Opinion Playing Pakistan’s advocate: the arguments against America

Way back in the ’50s,Pakistan signed the Baghdad Pact,joined SEATO and CENTO and became a firm US ally. In return,Pakistan expected support from the US in disagreements with India,especially with regard to Kashmir. Remember,this was a time when India was blatantly pro-Soviet (the first non-communist country that Bulganin and Khrushchev visited was India; India gave tacit support to the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956; India was a founder member of the Non Aligned Movement whose neutrality had a distinct bias favouring the Soviet Union). Despite that,the US never really helped Pakistan in the UN or other forums. India held on to a large part of Kashmir with the help of the Soviet veto in the UN Security Council. In 1960,Gary Powers flew his U-2 over Soviet airspace. He took off from a base in Pakistan. Pakistan risked direct Soviet wrath in order to help the US. Yet in 1965,when India and Pakistan were at war,the US,instead of helping an ally,took a stand of sanctimonious neutrality and cut off spares for US-supplied equipment demonstrating a cynical “unreliability”. This contrasted with the haste with which supplies were sent to neutral India in 1962 when the India – China conflict erupted.

After the Six-Day War,many American client states in the Middle East were shaky. One such country was Jordan where the PLO attempted a takeover. The US relied on the trustworthy soldiers of the Pakistan army to crush the PLO in what came to be known as the “Black” September conflict. The Pakistani troops were led by a young brigadier named Zia-ul-Haq. The US used Pakistanis as “a mercenary force in support of American interests”; Pakistan acquiesced in this. In 1971,when Nixon wanted to reach out to China,it was Pakistani president Yahya Khan who helped arrange Kissinger’s “secret” trip to Beijing. Nixon virtually promised Pakistan that he would ensure its territorial integrity. Despite this,during the Bangladesh war,Pakistan got,at best,lip sympathy from America and Nixon stood by as Pakistan was split into two. In contrast,the Soviet Union gave material support to “neutral” India and vetoed all UN action till the Pakistani army was forced to give up.

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan,India equivocated and,in fact,supported the Soviets. It was Pakistan who took up America’s clarion call to fight the “atheist communists”. Pakistan helped the US win the Cold War in the hills and valleys of Afghanistan. As soon as the US got what it wanted,it dumped Pakistan,imposing sanctions as US presidents who,for years on end had “certified” that Pakistan was not building an atomic bomb,suddenly discovered that this was,in fact,the case. The worst insult was holding up the delivery of F-16 planes which had been paid for in cash.

After 9/11,Pakistan was arm-twisted into deserting its ally,the Taliban government in Afghanistan,and forced to capture many al-Qaeda operatives who were seen as honoured Islamic guests by most Pakistanis and hand them over to be detained in Guantanamo. Pakistan has been repeatedly bludgeoned into fighting its own citizens in the interests of the US. To top it all,there is complete insensitivity on the part of the US to the fact that the leadership in Pakistan (both civilian and military) comply with these fiats which are hugely distasteful and unpopular with the vast majority of the Pakistani population. The US continues to pile insults on Pakistan. When we asked for a nuclear agreement similar to the one obtained by India,we were given a contemptuous response. President Obama chose to visit India and ignore Pakistan which continues to lose precious soldiers fighting America’s “war against terror”. Instead President Obama increases drone attacks which violate our sovereignty and now has physically invaded our country with armed commandos in helicopters,pulling the rug beneath the feet of leaders who are desperately trying to stay pro-American against the wishes of their own people.

The US seems to be very upset that Osama bin Laden was staying in Pakistan and could not have done so without a “support network”. The Pakistani “establishment” is being prosecuted in the court of world opinion on account of this. The fact of the matter is that there are millions of Pakistanis who consider Osama a hero. It was the easiest thing for him to have a friendly “support network” in Pakistan. Could some of these admirers and supporters be in the Pakistani army or intelligence establishment? Of course — many of them are not just pious Muslims,but Islamists who hate America and considered Osama a great warrior; supporting Osama was seen by them as a religious obligation. The next question is whether senior Pakistani officials (the army chief,the head of intelligence,the prime minister,the president,etc.) knew of Osama’s presence. America under Nixon invented the expression “plausible deniability”. If a middle-ranking intelligence official told his senior “please do not worry; the Osama situation is under control — he is dead or has disappeared”,do you think the concerned senior would have asked any questions or would have decided that it is better not to know any more?

End of the defence case

The “unreliability” and “insults” of the past combined with current “insensitivity” makes life difficult for Senator Kerry or any other envoy. The US has no choice but to engage with Pakistan through Saudi Arabia and China,the only two countries who have credibility with the Pakistani establishment and perhaps with the Pakistani people.

jerryrao@expressindia.com