Little-studied internal Pakistan army debates help understand just what the institution wants for itself and for the country it rules.
In the autumn of 2002, at the end of a murderous 10-month stand-off with India provoked by the Jaish-e-Muhammad's attack on the Parliament House in New Delhi, a small group of mid-level Pakistan army officers set about debating its lessons.
The overarching strategic lesson of the 2001-2002 crisis, wrote Brigadier Muhammad Zia, was clear: the West had come to the determination that “a nuclear (and Muslim) Pakistan has to be kept in control, lest it leads the Islamic world towards the formation of a new and powerful economic and military bloc in competition with or antagonistic to the western alliance.”
He then outlined Pakistan's strategic response. “India is highly volatile on its internal front due to numerous vulnerabilities which, if agitated, accordingly could yield results out of proportion to the efforts put in.” Pointing to Kashmir, the northeast and Punjab, he suggested these faultlines could be employed as an “offensive option against India.”
General Pervez Musharraf, military ruler, described the 2002 Green Book, the volume recording the deliberations of Brigadier Zia and his brother officers, as a “valuable document for posterity.”
It is: Pakistan's continued tactical patronage of jihadist groups operating against Afghanistan, India and the West is derived from the system of ideas outlined in the Green Books, records of the Pakistan Army's internal deliberations. The ideas underpin the chain of events which have taken Pakistan ever closer to the abyss since the late 1970s.
Last month, Admiral Mike Mullen, outgoing Chairman of the United States' Joint Chiefs of Staff, submitted a written testimony asserting that “extremist organisations serving as proxies of the government of Pakistan are attacking Afghan troops and civilians as well as U.S. soldiers.” He alleged that the Haqqani network, the most powerful of the Taliban's constituent forces, was in fact “a strategic arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).”
Nothing he said was startling as experts, journalists and the U.S. intelligence community have known as much for years.
Ever since 9/11, the U.S. has hoped that the right forms of engagement and incentives will persuade Pakistan's army to change course. The Green Books cast light on why this strategy has failed and will continue to fail.
Pakistan and the jihadist project
Six years ago, in a book published just before he became his country's ambassador to the U.S., politician-scholar Husain Haqqani recorded that the Pakistan Army's jihadist project was “not just the inadvertent outcome of decisions by some governments.” Instead, he argued, the Pakistani state's use of Islam “gradually evolved into a strategic commitment to jihadi ideology.” The Green Books explain just what this strategic commitment entails.
The historical genesis of the Pakistan Army's jihadist project is well known. Following colonial military thinkers like Francis Tuker, who headed the British India's eastern command at the time of independence, Pakistan's strategic community believed that India would collapse under the weight of its ethnic-religious strains.
From 1947-1948, Pakistan's intelligence services thus conducted what Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru described as an “informal war”— a campaign of aid to secessionist insurgencies, in which clerics and religious ideology often had a key role.
Pakistan's political élite also came to increasingly rely on the clerical class for legitimacy.
In 1956, the country's first constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic republic — a notion unknown to classical theology — and mandated that no laws repugnant to the Koran and Hadith be passed.
Later, General Ayub Khan excised the prefix “Islamic” from Pakistan's name, but nonetheless appointed a council of clerics to guide the state. His successor, the hard-drinking General Yahya Khan, allied with Islamists in Bangladesh and Kashmir. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in turn, bowed to clerical pressure, pushed forward with anti-minorities measures and declared Islam the state religion.
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq oversaw the full bloom of this process: influenced by the ideas of Islamist ideologue Abul Ala Mawdudi, and inspired by the triumph of the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan, he set about rebuilding the state and the army with jihadist ideology at their core. The new model army Gen. Zia-ul-Haq built was principally concerned not with defending the state's frontiers against its adversaries, but with reinventing Pakistan itself.
Commodore Tariq Majid laid out a road map for this new model army in the 1991 Green Book. He wrote: “the Islamic state, apart from the standing forces, keeps a volunteer force of the people and employs the other lot of able-bodied manpower to strengthen the other elements of the military system during wartime.” His “volunteer force of the people” would, in time, evolve into the ISI-backed jihadist networks Pakistan now sponsors.
Brigadier Saifi Ahmad Naqvi, writing in the 1994 Green Book, provided doctrinal flesh to this project. He began on the premise that “Pakistan is an ideological state, based on the ideology of Islam.” Therefore, “the existence and survival of Pakistan depend upon complete implementation of Islamic ideology in true sense. If the ideology is not preserved then the very existence of Pakistan becomes doubtful.” This, in his view, made the Army “responsible for the defence of the country, to safeguard [its] integrity [and] territorial boundaries, and the ideological frontiers to which the country owes its existence.”
