The WikiLeaks disclosures shattered many illusions. One of the more surprising revelations of the cache has been the alarming extent of Saudi influence in Pakistans affairs. In the words of the Saudi ambassador to the US, “We in Saudi Arabia are not observers in Pakistan, we are participants.”
Cable after cable has laid bare the hard reality of the true nature of this special friendship. Some would invoke Islamic brotherhood to quash any legitimate debate on the issue; but for too long has this relationship been placed beyond the pale of discourse. We have ignored the Saudi elephant in the room.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have enjoyed, on the face of it, an enduring and close relationship. Pakistanis accord a great deal of respect to the guardian of the holy places. They have been heavy recipients of official aid from Saudi Arabia; there is an intimate military relationship as well. The Saudis have provided oil in copious quantities, particularly during the lean sanction years after the 1998 nuclear tests. However, relations have visibly deteriorated. It is readily apparent that the Saudis do not mince words when it comes to giving their frank opinion on Pakistans leaders. In discussions with American officials, President Zardari is portrayed as corrupt, weak against terrorism and an Iranian Trojan horse.
Envoy to Saudi Arabia, Umar Khan Alisherzai, complained that not a single drop of free oil flowed in post-election 2008 and aid was substantially reduced to $300 million. Hardly grounds to presume that the Saudis furnish unconditional support to Pakistan. Furthermore, it also proves that the Saudis were willing to turn off the aid tap at a critical time for the fledgling government.
This is hardly surprising given how strongly the Saudis put their weight behind Musharrafs continued tenure in 2008. Like the Americans, the Saudis seemed to adjudicate that Musharraf was the sole viable option and backed him to the hilt until he was pushed out of power. Their desire for the strong hand of the military has not vanished; the cables have unearthed evidence that there are rumblings in Riyadh for the military to be nudged back into the driving seat.
In a 2009 meeting with Holbrooke, the Saudi interior minister also expressed dread that nuclear weapons may fall into unfriendly hands. Whether this was to pander to American paranoia or a vain attempt to justify a return to military rule; it is hypocrisy coming from the nation from which Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks originate from.
The Saudis have over time come to see Pakistan as their playground; a place to exercise influence and power. They have deep vested interests and are key players in the direction that Zias policies have taken Pakistan. To consider recent events, without taking into account the Saudi hand, is an exercise in futility.
Since its inception, Saudi Arabia has been precariously balanced between a militant ideology and its monarchy. The mitigation of this discord is a national priority; the state acquired the trappings of Wahhabism and actively propagates its creed today. The 1979 Iranian revolution was particularly alarming to the Saudis. Iran cast itself as a rival in regional and Islamic politics. The Saudis saw a deeper footprint in Pakistan as a useful counterweight to any inroads made by Irans revolution and to promote Wahhabi ideology. It is a common perception that madrassas funded by petrodollars have mushroomed across the country and spread a vision of Islam that is socially divisive.
While it is wrong to insinuate that Saudi Arabia is the cashpoint of Islamic militancy as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton inferred; there is no doubt that Saudi donations do find their way to Pakistani militant groups. Some observers have concluded that Pakistan has become a battleground where the Saudi-Iranian feud plays out through local actors.
Saudi Arabia also seems to have a knack with a will to match, of backing their man in the domestic politics of its Muslim counterparts. The 1989 Taif Agreement ending Lebanons civil war was brokered by the Saudis and paved the way for the return of the prodigal son, Rafik Hariri.
A construction magnate who amassed his wealth in Saudi Arabia and forged close links with the Saudi royal family; Hariri was awarded with Saudi citizenship in 1978. During the 1980s he served as personal emissary to the Saudis. By 1992, he had inexorably pole-vaulted to prime minister, a capacity he served in twice before being assassinated in 2005. His son Saad Hariri, also a Saudi passport holder, is the current prime minister.
In the case of Pakistan, the Saudis seem disposed to support their conservative champion, Nawaz Sharif, who returned to Pakistan after eight years in the Saudi wilderness. Apparently, the Saudis are hedging between renewed military rule and empowerment of the former PM.
The Saudis, have time and again, cast as deep a shadow on our affairs as the Americans have. If, as Nawaz Sharif recently asserted, the time for sacred cows in our politics is now over, let us begin with the Saudi one.