Asif Scourge Zardari by Usman Khalid

His role is to discredit the military internally and to co-operate with Indo-US efforts to demonise it internationally

A cartoon doing the rounds on the Internet shows a Maulana warning from the pulpit, "If you do not mend your ways, a scourge will descend upon you". The next picture is of Asif Zardari saying, " I am the scourge". The cartoon reflects the opinion of the majority of the people in Pakistan. The disquiet in Pakistan is shared worldwide. Brownen Maddox has written a column in The Times (March 3) of London titled "˜A strong President might gain from this (firing on Sri Lankan Cricket Team in Lahore on March 3). Zardari is not that man.' She wrote, " Yesterday's terrorist attacks do not mean that Pakistan is a failed state. But it has a failed President"¦.. (he) is compounding his country's problems by his pursuit of personal survival at the expense of its Constitution, the rule of law and agreement between the main political parties that they will work together to shore up democracy. He is utterly inadequate to meet the threat that Pakistan is facing."

Asif Zardari may be worse than inadequate. He has thus far acted as an instrument for preventing the institutions of the state to protect Pakistan, its people and its interests. The Mumbai incident may have been carried out by persons of Pakistani origin but the story of put out by India is unbelievable. The arrival of the terrorists by a sea from Karachi in a fishing boat that is still in Karachi in the custody of Rehman Malik, and that their first action being to kill three top policemen including Inspector General of Police Hemant Karkare who was leading investigation into Samjhota Express and Malegaon blasts unearthing that they were the work of Hindu terrorists groups with a serving military officer "“ Colonel Purohit- as a member and supplier of military explosives, is ridiculous. The widow of Inspector General Karkare told the press that her husband had been receiving threats from Hindu terrorists groups. She has since been silenced. The woman who was a witness to the disembarkation of Mumbai terrorists from their 'ubber boat' has also disappeared. It has come out in the press that Ajmal Kasab identified, from the photographs shown to him of the "˜mastermind' of the Mumbai plot, which is not of Mr Lakhvi identified as the mastermind in the Indian dossier and readily endorsed by Rehman Malik. But the Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan has since told the press that Ajmal Kasab did not travel from Pakistan on a boat by sea as alleged. He is right because the boat alleged in the Indian dossier to have been used for sailing from Karachi has been confirmed to have perished, and the one Rehman Malik alleges was used by the terrorists is in his custody. The question is: why is Rehman Malik so eager to accept the Indian propaganda that the plot was masterminded and controlled from the soil of Pakistan? The answer is obvious "“ that is what his masters want.

An indication what the masters of Rehman Malik want came when Pakistan's representatives at the UN was asked by President Zardari (without routing the instruction through normal Foreign Office channels) to request the Chinese delegate at the UN to withdraw the technical hold on Jamaat ud Daawa (JuD) and other Pakistani persons and organisations to be included on the UN list of "˜terrorists'. Asif Zardari is not suave enough to have known about UN procedures and how to circumvent/exploit them to put pressure on the Pakistan Army. Clearly his masters do know and they instructed him and assisted him every step of the way. Their target is the Pakistan Army, which, despite General Musharraf's record of collaborating with the enemy, is still held in high esteem. Shortly before the UN declaring a respected organisation linked to Jihad in Kashmir as a "˜terrorist', Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was persuaded to sign an order to place the ISI "“ an entirely military outfit in Pakistan "“ under Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The order was reversed on a protest by the COAS but the military do not trust this government any longer. It is quite apparent that the Zardari administration is collaborating with India's propaganda machine to "˜prove' that the military is continuing to support the liberation movement in Jammu and Kashmir and is doing so despite the government orders to desist. In essence, therefore, the Government of Pakistan is building a case against its own military of "˜disobedience' and "˜violating the International Law' on terrorism.

The Americans are unsure if they should walk along the path shown by India and eagerly followed by AZ. They need the co-operation of Pakistan in Afghanistan and doubt the wisdom of being on the wrong side of the military as well as the people of a country with nuclear weapons. India, on the other hand, sees another "˜opportunity of the century' to crush the military of Pakistan as well as Bangladesh. A number of good friends ask me why should India want to destabilise Pakistan and Bangladesh when its protégés are ruling in both countries? It does not make sense until one understands why does India want to install its puppets in the first place. The imposition of a puppet is not an end in itself; it is means to an end. The end is different in every country. The Indian objective in Bangladesh is to have routes through that country to its North East protected by its own military deployment inside Bangladesh. As long as Bangladesh has an Army enjoying the respect of the people, that objective cannot be achieved. India's objective in its west is the Balkanisation of Pakistan. That again cannot be achieved as long as the military enjoys the respect of the people. The military would lose that respect if it wages a war on friendly tribes of Afghanistan, NWFP and North Baluchistan and ignores the India sponsored terrorism by some Baluch tribes and the "˜Pakistani Taliban'. The role of Asif Zardari is to discredit the military internally and to co-operate with Indo-US efforts to demonise it internationally.