Brigadier Muneer Mahmood explained, in 2002, why Pakistan needed to patronise jihadist groups. Pakistan was being cast as the “torch-bearer of the Muslim ummah [nation] by the biased western media and Jewish lobby.” In time, it was “likely to be the target of these forces.” Even though the prospect of a “conventional war between India and Pakistan appears remote, the environment [therefore] looks ripe for a LIC [low-intensity conflict] confrontation.”
Even as Pakistan became increasingly mired in counter-insurgency operations in the northwest after 2002, elements within its officer corps harboured substantial misgivings about the project. In 2008, for example, Brigadier Waqar Hassan Khan argued in the Green Book that “the superpower's entry into [the] Middle-East and West Asia [sic] was not possible without a Pearl Harbour; 9/11 was either created or supported to be labelled as the second Pearl Harbour.”
“Now,” he asserted, “it has come in the open that people have been missing the jungle for a tree; the so-called Pakistani Taliban was a bogey created by RAW, MOSSAD, and probably the U.S.-led coalition to keep the Durand Line on fire and destabilise Pakistan internally to achieve the ultimate objective of undermining the only nuclear Islamic state on this earth.”
Major-General Muhammad Ahsan Mehmood, then-Director General of Weapons and Equipment, wrote a companion-essay explaining why Pakistan ought not to aid the U.S.' anti-jihadist campaign.
Pakistan's counter-insurgency commitments, he insisted, raised an “issue of legitimacy.” “If a section of society,” he wrote, “is not convinced about the moral standing of the task and a general perception on the similar lines also exists among the masses, it seriously erodes the performance of the military, which gets affected by the societal pressures. Military operations inside one's own country make it fundamental that the troops feel just and fair with regards to the operations being undertaken and popular support of the masses exists. Unless it happens, no amount of training, motivation and technology differential will deliver.”
Pakistan's army simply could not, this line of argument suggested, engage in a war against jihadist militia it had fathered without undermining the foundations of its own legitimacy.
Less than six months before Admiral Mullen's dramatic testimony, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton certified that Pakistan had demonstrated a “sustained commitment to and is making significant efforts towards combating terrorist groups.” Pakistan, she wrote, had ceased support to “extremist and terrorist groups, particularly to any group that has conducted attacks against the United States or coalition forces in Afghanistan.”
Islamabad had also helped, Ms Clinton wrote, in “preventing al-Qaeda, the Taliban and associated terrorist groups, such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, from operating in the territory of Pakistan, including carrying out cross-border attacks into neighbouring countries.”
Her empirically ill-founded declaration enabled the U.S. administration to continue funnelling aid to Pakistan, even as its army paid proxies to kill American troops.
Notwithstanding the furore provoked by Admiral Mullen's testimony, little is likely to change: in Washington, D.C., continued engagement is seen as the least-awful of a basket of bad choices.
Insanity, Albert Einstein is believed to have said, consisted of doing the same things again and again, but expecting different results. The Pakistan army's jihadist commitment is not merely a tactical tool to project influence or win legitimacy: it is, instead, the paradigm through which the institution comprehends the world and seeks to shape it. The jihadists the U.S. hopes to bribe and cajole the Pakistan army to abandon are in fact soldiers of the nation the institution seeks to build — a dystopia that dollars, ironically enough, will continue to underwrite.
Keywords: ISI, Pakistan army, al-Qaeda, Taliban
pashtun are in great danger from pakistan army isi and taliban these three groups never care about islam. isi and pakistan army need a tool to achieve there goals in Afghanistan and Kashmeer they are funding and creating the jihadi groups only for there political reason ..isi using the same method which is use in afghan war against russia by the usa ..isi learn from it Master usa...How to exploit religion islam for his goals ... Paskistan army and isi is never interested in islam ...if they do so then why they kill thousand of bangali and rapped women in bangal they are muslim then why... isi funding taliban to create a puppet state in afghnistan ..and isi can go for anything isi can kill pashtun and balochi as they kill bangali isi have no think for it that they are killing muslim ....isi and pakistani are not even mostly muslim....pakistan army personal are mostly from those areas which worked in bitish army. means pashtun are in great danger from isi+taliban+army.
Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. No body shall ever rule over them. They are the fiercest of all fighters. Our army rulers have tried so hard to make them obey us. We believe if we can recruit the fearless afghan fighters for our cause then Kashmir shall be ours. You have put 5 lakh soliders in kashmir. What Osama did to the US, we are doing to you.. bleed your money through pointless wars. You have to defend siachen because we might attack any time. What I never understood is why should you be always on the defensive? Why do u protect your borders?
Offense is the best defense. Go all out. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution. Eradicate intolerable religions. Hitler's genocide was perfectly right, but he committed against the wrong community. If you get my drift.
