— Says friendship with US cost ties with Russia, China
— Admits India not in position to act as counterbalance to China
— Observes that US is happy to see ‘khatpat’ (agitation) between Pakistan, India
— Agrees US should have limited role in Pak-India affairs
— Durrani calls Trump a ‘disaster’, expects US to sign deal with Afghan Taliban
LAHORE: Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) former chief AS Dulat, while referring to the US President Donald Trump, said that “the guy’s nuts” and that “there is no doubt about that”. He expressed these views in the recently released book titled “The Spy Chronicles”, co-authored by former ISI head General (r) Asad Durrani.
He claimed to have predicted Trump’s victory in the elections but said that his win was a ‘disappointment’ for him.
He said that if Trump’s predecessor, Barrack Obama, was considered by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s as ‘buddy’, then Trump is considered “bigger buddy”. However, despite that, he said that India’s relationship with the US is not working to “any great advantage” for his country after Trump’s victory in the polls.
He maintained that India has screwed up its relationship with Russia and that “there is none with the Chinese” while adding that the relations with the neighbours have also deteriorated.
He said that US’ belief that India could act as a counterbalance to China in the region is a ‘wishful thinking’ not only because India is not in a position to do so, but also that it would not like to offend China by becoming a proxy for any other country.
He said that Americans had a key interest and influence in Kashmir specially in the 1990s, however, it changed after 9/11 when previously called the ‘freedom fighters’ came to be known as terrorists. He said that he generally agrees that both India and Pakistan are beyond ‘arm twisting’ done by the US.
Agreeing with Durrani, Dulat said that the US is happy to see ‘khatpat’ (agitation) between India and Pakistan and that both the countries should work together to find a solution on their terms, rather than on the terms of the US.
He confessed that he used to urge the US to put pressure on Pakistan, but the US would say that they do put pressure on Pakistan, however, beyond a certain point they become ‘helpless’.
General (r) Durrani on Trump’s election win said that he wanted him to win since not only because Hillary Clinton was a known ‘disaster’, but also because Trump had the potential to shake the establishments- which he said do not mostly work for the good of public- of not the only US, but also that of India’s and Pakistan’s.
However, he said that it soon became obvious that Trump too would be a known and established disaster.
He said that Trump administration has a realisation that they would have to go for negotiations and an eventual deal with the Afghan Taliban without leaving an impression that they have conceded in the war. He maintained that the US Defence Secretary is well aware of the importance of such a deal since he himself has once served the US military in Afghanistan.
He claimed that the US has been putting pressure on Pakistan regarding such a deal for the past 10 years. However, he also said that he expects Mattis to continue playing ‘double games’: you are helping us, you are not helping us.
However, he said that he hopes that the American Generals have a more sympathetic view of Pakistan not just because of the past relationship, but also keeping in mind the realistic assessment that how Pakistan is a key factor in the Afghanistan situation.