CIA-darling dolls in Pakistan security establishment have been dancing for more than half a century to the tunes of Washington orchestra. Ayub, Zia and now Bush-favourite Musharraf. One after one they all remained on a run to leave each other behind in a race of loyalty and reliability to America.
The sole purpose was to prolong their rules stretched on decades. They found more pleasant and refreshing breeze of White House lawns than chilly Siberian winds of Kremlin. In a state of a wishfully-induced insensitivity they named this arrangement strategic ties with a super power.
Poor Pakistanis keep on bearing the brunt as their country was turn into a battlefield (both ideologically and geographically) for a cold and then a hot US war against the communism flourishing in Soviet Russia. Pentagon doled dollars to gather and trained once glorified holy worriers from Arab world in the tribal regions close to Afghan border. Not dictatorial rules were the only beneficiary. There were some others who flourished under the unbearable. Jihadis (both as outfits and mindset) sprung up like wild mushrooms in rainforests.
But what then happened was the bombing of twin New York towers on 9/11, an incident that changed the world al together. Beloved holy worriers and their offshoot, Taliban, all of the sudden became terrorists, the most dangerous guys the world has ever quarrelled with.
Clever minds at Pakistan security establishment, however, manoeuvred the emerging situation for their interests. They continued to be the beneficiary of another war, this time to sweep the leftovers of the previous one (Taliban and al Qaeda).
Six long years for another dictatorial rule and over 10 billion dollars was the price of being front liners of so-called war on terror. But it now looks both imperialistic minds at Pentagon and "dealers of death" here have exhausted limits of their co-operation. Washington doubted Pakistan's sincerity to fight terrorists and planning to conduct direct strikes inside its territory. Islamabad said it could not allow this. A war of nerves is on. Messages are being disseminated through various channels.
One such message, perhaps the strongest one, was sent to Washington from the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon. A top official blamed American for masterminding attacks on Chinese in Pakistan.
"Who else but the United States and India can be benefited from conflicts between Pakistan and China," asked Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Tanveer Hussain Syed.
Though an Interior Ministry spokesperson later in the day distanced himself from the comment, many believe what Hussain said was a lien from the establishment.
And much is happening elsewhere to supplement this idea. President General Pervez Musharraf has also expressed disappointment over what Pakistan is being threatened with, a surgical military exercise in tribal region against operational targets.
Foreign office spokeswoman is also using loudest of tones to tell American stop White House hopefuls threatening to destroy al Qaeda inside Pakistan. In this pretext, its doesn't need much acumen to guess whose language Syed was speaking. "Americans have always betrayed us. They brought in Jihadis and now forcing us to chase the," was once a public blame he made official. "It is the time to support Taliban in Afghanistan and dismantle US-installed Karzai administration," he said.
Hussain did not spare India. For him, New Delhi is equally responsible for a recent violence wave across Pakistan. He had a "magic" solution too. "Let open the floodgates of hell for India. Let holy worrier crossed into Kashmir to wage jihad against oppressor." This, he believed, was the only way Kashmir could liberated. Dispute would never be resolved on a negotiation table.
Another proposal Hussain came up with for Pakistan was to establish friendly relations with Russia and Iran to counter threats from the United States.
Many other colleagues also joined Hussain in course to unleash severe criticism on the latest twist in the US policy towards Pakistan. Is there any change in Pakistan official position would be clear when Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri speaks on Wednesday?
The real question confronting Pakistani nation at the moment is how long we will continue to be the beneficiary of war against others? And what, if God forbids, someone else is benefited from a war on us?
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