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Afghan Paper Says Bush's Visit Shows Pakistan Lost Strategic Place in Region

Posted on: Saturday, 11 March 2006, 12:00 CST

An article in the state-run newspaper Hewad has criticized Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's recent attack on his Afghan counterpart and said that his accusations were "so baseless and meaningless that they do not deserve any response". The paper called him "mad" and said that it was obvious that Pakistan was behind the recent upsurge of violence in the Afghan south. It saw the signing of the nuclear cooperation agreement between America and India as a serious shock to Pakistan, which undermined its credibility, heightened its concerns about the future, and caused the loss of its status in the region. The following is the text of report by Article by Zalmay Momand entitled: "Musharraf is going mad", published Afghan state-run newspaper Hewad on 9 March

It seems Pervez Musharraf is not a good general and loses his patience very quickly. It is very bad for a general to lose control of his mind in a critical situation. A general, who cannot control his mind, always loses the battle and now Musharraf is facing the same fate. It is not only Musharraf's problem, but all Pakistani generals are suffering with this headache.

Pakistani generals have gone to war with India three times so far and each time they were defeated. Gen Niazi vowed before journalists in 1971 to fight until his last breath. But, the next morning journalists saw that Mr Niazi surrendered himself to an Indian general. It was an unprecedented event in the military history of the world.

Gen Niazi not only surrendered himself to India, but also 90,000 Pakistani troops. They were kept in Indian jails for some years. Musharraf is not engaged in any war, but he is facing a few serious political challenges which have disturbed his mind. Pakistan's political parties are trying to overthrow Musharraf's despotic government.

The demonstrations which were started against the publication of the Prophet Muhammad's cartoons, have now turned into a movement against Musharraf's government. On the other hand, the freedom movement of Baluchis is becoming stronger day by day and it is not unlikely that it will spread to Pakhtunkhwa [NWFP], Sindh and Kashmir, and turn into a national movement against the Punjabi dominance.

But, Bush's visit to the region struck the deadliest and strongest blow at Musharraf's mind. Bush first visited Afghanistan and then India and finally Pakistan. The aim of Bush's visit to the region was signing an agreement with India on nuclear cooperation. But, choosing Afghanistan as his first destination demonstrates America's support for Afghanistan.

Bush said he would raise the issue of terrorist infiltration from Pakistan to Afghanistan with Musharraf while he was in Afghanistan. He confirmed Afghanistan's assertions that Pakistan trains and supports terrorists. Bush once again confirmed this at the end of his visit. Regarding the explosion near the US consulate in Karachi, Bush said: "This incident demonstrates that the terrorists are still in Pakistan."

The signing of an agreement between America and India on nuclear cooperation came as a serious shock to Pakistan. America has said that it is India's strategic partner. This is a great privilege extended by America to India. Pakistan thought it was the only strategic partner of America in the region. But, now India has won this position from Pakistan. We should know that those living in Pakistan are not one nation.

Pakistan came into being as a result of religious hatred and any political event of originating from this sentiment can possibly eliminate it. Therefore, Pakistan always needs foreign assistance. So far, Pakistan was relying on America and the West. The agreement signed between India and America and Pakistan's own double standard policy on the war against terror have undermined its credibility and heightened its concerns about its future.

Pakistan knew before Bush's visit that it could no longer support terrorism and maintain the confidence of America and other western countries. Therefore, he [Musharraf] went to China before Bush's visit to win its support for the future. Pakistan reached an agreement with China on nuclear cooperation and practically joined the Shangai Conference. However, the agreement signed between America and India is much more crucial than this.

Another point worth mentioning is that if America stops supporting Pakistan, China can never fill this vacuum. Pakistan is not confident whether China can help it combat the future challenges because of China's cautious policy. Can China directly challenge US interests in the region? More importantly, will Pakistan's military, intelligence, political, economic and social organization bear a 180 degree change of policy? Will the 180 degree change not rock all organizations of Pakistan?

These questions have panicked Musharraf and he cannot answer any of them. Therefore, he is making baseless allegations. Mr Musharraf's recent remarks in an interview with CNN show his madness. Musharraf has accused Karzai of being unaware of the operations of the Afghan Defence Ministry and Intelligence Department. Musharraf has said that the Afghan Defence Ministry and Intelligence Department are conspiring against Pakistan. Musharraf's allegation is so baseless and meaningless that it does not deserve any response.

Since Musharraf has gone mad, he admits that he is involved in Afghanistan's developments. For example, in this interview, he claimed that the Afghan election had been held successfully with his support. He also said the information given by Karzai to him was out- of-date and inaccurate. This shows that Musharraf supports terrorism. Terrorism is totally under his control. Terrorist activities have increased with the start of the propaganda war between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It seems Pakistan is behind the upsurge in violence. I am afraid that Musharraf will be transferred from the presidential palace to a mental hospital in Rawalpindi because of a nervous breakdown.

Source: BBC Monitoring South Asia

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