Indo-US
encirclement plans
Asif Haroon Raja
This US agenda
for Pakistan prepared by the neo-cons after 9/11 was similar to that applied
throughout the broader Middle East Central Asian region. US strategy, supported
by covert intelligence operations, consisted in triggering ethnic and religious
strife, abetting and financing secessionist movements while also weakening the
institutions of the central government. The broader objective was to fracture
the Nation State and redraw the borders of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
Pakistan under Gen Musharraf was induced in September 2001
to become coalition partner and frontline State to fight the US dictated Global
War on Terror. By the time Musharraf was deposed, Pakistan had been
sufficiently bled in the war and the TTP under Baitullah Mehsud had captured 18
administrative units in the northwest. His successor Gen Ashfaq Kayani managed
to recapture 17 units in 2009 and 2010. It resulted in overstretching of
150,000 troops employed in Swat, Malakand and FATA, besides battle fatigue and
wear and tear of equipment. He considered it prudent to let alone the last
bastion of the militants in North Waziristan (NW) since it housed friendly
groups of Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Haqqani network.
While he kept pending the operation, the US and its
strategic allies kept applying pressure by holding back aid, intensifying drone
strikes and the covert war. Inflow of funds and arms from Afghanistan to the
militants and hesitancy on Pakistan’s part allowed disarrayed TTP and its
affiliates to regroup in NW, marry up with additional groups including foreign
groups, and spread its terror tentacles all over Pakistan. Hafiz Gul Bahadur
could do nothing to restrain Hakimullah Mehsud and later Fazlullah operating
from Kunar.
Change of government in May 2013 opened vistas for peace
talks with militants but acts of terrorism continued. Gen Kayani handed over
the baton to Gen Raheel Sharif in November at a time when peace talks had run
into difficulties. Incident of beheading of 23 captive FC soldiers by the men
of Umar Khalid Khurasani in Mohmand Agency on February 18, 2014 and airing the
video distressed him. It became difficult for Gen Raheel to see his men dying
in acts of terror and the government insisting to give peace a chance without
reciprocity from militants. He was constrained to hit back by launching
selective surgical airstrikes against known hideouts. These strikes helped in
dividing TTP in South Waziristan (SW) where Khalid Mehsud alias Sajna group
rebelled and clashed with Sheharyar Mehsud group. Infighting weakened TTP and
created better situation for striking it. Peace talks made no headway because
the TTP refused to honor ceasefire, continued hitting military targets and made
unreasonable demands of asking the Army to vacate SW and free militants before
holding direct talks.
Matters came to a pass when the militants struck Jinnah
airport in Karachi on June 8 and threatened to carryout similar attacks. The
government and military leadership backed by all political parties and
religious groups agreed to launch the much delayed operation in NW. Operation
Zarb-e-Azb launched on June 15 preceded by airstrikes is delivering decisive
results and is aimed at ridding the country of terror forever. Major towns of
Miranshah and Mir Ali and 90% of territory have been cleared. Over 1000
terrorists have been killed, suicide jackets and IED making factories,
ammunition and explosive dumps and hideouts destroyed and command & control
centre dismantled. Many have surrendered. In anticipation to the much feared
blowback in urban centres, the Army teams carried out hundreds of intelligence
based raids against known hideouts in other parts of FATA and also nabbed
terrorists in cities, thus preventing many attacks. Apart from dealing with
terrorists, the Army is mindful of one million IDPs and is doing all it can
take to make their stay in camps easy and to keep them motivated.
In spite of the fact that the ISAF-ANA combine has lost all
battles against Taliban in Afghanistan and Pak Army has won all against array
of militant groups supported by foreign powers, the US is still not satisfied
and wants it to do more. On its part, it has taken no step to dismantle
Fazlullah’s safe havens in Kunar and Nuristan from where his men are carrying
out cross border terrorism. While deeply concerned over the threat posed by the
IS in Syria-Iraq, it is still instigating India to deal with terror groups in
Pakistan. Encouraged by Obama-Modi’s Pakistan focussed joint statement in
Washington last month; Indian leaders are hurling threatening statements to
vitiate the atmosphere.
