Pakistan News and Discussion-8

[Guest]

<b>Fighting terrorism together</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->FOR years charges have been levelled against Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, that it has been involved in the terrorism that has destabilised South Asia. But the Pakistan government has always denied these allegations, insisting that the ISI was never involved in any act of terrorism — be it in Afghanistan or in India. <b>Now we have President Pervez Musharraf admitting for the first time in a television interview that some retired ISI officials may be involved in the insurgency in Afghanistan. True, he has not implicated any serving personnel or the agency collectively, but the fact that any Pakistani who has had links with the establishment should be playing a clandestine role in neighbouring countries and using Pakistan’s territory for the purpose should be cause for serious concern</b>.

Seen against this background, the recent British intelligence report claiming that the ISI was indirectly helping the Taliban in Afghanistan acquires a measure of credibility. One will also have to pay more attention to the Afghan president’s charge that ‘outsiders’ are fuelling the war in Afghanistan. Similarly, the Mumbai police chief’s allegation that he has evidence of the ISI masterminding the serial blasts in that city in July cannot be dismissed out of hand. The fact is that the ISI, which was set up in 1948 as the intelligence wing of the army and for years used to spy on the government’s political opponents, expanded into a “state within a state” under General Zia to run the anti-Soviet insurgency in Afghanistan. From Afghanistan it is known to have moved on to greener pastures as its pan-Islamist, pro-jihad and hardline directors-general virtually ran the country’s foreign policy. It does not seem to have abandoned that role altogether<b>. In any case, now that the president has admitted a degree of involvement by ex-ISI men in terrorism, it is important that this aspect of the matter be investigated. If any Pakistani with ISI connections — old or new — is found to be waging a jihad in Afghanistan, Kashmir or India, he should be punished for acting against state policy.</b>

<b>The revelation comes at an important juncture in our external relations. President Musharraf has only recently taken initiatives to lower the level of violence in Afghanistan and to improve relations with India</b>. Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to work together to fight terrorism by holding two loya jirgas in the border regions on either side of the Durand Line and involving the tribal elders in their effort to root out terrorism. Pakistan has also entered into an agreement with India at the Havana NAM summit to devise a mechanism to curb terrorism in their countries. These moves will succeed only if all countries investigate charges such as the ones given above rather than dismiss them out of hand. Pakistan has made similar charges against RAW, the latest being about its role in Balochistan. If India is involved — officially or unofficially — it should cooperate by looking honestly into the matter rather than having a knee-jerk response of denial. It is time the three countries realised that terrorism is an evil that could undermine the political stability, strategic integrity and social cohesion of each of them. They have a common interest in putting an end to violence in South Asia irrespective of which government’s jurisdiction the war-torn area falls in. It would be the height of folly for any of them to believe that one can prosper by weakening the other. Their fortunes are linked together and they will either swim or sink together.
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