Caught in a
Dangerously Bizarre Vortex
By Shireen M. Mazari
The cricket twenty20
world cup final provided a few hours of relief to
what is becoming an increasingly beleaguered Pakistani
civil society. While the loss hurt, one can only
marvel at the resurgence of the cricket team and
its youthful new look. Unfortunately, this moment
of relief and relaxation passed only too quickly
and once more we were confronted to the increasingly
unfathomable political circus that is taking its
toll on the citizenry, with road blocks, police
actions, and histrionics all around.
All norms of rational behavior have long disappeared
and the increasingly visible feature seems to be
a growing intolerance of "the other" by
all and sundry. Even the lawyers, claiming to lead
the fight for freedom and democracy, are descending
into abusive tirades and mudslinging countered by
fisticuffs and paint slinging.
As if all this was not enough to push one either
over the edge or into a state of deliberate disconnect
from politics, we have had the US now brazenly accepting
their interventionist role in our domestic politics
to ensure the success of so-called "moderates".
Of course, by their very intervention they may well
ensure the success of "the other" but
one cannot rationalize with an irrational and extremist
mindset of the American neo cons lead by Mr Bush.
However, rumors now abound that the reason the US
favors "the lady" is because she has agreed
not only to allow the US an unhindered access to
the tribal areas in terms of military action, but
also to re-open the file on Dr Khan. One hopes these
are only rumors; otherwise we are in for some dangerous
times, given that the US long-term intent towards
Pakistan has never brought a promise of the positive
for our nation. Even a cursory study of the history
of US relations with Pakistan can confirm that claim.
However, more disturbing is the growing and very
real threat to Pakistan's security interests posed
by external players. It is in this context that
our domestic dynamics are hindering our ability
to protect our interest in a timely and often-needed
proactive manner. Although our Foreign Office has
finally protested over the joint UK-Indian war games
in Ladakh in Occupied Kashmir and the planned joint
exercises that may be held by India in Siachen,
the issue is: why did we make our protest vis-a-vis
the Ladakh exercises after they had already been
initiated, on September 17? Did we not know of these
exercises in advance, given that such a scale of
military exercises can hardly have been kept under
wraps? Could we not have launched a diplomatic offensive
to prevent this from happening, given the internationally
recognized disputed nature of Kashmir? We are told
that Pakistan made a demarche, both with Britain
and India last week, but why was it done so quietly?
Why are we so reluctant to expose British and Indian
wrongdoings against us before our nation?
What is absolutely unacceptable is for Britain to
be party to this Indian contravention of UN resolutions,
given that they are parties to these resolutions
-- not to mention their role in the origins of the
dispute itself. What is the British intent in deliberately
abusing Pakistan in this fashion? It is indeed ironic
that both Britain and the US lambaste countries
like Iran for alleged violations of international
commitments while they themselves break their own
international legal commitments as and when it suits
them. The invasion of Iraq is simply one case in
point; but we also have US and British assistance
to Israel's clandestine nuclear program; and the
Indo-US nuclear deal in clear contravention of Articles
I and III:2 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
However, it is Pakistan's growing level of tolerance
for abuse by external actors that is distressing.
We have had India declare it is beginning tourist
trekking in Siachen and have not been able to use
international pressure to prevent it from increasing
its illegal activities in this region as well as
in Occupied Kashmir. A French trekking team already
went on this trek with the Indians on July 30 this
year, and two expeditions were already in Siachen
when Pakistan protested earlier this month. No wonder
an Indian army official, talking to the Kashmir
Observer (September 25) merely shrugged off the
Pakistani protest. In the face of a defiant India
and a Britain unconcerned about giving legitimacy
to Indian occupation of Kashmir through the joint
exercises, we are strangely subdued and unable to
go beyond the mere formalities of protest. Why not
suspend the composite dialogue as India does at
the slightest provocation? Why not recall our High
Commissioner from Britain for "consultations"?
It is no wonder that our mere whimpering is sending
the wrong message to the world -- that we are fair
game for abuse.
In fact, there is clearly a growing malaise creeping
into our external relations, with many subscribing
to the view that there is no point in doing anything
on certain fronts because we cannot effect change.
For instance, we have accepted the India-US nuclear
deal being accepted by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group
(NSG) despite the fact that some states committed
to non-proliferation are members of the NSG. It
seems we have also resigned ourselves to the fact
that India will get the safeguards agreement it
seeks with the IAEA when it approaches it in the
coming month, even though there is enormous opposition
to this internationally, and that opposition is
growing even within the US arms control and disarmament
community.
Nor are we active in supporting causes, which we
had been in the forefront of in earlier times when
our diplomacy was a source of pride. At the recent
IAEA General Conference, Muslim states ranging from
the Arab World to Malaysia and Indonesia spoke in
favor of a resolution dealing with Israeli nuclear
capabilities and threats with states like Venezuela
and Cuba joining in, but we remained silent. It
seems that while we still support the Arabs with
our vote, we do not express this support verbally
-- since we do not want to upset the US! There was
a time when we rallied external forces on international
issues but now we seem to have been hit with an
inexplicable psychological confidence deficit. Equally
bizarre, I am told we now tend to "wing it"
in international forums rather than having any proactive
briefs!
So this is what our internal machinations are reducing
us to on the international arena. States like India
are brazenly defying international resolutions relating
to Kashmir as well as their bilateral commitment
under the Simla Agreement and European states like
Britain and France are only too willing to give
support to India's defiance. Not only are the Brits
holding joint exercises in Occupied Kashmir, they
are planning to hold joint exercises with India
in Siachin also -- if press reports are correct.
Pakistani protests hold little value, it would seem,
for these countries even as we continue to put up
with their interventions in our domestic affairs.
The Western states, ironically, are concerned about
our tampering with domestic constitutional norms
and laws while they merrily break all international
laws and norms in pursuit of their agendas. And
we are too caught up in our domestic political nightmares
to defend our external interests with the vigor
that is required. Instead, we are resigned to what
we think are inevitabilities, even though in reality
they may not be so. As in 1971, we are becoming
our own worst enemies.
(The writer is director general of the Institute
of Strategic Studies, Islamabad. Courtesy The News)
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