Afghan Paper Says US Inaction Against Pakistan Emboldens Insurgents

Text of article in Dari entitled “Pakistan acts, America does not respond” by Afghan independent secular daily newspaper Hasht-e Sobh on 25 September

The crash of an unmanned US drone in Pakistan’s tribal areas makes it clear enough that Pakistan will not allow American forces to continue operations against al-Qa’idah and Taleban in those areas. Meanwhile, Pakistani forces have not accepted the responsibility of bringing down the drone; American sources have also denied having information on this issue.

At a time when President Bush has issued orders sanctioning the conduct of military operations in Tribal areas, the crash of unmanned American drone shows that relations between the two countries have become extremely tense.

It is true that American has lost confidence in Pakistan in the war on terror. Therefore, it wants to pursue and target al-Qa’idah and Taleban insurgents on the other side of the Afghan border. However, angry statements by Pakistani officials, firing on an American helicopter and the recent targeting of unmanned American drone shows that Pakistan wants to hinder operations against insurgents under the pretext of defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity. In fact, it is indirectly supporting them.

There are also presumptions that some elements in the Pakistani government and the army, particularly in that country’s intelligence agency [ISI], want to harm relations between Islamabad and Washington to the point of no-return. This situation may lead to America severing its ties with Pakistan completely though it seems a distant scenario. On other hand, this situation may also make it inevitable for America to continue cooperating with Pakistan, and abandon operations against insurgents on the other side of the border.

Unfortunately, there have been numerous reports from authentic local and international sources that Pakistan is using terrorism as a strategic tool in the region. There still are many groups and extremists within the Taleban and al-Qa’idah which take orders and instructions from the Pakistani intelligence agency, they are financed and equipped by this agency.

In the current circumstances, America’s silence against Pakistan is understandable. In view of Secretary of Defence Robert Gates’ comments about the shortage of forces to be sent to Afghanistan, American forces in Afghanistan are not in a position to give a quick and harsh respond to Pakistan.

Another American compulsion is that it is heavily dependent on Pakistanis routes for logistical support. Given the increasing tensions between America and Russia over the Georgian dispute, there are concerns that air and ground supply route from Russia may get closed. America has no other alternative ground transit route. Air transport may not be a viable option given the huge cost attached to it.

While the war in Afghanistan has become an important issue in American presidential campaign with both sides emphasizing the importance of victory of their forces in Afghanistan, the American silence against Pakistani actions will further embolden insurgents and will hamper the victory against terrorism in Afghanistan.

Originally published by Hasht-e Sobh, Kabul, in Dari 25 Sep 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring South Asia. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.