Zardari’s watershed US visit
Dr Syed Javed Hussain
The singular message president Zardari has given to the West
in his semi official tour to the US
is that Pakistan
can’t fail in its war against terror. The visit that took place in the wake of Pakistan’s 9/11,
as claimed by law minister Farooq Naik, that had destroyed Marriot hotel, could
not have taken place at more opportune time. There are many a factor at the
regional as well as global level that has made this visit highly timely. Even
though Bush is in the last days of his office, yet Pakistan
needed to take US
administration into confidence regarding issues relating to Pakistan’s territorial integrity, economic
stability, as well as institutional veracity of Pakistan
army that could not remain silent witness to incursions into Pakistan come
what may.
Political change that came after the removal of General
Musharrif from the office of the president apparently did not register any
significance in the US,
which was obvious from the US
army’s frequent incursions into Pakistan,
thought it was only killing its erstwhile friends. During the 70’s, the time of
cold war, the same Islamic extremists were fighting against the USSR, super power opposing the US. That time
these Islamists, i.e. Al-Qaida, Taliban, Pushtoon, Hazaras, Tribals in Pakistan and foreign fighters in Afghanistan were friends of America. On
their part, these brash Islamic fascists were fighting for Islamic Renaissance,
the concept the US
policy makers spent a lot of time, resources and energy to generate and
sustain. Gen. Zia ul Haq, like Parveez Musharraf, proved quite useful for
strangely different purposes: Zia for establishing a promoting extremist
elements and outfits and Musharraf for eliminating then: both for the wrong
reasons.Pakistan has slowly been dragged into a war that was never imagined at
its western fronts, however, not only Pakistan now owns this war, it is obliged
to win it at all costs paying dearly from its own coffers with the blood of its
sons. Brothers in faith and citizenry stand eyeball to eyeball in northern
areas and according to Ahmed Mukhtar, Federal Defense Minister, Pakistan army
has already killed 950 militants. The number has crossed one thousand by now.
No immediate let up in the fighting is expected.The NWFP governor last week
claimed that suicide bombers were coming from the south (Punjab), whereas, in
the plains the dominant perception is that all suicide bombers come down from
the mountains mainly to revenge the killings of their brothers as well as for
the glory Islam. They also blast bombs to punish Pakistan government for pursuing
the so-called American agenda in the region. The president remained heavily
engaged in the US
and all of his engagements have hinted at the urgency of issues at home. He met
with Robert Zoellick of the World Bank who assured of the bank’s continued
support to Pakistan
and said that a $1.337 billion World Bank funded programme was in the pipeline.
The Bank assured of its support for development projects in Fata as well as for
poverty reduction programmes.
Earlier Bush had said, “Pakistan is an ally, and I look
forward to deepening our relationship. We’ll be discussing, of course, how to
help spread prosperity. We want our friends around the world to be making a
good living. We want there to be economic prosperity and we can work together,
and of course we’ll be talking about security,” Zardai also met Ahmed Nijad of Iran to work out difficulties in the gas
pipeline from Iran
and other issues relating to trade and commerce between two brotherly
countries.
The President also met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh that has produced results, which may well have a lasting impact on
relations between the two neighbours. A joint press statement issued after
their first handshake in New York
covered a broad range of issues. The Indian Prime Minister pledged to resolve
the water dispute with Pakistan
in the spirit of the Indus Water Treaty. Mr Singh invited Pakistan’s water commissioner to visit India in October to inspect the controversial
Baglihar Dam project over the Chenab
River.
In his meeting with President Hamid Karzai, Mr Zardari
expressed his government’s desire for building a new relationship with Afghanistan.
‘We intend to open a new chapter’ based on mutual respect and cooperation, he
said. His meeting with British foreign secretary David Miliband in England, on the way to the US was also
very fruitful. David Miliband expressed his government’s total commitment to Pakistan on
fighting the twin menace of terrorism and extremism. Zardari’s all engagements
were pragmatic and were oriented towards Pakistan’s best diplomatic exposure
abroad as well as presenting Pakistan’s case in the best possible way with the
gap of 14 years. A civilian president representing a civil set up at home was
squeezing the best possible bargain from an ally in the war against terror
whose fickle behaviour in the past had won it great many detractors at home.
The so-called Islamists and nationalists like Qazi Hussain
Ahmed, Imran Khan and political strategists/opportunists like Sheikh Rashid
Ahmed, Ch brothers, Mushid Hussain and host of their kind in the PML-Q having
reservations over PPP led government’s relations with the US, have blown hot
and cold since Zardari’s election to the office of the president. In case of
Qazi Hussain Ahmed and his likes less said the better. They blaming the US for everything that is happening in Pakistan: Very
convenient device to absolve oneself of one’s responsibility. Can Mr. Qazi
explain what devil might have influenced him and his friends when they had
supported Parveez Musharraf on 17th amendment against the wishes of the whole
nation.
We need to maintain relation with the US at more
popular level establishing extensive people to people contacts. We have always
run into difficulties with the US
state department. The projection of Ummah in the West as a community of
extremists against everything Western has stereotyped the whole nation. The
vested interest and anti Islam force in the West will continue to do so. We need
to break free from the rut and rejecting the extremist outfits come out in our
real colours to the people at large. The onus is on us, because as a nation it
has become obligatory upon us to provide just leadership to the world. It will
remain a distant dream until we modify our own attitude towards the West and
don’t dispose it to hell jeeringly.
First, however, we need to wrench Islam away from the
myopic, halfwit extremists who through their random murdering suicidal bomb
blasts and other acts of omission and commission are doing more disservice to
Islam than its enemies. In this perspective we need to understand what does he
mean when our Prime Minister says that it is our fight that we are fighting
against terror. We are not mercenaries of America killing our own people for
nothing. It is a mega fight that has been going on since centuries. Since the
days of Imran Ali when, in early days of Islam, he had to fight many a battle
against Kharijites and defeat them. In many cases Kharijites fought to their
last man in the fray and were all killed in the battlefield.
Their understanding of Islam was so narrow, restricted,
myopic and jaundiced that Imam Ali used to say that they were more dangerous to
Islam than its avowed enemies were. Kharijites used to fast all days and pray
all nights sleeping very less. They used to wear very simples dresses and ate
very simple food.
They, however, would wrongly declare anyone Kafir, who would
commit even a small crime. They declared Imam Ali apostate and finally one of
them dealt a fatal blow on the head of Imam Ali when he was leading the Morning
Prayer in “Kufa” We in fact are faced with new-Kharijitism. New-kharijites are
also having tainted vision of Islam. On the lines of Imam Ali we will have to
fight our battle to the end until they are completely neutralized and the life,
property and civil rights of common man in the lands of Islam are protected
from their intransigence.—The writer is a noted columnist and analyst presently
teaching at a foreign university.
http://pakobserver.net/200809/29/Articles02.asp
