PART II -- Nexus between Pro-Taliban ISI and the Jihadis
Date Written : Aug 17, 2001
Last modified : Oct 08, 2001
Opposition of Jihadis to the joint US-Pak attacks on Afghanistan
In a series of swift moves, Pervez Musharraf, as president, extended his own term as chief of staff of the Pakistan army, the most powerful post in Pakistan. On Saturday October 6, he moved to consolidate his hold on the administration and the army. He removed or re-allocated key army personnel known to be sympathetic to the Taliban, Al-Qaida and to Osama bin Laden, who is wanted by the US dead or alive.
General Mahmoud Ahmad, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief who led the last-ditch Pakistan delegation to Afghanistan to persuade the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden earlier last week, was asked to take "premature retirement". Ahmad, had refused to share information available with US intelligence agencies regarding the Taliban, and Osama bin Laden. Ahmad has been replaced as head of the intelligence services by Lt. Gen. Ehsanul Haq, reportedly a moderate.
Lt Gen Muzzaffer Usami, deputy chief of army staff and another pro-Taleban senior military leader, has also been asked to take premature retirement. Musharraf has further shuffled his various provincial commanders, the aim supposedly being to ensure that in the provinces bordering Afghanistan and in other volatile regions, the local commander is someone without any sympathies.
But it seems that even Pervez cannot go beyond a extent. Already Religious parties in Pakistan have vowed to physically challenge the presence of UN monitors or US Military on Pak-Afghan borders. Pakistani security officials feel that even a semblance of an active Government of Pakistan support for any US military action against Afghanistan would cause tremendous resentment in the militant religious cadre against the government.
Pakistani officials recognise that Osama is considered a living legend in thousands of religious madarsas. The pro-Taliban generals and ex-generals are speaking the same language of Jihad against the US and non-muslims.
Taliban had threatened Pakistan of an attack if they help USA in attacking Afghanistan. Pakistan seems to be another Afghanistan in the making. By helping the USA in attacking Afghanistan, Pakistan today faces a definite possibility of a break-up after a civil war. This is because the Hardliners in Pakistan will support the Taliban. In fact, many of the Army generals (present and retired) have trained Taliban in the past. Even the Tribal muslims in North-West Frontier are more closer to Afghans than to Pakistan.
The border being porus between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the possibility of Taliban taking over areas of Pakistan is high. USA may get Osama, but Pakistan will yet again get splited. It has already got splited earlier when India supported the Bangla Freedom struggle and East Pakistan was freed and later called Bangladesh. This time the USA will do the work of India. But the problem of Islamic Terrorism may still remain....... because it is not only in Pakistan or Afghanistan, but all over the world, even where a small number of Muslims have the presence.
India needs to play a proactive role in the fight against Jihadi Terrorism. India which has recently shown a tilt towards US, needs to speed-up and allow Indian bases to US Military and needs to have a Indo-US Military Alliance.
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