As if walking free of the rogue CIA agent Raymond Davis under a clandestine deal was not enough to inflame anti-American feelings in Pakistan, US drone attack targeting a peaceful jirga in North Waziristan has proved to be the proverbial last straw.
General Kayani, perhaps already under pressure owing to the perceived role played by the Army and the ISI in brokering a deal to whisk Davis away to the US scot free, has unequivocally condemned the attack. In an unusually harsh statement, he has termed such aggression against the people of Pakistan as unjustified and intolerable.
Judging by the fact that Islamabad is complicit in the drone attacks whose frequency has increased manifestly under the Obama administration, some would term this unusually harsh reaction as a case of the lady doth protest too much.
The religious right and the jihadi media is shocked and appalled as a result of the surreptitious deal cut with the members of the victims of Raymond Davis shooting spree. Accusations of selling out, capitulation and foul play on the part of the government are flying about freely.
Most interestingly, the religious parties spearheaded by the ideologue of the JI, Professor Khursheed Ahmed, are questioning whether the deal cut between Davis and his victims strictly falls under Diyat (blood money). They seem to be hoist with their own petard. They are the ones who have been consistently opposing any tinkering with Islamic laws on our statute books.
The contentious issue of the US spy enjoying diplomatic immunity or not has been completely scuttled whereas a law that cannot withstand the scrutiny of universally recognised principles of human rights and justice has been used to secure his release. A powerful country has literally gotten away with murder by invoking it.
Despite being the primary beneficiary, Washington has distanced itself from the actual transaction. The White House claims it has no knowledge of any blood money paid, while secretary of State Hillary Clinton has hinted that the deal was struck between the Pakistani government and the victims families.
According to Time magazine, Maulana Hussain Haqqani, Pakistans ambassador to Washington, devised the blood money formula. Mr Haqqani, being a born-again liberal who once had roots in the Jamaat-e-Islami, was the one who suggested the Sharia solution to Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senates Foreign Relations Committee, before he embarked on his mission early last month to secure the release of Davis. However, it is strange that Washington has publicly distanced itself from an agreement that was ostensibly set in motion by Senator John Kerry.
The deal which secured the release of Raymond Davis was struck on the Punjab Governments watch and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was the point man on behalf of the provincial government. Despite this, PML(N) stalwart and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, is accusing the government of selling out. In this case, his partys government.
The whole Raymond Davis saga leaves a lot of questions unanswered. What was the rogue US agent doing in the first place in a crowded part of Lahore at the time he felled the two motorcyclists? What was his true identity and that of his victims? Why did the US government first waffle about his identity and status, but later on not only owned him but went to the extent of President Obama publicly demanding his release?
Was he a CIA agent, or employed by Xe, the successor to the notorious Blackwater? Were his victims dacoits or ISI agents? Or whether they were working for the spy and were killed as a result of a deal gone sour?
Who paid the blood money in the end? Saudi Arabia, Islamabad or Washington? It is being claimed that the Army and the ISI were the lead agencies that brokered the deal. Then what is the fine print? Surely, the people of Pakistan have the right to know. Perhaps, a full disclosure in the National Assembly is called for.
Another question that begs an answer is how many Raymond Davises are roaming around in the country? Who issues en masse visas to such fly-by-night operators?
In normal times, premier intelligence agencies of friendly countries cooperate and coordinate to conduct operations in each others domain. It is common knowledge that Pakistan is infested with US agents and operatives of different hue. There is little doubt that since 9/11, we have the largest number of CIA agents anywhere in the world.
Despite cooperation between the CIA and the ISI, the US does not entirely trust our premier intelligence agency. A few months ago, a warrant was issued for the arrest of our ISI chief General Shuja Pasha by a New York court and subsequently the identity of the CIA station chief in Pakistan was disclosed in the Supreme Court. This was symptomatic of a brewing tug of war between the two agencies.
The US obsession with the notion that the ISI is in cahoots with Al-Qaeda and Taliban groups is the underlying factor behind this trust deficit. Hopefully, the Raymond Davis fiasco will serve as a reality check for both parties. Washington must realise that with its approval rating already one of the lowest in the world in Pakistan, it simply cannot continue to treat its territory as killing fields.
The Pakistani government and more specifically our embassy in Washington should be more circumspect in issuing visas to US personnel who want to enter Pakistan under one pretext or the other. Some time back, there was a spat between Islamabad and Washington over the issuing of visas to US diplomatic personnel. Perhaps at the time, the government relented after continuous pressure from Washington.
Only time will tell whether complete facts about Raymond Davis mission and the circumstances of his sudden release will see the light of day or not. But it has certainly made and destroyed careers. Ex-Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, a victim of his stance that Davis did not enjoy diplomatic immunity, lost his job. According to some reports, the ISI chief General Shuja Pasha got a two years extension as a direct consequence of the crisis.
The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today.
