16th May 2011’s imperative news was that US Special Forces have been asked by the Pakistan’s GHQ to wind up and go. Some sources reported that most of the US troops have already left the country. These troops were sent to Pakistan in January 2008, during the initial days of COAS Gen Kayani as well as the civilian PPP government. Pakistani people know well about the present scenario around today but what follows would tell them the buildup to the current events. Let us recall our recent past to get the things cleared.

On 28th January 2008, a leading Urdu channel from Dubai was hammering beat since morning that the US intelligence people and high profile officers of CIA had visited the Tribal Areas of Pakistan to give the ‘strategic planning of entry proposals’ a final shape. The United States had already planned to start landing their troops on ground inside Pakistan following a decision by the Pentagon to send Special Forces, under a camouflaged approach of providing training to Pakistani soldiers enabling them to meet new terrorist challenges.

A media report declared as follows:

‘An internal communication called a planning order has been issued by Admiral William Fallon, commander of the US Central Command, asking US military commanders to develop ‘new approaches’ to help Pakistan combat terrorism, senior defense officials revealed in a background briefing on Wednesday. ‘New approaches’ appeared to be a euphemism for covert US intervention in Pakistan where anti-American sentiment is high. AP reported that the program envisages a timeline stretching to 2015’. (Ref: Times of India dated 25th January 2008)

Both Pakistani and American governments were keeping this plan under covers but the news broke when Admiral Fallon was holding talks with Pakistan’s new army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani on the subject. US officials started releasing details of the plan to the media stating that Pakistani Army Chief had given green signal for the operation. Whether true or false, the fact remains that before leaving Pakistan, Admiral Fallon had categorically stated that US assistance would now be ‘more robust’ and that Pakistan had shown greater willingness to accept ‘help & go’ enumerated in US plan.

LA Times of 24th January 2008 confirmed the above news amidst a story saying ‘the Pentagon is making plans to send military personnel to Pakistan to train its security forces, taking advantage of promising ties with the country’s new top general.’ A Washington Post columnist from Rawalpindi had also contributed a report on the meeting between Admiral Fallon and Gen Kayani apparently undermining Gen Musharraf’s position, but clearly gave an insight deliberation over the evil issue of American interference in Pakistan without cogent will of Pakistani populace.

On the other hand Gen Musharraf, during his week long tour to four European countries, left no occasion to dismiss any such development ignoring the American agencies’ statements alleging Pakistan’s acceptance of the the same, having left Washington with little choice as its vaunted military ceded territory to Al Qaeda and Taliban elements on its western border, amid reports of troop desertion and surrender’.

Nationalist minds got alarmed at the proposals incorporated in this ‘joint venture’ because, as per narrations of the recent history, most interventions in Third World countries took start with such ventures involving advisers and trainers, as it happened with the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan. In the meantime, the US media had started a welcome campaign for Gen Kayani on the instance of CIA and Pentagon. While they were taking Gen Kayani to the pillarless heights of praise and honor with hopes that the later would give serious ears to their dictations. They were seriously conveying the message around that for
America Gen Musharraf would be a liability.

Most Pakistanis raised their voice against these unprecedented arrangements because such military training lessons could be delivered to our Pakistani officers in United States as has been a previous practice. Even at that moment Indian military officers were also being given same kind of training but it was in America not on Indian soil. It was a point to ponder that why Pakistan was offering a practical knowledge of their command and control positions to the US, considered by most Pakistani’s as an enemy, courtesy a series of continual betrayal during our short history.

As more Pakistanis started seeing through the sham ‘War on Terror’ and its coinage by the American think tanks staging attacks on Twin Towers and Pentagon HQ to give a much needed turbo start to this preplanned war. By 2008 countless movies, documentaries, books and voluminous reports on record had already revealed that the attacks on Twin Towers and Pentagon on 11th September 2001 were suspiciously launched by the US themselves and that putting the blame generally on Muslims everywhere and specifically on Al-Qaida declared to be based on Pak-Afghanistan borders.

The latest reference in this context was the debate held in the Japanese Parliament during the second week of January 2008 in which one MP named Mr Fajita asked the Prime Minister Mr Fokuda and his cabinet members to explain that why Japan was taking side of the US, financially and politically, in the name of ‘War on Terror’ campaign. The debate went so somber that the Prime Minister and every concerned minister had to answer the question seriously to clear their positions. MP Fajita, while explaining facts, had also availed an opportunity to place numerous photographs and extracts of independent investigation reports before the Parliament. His presentation was widely appreciated which arrived at conclusions that:

· The blame on Muslim community had been placed without any proof or evidence.
· There was no evidence available with the US that who actually launched attacks.
· The number of people died in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11 were much more as compared to deaths occurred in 9/11 events.

