No more Mr Nice Guy
The government has wisely followed through with the decisions taken at the November 26 Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) regarding aerial attacks on Pakistani border posts in Mohmand Agency by US-led Nato-ISAF forces.
The question now is if these decisions are quick tempered responses or a result of careful examination of the problems and challenges that have resurfaced after the November 26th attack. What are these decisions aimed at achieving? Will these decisions be reversed under ‘friendly’ pressures or will they be followed through as part of a comprehensive strategy in pursuit of well-defined strategic ends?
The state of Pakistan and its people have high stakes in ‘course correction’ and an eventual renegotiation of honourable terms of cooperation with US. It appears that finally after the loss of tens of thousands of Pakistani lives at the hands of the US-led troops in Afghanistan, Islamabad is likely to review all aspects of its strained relationship with the US, an important but not the most trusted ally of Pakistan.
There are promising signs that this time around there shall be no waffling and wavering on the position Pakistan has taken after the deadly NATO strikes. The most significant decision is the immediate suspension of Nato/ISAF logistics supply lines – a major setback to the US and its allied forces as reportedly 95 per cent of the coalition supplies go to Afghanistan via Pakistan. Equally important is the 15-day ultimatum given to the US to vacate the Shamsi Airbase. Requests for a review of the Shamsi Airbase decision have already been turned down. While endorsing all the decisions of the DCC emergency meeting, the cabinet meeting on Tuesday also decided that Pakistan would boycott next week’s Bonn Conference. The speedy response by the civil and military leadership to has been impressive and measures announced so far have proven effective.
On the diplomatic front too Pakistan moved swiftly. It lodged strong protests and condemnation of these attacks with the US, Nato headquarters in Brussels and UN Security Council, underlining that these represented breach of sovereignty, violation of the UN Charter, international law and the terms of cooperation with Nato/ISAF. Pakistan has clearly conveyed to the international community that this time the US-led Nato and coalition forces cannot get away with cold-blooded murder on the pretext of self-defence.
Turkey, a NATO-member, was the first country to condemn the strikes and express solidarity with Pakistan. China, Russia and the OIC have also condemned the attack and backed Pakistan’s demand for a joint probe.
All self-respecting Pakistanis want the government to stay the course and send a clear, strong signal to the world that we mean business. An emphatic “no” from Pakistan at this critical juncture to external pressures and intervention will in no measure weaken Pakistan’s position but strengthen it. There are times in history when countries have to think beyond the economic, political, military and diplomatic calculations. Sovereignty and territorial integrity must come first and need to be safeguarded at all costs. When red lines drawn by Pakistan for cooperation with US Nato-ISAF in the ongoing campaign against terrorism are repeatedly, deliberately and blatantly disregarded and even as a key US ally we are made the target, apologies become meaningless. This is evident by the fact that in the last three years 72 Pakistani troops were killed and more than 250 injured in eight cross-border Nato attacks. And not to mention the countless innocent civilians who have died in the US drone strikes that continue unabated in the tribal areas.
This year alone has seen more than 57 drone attacks so far. In official briefings by civil and security establishments, there are always ready and detailed statistics on troop casualties and injuries in the fight against terrorism. However, there is hardly any mention of the civilian casualties in drone attacks. One wonders why the loss of a Pakistani civilian’s life is not counted; and what exactly is the difference between the value of an innocent Pakistani’s life and that of a foreign soldier in Afghanistan?
This may well be a turning point for us as a country. As our civil-military leadership, opposition parties and the public support the ‘course correction’ there are good chances of us redeeming ourselves and confronting head-on the forces hell-bent on destabilising Pakistan. Time has come for us to assert ourselves, set our own national agenda and not follow blindly the donor or US-dictated policies. When we learn to say ‘No’ in the enlightened interest of Pakistan, the world will take us more seriously and above all respect us as a nation. One that stands united and steadfast against all odds and adversities. We must have faith in ourselves as a nation and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan. God-willing in good time it shall emerge stronger despite multiple problems as each challenge presents a unique opportunity that makes us more resilient than before.
It is darkest before dawn.
The writer is a senior journalist and has been a diplomatic correspondent for leading dailies. She was an Alfred Friendly Press Fellow at The Chicago Tribune in the US and a Press Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge, UK. She can be reached at qudssia@hotmail.com