlapping layers of thought on the page on May 14 with, “ISI Admits ‘failure’ over bin Laden.” I found myself pulling back the covers of thought twice, and then reading the news item a third time.

ISI Director General (DG) Lt-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha has conceded an intelligence failure and has offered to resign. He has asked for the nation’s forgiveness.

It was four days prior that Prime Minister Gilani gave his speech to the National Assembly regarding the Abbottabad incident. He took aim at a few too many targets and the message lacked a central focus. He redeemed himself by tying off thoughts with 15 points in the concluding remarks. It is the ninth point that deserves serious consideration. It reads thus:

“An investigation in the matter has been ordered, which shall be conducted by the Adjutant General of the Pakistan Army, Lt-General Javed Iqbal.”

Like the strophe and antistrophe of a chorale ode, the announcement of an investigation and the offer of Lt-General Pasha to tender his resignation have the feel of a Greek drama. The Abbottabad incident has captured the attention of the citizens. But as in all national dramas, lessons learned must come after the analysis of solid conclusions.

The immediate resignation of the DG ISI at this precise moment in time would be both tokenism and national folly. This is a critical juncture for Pakistan and acceptance of any high-level resignation minus evidence of wrongdoing would be injurious to the greater public interest. Every man is due his day in court. But in matters of national security it is a jury of peers and not of the press that determines accountability. The ensuing investigation must not be degraded into a politically expedient witch-hunt. It must be thoughtfully pursued, carefully managed and disembodied from outside political forces.

The heavy responsibilities of those within the highest inner circles of play deserve an equal calibre of men to assess operational deficiencies and/or divided loyalties. Those with the beads of sweat on their brow for national security are tasked with ascertaining how the head of a terror organisation lived in complete safety and anonymity and in near proximity to a military academy. It is the task of a lion surveying the den, a lion well acquainted with the flesh of men. That task now lies with Lt-General Javed Iqbal. He moves under authority amongst authority.

We suffered national drama when our national sovereignty was breached in 2001. We could not lay claim to the technological superiority of the other party. Lack of preparedness left us open to attack. Easily accessible non-military technology brought about a massive body count worthy of war. We suffered a massive intelligence failure due to corporate malaise. Our vulnerabilities were exploited and people turned to soot. The ash had not cleared from the tower smokestacks when our commander-in-chief spoke to the nation. The man responsible would be brought to account. But after the shock our national humiliation ensued. Humiliation is a sentiment. It is deeply felt when shared at a national level. But in a post-humiliation environment it is national purpose that provides for a new mission. President Bush gave our military a new mission.

Almost 10 years later we breached your sovereignty with superior technology. It was done to secure a promise made to the American people under a different commander-in-chief. But it was also done to ensure that the US continues on its course as a place where a covenant of peace exists for her citizens.

You have also made a promise to your people. It is the same promise that Mr Bush made to the Americans within hours after the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbour. He promised us the gift of safety. Pakistan stands at a crossroads now. It is not about securing your nuclear arsenal. Your arsenal can stand secure for eternity and it will not mean much to the mother who just laid her child to rest after a suicide attack. The real issue, cut and dried, is about attacks on your soil that take out 80 souls in seconds of time. This is the true breach of national sovereignty. Look it square in the eyes and please do not flinch. The primary goal of national sovereignty is to protect your citizens. If you cannot accomplish it, erase your borders and dissolve the state.

Pakistan also needs a national covenant of peace. This can be done with an adamantine chain of command within the intelligence and military sector. When a gutsy call was made by our president and men of oath undertook a dangerous challenge, the international press called it a closed chapter in our history. Hardly! It is just a line on the page of what our military men and women and intelligence operatives have endured for the past decade.

Pakistan has suffered the stigma of a strategic surgical operation. The darkest cloak of secrecy was allowed to assure mission completion. It allowed for targeted and minimal loss of life, minimal damage to the landscape, and a conceptual integrity that was borne on the backs of men of great courage. This act of military prowess was borne of necessity and not due to malice.

So what does Pakistan envision for the future? I do not have a clue. But Pakistan needs to retain their current leadership until the facts are gathered. Leadership must move beyond the grandstanding tactics that accompany the current humiliation. And Pakistan must get down to business. Hunting terrorists is a dirty business, which must be done with clean organisational hands. And when clean hands are possibly lacking, we will dirty our own to get the job done. We dealt dirty from the deck. But we did it in as clean a manner as possible. It is as simple as that. It was done, to keep a promise.

The writer is a freelance columnist. She can be reached at tammyswof@msn.com