President warns doubting Thomases

The President has made it clear to the doubting Thomases among the allies that Pakistan's commitment to fight international terrorism is total but should they persist in their biased view he would think of breaking ranks with them.
Addressing the concluding session of Land Forces-2007 symposium, hosted by National Defence University last Thursday, he said "if the coalition partners were bluffing each other and if I am bluffing, if the ISI is bluffing then we must be out of the coalition". That is the most terse reaction Pakistan has come to convey to the United States and others involved in Afghanistan that this blame game that Pakistan is not doing enough in combating terrorists should come to an end.
Last month, when US Vice President Dick Cheney came here unannounced with a so-called tough message, President Pervez Musharraf's response was equally tough. But given the continuing harangue in the western media and the off-and-on bursts of this 'do-more' mantra in Washington, one would think that what the Pakistani leadership has now said was very much overdue. The day before the Land Forces symposium, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz too had warned the White House against succumbing to the shrilly pressure being built by the Democrat-dominated Congress to hold Pakistan "accountable" for what is actually the combined failure of Karzai outfit and its protectors.
Aptly reflecting the growing public perception here that despite Musharraf government's rather dangerous backward bending Pakistan is being continuously accused of dragging feet in the fight against terrorism. The people of Pakistan feel grossly short-changed, in that Pakistan has done more than any other country - in terms of battle fatalities, handing over of suspected militants to the United States and the negative fallout at home resulting from these actions - but there is no end to the blame game.
The people ask, 'Look, you have done everything to please the Americans, even bombed your own people, but what did you get in return - taunts and threats of sanctions'. People are worried that the so-called war against international terrorism has turned out to be a fight against them, fought by their own forces. There is strong evidence to the effect that Pakistan's so far unwavering commitment to fight against the Taliban is becoming unpopular and losing public support. Quite rightly, then, the burden of the message, which emanated from the two-day symposium was that the coalition governments must try to comprehend and appreciate the position that Pakistan has taken on the insurgency now sweeping across Afghanistan.
Instead of resorting to gung-ho statements, under the apparent influence of generally ill-informed media, the coalition interlocutors need to review their perspectives on Pakistan's role in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan. This review should be undertaken in at least four contexts. First, those who have sent their sons to fight and die in the arid, hostile landscape of Afghanistan should try to find out as to why the Taliban are resisting the foreigners at the horrendous cost that they are paying. Their governments should provide the answer to the question as to why a dialogue with the Taliban has not been initiated.
Mushahid Hussain Syed was indeed right in telling the symposium that if the war on terror lacked moral legitimacy on the streets of Muslim world then all military efforts against the Taliban would prove to be counter-productive. Secondly, the coalition members need to understand the complexity of the tribal history and culture which provide an elaborate system governing the incidence of war and peace.
The criticism of North Waziristan agreement that the Government of Pakistan signed with the tribal leaders was absolutely misplaced, as time has already proved.
The tribal Maliks had pledged to banish the 'foreigners' from their territory and that they are doing, giving credence to the efforts by Pakistan government to clinch similar agreements in other areas infested by foreigners. Thirdly, whenever President Karzai cries wolf he has to be ignored. All the surviving al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are in Afghanistan but he cannot catch them because his own country except the city limits of Kabul, is a no-go area for him.
Four, let Pakistan on its side and the coalition plus Afghan forces on their side seal the border and next the UN shift the refugee camps to Afghanistan to stop criss-crossing by refugees, quite a few of whom are potential Afghan Taliban militants.
However, the long-term solution of Afghan imbroglio lies in bringing about national reconciliation, followed by free and fair elections. Without bringing all ethnic and religious groups on board, no amount of outside coercion to place power and legitimacy in anyone's hand can succeed. Afghanistan has experienced long spells of peace and effective control by Kabul despite the fact that it is inhabited by many tribes and ethnic groups. Being a neighbour, Pakistan can help realise such a possibility provided doubting Thomases keep quiet for some time.