Indian military calculatedly heated up the LoC in Kashmir
and Working boundary in Sialkot sector on October 1 and has been resorting to
unprovoked and indiscriminate firing/shelling, killing/injuring dozens of
civilians and forcing large numbers to migrate to safer areas. Pak Army is
responding to the aggression befittingly. Gen Raheel stated on 18th
October that “let there be no doubt that any aggression against our beloved
country will get a befitting response and no sacrifice will be too great in
this sacred cause.” He added that lasting peace in the region could only come
through with a fair and just resolution in accordance with the will of Kashmiri
people as enshrined in UN Resolutions.
Indian bouts of belligerence in various forms are a routine
matter and are designed to keep Pakistan overawed and its attention deflected
from Kashmir. Rather than resolving the core issue of Kashmir which is the main
bone of contention between the two archrivals, India keeps harping upon
terrorism. Composite dialogue is a farce to keep Kashmir issue on the back
burner for good. Nothing good can be expected from bigoted and Hindutva loving
Modi regime. India’s mindset can be gauged from the recent article written by
Dr. Amarjit Singh in Indian Defence Review, June 2014 Edition. In his view,
Pakistan has no right to exist and is a thorn in the flesh of India. In his
desire to obliterate Pakistan, he suggests fragmenting it by absorbing whole of
Kashmir into Indian Union, making Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab independent but
under Indian control; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-FATA merged with southern/eastern
Afghanistan and formed into Pakhtunistan, and northern Afghanistan comprising
non-Pashtuns to shape into a separate country.
He is confident that the West will not shed tears on the
demise of troublesome Pakistan. Finding the environment conducive, he
forcefully urges the Indian leadership to knock out Pakistan when it is dizzy
and imbalanced. His map and thoughts are similar to Lt Col Ralph Peters.
Self-opinionated Amarjit doesn’t have the moral courage to say that it is India
which has given tens of thousands of cuts to Pakistan from 1947 onwards and
made it bleed profusely and that it is Pakistan which is the biggest victim of
terrorism and India is an old hand in promoting terrorism in the region. But he
is not the only one entertaining such devious thoughts.
The entire lot of Brahmin elite (2.8%) yearns to dismember
Pakistan and for this purpose RAW has been employed in Balochistan, FATA and
Karachi to do the needful as it had done in 1971. MI-6, CIA, Mossad and Afghan
agencies are providing full assistance for the achievement of common objectives
of destabilizing, denuclearizing, secularizing, balkanizing Pakistan and making
it a Satellite State of India. Efforts are in hand to isolate Pakistan by
spoiling Pak-Afghan and Pak-Iran relations and also delinking it from China. A
subtle propaganda has been unleashed to depict China’s investment in Pakistan
as harmful. Pak-China planned joint venture of constructing ‘Economic Corridor’
and development of Gawadar are giving night mares to the US and India and
schemes are being hatched how to stop these projects. Unstable political
conditions and establishment of interim government of technocrats or national
government as suggested by some suit the conspirators to accomplish their
nefarious objectives. Unproductive sit-ins without a roadmap are slowing down
development works and foreign investments.
While India is continuously building up its naval power in
the Indian Ocean, the US is trying to contain China by roping in Indian Ocean
Littoral States within an ‘Indo-Pacific’ framework. Besides boosting economy,
science and technology, China must step up its efforts to protect its energy
security interests by securing Sea Lines of Communications in Indian Ocean by
deploying bigger naval force and developing Gawadar into a deep seaport and a
strong naval base. Only then it can hope to make profitable use of the planned
‘Energy Corridor’ linking Kashgar with Gawadar. Development of Gawadar seaport
must be expedited to allow Chinese exporters to export goods to the markets in
Africa. At the same time, greater understanding between Pak-China economic
managers, foreign policy handlers, military and intelligence officials should
be developed to accrue mutually beneficial gains in all the fields. Further fortification
of Pak-China strategic relationship will help in thwarting Indo-US policy of
encirclement.
Internally what is urgently required in these critical
times to frustrate the designs of enemies of Pakistan is political stability,
unity between all political/religious parties/groups, harmonious civil-military
relations and cooperation between State institutions.
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