One cannot wish away the basic fact that Pakistan is ruled by the trinity of the three big M's---Miltary, Mullahs and Militants. Until this equation changes , nothing will change.
it does not matter whose army is pakistans Gods or other crooks who are using God or religion to advance themselves. The fact is Pakistan is in big mess, people are disillusioned. You cant feed masses with empty slogans or bullets. India as a big brother and neighbour has a spiritual intellectual responsibility to pull her thru this mess rather labelling as a terror state which will alienate her and push the world in further chaos.
The analysis and observations made by the military in Pakistan is very deductable looking from outside. In fact ever since the formation of Indian Union western countries were periodically expressing their reservation about the longevity of the union and the survival of the democratic system in this country. That cynicism was also understandable to a degree, given the divisive forces of cast, religion, language and so on inside India. Till now every such prediction were proved false and India progressed in many fronts, thanks to the cultural and civilisational glue which has proved much stronger than the divisive forces. Unfortunately, from the days of Indira Gandhi, who started to appease these divisive forces, the national and local politics increasingly used them for short term political gains. Thus over these years the fault lines have become much deeper and dangerous. After Indira Gandhi, the new dynasty of Gandhi’s have gone further and created many new states in the north and north- east to appease local political interests. Many new political dynasties have sprung there. The quality of governance have deteriorated to such a level that many a common people have turned to Naxals and various insurgent groups proving that creation of new smaller states are not the solution for underdevelopment. Recently courts have made judgements against the functioning of extra judicial force in some of these states. One wonders whether we are sleep walking into a culture prevalent in some South American countries such as Columbia. Given such degradation in our governance, one could not be surprised that the Pakistani military men arrived at their hypothesis.
It also needs to be understood that Pakistan’s degradation to the current level was partly due to the geopolitical games of the western countries, especially USA and UK. One could go back to the days of the now defunct military alliance of CENTO. Throughout its history, Pakistani military dictators were feted by the west and never were criticised when they used religion to transform the country to a state where civilian rule was almost impossible. The Taliban was a creation by the west with the help of Saudi Arabia using Pakistan military and intelligence services to fight the soviet backed secular government of Dr. Najibullah in Afghanistan. (The Guardian news paper of UK in 1986 described Dr. Najibullah as one of the most erudite leaders in the third world at that time.) Why did they do that? Was it political or economic or neo-colonial interest? Even Osama was a creation of USA and Saudi Arabia. He became enemy when he questioned the presence of American bases in Saudi and criticises USA’s support to Israel against Palestinians. Now the west is mourning about Taliban and Al-Qaeda which are their creations. India has to understand this and have its own independent foreign policy based on the values it stood for in the past.
What India need to understand is that it is not Pakistan or China its main enemies. Our enemies are from within which are many. The most dangerous ones are lack of education/skill to the masses and corrupt/ incompetent governance. India also needs a responsible public service broadcaster similar to the BBC and a responsible media, which should be considered as the oxygen of our democratic system. There are no signs of the current political forces taking up the challenge facing the country. Look at the present leadership of Congress Party exposed by the never ending scams. Regarding the opposition, one needs only to look at the replacements of a respectable leader like Vajpayee. One cannot expect these lots educating and emancipating the public. For them it would be like turkeys voting for Christmas.
It clearly highlights the emotional weakness in us Indians.
let us remove the barriers within us both religeous and regional and stand united and face the challenges and show the world that no one can divide us in any circumstances.
It is an EYE OPENER.
DEAR BRETHREN
LET US STAY UNITED FOR THE SURVIVAL OF HUMANITY (MAN KIND)
I only pray that another Mahatma Gandhi is born in Paksitan to ward off these evil elements in the garb of religion.
The idealogy of the Pakistan's army from the very inception of the State of Pakistan, has been that India is a mortal enemy and that it should be destroyed. The '2002 Green Book'of the Pak.Army clearly underscores that view. In so far as matters relating to Inida are concerned, they are outside the purview of any elected or civilian government and what Pak.Army says is the law. It would be a wishful thinking on our part if we foresee any fundamental change in the existing attitude of the Pak.Army towards India. It will not stop abetting and aiding any agency, internal or external that is on the path of striking India to make it bleed. It meets their idealogy.
To Athar: When person A makes a bomb to kill person B, but the bomb blows and damages person A's arm, but he continues to make the bomb with his other hand, then would you call person A a "victim"? That is the situation with Pakistan. The Jihadist bomb has blown up parts of it, yet Pakistani establishment cannot stop supporting it. It is because, as the article said, doing so will undermine the legitimacy of Pakistan.
