US drone attacks and Pak national interest Ali Ashraf Khan For many years we have been trying to show that the American so-called war against terror is harming Pakistani interest and General Musharraf’s lonely decision to join this war unconditionally was the reason that terror has swept Pakistan and an independent Pakistani Taliban movement has been created. This process started right after the American invasion of Afghanistan for which Pakistan was the launching pad and it culminated in the spread of terror into the cities of Pakistan by 2007. A major reason for that (apart from the lal masjid episode) were the US drone attacks that were allowed by the Musharraf government and were partly even launched from Pakistani soil in which hundreds of innocent Pakistani women and children were killed that has created hatred for US. The last government of PPP, which came into power as a result of NRO never changed the foreign policy and commitment of General Musharraf towards the US while drone attacks have been an almost daily occurrence under the PPP with thousands of people dead as a result; unfortunately all victims were immediately declared as ‘militants’ by the propaganda machinery of the army and establishment for their own vested interest to perpetuate themselves in power. Over eleven years of this situation have strained the national fabric of Pakistan to the maximum. The army is fighting a war in the tribal areas against the same people whom they had been regarding as friends before 9/11, Pashtuns living in the tribal areas are refugees in their own country and those who have lost family members in drone attacks are a never-ending pool of recruitment of new fighters which is the reason why this civil war is perpetuated and no relief is in sight and foreign interference appears to have entered in political philosophy of our spineless politicians who make hostage of our nation. In addition, people who are not Pashtuns but who see ‘Islam in danger’ through drone attacks, American presence in Pakistan and Pakistan’s change of position on the Kashmir question – young people without education, and jobs and even without a hope for it- are another pool of fighters that are destroying Pakistan’s peace, national coherence, our economy and the minds of our children. The new government even before its coming into office has announced that one of their most important tasks will be peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban in order to end civil war in our country, to resettle millions of IDPs and to improve the security situation in the country – a much needed precondition for economic revival. A couple of days ago a new drone attack killed the top commander of the Pakistan Taliban Waliur Rehman, one of the moderates in the movement who would have been a partner and supporter of peace talks with the new government. The US by killing exactly this person (together with six other fighters) has thus succeeded in preventing peace talks of the newly elected government before it even assumed power when US is facing difficulty in reaching an agreement to secure future security to its interest in Afghanistan. Waliur Rehman was killed only a week after President Barack Obama announced he was scaling back the use of drones for targeted killings outside the war zones such as Afghanistan. The US State Department in a briefing on Wednesday issued written guidance confirming that a reward had been announced for Waliur Rehman’s killing. In response, only three days after the loss of Waliur Rehman the TTP has cancelled its offer for peace talks to the Pakistani government. The US has claimed proudly that drone attacks are made after getting clearance from Pakistan meaning that policy of Pakistan towards achieving peace with TTP is shady. Is there any more proof needed that Pakistan’s cooperation with the US in their war is hurting the national interest of Pakistan? It is not only detrimental to our national interest, it has completely destroyed the economic infrastructure leading to closure of industries and loss of foreign investment. It is known to all that Pakistan has not received more than $ 10 billion as re-imbursement for our engagement in the US war effort whereas our accumulated loss has been more than $ 100 Billion; so this arrangement with US has been total loss, it undermines the very existence and survival of our country with Pakistanis fighting Pakistanis and hatred for killing infesting new hatred in the next generations. That is why the first and foremost task of the new government should be to cancel all official and un-official cooperation deals with the US in their war in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. Pakistani nation has elected Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan into power to fulfill their commitments on war against terror, which people consider against Pakistan’s interest. Drone attacks have been another agitating issue for every citizen. PTI has now formed government in KPK and has given assurance during elections to stop drone attacks, we hope concrete steps will be taken to fulfill this commitment and no compromise will be made to retain power. This draws attention of PML (N) and Tehrik-e-Insaf to the question about how Pakistan is going to bring peace to its own country in a situation when Pakistan’s national interest collides with the US interest in the region and when our previous governments remained all out to involve itself into peace in Afghanistan while neglecting the problem at home inspite of signing peace agreement with TTP in 2007. There is no record that Pakistani negotiators with Clinton and her team were addressing this question. That means US drone attacks into Pakistan are not only military attacks on Pakistan, they are also interfering with the political situation on the Pakistani side of the border. How will the government of Pakistan bring peace to the tribal areas and the rest of the country if any agreement with actors in the tribal areas is disregarded and disrespected by the US? This is just another proof from the recent drone attack that killed TTP leader Waliur Rehman to create hurdles in new peace initiatives and that goes to prove our stance that Pakistan’s and US national interests in the conflict are not only different but even opposite which puts a question mark behind any cooperation between the two. It’s better to leave the government than to let down its voters aspirations in this regard if they are pressurized to maintain status quo again. Those who launch drone attacks inside Pakistani territory are our enemies not our friends or partners and if these attacks are done with our government’s consent then the government is also a party to this crime. There is a dire need to spell this out clearly and finally do what has to be done in the best interest of Pakistan. Pakistan’s solidarity and sovereignty is our first and foremost need, rulers should keep that near and dear to their hearts because fountain of power is always the nation and not foreign allies. Now is the time for both emerging leaders of PML (N) and Tehrik-e-Insaf to prove their worthiness as this dependency on US is anyway rather a curse and should not be perpetuated and we must work our plans ourselves and try to stand on our own two legs commanding some respect in the comity of nations. That means the future of US-Pakistani relations is rather bleak and the sooner we realize it and draw the consequences the better it would be for Pakistan. God bless Pakistan.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 05:19:05 +0000
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