Earlier, former Italian President Mr Cossiga had also made new revelations which appeared in Italy’s oldest and most widely read newspaper, Corriere della Sera. Below is a rough translation:

“[Bin Laden supposedly confessed] to the Qaeda September [attack] to the two towers in New York [claiming to be] the author of the attack of the 11, while all the [intelligence] services of America and Europe… now know well that the disastrous attack has been planned and realized from the CIA America and the Mossad with the aid of the Zionist world in order to put under accusation the Arabic Countries and in order to induce the western powers to take part … in Iraq [and] Afghanistan.”
(Ref: MPAC UK.org dated 7th December 2007)

The purpose of narrating above facts is that how Pakistani military rulers could be so ignorant of the historical footprints of American designs. They knew all the details of above mentioned episodes but the glittering reflections of 10.65 billion Dollars received by Gen Musharraf’s teams after 9/11 in the name of War on Terror had turned them senseless. No audit, no spending details, not accounted for in the national budget, all amounts consumed in ‘combating terrorism, in tackling Al-Qaida or in chasing Taliban in border areas.’ Why the Americans were so confident that they would land in Pakistani Tribal Areas anytime feasible for them and they would not be requiring any formal permission from the government of Pakistan because the military rulers had already taken its price in advance for providing the US this undertaking. Americans had till then established their seven air bases on Pakistani soil on the basis of which they were also threatening Iran.

Year 2007 was a year of turmoil for Pakistan by all standards of internal security, violations of human rights, slaughtering of judiciary, waging war on rule of law and betraying of political ambiance in the name of democracy. In this worst scenario Gen Musharraf was not willing at all to detach himself from the post of COAS for obvious reasons. When Gen Musharraf unwillingly gave away uniform in December 2007, the Americans did not waste a single moment to change their bets for new horse. After a little home work done at the respective army HQs in the two countries, Admiral Fallon was there in Pakistan to assure the new General that the dollars would continue to pour as before. Admiral Fallon, while planning a visit for Pakistan then, did not even bother that General Musharraf, their old trusted ally, was on tour abroad. An old practice of power politics.

Keeping in mind the past behavior of the CIA, Pentagon and Mr Bush, giving a serious thought to the then election slogans Hilary Clinton and Obama had been raising during their campaigns, listening to the echoes of Iraq war, pondering into the strategies of occupation of Afghanistan, analyzing American pacts and packages being offered to Israel and India and keeping in view the short-sightedness of Pakistani decision makers, the intelligentsia could estimate the future costs of friendship Pakistan was going to pay. Pakistan was going to become another Iraq or Afghanistan in the near future. At the end of 2007 the scenario was as follows:

· Pakistan was the only country in the world where 57 bomb blasts / suicide bomb attacks occurred in one year 2007; around 700 people were killed and 2000 injured.

· Pakistan was the only Islamic country on globe where religion was (and still) being used as a tool of political exploitation rather as a messenger of peace.

· Al-Qaida or Taliban had chosen Pakistan as testing ground of Islamic Law whereas Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and other Islamic states were living peacefully.

· Terrorist activities and bombings in Pakistan had increased manifold since the Americans and NATO forces landed in Afghanistan.

· Al-Qaida and Taliban warriors were getting their weapons, mortars, guns, bomb-jackets, sophisticated communication equipment, food and day to day livelihood with apparently no source of income except ‘secret relationship’ with the Americans.

· Poppy cultivation and export of heroin virtually eliminated during Taliban rule had reached its heights in Afghanistan leading some to state that the budget of CIA’s covert operations in Afghanistan was met locally.

If General Musharraf had indeed spent the American aid then how Baitullah Mehsud and Fazalullah of Swat were able to sustain fight with regular Pakistan Army for months?!

A serious analysis of these questions would lead to the conclusion that all Pakistan’s sufferings took start with the landing of Americans on this soil. Pakistan was trapped in the name of ‘Intelligence Sharing’ while the Americans continued to double cross Pakistan. For no other reason but because the latter was the only atomic power that had gone defensive after making nuclear blasts instead of creating a deterrent effect for the world, Pakistan’s nuclear capability has been made a burden on nation.

It is clear that with the billions in aid, Gen Musharraf had surrendered before the Americans forcing Dr Qadeer Khan to confess helping Iran or North Korea in their nuclear programs rather than opting to behave as a genuine nuclear power like others.

However, fast forward to present, the same game has been repeated again. Senator John Kerry on 16th May 2011 clearly told Pakistan that ‘he has not come to Pakistan to offer an apology for 2nd May’s attack; rather came to assert that US would again launch similar attacks for Mulla Umar or similar ‘High Valued Targets’ and drone attacks would also continue. All political and army leadership was there to hear these words and sign the ‘joint communiqué’ to be read over to media.

Pakistanis who were expecting strength from the new army leadership under Gen Kayani to rise to the occasion with a firm ‘no’ to the US were sorely disappointed. With the whole nation at his back General Kayani should told John Kerry that ‘enough is enough’. Americans have lost their war in Afghanistan; we should not provide them a ‘face saving’ by allowing them to play on our fields. Instead he chose to surrender to America.

Forgetting the 12-point Parliamentary Resolution of 13th May 2011the leadership could not stand in front of American pressure for even a day. Another forceful slap on depressed face of all Pakistani Muslims.

While the rulers continue to ignore the will of the people evident in the resolution of the parliament the history would take it as ‘dying declaration’ of a nation.

* Disclaimer: The views and thoughts are those of the writer and an anti-thesis to the opinion of this blog in general. All claims have been taken at face value and not verified. Feel free to comment.

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