PAKISTAN'S ROLE IN WAR AGAINST TERROR
by ICIRR China
Visa-vis the United States, Pakistan's role in its fight against terrorism, is continuously being maligned by the mainstream media in the west. Their main charge; its "labor does not contribute". In other words "ITS NOT DOING ENOUGH", and should, therefore "DO MORE".
Contrary to such mired propaganda, however, since last 10 years Pakistan, in its anti-terrorism drive in the large and the small context has invested more than 10 million troops - arrested and killed more than 400 "base" elements and handed over thousands of extremists, some of them being the top ranking leaders, to the United States, many of whom were the 9/11 suspects including such heavy weights as Khalid Sheikh.
Pakistan has also provided much of the intelligence to the United States, which till now have actually been the most reliable leads US has so far got - leads that enabled US to get bin Laden. Bin Laden was initially traced by Pakistan, and it benefited the US a lot. The information was collected by the Pakistanis which they got from the Palestinians within the terorist groups that were or still are active in undertaking terror related activities.
In doing so Pakistan earned enmity from such groups although these leads entirely benefitted the U.S., whereas Pakistan gained nothing from such leads. These facts can be judged also from the results. United States though did inform the Palestinian, it did not to the Pakistanis, whose country is an ally of the United States. This leads one to conclude: US doesn't view Pakistan as an equal partner, rather to the contrary handles the anti-terrorism operations all to its own benefits, mostly at the cost of Pakistan's interests.
10 YEARS AND PAKISTAN HAS LOST AN ACCUMULATIVE OF $100 BILLIONS IN DIRECT AND INDIRECT ECONOMIC COSTS
According to statistics, Pakistan in its anti-terrorism campaign, during the last 10 years has incurred a cumulative of direct and indirect economic losses of around $ 100 billion, far more than the United States has during this period which is less than $ 20 billion in aid to Pakistan. In these 10 years of terrorism, Pakistan has paid the price in high social and political costs: social development disorder, deteriorating security situation, and tribal peoples' displacement among so many others to name.
As far the United States since 2004 what has been its contribution?? UAV bombing in Pakistan's tribal area, which though has killed more than 1,000 terrorists, yet has resulted in a large number of innocent civilian deaths, stimulating anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, which is a huge Government dilemma.
A tangible coclusion on this Global War on Terrorism:
Pakistan's contribution as a frontline state against terrorism CANNOT BE DENIED.
The U.S. media do not admit their unilateral and biased acts including the violation of territorial sovereignty of Pakistan. On the other hand try to demonize Pakistan blaming the country's slow progress in the war against terror and make Pakistan a scapegoat of their own strategic mistakes. For the intelligence provided by Pakistan to get bin Laden in the anti-terrorism efforts, US has forgotten its anti-terrorism ally, so the Pakistani government is in an awkward position and has fallen into a trap, because the revengeful terrorists are causing now more troubles to the Pakistani side.
U.S. and the western media should do a fair evaluation of Pakistan's anti-terrorism efforts, because its anti-terror front is of international perspective, a perspective especially of regional security and stability than the mere national phenomena for the United States.
Since bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, the U.S. and Western public opinion increased their prpaganda against Pakistan, accusing the country of its halfhearted approach in its anti-terrorism policies, and suspected her of harboring and conniving, with the terrorism oriented groups while taking the credit for everything at the same time against international terrorism. Pakistan has persistently denied the US allegations and stressed its contribution and sacrifices in the war on terror. Indeed, Pakistan as an ally of the United States and as a frontline state against terrorism has done much during all these years and without her cooperation and sacrifice, the west could not have achieved what it indeed has by now.
From strategic point of view, Pakistan has paid enormous cost for the international anti-terrorism efforts and incurred damages in shape of national security interests after the "9/11" incident. Pakistan abandoned the Taliban regime for years, turned to fully cooperate with U.S. anti-terrorism, and has helped the United States in wiping out Afghanistan in a short time, whereby the "base" organization [al-Qaeda] has been forced to flee.
10 YEARS OF FORCES DEPLOYMENT ON WESTERN BORDERS AT THE COST OF HER EASTERN DEFENCE AGAINST INDIA
10 years of moving its bulk forces from its eastern borders with India, Pakistan has deployed more than 1 million strong army and the paramilitary just to suppress the terrorists, and all this at the expense of reducing its forces against traditional strategic priority of containing India within its borders. This is a sincere anti-terrorism policy, rather than what the U.S. and Western media portray as duplicitous. As for the United States, Pentagon sits back comfortably to condone the military expansion in India.
1O YEARS OF DOMESTIC SECURITY COSTS AND LARGE SCALE INSTABILITY
10 years of terrorism and Pakistan has paid a price in terms of serious domestic security costs. On one hand, Pakistan went against history when it sent its troops in the semi-autonomous tribal areas, disturbing the traditional tribal system and the consequent impact of the conflict i.e. a long time bloodied unrest, mayhem and carnage, to an extent that the peace of the past no longer exists.
10 YEARS OF WAR AGAINST TERROR AND PAKISTAN HAS BECOME A HOT BED OF MILITANCY - A MULTIPLE OF TERRORISTS' BOMBINGS, SECTARIAN BLOODSHED AND OTHER EXTREMISTS TURNING THE COUNTRY INTO 'NO LAW, NO ORDER STATE'
10 years war against terror which has triggered the tribal militancy in which the state fighting terrorism feels the situation out of its control. Multiple terrorist bombings and sectarian bloodshed, are making Pakistan into a terrorist and extremist forces easy target, whereby the country is the biggest looser in the U.S's war on terror. On the other hand, ever since Obama came to power, Pakistan's western borders which form the chore of its front against the war on terror, have resulted in serious consequences for the country. The Pakistani army has launched seven major military offensives against the six tribes, leaving only the North Waziristan, an issue which is still to be resolved to help the United States remove a large number of terrorist molecules there. But just think, which country would be willing to turn their land into scorched earth for a war against terrorism. But Pakistan has indeed done so. So how can United States turn a blind eye, to what has Pakistan already sacrificed in its war against terror?
(The author is an associate of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations Research Center on terrorism) (Editor: Li Zhiqiang)
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/14643439.html
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