When you analyze the situation in India, Pakistan and US, the fight is not between west, Islam, Hinduism, India or Pakistan. It is between the rich and powerful vs poor and common people. Who benefits from the wars and terrorist activity? In India, the politicians, in Pakistan the Generals, in US the arms industry and politicians. Who loses in all three countries? The common folk. Civilians die in India, US and Pakistan as a result of terrorist attacks. The US, Pakistani and Indian soldiers who die fighting terrorism don't come from the upper middle class or upper class, they come from poor families. The terrorists who get recruited in jihadist movements are predominantly poor people. Unless we realize these schemes of the rich and powerful, we won't rid ourselves of violence. Rest is just made up rhetoric to fool the poor and common people.
For once i actually agree with Praveen Swami. He has the ideological conundrum, that is the Pak Army, by the scruff here. Very well written. I would have liked the author to have shed some light on possible future scenarios as to how the institution of the Pak Army will shape itself and the nation with it. Will it prosper or wither or remain in a complicated position.
Theocracy,premitivity,ignorance and modern weapons in their hand are a potent
combination the world can ill-afford to ignore. The US policy of dilly dallying with Pakistan
would only embolden the nasties, giving them room to arrange further more heinous crimes
against humanity. The world community has to wake up to this serious problem and deal
with it effectively so that peace can return to the world and to the region. All religions are to
be relegated to personal belief and practices and not to be allowed to be a part of any
political movement, in any country! The greatest number of people so far have been killed
in the world died in the name of God and religion!
I don't think we should resort to coddling with the USA because of obvious threats to our borders.It's like the typical puny meek boy in school hanging out with the bullies just cos he's too afraid to fend for himself.We need to look into ourselves and resolve issues amongst ourselves.India has fallen to invaders throughout history because she struggled to put up a united front.Let's stop using fasts and cut-throat demands for independent states.A fast is a time for self-reflection not self propagation.United we stand divided we fall.
To all Pakistani commentators here... If we analyze some of the leading AID recipients from United States of America like Israel, Turkey, South Korea, Taiwan, etc made good use of the American Aid to make substantial progress in economic indicators. Compare it with $70 billion aid (the third highest after Israel and Turkey) Pakistan got from United States for the past six and a half decade analyze and make your own conclusion. Your real existential threat is the Pakistani army and ISI. Hitler, Pot pol, Stalin, Kim Jong II, Robert Mugabe, etc think/thought they work for the best interest of their nation. But, the results often prove otherwise.
To be realistic,India on its own, cannot defend its northern frontiers from determined Chinese offensive. Nor can it counter the fast spreading Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, firstly due to lack of resources and secondly due to not very cordial relations with our neighbouring countries. On top of all this, there will always be a hostile and jihadi Pakistan to consume half of our defence budget. Under these circumstances it would be prudent for us to have active military alliance with USA. Nehru's non aligned policy was a fallacy. We should learn from military ties of Japan and South Korea with USA. In this way we will be able to ward off Pakistani evil and also and devote more energy and finances towards uplitment of massive povertyprevailing in our country. Marely analysing dangerous situations in Pakistan and taking no remedial action will not take us anywhere.
Well written article. Contrary to some comments here, there are no more sizable numbers of Hindus left in Pakistan to be eliminated! So we shias are slaughtered as we are the next. It is very very interesting to see some comments that blame USA for everything. Its seems fashion for some sections of muslims in both India and Pakistan to link USA for their cultural failures. The very same will not ask the fundamental question that shias are killed EVERYDAY regularly by sunnis in Pakistan everyday. Something that has not happened in India thus far.
This is theory. What happens on the ground may actually be slightly different. All points of control never work the way it is designed. My question is where is the money for running this network coming? Surely the generals who conjure up these strategies are not so stupid to not know that without economic support none of their fanciful theories will see light of the day or can be sustained.
Pakistan nation is being misled. They believe that Kashmir can be extracted from India if they persisted with militancy against it. Approach is naive, however, consistently belabored by Jihadists and the Military and it is probably believed by 90% of the people. They donate generously to this effort, they send their children to fight for the liberation of Kashmir. The core motivation is the continued oppression of Kashmiri people by India. If the Jihadist mindset has to be removed from the minds of gullible people of Pakistan then Kashmir issue has to be resolved according to the wishes of the People there. The cause has to be removed. Kashmir and Afghanistan has become the rallying point, clarion call of Jihadists in Pakistan.
Such venom from so many people. I can tell you I never read such venom from Pakistanis against the Indians and I do read their newspapers too I am convinced that every Indian is brainwashed to hate Pakistan, the pakistani military and and ISI and not necessarily in that order. Perhaps here lies the core issue. Not one reader analyzed the article, but all jumped to Pak bashing.
