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No Escape Route For Pakistan

Author : Yogendra Bali | .

Posted on : Thursday, December 31, 2009

New hubs of terror emerging in Pakistan leave no escape route or ‘Rahi Nijat’ for rulers of Islamabad. Between South Waziristan and South Punjab, the terrorists are ready to attack even the most protected and sensitive military targets as a spate of recent suicide bombings in Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Islamabad has shown.

This is what the noted Pak commentator Khaled Ahmed wrote in Friday Times. The Pakistan Army can''t take on South Punjab at the same time it fights in South Waziristan. Any war expert will tell you the idea is absurd. Hence it is appropriate to deny that there is more terrorism there compared to other parts

In a TV discussion, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah insisted that South Punjab was as much a home of terrorist organisations as any other part of Pakistan. He rightly pointed out that the terror masterminds captured after the recent GHQ attack were from Faisalabad. He did not agree with the normal delineation of South Punjab as a distinct region inside the province; he did not accept Jhang as a part of South Punjab.

Ex Commissioner of Peshawar, and now an expert attached to the FATA Secretariat, Khalid Aziz stated in a recent paper: ‘Southern Punjab comprises 13 districts having a total population of approximately 27 million. These districts include Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Bhakker, DG Khan, Jhang, Khanewal, Layyah, Lodhran, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahimyar Khan, Rajanpur, and Vehari’.

What was once ‘feudalism, weak infrastructure and limited livelihood opportunities’ has been compounded by the rise of the well-financed religious seminaries, some of them sectarian and competitively funded to protect their client communities. Because of their participation in State-run jihad the jihadi organisations have been able to challenge the feudal landlords.

The NATION wrote in its November 2 editorial: “The military, while it continues with its inroads into the area, should also be attempting to not only divide the militants but also seek the opening of a dialogue with those who are prepared to lay down their arms and accept the writ of the state. This will not only isolate the diehard militants from their support bases but will also reduce the casualties on both sides, as well as amongst the trapped civilians. After all, army action is never an end in itself but has to be followed by political strategy for peace to be restored in a lasting fashion. However, perhaps the most urgent need for wrapping up the military action quickly is to prevent the army from getting bogged down in a sort of entrenched warfare a la the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Disturbing Factor

A most disturbing factor has been the new US demand on the Pakistan military to expand Operation Rah-i-Nejat into a ‘multidimensional’ operation expanding into Balochistan and other parts of Pakistan as well. Clearly, the US would like to keep our military stretched for its own purposes. The US also cannot be ignorant of the underlying suspicions the Baloch harbour towards any form of military action. So why would they deliberately want to create greater civil-military cleavages in Pakistan, unless that has been their intent all along. This is one of the most compelling reasons why the Pakistan military cannot allow itself to be caught in any prolonged military action within the country. If the US realises the need to talk to the "good" Taliban, why should the Pakistani state not open dialogue with those who want to talk; while the externally-supported militants are exposed for what they are: paid mercenaries targeting the Pakistani nation.”

The DAILY TIMES in its Number 2 report from Lahore wrote “US President Barrack Obama has decided to initiate a dialogue process with the Afghan Taliban and has requested Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to help initiate the talks, a private TV channel reported on Sunday. According to the channel, the US has decided to talk to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Taliban commander Mullah Akhund will represent the Taliban in the talks. Sources said Mullah Akhund has told the US it cannot create rifts between Taliban ranks with money. He has also demanded that the US pull out of Afghanistan as soon as possible so the people of Afghanistan could form a government of their own choosing.”

Editor Shireen Mazari who hails from DG Khan wrote in The Nation (April 29, 2009) about the dominance of the more jihad-oriented madrassas in DG Khan, significantly pointing out the ‘foreign funding’ they were receiving: “In DG Khan, there are 185 registered madrassas of which 90 are Deobandi (with a total of 324 teachers), 84 are Barelvi (with a total of 212 teachers), six are Ahl-e-Hadith (107 teachers) and five are Fiqh-e-Jafaria (10 teachers).

The total number of Deobandi madrassa students in the DG Khan district is 11,535. Interestingly, in this category, it is the large madrassas…linked to the JUI that receive foreign funding…almost solely from Kuwait.

The Americans Are Worried

What does the world think about South Punjab? The Americans are worried that South Punjabi adjuncts of Al Qaeda and Taliban might actually beef up the number of suicide-bombers coming across the Durand Line. The first attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul was said to have been facilitated by elements embedded in South Punjab.

This is where the South Punjab plot thickens. The US wants Pakistan to engage the Taliban but Pakistan says it doesn’t have enough force to do so because it has to guard the eastern border where India is amassing troops and bringing forward its new missiles called BrahMos. When India is approached, the Indians say Pakistan is sending terrorists into India from its South Punjabi stronghold of jihadi outfits and it has to deter Pakistan through mobilising close to the border. British newspapers carry news of Jaish-e-Muhammad training its fresh instalment of terrorists in South Punjab.

The Pakistan Army can’t take on South Punjab at the same time it fights in South Waziristan. Any war expert will tell you the idea is absurd. Hence it is appropriate to deny that there is more terrorism there compared to other parts. Anyone familiar with the lay of the land would agree that a military operation near the western border cannot be paralleled by another operation near the eastern border. In any case, given the terrain and urban centres involved, Punjab will have to get the job done on its own with a much better equipped and trained police force.

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