SPY EYES

In the book,“Magnificent Delusions,”Haqqani says:“My countrymen will someday have to come to terms with global realities. Pakistan cannot become a regional leader in South Asia while it supports terrorism.”

Yes—Mr Haqqani ( not a relation of the Haqqanis fighting US/NATO in Afghanistan) said this. He said it while the Prime Minister of Pakistan was on his first official visit to Pakistan. We will never know if President Obama confronted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with the statement made by Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the US but even if he did not quote Mr Haqqani his hand must have been strengthened.

While Americans are astounded that a former Ambassador could say such things about his own country they are quick to confirm that he is telling the truth and then go on to praise him for that. Mr Haqqani’s statements especially those condemning Pakistan’s institutions are getting him hero status in the US with‘we told you so’ smugness. US think tanks and universities are rolling out the red carpet for him and he is lapping it all up and saying exactly what they want to hear. Expect Indians and others to follow suit.

Someone needs to tell Mr Haqqani that Pakistan is fully capable of coming to terms with global realities and has in fact done so as its policies indicate. This,however,is not what Mr Haqqani and his admirers will ever admit because so many lucrative funding sources will dry up. That is what it is all about. The reality that is not being understood is that Afghanistan will blow up in 2014 if Pakistan is not on board and if it is not maintained as an ally. No longer does the US dictate—it is the local environment that now dictates what will happen. You have to respect others to get respect—not by driving them to the wall. The situation in the Middle East today is a perfect example of what happens when you listen to those ready to sell their own countries for personal gain.

Taking the cue from Mr Haqqani we see Mr Ahmed Rashid sounding off on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons (Pakistan Today dated October 24,2013) and strangely his is the only voice being raised on this issue. His convoluted logic has only one aim—to highlight the fact that Pakistan has opted for ‘small’ ‘tactical’ nuclear weapons and he thinks that India and Pakistan are daft enough to trigger a nuclear exchange when both are trying for peace,reconciliation and a focus on their economies and people. Pakistan has tested such a weapon but that is about it. The ball is in India’s court as far as future developments are concerned.

Again as if on cue the Washington Post has stepped in to state that the resumption of US aid is to enable the government to rein in the military and ISI. Isn’t this what ‘someone’ tried to do through language in the Kerry Lugar Berman Bill ruining the positive vibes it should have created? Isn’t this what the infamous MEMOGATE was all about? Isn’t this what is stated in the earlier book—‘Between the Mosque and the Military” and finally isn’t it a strange coincidence that all these tracks go back to the author of Magnificent Delusions? Coincidence indeed!! You do not have to be a rocket scientist to put two and two together but apparently the US does— that is if it really wants to put anything together. Pakistan’s military and ISI is under government control and these institutions are an asset for Pakistan and guarantors of its national security—this is the truth and not what is being said by those who allow themselves to be manipulated.

Pakistan needs to learn that Ambassadors and other representatives abroad should not be appointed on whims because once appointed they have access to state secrets and can end up becoming delusional about their own importance and moorings. The best bet is to appoint career foreign service officers and then ask them to deliver results or get fired.

Azmaish Ka Waqt –Newsvine