Extremely well written and well-researched article. Thanks to the author and the publisher. The article also refers to certain internal problems of India which could lead to India's downfall. Do our politicians, press and the tv channels notice this? If Praveen could know these things, how is it that the govt and the political parties do not seem to be concerned with this major issue? The recent instance of Pakistani leaders calling on Annaji ---can this be a part of Pakistani plan to destabilise Indian political set up? Govt has many things to attend. Inflation, growth, external threats, terrorism and what not. We have the Telengana issue. We have the issue of corruption. And many more. it is unfortunate that the govt is not allowed to function. Setting dead lines, going on fast, blocking roads and trains, setting fire to buses are not signs of responsible and patriotic behaviour. The media has also played to the gallery motivated by commercial considerations. High time we act responsibly .
They need a book to be written some 60 years after independence, to tell them what their country should be. Hopefully they figure out soon. Strange!
There is nothing new in the Green Book that Indian intelligence does not know. It is long known that the Army holds the government and the Mullahs hold the Army; the equation- the Mullahs are the actual rulers. Zufiquar Ali Butto succumbed to their dictats and Zia flourished on their support. So long Pakistan would strictly stick to Islamic laws and ideology, there is very little that can be expected from that State other than 'Jihadi', which is an integral component of that ideology, i.e.Islamic expansionism. There is no escape from their constant threat to destabilize India in the name of religion. Brig.Mohmad Zia at the start of the Green Book and the successive Generals have made it clear this aspect.India should be on guard and thwart the evil designs, even as living organisms fight their invaders constantly and tirelessly in order to survive. We have the power and might; step up the necessary intelligence and defense operations and face the threat to survive as a Nation.
But one thing which can definitely be praised is India's measured and careful response -- some may say India is slow but precisely the absence of overzealousness on part of India and focusing on development and communal harmony rigidly has helped India not only survive the evil plans of the Pakistani Military but also minimize the losses. However, India must employ the best brains in the nation to strategically and silently defend itself against any conspiracies -- the end aim for any such process has to be peaceful co-existence.
US thought that it was the best strategy to donate at the cost of its domestic economy, to the Pakistani establishment with diamond needles and silk threads to sew up the torn parts of the country , without realising that Pakistan would just use a part of these materials to stitch together strongly the jihadi, military and ISI and fully use all the diamond needles to pierce the eyes of the donors and their supervisors sent there for watching how these materials are put to use.
The corrupt Pakistani military led establishment created the national security state policy whereby pakistan is a neo colonial state serving US regional interests. Islam is the opium used to maintain the power and privilege of this establishment. As the US hegemon goes into terminal decline and India rapidly advances politically, economically and militarily into a super power, the position of this corrupt Pakistani establishment becomes increasingly untenable. More so as parts of Pakistan e.g Waziristan are historically part of Afghanistan which was the only country to oppose the creation of Pakistan in the UN. Within this scheme of things should Pakistan again resort to terrorism against India then a forceful response must be made to wipe out these terrorists in Pakistan and their bases from the planet. Pakistan has to make a clear choice - peace and reconciliation with India or proceed on the road to purgatory.
Excellent article, great analysis and good to get all the information.
From my perspective if we rename them as Group A vs Group B, its
almost a war of supremacy on earth. One or the other group wants to
stay superior. What Pakistan is doing might look as wrong from an
opposite perspective, also they spawning several dangerous groups
looks odd from the opposite end, they might be fighting for their
existence, its like a million soldiers vs a small group so they are
going out in all directions to protect their identity, not sure who
started all this havoc but its like solving the puzzle if the hen came
first or the egg. There is no end and this will go on until every
country thinks just positive and have no ego and move for a prosperous
living. I wish peace and prosperity for mother earth..
It's sad and tragic to see what has become of the land and people of the Indus valley that shared the same and great ancient civilisation as the rest of India. Through constant invasions and raids by foreign forces who looted and massacred our people. The same civilisation that had Chandragupta and Ashoka as their kings is now reduced to commiting terror and hate towards its own brethren in the name of a middle eastern Jihadi ideology.
What a brilliant article!! Pakistan will learn its lesson in due course.
New military general who have had their asses kicked will write a better
doctrine - or else the state will perish.
If at all this world is going to end someday in future, it will be because of people who put religion before humanity.
As usual brilliant analysis from Mr. Swami. Only a person of his calibre can come out with such an understanding of the state of affairs in Pakistan and its army. it is high time that India especially Our PM who wants to go an extra mile to reach out pakistan for peace, understand that he is chasing the impossible. The very existence of Pakistan is its "Anti-India", "Anti-Hindu" mindset, otherwise it will collapse as it can not answer for its separation from India. Though there are a large number of people in Pakistan who are very secular in their outlook and would like to normalize relationship with our counterparts, their voices are muted and definitely the army, which is surviving on a bogey of 'Indian threat" will never allow it to happen. Let us not get carried away by the candle light marcher's theatrics about "peace", "shared culture" etc and better the Government prepares fully to meet any eventuality that may arise in the course of 'American Withdrawal" from Af-Pak region.
