Statements threatening retaliation only embarrass a fragile civilian government amid populist rhetoric.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan-US partnership is yet again on the brink because of both violation of our sovereignty by the US Navy SEALS and killing of Osama bin Laden in the Pakistan Military Academy’s vicinity without taking the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) on board. However, as objective compulsions so demand, both sides seem to continue to engage despite distrust, deep suspicions and hostile rhetoric.
While the Americans suspect “complicity or negligence” about Bin Laden’s long stay in Abbottabad and doubt the ISI’s credentials, Pakistan’s military establishment is enraged and feels humiliated by a unilateral operation that exposed its high sounding nationalist demagogy and a lack of competence even in tracking the “invaders”. In desperation, the Chief of Army Staff has issued a stern warning to the US against repeating a similar operation, while threatening to review the Pakistan-US cooperation and reducing US military personnel.
Did the COAS seek the approval of the civilian bosses before issuing a threat to the US to counter-attack and revisit Pak-US strategic partnership?
The day the briefing about the corps commanders meeting appeared in the press, another drone attack occurred and the Pakistan Air Force chief boasted of its capacity to down the drones if so permitted by the civilian leadership.
Who are we fooling and what national purpose is being served by empty threats of retaliation, which we can neither afford nor are we capable of? Such statements only embarrass a fragile civilian government amid populist rhetoric.
Those responsible for the stark failure are taking refuge behind the betrayal of the CIA for not taking the ISI on board.
Similarly, failing to have a clue about the operation and responding in time to guard our frontiers – which have been violated for a long time — both the army and the air force ‘failed’ in their duty to defend the sovereignty they so profusely profess and mortgaged it almost a decade ago to our strategic partner under duress and guilt of being an accomplice.
One must also ask if the high brass of armed forces had taken a decision to intercept the choppers and stopped the Americans from undertaking a military operation against our common enemy, what would have happened? If the Pakistan Air Force had succeeded in downing the US choppers carrying the corpse of Bin Laden and if the US had retaliated with full force, what would have happened?
Undoubtedly, the al Qaeda’s chief hiding so close to our capital has embarrassed the guardians of our national security. It has also raised serious questions about how capable we are of safeguarding our nuclear installations we are told are fully protected. The most pertinent issue to be addressed is who is responsible for this gross negligence and what measures need to be taken to plug the holes for safeguarding our frontiers?
Instead of taking responsibility, the army high command has taken refuge behind hurling empty threats to the US in case it repeats such an act. If we do not have sovereign control on our territory and terrorist outfits continue to operate with impunity against our own state and other countries, will we still be reluctant to take action on our own?
It is time to rethink, abandon dualism and put our house in order.
