[Assam] Pak presidents op ed in NYT

[Ram Dhar]

>>>Does he have the guts? Can he stand up against the military generals who seem to have more power than he?
He has given orders but its not an easy task.
 
Pak military-ISI  is a confused force , they dont know what to do. In  early 80s they were told to create jehadist and fight soviets, west backed them up but today they are asked to fight these some  groups . In 90s  they started proxy war  against India ( kashmir) via LET and other thug militia groups and now under international pressure they are asked by their govt to severe all links and  fight/arrest them. 
 
Post 911 , things changed .....ofcourse starting with afghanistan. ISI still continued its liason and support with taliban/jehadist so that they can be used  as a proxy force to fight thier #1 enemy ie India . Musharaff took  Dubya for a wild ride - Pervez Musharraf’s need for support from Islamic groups gave extremists political space as well as protection. Since the rigged elections of 2002 until recently, mutations of the Wahabi/Salafi Islamic militias have become stronger and better organised in the tribal areas.   These  groups supported by petro dollar from middleeast    trained volunteers mainly from mushrooming madrasas all over pakistan. These terror academy run by ex ISI -military men are now actively fighting pak army in frontier areas.
 
Zardari a sindhi-PPP guy  is a suspect in the eyes  of the army. The reality of the power equation in Pakistan is that the army is the most organised and powerful party around. And although the present military leadership would prefer to stay out of the limelight after nine years of Musharraf’s high-profile rule, it still calls the shots where Pakistan’s regional policy is concerned
 
Since Zias rule in 80s ,extremism has seeped into every level of bureaucracy. One major reason the army is unwilling to completely sever its links with extremists is that it fears an alliance between India and Afghanistan that would see Pakistan encircled. Having an army of proxy warriors is an insurance policy military planners are reluctant to surrender.Mumbai terror show was a reminder to hastinapur just to prove that point that  we are watching you - India ...backoff from afghanistan !
By supporting the mujahideen in Kashmir, Pak  have tied down at least four Indian divisions there. What could be a more cost effective strategy? 
 
Now, this same strategy has come to haunt Pakistan and the region.
 
 
 
> Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008 10:57:25 -0800> From: dilipdeka at yahoo.com> To: assam at assamnet.org> Subject: Re: [Assam] Pak presidents op ed in NYT> > The help Zardari is seeking to reduce poverty and to strengthen democracy  is for the long term. The West has been helping Pakistan and will continue to do so, may be more abundantly. We all hope that the average citizen in Pakistan will benefit from that.> > But Zardari did not say much about the short term. He could have talked about formation of a joint investigative team of Pakistan, India and USA members to identify the planners of terrorism. He keeps talking about "non-state actors". If these actors are pakistani citizens, Zardari's government is still responsible for their act on a foreign nation. If Zardari is really keen on stamping out terrorism, his government should review the findings in India and arrange more raids simultaneously so that the culprits cannot escape.> > Does he have the guts? Can he stand up against the military generals who seem to have more power than he?> > > > > ________________________________> From: Ram Dhar <ramdhar at hotmail.com>> To: assam at assamnet.org> Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2008 12:26:22 PM> Subject: [Assam] Pak presidents op ed in NYT> > > > zaradaris  ope ed in NYT> > http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/opinion/09zardari.html?ref=world> > highlight -> These militants did not arise from whole cloth. Pakistan was an ally of the West throughout the cold war. The world worked to exploit religion against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by empowering the most fanatic extremists as an instrument of destruction of a superpower. The strategy worked, but its legacy was the creation of an extremist militia with its own dynamic. > Pakistan continues to pay the price: the legacy of dictatorship, the fatigue of fanaticism, the dismemberment of civil society and the destruction of our democratic infrastructure.. The resulting poverty continues to fuel the extremists and has created a culture of grievance and victimhood. > > _________________________________________________________________> Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass.> http://windowslive.com/Explore/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_anywhere_122008> _______________________________________________> assam mailing list> assam at assamnet.org> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org> _______________________________________________> assam mailing list> assam at assamnet.org> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
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