Daily Times

A couple of days before Eid, I was at a Round Table Discussion. This article is prompted by what transpired there. The essential focus was on Trump’s diatribe addressed at Pakistan but, as all the Trump accusations were about Afghanistan, our collective attention shifted.

I never seize to be amazed at the numbers of loyal, patriotic, concerned and well-educated Pakistanis, and these numbers do not exclude retired soldiers, who continue to be convinced that in Pakistan the ominously titled “Deep-State”, a term referring to collective activities of the army and intelligence agencies, are still conducting covert operations against Afghanistan and supporting the Taliban.

I number among the minority. And, while some may be more or less convinced, I am equally convinced that we are no longer guilty. And, we may no longer be capable of being guilty, even if we wanted to. It is my contention that, on our western borders, we do not seek to target Afghan dissidents like the Haqqanis, on US/Afghan demand. But, if they are on our soil, these are not excluded by us.

Very understandably, the accusers quote our murky past. Our past has indeed been questionable. As certainly as that is true, is my belief that it is untrue today. But, accusers seek irrevocable proof. So do I. The problem is that “irrevocable proof”, for or against, is impossible to obtain.

If I were to offer to take them to any site they pinpoint, they will remain unconvinced because, if their accusations were true, the Deep State could conveniently ensure that all evidence is destroyed before we get there. The supposition that the deep state can, is true but that, by no means implies that so is the accusation.

Another prop to the accusation is our consistent refusal to take decisive action against the Punjabi Taliban. I number among those who seek this decisive action and, share the complaint. However, while I would like to see decisive action here as well, since we cannot afford to continue breeding potential dissidents among us, I can understand the reluctance. These are the groups which act against India; which is a tit-for-tat situation, unlikely to end till the end is reciprocal.

Since neither contention can be proved physically nor by verbal claims, I am forced to take recourse to the only other rationale I have to support my contention i.e. that to do so is not merely counter-productive, it is against our national interests. A fact, I believe, well understood by our current military leadership.

During the Musharaf era, our actions were very questionable; and, I stated this repeatedly even while Musharaf was in power.Even more than Musharaf, Lt Gen Mahmood Ahmed, as Musharaf’s all-powerful lieutenant, was a [virtual] Taliban.

When Mahmood was replaced by Ehsan-ul-Haq (later Gen, and CJCSC), as DG ISI, a purge of the pro-Taliban elements began. I would not like to believe that the attempt was half-hearted but, it was incomplete. During Ashfaq Kayani’s tenure as DG ISI, the cleansing process continued.

But, when Musharaf was finally forced to step down from being the concurrent army chief, to Kayani, then chief, and the then current crop of the senior military hierarchy, goes the credit of finally recognizing the futility of interfering in Afghanistan. However, though they were convinced that Afghanistan’s future had to be crafted by Afghans on their own, US’ desire to continue to impose its will on the Afghan’s resulted in the continued contact with Afghan Taliban.

Why are there so many buyers — even patriotic and loyal Pakistanis — of US accusations agianst us?

Mulla Mansoor was the last of the Taliban strongmen who were fiercely pro-Pakistan. His execution was carried out deliberately by the Americans in a manner which implicated Pakistan a) as a supporter and host to him but also as b) the one to engineer his death.

The consequences are obvious. Not only is Hibatullah Akhundzada a weaker leader of a group that continues to weaken and splinter, Pakistan’s ability to influence their conduct is drastically reduced. The obvious corollary is that Pakistan can no longer be as effective in bringing the Afghan Taliban to any negotiating table.

Thus, its inability to help, when it most wants to, which resulted from US machinations is also held up as rationale to suspect us. If I am right, then there remains but one last question: why are there so many buyers——even patriotic, loyal, aware Pakistanis who buy the US accusations?

One significant reason is that the US still needs a scapegoat for its [likely, final] failure and, since it has the most powerful media mechanism in the world. A media that can distort what you see and hear, so as to convince its audience to believe what it wants them to. A media which has so many diverse dependent media from such a vast majority of countries that whatever it proffers the world, finds its own confirming witnesses.

But also because of our murky history. The Pakistan government, its agencies and all state organs and functionaries have been found lying so often and with such regularity that even the time of the day from them requires independent confirmation.

If lies by the military are less frequent, they have been murkier and often, more blatant—take 1965, ’71, Kargil, the OBL execution.

It is in this worrisome world that Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani’s return to sanity and declaring, on the eve of this Eed-ul-Adha that peace with Pakistan was again a national priority is a breath of fresh air. Irrespective of the reason for his ‘return’ at such a critical juncture, following Trump’s diatribe, is cause for relief.

I am certain we all welcome the remark. I hope this time our help to him bears better fruit than our previous efforts.

The writer is a retired brigadier. He is also former vice president and founder of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)

Published in Daily Times, September 6^th 2017.