We are pro-peace
nation. Immediately after independence, Pakistan chose USA as its friend as
against the then Soviet Union through a first ever State visit of the then
Prime Minister of Pakistan. Since then Pakistan stood as a friend with USA –
whether it was SEATO, CENTO, handing over of Budbher airport for its covert
operations against the then Soviet Union or providing our shoulders to fire at
Soviet Army in Afghanistan in 1979. The covert operations against USSR earned
Pakistan hostility and enmity of erstwhile USSR while it provided opportunity
to India to get more close to it. Pakistan faced the wrath of this enmity in
1971 when the friend of Pakistan acted as a mere spectator to disintegration of
Pakistan.
The invasion of
Afghanistan by Soviet Army in 1979 was perceived as politico-economic threat by
USA and its allies, majority being Muslim states including Pakistan. USA
invited Pakistan to help them to oust Soviets from Afghanistan. Pakistan played
that part very well and deployed its military and organised Afghan Mujahidin to
kick Soviets out of Afghanistan. But, the mistake Gen Zia made was, he induced
some Islamic sentiments to his expedition, which was totally counter-productive
to international politics and diplomacy, for the times to come.
USA recruited
Afro-Arab militants, trained, armed and funded them to fight along Afghan
‘Mujahedeen’ and Pakistan provided them logistic and base camps. The war,
besides other fallouts, triggered mass migration of Afghans to Pakistan putting
additional financial burden on Pakistan. Pakistan had maintained its GDP growth
rates more than that of India most of the times until the Soviet-Afghan War. By
the end of 2001, there were over four million Afghan refugees and the UNHCR
reported in February 2017 that about 1.3 million registered Afghan citizens
still remained in Pakistan.
With the withdrawal of
Soviet Army from Afghanistan in 1989, USA also withdrew from the region leaving
Pakistan alone to take the brunt of millions of Afghan refugees, both in social
and financial terms. Abandonment of ‘Mujahedeen’ – created by USA – without any
exit strategy also put Pakistan in critical security situation. These
unemployed ‘Mujahedeen’ spread across the country, engaged in sectarian clashes
and other crimes but the creator of this class remained indifferent to the fact
that these unemployed ‘Mujahedeen’ could one day emerge as monsters, whenever
they would get a chance.
The emergence of
Taliban on the horizon of Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul in 1992 provided
another opportunity to the foreign militants as well as Pakistani religious
militants to enter the arena. Their influence and doctrine spread across
Pakistan coupled with unabated terrorist operations against civilians, army and
law enforcement agencies. Now Pakistan is the lone victim of terrorism with highest
number of causalities being 50,000 and yet is blamed as responsible for it.
During the September
11 attacks in 2001, 2,996 people were killed and more than 6,000 others
wounded. These immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes (including the
19 terrorists), 2,606 in the World Trade Centre and in the surrounding area,
and 125 at the Pentagon. It is a matter of record that out of 19 hijackers, 15
were nationals of Saudi Arabia, 2 of UAE and 1 each of Lebanon and Egypt and
none from Pakistan. We, Pakistan, have a right to demand to know where the
involvement of Pakistan in 9/11 is and those countries whose nationals were
involved are still friends of USA and even Jordon provided platform to train
Daesh.
Pakistan had been
extending help to US to ensure peace and stability across the globe and in the
South Asian region, in particular, but US rather than recognising the support
and efforts of Pakistan, has entered a syndrome of repeatedly demanding
Pakistan to ‘Do More’ vis-à-vis terrorism, for the last 10 years. USA perhaps
forgets that it has always used the shoulder of Pakistan to fire the RPG
against its enemies in the region and still asks us to “Do more”. We helped
them in Soviet War and now “We” are facing both, terrorists label and the
Taliban’s attacks, just because of helping USA in its global war on terrorism.
Perhaps the time has
come to ask the US Administration to come out of “Do more” syndrome as far as
Pakistan is concerned. It is the time to ask the USA to “Do more” to stop
terrorist operations from the soil of Afghanistan against Pakistan; to
pressurise Afghan Administration to ensure that Afghan soil is not used against
Pakistan; to ask the Afghan Administration to prevent its intelligence and
security agencies to carry out subversive activities in Pakistan through their
own officials and the paid agents; to pressurise India to stop funding,
providing trainings and logistics to anti-Pakistan elements at its own soil and
at the soil of Afghanistan.