Extremely well written column! Just what I expect from the Hindu.
Any state based on a doctrine of religion is bound to fail. Especially
so in the case of Islam.
Also reading some comments here, I find it mind boggling that even
some INDIAN Muslims still empathize with Pakistan's Islamic militant
agenda. So much for freedom.
Well researched article as always from Praveen.
An ideology based on hatred is bound to destroy first those who harbor this malignancy. This cancerous ideology of hatred and terrorism is already consuming the body and soul of the Pakistan nation. Can the world close its eyes to this wreaking of havoc? India definitely cannot, she has to take all appropriate action to protect herself from this insidious and mortal threat.
Can we stop with this notion that somehow Pakistan is a victim and was fooled by the US? This is the very notion that this articles tries to clear. The support of Afghan resistance in the 1980 against the Soviets and now of Taliban against US and of Kashmirs against India is a deliberate strategy. The Pakistanis are no children from whom the candy of innocence has been taken by the US. Support for radical Islamization was a tool employed by Pakistani military leadership as weapon - against India, against Soviet Union, against Pakistani people and now against US for strategic gains and political control.
I ask - so what if US supported Afghan mujaheddin in 80s, why did Pakistan continue the support after the Soviets left? Why does it still pursue "Strategic Depth" of making Afghanistan its vassal state?
Raheel,
The ISI networks are killing Ahmediyas, Christians, Sikhs, Shias and Sunnis alike. I don't think there are any Hindus left to be killed. The Shias are the largest minority, naturally they will fight back. Same is the case with the conflict in the tribal areas. Soon the Punjabis will be fighting the Sindhis. That is happening in Baluchistan already. The Pakistani elite are facing what they hoped India would go through.....collapsing due to the ethnic-religious tension.
I would start by saying that I'm Pakistani. One thing is for sure that Pakistan is a big mess right now (agreed). I think we got engulfed in a fire we used to protect ourselves, not making a judgement that it was right or wrong. But for me it all started with the war in Afghanistan. I never heard the term "Pakistani Taliban" in Pakistan, and these so called "Pakistani taliban" are bombing the **** out who... yes "Pakistan". I've seen my city Islamabad turned upside down with fear, blockades every intersection, NO Foreigners in sight, Bombs going off like its normal, no International Cricket, economy down the drain, energy crises like crazy, inflation at a rate that was unheard of just to mention a few notable changes. The worse thing is that our Army is engaged in one of the biggest operations in history and its within our own borders with these so called "Pakistani Taliban" and we are still being blamed for supporting them. You must realize, Pakistan is the biggest victims here in this war.
Its funny media also dont show the true picture. I believe Pakistan
Army may have close links with the freedom fighters in Afghanistan but
the problem is it is only due to US double game which they are playing
since last 60 years. We have history of US betrayal e.g. 1971 war
ships never came to help Pakistan against Indian oppression + whenever
India does Nuclear Test and Pakistan follows it, only we get all the
sections. This is the justice of US and west.
I dont put much blame on US because; we should have understood US
intention right after 1965 war, 1971 war or recent nuclear test when
Pak got all the section and India enjoyed open support and what about
2006 US deal with civilian nuclear deal India. What US say is Pak is
different. Why dont they say that Pak is a Muslim country and we dont
want any Muslim country to have this technology that is why we are
also making excuse of N Weapon about Iran because US also dont what
them to have this technology. What if they have this techn
Pakistan has a definite agenda - the destruction of the Indian state. Since 1947, it has used religion to further it's political goals as this article clearly points out. Policy makers and the media, including the Hindu, should keep this in mind when dealing with Indo-Pak relations.
Great article by Praveen Swami. It's true that the Pak military and ISI think they are prosecuting an Islamic Jihad against secular India. But then the question arises : Since when did God condone terror, mass killings of innocents, constant war, playing politics to start wars etc. You have to question the psyche of the Pak military if they truly believe that they are God's soldiers. They should be hunted down for war crimes by the UN and ICC. This would bring an end to their dirty and ugly crimes.
The fact that Pak military, ISI, LeT, Taliban, Haqqani network are interrelated is well known. They are creations of Pakistan's rulers. The US has planned to vacate its military from Afghan by 2014 is a threat to India. The US must disarm Pak of its nuclear arsenal for it should not slip into the wrong hands of the jihadis.
I think we have not been able to learn from the history. The US has always interfered in other's affair, it always has an axe to grind when it comes to political situations across the world. It has never played a responsible role of a superpower to solve the world's problem. In fact it has exacerbated the situations everywhere in favour of its own personal gain. It has killed more than 20,000 people in Afghanistan in order to take revenge of the killing of its 3000 people. How can it justify that the life of its own citizens are more important than the life of other nationals? It is true not only for the US, but also for every other big nation. Why do we have defense budget of Trillions of dollars globally, when majority of human beings are living in abject poverty and insalubrious conditions. Creating a peaceful and prosper planet is all about our propensity and preferences.
