For some time in 2011, the War on Terror (WoT) as it is ongoing in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theatre was focused on just one man; not Osama bin Laden, but Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who had invited the ire of the people of Pakistan and its security establishment by murdering two Pakistani citizens in broad daylight, and causing the death of a third by his unsuccessful escape. Raymond Davis’ release further aggravated the political situation in Pakistan, as many Pakistanis felt that national sovereignty had been compromised for personal gain and for currying favour with the United States. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has in a press conference on March 28 put the blame on federal government for striking the deal.
Whatever is the case, the end result of the Raymond Davis episode is that extremists have been strengthened while moderates continue to be weakened. The murders of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti show the precarious fault lines in Pakistani society which cannot figure out how to legitimately oppose the United States’ policies that detrimentally affect Pakistan, and how to do so without adopting an aggressively religious tone. Regardless of how conservative or liberal they are, all Pakistanis asked themselves the following question on March 16, 2011: Is the US sovereignty more valuable or important than its friendship with allies? Is the extraction of one American more important than the due process, the rule of law, and dispensation of justice? Besides, the affair has highlighted American CIA and its collaborators role in the South Asian region, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Unequivocally, Pakistan has become epicentre of covert wars on its territory. Virtually, it is becoming impossible to disclose who is fighting against whom in the fight against terrorism. Is it a war against terror or war against Pakistan? Newspapers and media have given different versions of theories pertaining the involvement of foreign intelligence networks in Pakistan. Certainty prevails among masses that Pakistan has became hub of foreign intelligence agencies, networking and operating on will and ubiquitous militancy is abetted by these secret agencies with an ambitions to destabilise Pakistan. Therefore, it would be too unrealistic to believe that handpick of terrorists are waging such a persistent fight against highly organised army without a foreign support when no native assistance is available to these militants.
SHUMAILA RAJA
Islamabad
