ISLAMABAD: The United States is not interested in stabilising Afghanistan or the region; instead, it is promoting “creative instability” in the Middle East and South Asia as a design to serve its own interests and those of Israel and India, claimed M. Akram Zaki, former secretary general Foreign Affairs, in his concluding remarks at a conference held at Institute of Policy Studies.
He also quoted Zbigniew Brzenizski’s (called the man behind Obama’s policies) words, “it is easier to kill a million people than to control them” while describing the hubristic policies of the US post-9/11. The academic event titled “15 Years of 9/11 & War on Terror” was addressed by Lt. Gen (retd) Asad Durrani, former DG-ISI and Ambassador (retd) Zameer Akram and was moderated by IPS associate Air Commodore (retd) Khalid Iqbal.
The speakers were of the opinion that General Musharraf was forced to comply with US demands vis-à-vis the military action in Afghanistan due to India’s offer to provide bases to NATO for the same and to counter its maneuvering to portray Pakistan as an unreliable ally of the US and a supporter of terrorism.
Ambassador Akram who was privy to the deal with the US in this regard, informed that Pakistan realised at that time that the Taliban regime will not be able to survive the military action led by US and had given assurance to the US that it will support its fight against Al-Qaeda but not the Taliban. Also, the US was advised to refrain from dealing with Afghan warlords who were responsible for creating the mess in their country. At the same time, the new leadership in Afghanistan should be developed in accordance with Afghan traditions. Unfortunately, all three points suggested by Pakistan fell on deaf ears, he added.
He said that because of flawed US policies, Taliban was still thriving and their dependence on Pakistan had decreased to the extent that the latter could not exercise any influence on them for the peace process anymore. He lamented that there was no forward-looking, futuristic policy planning being done at the foreign office in Pakistan. He also said that we were not candid enough with ourselves and also with our interlocutors. “When we are talking with the Indians or Americans we should tell them what is possible and what is not”, he remarked. He also criticised the inconsistent approach of the foreign affairs ministry citing various examples.
General Durrani was of the view that there was no need for Pakistan to engage its army in FATA and misadventures like Lal Masjid operation which led to the spread of the war inside the country. He said this policy of Musharraf gave birth to the phenomena of suicide bombings in Pakistan. He, however, admitted that the initial decision of Musharraf to support the US invasion of Afghanistan was a pragmatic one.
The speakers also underscored the need for a proactive foreign policy and called for a befitting response to the warmongering of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the declared efforts to isolate Pakistan. They said that India needs to be told clearly that it cannot pursue such aggressive policies against a nuclear armed neighbouring state.
