Afghan Press Author: Rooh-ul-Amin

As it was feared so the in-camera joint session went off at half cock when the shortsighted politicians scupper it under the garbage of political clichés and blame game, stigmatising the former governments for flawed policies instead coining new schemes, strategies and ideas to find a safe exit in this turbulent hour of multifarious challenges.

The policymakers were busy in mulling about the ways to fight terror, the opposition party PML-N in hues and cries against the contentious policy of the government whereas the militants gave vent to their fierce resentment to the continued operations in Swat by beheading two soldiers. The operation left 25 militants dead the same day. Thus the whole fiasco exposed the intellectual bankruptcy of the policymakers. The opposition turned down the policy of the new government for having a hallmark of Musharraf because it revealed nothing but just three points—dialogue process, developmental projects in terror stricken regions of FATA and the ultimate ratio—military operations. The opposition demanded of the government that Bush’s poodle Mr. Musharraf must be brought before the session so that he can satisfy us that why did he put the sovereignty of Pakistan at stack by allying US in its war on terror. Nevertheless the present government could not show its courage in this line because it has come into existence as a result of the clandestine deal with him.

Mr. Musharraf went so far that he approved amnesty and rolled back the defalcation cases worth Rs. 35 billion against political parties through national reconciliation ordinance (NRO).

The briefing by the military to the joint session to the two houses—Parliament and Senate and the response it receives by opposition also proved nothing but a hare-brained formula because the politicians were given a huge doze of military tactics used in operations against the militants. Professionally by military point of view, it was well done but at least they must have kept in mind that its audience is a crowd of politicians and not the professional soldiers. Similarly the opposition adopted the path of criticism for criticism and oscillated in giving a solid model for its solution. They rightly pointed out that there was no concept of suicide bombings before Musharraf’s wrong and inapt decision but the opposition must have brought its own agenda to the forefront.

Our criticism must not be taken as an attack on the image of Pak army for it is the army, which sacrifices its soldiers, defending the frontiers and ensures our security against any foreign aggression but on the other it is the nation, which produce soldiers for it. Then they must be used against a foreign aggressor instead its own masses.

A candid US citizen Cindy Sheehan, a peace activist who lost his son in 2006 as a result of US yawned story of terror was put behind the bars for wearing a T-shirt captioned with 2245 dead resented at the US wrong policy.

So for me he is far better and humanist than these living statues in Pakistan, who, are calling it again and again their own war and playing with the blood and corpses of its own civilians as well as soldiers.

Now the opposition leader in national assembly Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan before lashing others must know that their leader Mr. Tiger Nawaz had also given way to American pressure. For this land till now has not given birth to such a legend character that can defy US dictations.

Amid this snarl in senate and parliament the ‘Asia Times Online’ divulged this news that when Nawaz Sharif was in power he had also dealt with the US.

The story goes back to the mid-1990s, when the government of Nawaz Sharif, permitted a special US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) unit to base at Tarbella, tasked with nabbing Osama bin Laden but it left the place with the military coup in 1999 toppling Nawaz government. Now once again the news is under emanation that Islamabad has given a green signal for the establishment of US bases in the same vicinity.

In this regard earlier the US joint chiefs chairman Admiral Mike Mullen has confirmed ‘Asia Times Online’s report that American bases would be built in Tarbella but only meant for training Pakistani troops and taking part in joint operations in the tribal areas.

Mullen in an interview to the ‘Los Angels Times’ unearthed that primary stumbling block had been that Pakistan had not been able to build a training site near Peshawar quickly enough after the surge of terror. The two parties (Pakistan and US) had therefore agreed to use an alternative base at Tarbella.

According to the documents confirmed by ‘Asia Times Online’, Tarbella, which is also an abode for the brigade headquarters of Pakistan’s Special Operations Task Force, recently received 300 American officials with the official designation of “Training Advisory Group”.

Thus the US under the garb of training Pakistani troops has bought a huge plot of land, several square kilometers where 20 large containers have arrived which were handled by the Americans and did not allow any Pakistani officials to inspect them. Given the size of the containers, it is believed they contain special arms and ammunition and even tanks and armoured vehicles – which certainly have nothing to do with any training programme. Though he has assured that it is just for training purposes but it would mean only what the Americans said it would mean. The remark of a Deputy Prime Minster of Turkey to a former Ambassador of India to Turkey would not be inapt when he said “Mr Ambassador, you cannot trust Americans on even what they have given you in writing.” Although Turkey is a country, which is a NATO ally of the US unlike Pakistan that is a non-NATO ally, does not trust Americans.

Yet his remark was in relation with US-India civil nuclear deal but here Taliban who are already sniffing at them like hounds will take this opportunity as pa asmaan me ghukhtay Khudai pa zmaka rakrday which means I was searching after you in sky but found you here. If there is a mess or loss of US soldiers, it will exploit it towards its own end. Even in this connection it will use the prowess—the allegations of Al-Qaida and Taliban and it can go to the extant of linking Pakistani troops with the alleged networks of the US own-reared Taliban, which it already has been using against the elements hindering its way. Thus Pakistan allowed US camel to be entered into its tent fully but it will be hard enough for it to expel US camel. And it would not be an exaggeration to say that will be the first step to turn Pakistan into a battleground for US.

But ironically Zardari after his visit to the United Nations has already admitted in the press that a series of US Predator drone attacks on the Taliban in Pakistani territory had been approved by Islamabad. Though Pakistan initially expressed fury at the incursions into its territory but the avarice for US $ 100 billion sunk its logical and acclaimed stand.

Therefore these days Pakistan seems fully stuck in the US grille at least for coming 2 decades. Because on one hand the US would-be president has declared Pakistan a battleground for America and on the other Pakistan has no gumption to grudge and decry the war on terror as not its own but the war of US interests.