The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : INCONSISTENT CAMPAIGN

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 17, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

INCONSISTENT CAMPAIGN

PAKISTAN HAS TRIED to demonstrate that it is serious about hunting down elements of the Al-Qaeda network by carrying out air strikes on selected targets and deploying nearly 20,000 troops in the tribal areas of the North West Frontier Province. However, there is bound to be some scepticism about its intent. Exercises of a similar nature undertaken earlier this year were abruptly wound up with no significant success being achieved. Stout resistance by the holed-up militants had slowed down the operation but what snuffed it out was opposition from religious parties and the military-dominated establishment's reassessment of its own stakes in the campaign. Now it also appears that the Pakistan military, which has displayed the ability to ignite and sustain violent uprisings across the eastern and western borders of the country, lacks the equipment and skill for counter-insurgency operations. For these reasons, the possibility that Islamabad might soon revert to less direct methods cannot be ruled out. In the past, military action was suspended as steps were taken to coax the people of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to hand over the militants by threatening to impose collective fines on the tribes. But, instead of following through on the threat when the tribesmen rejected the demand, the Pakistani security forces preferred to negotiate agreements under which the wanted men would be allowed to slip across to Afghanistan.

Is the Army sufficiently motivated this time? The recent attempt to assassinate the corps commander in Karachi made allegedly by an Al-Qaeda cell will not necessarily fire the Pakistan Army to pursue with vigour its operations in the NWFP. Though both groups are supposedly linked to Al-Qaeda, Pakistan's military still appears to draw a distinction between those militants who attack it and those who do not. After all, the efforts launched in the NWFP earlier were not taken to a logical conclusion even though at least two attempts had then been made on the life of the Army chief and President, Pervez Musharraf. To an extent, the Pakistan Army seems to have deliberately overlooked the connection between its operations in the tribal areas and the assassination attempts on its commanders. The speed with which it tracked down and captured those alleged to have participated in the murder plots contrasts starkly with the whimsical fashion in which it has proceeded against the extremists in the border areas. However, it is aware that the other countries involved in the campaign against Al-Qaeda, especially the United States, do not distinguish between one affiliate of this terror network and another. Under these circumstances, Islamabad appears to go after terrorist cells in the tribal areas only when it anticipates pressure from Washington.

U.S. President George W. Bush and his officials apparently believe that the workload of their military formations in Iraq will ease once sovereignty is transferred to an interim government. Faced with a tough re-election battle and mounting criticism that he neglected the campaign against terror in his obsession with Iraq, Mr. Bush might be tempted to refocus attention on the situation in Afghanistan and its neighbourhood. If the U.S. reorients its policies, General Musharraf will be under pressure to deliver. Since Pakistan has unrealised ambitions in Afghanistan, it would prefer a carefully calibrated approach in dealing with extremist outfits that it believes can be cajoled to do its bidding in the future. Such an approach is consistent with a policy of tolerance towards religious fundamentalists inside the country and jihadis who are active in Kashmir. Despite the assassination attempts on its commanders, the Pakistan military does not appear to have realised that extremists will follow their own agenda.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

AN INTERIM SOLUTION

INCONSISTENT CAMPAIGN

India's "look-west" policy

E.U.-India partnership

Silent Valley project

States' profligacy

Food for work