While the U.S. has ordered its consular staff out of Lahore here's the question: Why was that necessary?
Let's begin with the Taliban and their creation by Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) the equivalent to America's C.I.A.
Now for the contradiction. Following the attacks by Al Qaida on America in September of 2001 Pakistan became a "vital member" in America's war on terror yet both the Taliban and Al Qaida were never sidelined perhaps marginalized but ever eradicated.
Pakistan's participation in america's so called war on terror was predicated on financial backing from the U.S. government. Ok a bribe.
Pakistan continued to play both sides of the street. Receiving billions of dollars in aid from to fight its so called war on terror but doing nothing to curb the growing militancy within its borders. Several times the Pakistani government negotiated terms of ceasefire with the Taliban and Al Qaida only to have them break the agreements and restart their efforts at overthrowing the government. The Swat valley in 2010 is a perfect example of this. Once the ceasefire was broken the Pakistani Taliban took control of large portions of the Swat valley until a major military offensive was undertaken.
Malala Yousafzai is from the Swat valley and wrote a blog for the BBC about her experiences of living under Taliban rule.
Let's begin with the Taliban and their creation by Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) the equivalent to America's C.I.A.
On Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan, the ISI supported the Taliban up to September 11, 2001, though Pakistani officials deny any current support for the group. Pakistan's government was also one of three countries, along with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, that recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The ISI's first major involvement in Afghanistan came after the Soviet invasion in 1979, when it partnered with the CIA to provide weapons, money, intelligence, and training to the mujahadeen fighting the Red Army. At the time, some voices within the United States questioned the degree to which Pakistani intelligence favored extremist and anti-American fighters. Following the Soviet withdrawal, the ISI continued its involvement in Afghanistan, first supporting resistance fighters opposed to Moscow's puppet government, and later the Taliban.The evidence supports the ISI's assistance in the creation of the Taliban once the Soviet Union withdrew its forces in 1988. 1994 is the pivotal year both for the emergence of the Taliban and the suspecting Pakistani government involvement through the ISI in money, training and weapons.
While to many the origins of the Taliban still appeared mysterious, by the end of year, some sources were "concerned that the GOP [Government of Pakistan] (ISI) is deeply involved in the Taliban takeover in Kandahar and Qalat."[10] The same source also expressed concern that the influence of the unpopular Pakistanis in the south could further destabilise the country and sooner or later lead to an Afghan-Pakistani conflict. Meanwhile, the Taliban continued their conquest of Afghanistan and marched north.
Pakistan was still putting its eggs into two baskets: On the one hand there were the Taliban, who had contributed to the opening of smuggling routes in the south, and on the other hand there was Hekmatyar and his Hizb-i Islami, who were exerting pressure on the government in Kabul.
Now for the contradiction. Following the attacks by Al Qaida on America in September of 2001 Pakistan became a "vital member" in America's war on terror yet both the Taliban and Al Qaida were never sidelined perhaps marginalized but ever eradicated.
Pakistan's participation in america's so called war on terror was predicated on financial backing from the U.S. government. Ok a bribe.
Major developments
The
The Saudi born Zayn al-Abidn Muhammed Hasayn Abu Zubaydah, was arrested by Pakistani officials during a series of joint U.S. and Pakistan raids during the week of 23 March 2002. During the raid, the suspect was shot three times while trying to escape capture by military personnel. Zubaydah is said to be a high-ranking al-Qaeda official with the title of operations chief and in charge of running al-Qaeda training camps.[9]Later that year on 11 September 2002, Ramzi bin al-Shibh was arrested in Pakistan after a three-hour gunfight with police forces. Bin al-Shibh is known to have shared a room withMohamed Atta in Hamburg, Germany and to be a financial backer of al-Qaeda operations.
It is said bin al-Shibh was supposed to be another hijacker, however the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rejected his visa application three times, leaving him to the role of financier. The trail of money transferred by bin al-Shibh from Germany to the United States links both Mohammad Atta and Zacarias Moussaoui.[10]On 1 March 2003, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested during CIA-led raids on the suburb of Rawalpindi, nine miles outside of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Mohammed at the time of his capture was the third highest-ranking official in al-Qaeda and had been directly in charge of the planning for the 11 September attacks.[11][12]Mohammed having escaped capture the week before during a previous raid, the Pakistani government was able to use information gathered from other suspects captured to locate and detain him. Mohammed was indicted in 1996 by the United States government for links to the Oplan Bojinka, a plot to bomb a series of U.S. civilian airliners.[13]Other events Mohammed has been linked to include: ordering the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, the USS Cole bombing, Richard Reid's attempt to blow up a civilian airliner with a shoe bomb, and the terrorist attack at the El Ghriba synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has described himself as the head of the al-Qaeda military committee.[14]
Pakistan continued to play both sides of the street. Receiving billions of dollars in aid from to fight its so called war on terror but doing nothing to curb the growing militancy within its borders. Several times the Pakistani government negotiated terms of ceasefire with the Taliban and Al Qaida only to have them break the agreements and restart their efforts at overthrowing the government. The Swat valley in 2010 is a perfect example of this. Once the ceasefire was broken the Pakistani Taliban took control of large portions of the Swat valley until a major military offensive was undertaken.
Malala Yousafzai is from the Swat valley and wrote a blog for the BBC about her experiences of living under Taliban rule.
The Pakistani army ordered residents to flee the Swat Valley during a lull in fighting , triggering a further exodus of frightened people and raising expectations of a significant ground offensive against the Taliban.
Miles of traffic jams snaked out of the war-torn valley as tens of thousands of people fled using all available means, from donkey-drawn carts to rickshaws.
In the battlezone the army said it had killed another 200 militants, most of them in a strike on a training camp in Shangla district and 55 in Swat. The fight is being closely watched from the US.
General David Petraeus, head of the US central command, ,warned that the Taliban posed a threat "to the very existence of the Pakistani state".
Petraeus said al-Qaida's central leadership had moved to Pakistan but he denied that generous military aid was linked to a possible US deployment. "This is not about us putting combat boots on the ground," he told Fox News.
No comments:
Post a Comment