Recently published Wikileaks cables revealed that the US military’s drone strikes programme within Pakistan had more than just tacit acceptance of the country’s top military brass, despite public posturing to the contrary.
The cables stated that Pakistan’s military was requesting the US for greater drone back-up for its own military operations as long ago as January 2008.
Such contradictions are not new though. The May 13-14 briefing by military officials to an in-camera session of the parliament amply demonstrated the doublespeak Pakistani officials have routinely employed, particularly with regards to security issues.
The Express Tribune compared the official statements made earlier, on a host of issues, with what the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha and deputy chief of air staff (operations) Air Marshal Mohammad Hassan told the parliament at the in-camera session.
Drone strikes August 21, 2008
In a meeting with then US ambassador Anne Patterson, Interior Minister Rehman Malik suggested the US “hold off alleged Predator attacks until after the Bajaur operation”. According to a memo of the meeting released by WikiLeaks, “The PM [Yousaf Raza Gilani] brushed aside Rehman’s remarks and said, “I don’t care if they do it as long as they get the right people. We’ll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it.”
May 13, 2011
Air Marshal Hassan told parliamentarians that the PAF had the capability of shooting down drone aircraft, but possible repercussions such as a retaliatory move by the US should be considered.
Osama bin Laden 2001 — 2011
The Pakistani military and civilian officials denied any knowledge of Bin Laden’s whereabouts over the years. In 2002, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf told CNN that he believed Bin Laden was dead. In 2009, Gilani and Malik denied he was in Pakistan.
May 13, 2011
ISI Director General (DG) Pasha told parliamentarians that Bin Laden was already a “dead man” before the May 2 raid, leading them to ask whether Pasha had known of the former al Qaeda chief’s whereabouts. Pasha clarified that this was evident from Bin Laden’s living conditions. Pasha also said the raid was an intelligence failure. However, a few hours after Bin Laden’s death, an ISI spokesperson told The Express Tribune that the raid was the result of a “highly sensitive joint intelligence operation”.
Shamsi air base February 17, 2009
The Times reported that the US was using Shamsi air base to launch Predator drones. According to The Times, a US embassy spokesperson denied it was being used as a base. Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar denied any knowledge of the airfield. The director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Athar Abbas confirmed that US forces were using the base. “The airfield is being used only for logistics,” he said.
May 13, 2011
Hassan said that the Shamsi air base was not under their control as it was funded and constructed by the UAE. According to Dawn, he said that Pakistan had not controlled the base since the 1990s. A UAE official told the Associated Press this week that the UAE had helped Pakistan build the airfield decades ago but had never controlled or operated it, and does not lease the property. Resignation
May 13, 2011
Pasha reportedly said, “I have already submitted my resignation and if the parliament wants so, I will walk out from here a retired officer.”
May 6, 2011
The Daily Beast website reported that Pasha was expected to resign. ISPR’s Abbas told the website that these reports were “baseless, without one iota of truth”.
CIA-ISI relations May 13, 2011
Parliamentarians told the New York Times that Pasha said he had a “shouting match” with CIA director Leon Panetta over CIA activities in Pakistan when they recently met.
April 12, 2011
After Pasha’s meeting with Panetta, CIA spokesperson Preston Golson told Reuters: “Director Panetta and General Pasha held productive discussions today and the CIA-ISI relationship remains on solid footing.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2011.
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