Only two countries are so worried about Pakistan. India and Jews (Israel). World listen to them. Everything they argue and say is right and nothing else.
It is sometimes hard to comprehend how real'anti-India' is in the Pakistani mindset, particularly in its Army.There is a feeling that the'anti-India' and the 'Islamic' factor are being hyped or stereotyped. However,one sometime fails to realize how core it is to Pakistan to present itself as separate, distinct to India.An entire history and a way of thinking has been developed in Pakistan which seeks to link up Pakistan to a middle Eastern and Islamic narrative while cutting itself from its South Asian context.For Pakistan,since its formation, it has face a question,'why should there be a Pakistan'.This has led to a almost paranoid sense of identity and insecurity.India was out to get Pakistan and for its nationhood Pakistan could never surrender to India.For some in Pakistan,only a disunited and broken India can ensure Pakistan's long term security.While good relations with Pakistan can be striven for,it would be important to always keep our guard up.
The strategic association of U.S. with Pakistan to neutralize Russian influence in the South Asia seems to have gone to backseat. Now, when Pakistan-supported terrorism is uprooting the U.S. military in Afghanistan, it is hard to imagine the cause of U.S. being associated with Pak.
Surprisingly, no correspondent has pointed out the fact that India is a major encourager and sponsor of terrorism including state sponsored terrorism. Some examples are quoted. We supported the LTTE for the Tamil sympathy vote, we launched JS Bhindranwale in Punjab to tame the Akali Dal, we released five convicted Latvian turned Russian terrorists involved in the infamous Purulia arms drop case, we are desperately protecting convicted death row terrorists like Mohd Afzal and Ajmal Kasab, and we ourselves butchered thousands of innocent Sikhs and Muslims in 1984 and 2002 respectively. Pakistan's terrorism campaign on India has been eminently successful over the past 25 years because of our 'cooperation' in not implementing counter-terrorism doctrine and allowing the terrorists a free run. Even a basic item like Police reforms and modernisation has been shelved. Unfortunately, the naive aam admi swallows all the garbage that our netas fling at them on how they are fighting terrorism.
I completely agree with what fellow reader Mr. Anand has said above. Enough has been said and done to highlight Paksitan's role on terror and it is time India stopped gloating over Pakistan bashing by the US. The US has its hands tied. It simply can not run operations in Afghanistan without the support of Pakistan so this sudden spate of Pakistan bashing by the US is nothing but posturing by a helpless superpower. The new strategic pact between Afghanistan and India is a well timed and well intentioned move. Winning over the Pashtun majority in Afghanistan through economic and military co-opeartion will go a long way in cutting off Afghan support to any ambitious anti India plans that the ISI might have hatched post the planned US withdrawal in 2014.
"Insanity, Albert Einstein is believed to have said, consisted of doing the same things again and again". well this has been the case since ages. Ghazni tried 17 times. Until the Indian regime became weak enough to loose. The line of thought still persists, hence leading to insane acts of violence.
Before going for a full fledged action with Pak both India and USA must be developing many strategies to dismantle Pak of its nuclear weapon. That's why US is doing the same thing over and over again. One of the most important job, kept in secret, is to dismantle Islamic Rep. of Pakistan.
Pakistan is a beneficiary and a victim of that cold war - it profited handsomely until Gorbachev called it a day and the cold war ended - since then it has been a victim of a mindset that it cultivated but cannot change now even if rational politics deem that to be exigent - karma? well, would that not be the ultimate insult to a state that had to destroy a sense of nationhood to justify itself? sometimes, methinks you just can't make this stuff up.
Musharaf is the real culprit of the all happenings in Pakistan and Afganistan.He has lied about Bin Laden,lied about Dawood and about Jihadi links.He should be tried for war crimes.People should not believe whatever he says,he still commands and controls Pak army and thereby controls the country.He has caused lot pain to innocent civilians. Unless Pakistani army is completely dismantled and the nuclear weapons are secured. Pakistan will ever remain a hanging sword on the world.World community should wake otherwise we will soon see a bizarre scenario like Congo,pre-war Germany(current pakistan) aligning with China to threaten the world.
Interesting fact - America is paying to get killed their own soldier through Haqqani Network .
Billions of bytes have been written about Pakistan's role in terror. Its track record in terms of nuclear proliferation, exporting terror, destabilizing the region, backing the most extreme elements across the border (Taliban in Afghanistan, LeT, JeM in Kashmir), make it a topper in the list of rogue nations. But US has a soft corner for Pakistan. While it has become increasingly vocal is disparaging Pakistan, it is reluctant to make Pakistan pay the price. We can only expect many more billion bytes of incisive articles, and billions more dollars of misplaced aid to funnel into India. And hundreds of innocent lives getting snuffed out thanks to terror from across the border.