India's Hand in BDR Mutiny in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Army comprises of officers and soldiers who were trained and motivated as members of the Pakistani armed forces. Whatever might have been said by authors of books or by Bangladeshi politicians, the soldiery is not ready to accept India as their master or liberator. Soon after the surrender of Pakistani troops in Bangladesh, the soldiers of the new Bangladesh Army got into firefights with the Indian Army to stop looting. That was the main reason why India withdrew so quickly after conquering East Pakistan. The Bangladesh Army became the guardian of "˜national interests' immediately upon the creation of that country. India realised that and has even since been eager to infiltrate its officer class and challenge its role at the same time. India organised a "˜militia' called "˜Rakhi Bahini' to guard the 'evolution'. This force was organised to be loyal to the party and the President "“ both symbolised by the person of Sheikh Mujib "“ not the state of Bangladesh. Members of Rakhi Bahini was equipped and trained by India; they even used the uniforms of the Indian Army. That was widely seen in Bangladesh as facilitating the infiltration and occupation of Bangladesh if India's puppet lost popularity and control. The junior officers' coup d'etat of 15 August 1975 was a direct result of a challenge to Army's role as the guardian of national interest. That the rationale of that only popular coup d'etat in Bangladesh was never properly articulated and explained has led to the India's Trojan Horse "“ the Awami League "“ regaining credibility and now even political power. This time, India is not going to give time to an Army, discredited by machinations under the "˜interim administration', to restore its position as the final guardian of national interests.

The BDR (Bangladesh Rifles) Mutiny of 25-26 February cannot be explained by demands for better pay and perks. The first target of the mutineers was the BDR Chief, an Army Major General, who was killed along with his wife and the ADC. Altogether 55 officers, seven civilians including two officer's wives, were killed. Five other senior officers are still missing. Those who were killed include one Major General, two Brigadiers, over a dozen colonels, several lieutenant colonels, captains, majors and two soldiers. Slaughter of such ferocity that included decapitation, severing of limbs and mutilation of bodies cannot be explained by demands unmet. All those slain were from the Army while BDR is technically a police force under the Ministry of Interior. Someone worked on creating hate between the Army and the police. India has experience of doing that. It succeeded in creating so much hate between Punjabi (every one from West Pakistan was called a Punjabi) and the Bengali "“ both Muslims "“ that they welcomed the Hindu Army to liberate them. India knows that slaughter once started develops a dynamics of its own and closure is deadly for those who started it with high hopes. BDR soldiers will not get higher pay, many will be hanged and BDR would be disbanded. The Army may have no choice except to agree to a paramilitary force like the erstwhile Rakhi Bahinin, which would challenge its power, role and authority. With so many political and military cats with tails tied to each other, would rob all of them of any freedom of action - unable to guard the freedom of the country. The entire drama has not been played out yet in Bangladesh. But with an Indian protégé in power in that country, no one will blame India, the orchestrator of the plot.

RAW hand in Mumbai and Lahore Incidents

With an Indian protégé also in power in Pakistan, officials are eager not to link India's Intelligence - Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), with the Lahore incident. Since Indian refrains from using its own nationals for murder and sabotage, it easy to avoid blame. . India uses nationals of another country, usually the target county, who it buys, blackmail or bribes into working for them. With the dust settled, it is now apparent that the Mumbai incident was the work of poorly co-ordinated actions of recruits and renegades of RAW. All the insurrectional activity against Pakistan in the North West is carried out RAW recruits - either by Pakistani Pashtun Islamists or non-Pashtun Afghans. That there is a ruler in Pakistan with no morals or character makes it easy to motivate the recruits. Those who carried out the attack in Lahore have not been arrested but those who have seen them say they are Pashtun. It is easy enough to link them to the Taliban but it does not suit India or AZ to do so. Both are eager to put Lashkar e Tayyiba (LeT) in the frame because it had been a Punjab based organisation and it is easy enough to link it with the ISI and the Army. Just as Rehman Malik does not want to find any fault with India's story line on Mumbai, he will find no difficulty in India's story over Lahore. All signs are that LeT would be blamed. Many journalists have gone into Indian dossier over Mumbai and find it utterly unbelievable. It is impossible to obtain a conviction on the basis of that story and "˜evidence'. But the Indian story will not be put to test in a court of law; it is Pakistan that is being put on trial in the court of International public opinion. The rub is that the Government, which is supposed to defend Pakistan's interests, is fully co-operating in the indictment of Pakistan.

What Happens Next?

Musharraf has joined Asif Zardari in congratulating Altaf Hussain for creating a smoke screen of protests against the "˜desecration' of Benazir's portrait while the issue is the imposition of PPP rule in the Punjab as Governor's Rule. The re-appearance of Musharraf from time to time is another distraction from the excesses of Zardari rule that restores the image of the Army as a "˜demon'. But the ball is in the court of the PML, which went into elections last February on the back of "˜getting Musharraf re-elected as President in uniform again and again'. It has been courted by the modern day Rasputin, Governor Salman Taseer. But it is in opposition already . Is it ready to make an opposition alliance? If it did, it could put the fear of God into hearts of the "˜clever politicians' ruling the country. Mian Nawaz Sharif could climb down from his high horse and make such a request. But it is too much to expect the Pakistani politicians to understand the intricacies of statecraft. They would persist in their blunderbuss conduct giving RAW every facility to succeed. I wish I could forecast a good end. India is cocksure. Pakistan is in the grip of its enemies. America is bound to listen to the confidant voice of India rather than pay attention to the anguished cries of voiceless Pakistan.

The writer is a retired Brigadier; Director London Institute of South Asia