I would like to refer
a meeting with President Bush in the White House where I participated as
Interior Minister of Pakistan where I heard the demand of President Bush asking
Pakistan to ‘do more’ and my abrupt response to President Bush was that it is
time for USA to ‘do more’ as Pakistan has done a lot whereas USA has failed to
strategise a common strategy against our common enemy. Beside others, Ms. Rice
the then Secretary of State was present so this generic words ‘do more’ has
become standby American slogan against Pakistan.
According to a
Pakistani government assessment, more than 90% of terrorist attacks in Pakistan
are traced to Afghan refugee camps and several Afghan nationals have been
arrested for involvement in the attacks. Afghan militants sometimes enter
Pakistan’s border regions for shelter. Due to Pakistan’s porous border with
Afghanistan, it is difficult for local authorities and security agencies to
track the movement of Afghan militants into the country. After the December
2014 Peshawar school massacre, the deadliest terrorist incident in Pakistan’s
history, two Afghan militants were involved in this attack. Mr President Trump,
can you refuse that we are not still victim of this war.
Historically India had
been enjoying good relations with Afghanistan for decades minus Afghanistan
under Taliban rule and after the election of Hamid Karzai as president of
Afghanistan, India had once again renewed these relations with common
objectives of keeping Pakistan on defensive. India established its terrorists’
network under the diplomatic cover along the Pak-Afghan border, which has since
been the hotbed of terrorism inside Pakistan backed and supported by RAW and
NSD. It was no less than President Karzai who admitted in response to my
question that Indian training camps are there along with Pak-Afghan border but
showed his inability to finish it till he gets the clearance of USA. Now it is
USA, which needs to ‘Do more’ to pressurise India to stop arming, funding and
backing the terrorists to carry out their activities inside Pakistan from Afghanistan.
In the end, Mr
President, every time you and your predecessors have pressurised Pakistan to
‘Do more’ based on faulty intelligence provided by our opponent.
Haqqani network was/is
the assets of West and not of Pakistan. With the start of Zarb-e-Azb by
Pakistan Army, Afghanistan was warned of possible crossing over of terrorists
to Afghanistan with the request to seal their border to deny them such
opportunity but Afghanistan chose the other course. Had Afghanistan sealed the
border, the majority of the terrorists would have been eliminated thus ensuring
more peace in the region. Who wanted to ‘Do more’ – Pakistan or Afghanistan or
USA? I can state with full authority that under my direct orders the hideout of
Haqqani and Mangle were destroyed under my direct supervision in Fata.
It is strange that PM
Modi meets Baloch anti-Pakistan leaders followed by Afghan president, which is
taken as an open support to these insurgent and now recently we witnessed US
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher meeting the anti-Pak proclaimed offenders based in
UK. The question is as to who actually is supporting terrorists/insurgents?
Mr. President you need
to ‘Do more’ to stop the international anti-Pakistan intrigues. We have already
done much more for the international peace and fed more than 2 million refugees
in return of death supply from Afghanistan. According to a Report of UNODC
published by BBC on 23 October 2016, the “opium production in Afghanistan has
increased by 43% in the past year” [2015] and “the area used to farm poppy
plant increased by 10% to 201,000 hectares”. The increase in the poppy
cultivation in Afghanistan and smuggling of heroin in Pakistan had devastating
effects in terms of daily deaths of the addicts, which are estimated at 700
deaths daily which are greater than the deaths as a result of terrorism. The
smuggling of heroin/contrabands is, in fact, bankrolling for the terrorists.
Mr. President you need to do extra more to stop the poppy cultivation and
supply of drugs from Afghanistan, which is militarily and administratively
under the control of your Army. This is no more secret world is suffering
hugely because of this export of drugs to the West and Mr. President will you
continue to like this death supply to the world via drugs passing right under
the nose of American Army.
Mr. President consider
to stop drug production from Afghanistan then your 90% terrorism will finish
automatically as drug proceed going to terrorists will immediately dry down –
this will be the real “Do more” by you Mr President which will be great present
particularly to this region and in general for the world.
Mr President, please
revisit your intel briefing which will change your mind. So Mr President I hope
that my above facts may convince you that Pakistan is a victim and not a
perpetrator. And I hope that the cries of innocent children will convince you
that we are victims and not the supporters of terrorism.
I will be very happy
to have a debate either with you or your top media and will prove that Pakistan
is an enemy of terrorists and a friend of humanity.
The article has been published in ‘The News International’ on 20
August 2017
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