The Americans must come out with a full account of what really happened when they allowed the Pakistani Army to airlift thousands of jihadis from Afghanistan.
Excellent article, which throws light on real intentions of Pakistan. Pakistan sees India as a threat to its very existence. Disintegration of the Indian state is, therefore, the ulterior objective of Pakistan's defence forces.The Kashmir issue is just a proxy for Pakistan's real intentions. Tomorrow, if by some miracle, the Kashmir issue is resolved, Pakistan will find some other reason to wage war against India. Thankfully, India continues to prosper inspite of the low-intensity war waged by Pakistan against India for more than two decades. Indian politicains should always keep this in mind while negotiating with Pakistan.
This is a well written, well researched article. It dashes the 'hope' that India-Pak or even the World and Islam relations will ever see peace. The Islamic ideal, severe in its underpinnings with relations to non-Muslims to begin with, has been thoroughly been drip fed poison. The Pakistani military thinkers are clear that their legitimacy is derived from Jihadist mindset. Fully aware of their religious manipulations, they are careful to put the blame on outside agencies. It has painted them in the Jihadi corner. And the Jihadi talons must be kept sharp i.e. the Jihadi recruits must have single minded Jihadists agenda. Morbid as it may sound, the clash of the civilizations is on and the dance of death picking pace.
Another gem from Praveen Swami. God only knows where he gets his research material, but it is always thorough! Now we can see that the Jihadist strategy is not an ad-hoc occurance, but rather a carefully thought out doctrine created by the Military. It is impossible to see why and how the US expects to change this mindset in Pakistan. Although the article makes the situation gloomy, we have to be realistic in India and plan for this.
I think author miss the major point that is, it was CIA which has created Jihadist Groups to use against USSR. ISI of Pakistan was utilized by the CIA.On the other hand we should also introspect ourselves. Our Indian Army is also not insulated from the communal ideology which is very much apparent from Lt.Prohit involvement in Terror Attack on minority dominated Malegaon. It is also come to the light that Indian Army is killing innocent civilians in trouble areas which is predominantly religious minority areas. It would have been nice analysis of the issue if he would have accounted from all the perspectives rather taking and believing the source which is notorious in nature like CIA.
U.S.A. has learnt nothing.Pakistan Is a terror factory of the world.The generals will never give up power.Civilian society is weak.India has to be ever vigilant.America and Pakistan will remain strange bedfellows.Love ,hate relationship will continue. strong denial of betrayal,notwithstanding.
Impressive research and great article. Helps forsee what's the future for India, Afghanistan, USA and rest of the world, given Pakistan's current ideological quest. Sad to note, how stupid USA has been all along in defeating the Soviets, which was the only 'God-less' ideology capable enough to defeat and overcome the Islamic Jihadi ideology. American technological superiority is no match in a contest of ideologies, as has been repeatedly proven by the strategic blunders which Washington keeps making the world over again and again, insanely.
Always question, "So what is INDIA going to do about it?" Seed this in your mind, and eventually, a collective Indian response will be framed!
Surely, India or the USA can come out with a 'Green Book' on how to contain this mercurial,nippy strategy ? We need our own set of mid-level officers in the Army to formulate a response and the political class should back this. Incidentally, Imran Khan should read this article as he claims injured innocence of the role of the Pakistan Army in supporting the jihadist groups.
Interesting article. You do give a lot to what Admiral Mullen said but in the same article totally discount what Hillary Clinton puts in writing. How selective. America has lost this war. How easy it seems that a group of 15,000 to 20,000 lightly armed fighters can actually defeat the mighty armed forces of 49 countries, supported by a bankrupt Pakistan. Where do you think they are getting all this money to support this effort and defeat this seven billion dollar a month American war effort. Not from the one and a half billion dollars America gives every year to Pakistan for its civil and military use.
This well written article about hopelessness of Islamist Jihadi based military doctrine of Pakistan reminds me of another quote of Albert Einstein: "If people were to understand the true intentions of the founding fathers of all religions, there will be no more wars !!"
This article is a cogent explanation of why after decades of talking to Pakistan, there hasn't been an iota of change in their continued support for fomenting violence in India. All those well meaning Indians who talk about peace are running after a chimera that only creates serious problems in our political system. It would be much better for our polity to publicly acknowledge the mortal danger from Pakistan and to prepare a strategic response that has the capacity to hold not just Pakistan responsible but also countries like China and Saudi Arabia that are responsible for this problem.
Religion and politics never go hand in hand.
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