Given the ongoing patronage of jihadi and sectarian networks by Pakistan army and its various agencies (ISI, MI etc), particularly in view of the discovery of Osama bin Laden right in the heart of Pakistan army complex in Abbottabad and the recent evidence reconfirming ISI’s involvement in attacks on Afghan and NATO officials in Afghanistan, also in the light of the ongoing massacres of the Baloch, Pashtun and Shia Muslims by Pakistan army and its various proxy
The discovery of Sheikh Osama bin Laden in the sylvan surroundings of Abbottabad should have been a wake-up call for the guardians of national security. Having been caught with their pants down some humility was in order. But they seem to have slunk deeper into their bunkers.
The army and its strategic adventures have brought Pakistan to its present pass. The footprints of the terrorism now haunting the country go back to the first Afghan ‘jihad’, the one army-inspired event which pushed Pakistan to the frontiers of insanity. The phoenix won’t rise from its ashes, and there will be no return to sanity, unless the army can bring itself to change its outlook and reinvent some of its mental apparatus.
Civilians have been poor administrators, in no position to escape their share of the blame for the mess the Fortress of Islam is in. But in the driving seat of Pakistan’s steady march to the brink have been our holy guardians. There is little room for quibbling on this point.
Even so, despite the mounting evidence of disorder, the army refuses to change, still obsessed with the threat from the east, still caught up with the quixotic notion of exercising influence in Afghanistan. God in heaven, why should it matter to us if a president of Afghanistan is a Tajik, an Uzbek or a Pathan? Can’t we keep our eyes
ISI, the Inter Services Intelligence, an agency members of whom were found guilty of raping more than 35000 women in East Pakistan. 1386 members of the famous ISI were recommended to be trailed in the Hamood ur Rehman Commission’s report.
ISI, the Inter Services Intelligence, an agency which made millions of petro-dollars in the Afghan War. Tempering the myth of Jihad was an easy job on hand with lush green dollars. General Akhtar Abdul Rehman and Hameed Gull exported children of poor helpless mothers for the Jihad e Afghanistan when their own sons were studying in the United States.
ISI, the Inter Services Intelligence, an agency that sold Stinger Missiles received as an aid in the black market. Upon an inspection, the Ojhri Camp blasted out bringing the doom’s day for the citizens of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
ISI, the Inter Services Intelligence, an agency which holds the prestige of looting the nation via Mehran Bank Scandal. Lt. Gen Asad Durrani the then DG ISI alone made 1.6 billion in the filthy trade.
ISI, the Inter Services Intelligence, an agency which took clothes off the Baloch Women. Zarina Marri, a Baloch school teacher was abducted by the ISI and gang-raped, she was further used as a humiliation tool for the Baloch Nationalists.
ISI, the Inter Services Intelligence, an agency which is involved in the human trade. General Pervez Musharraf exclusively explains in his books the norms of human trafficking. 500 U.S. dollars was the rate of each Pakistani citizen sold to the U.S. That included Dr Aafia Siddiqi and several others.
There is a lot more to say about the “Prestigious and Patriotic” role of he ISI but these facts might not ruin the show of our clowns in the blog-sphere.
“ISI is committed to defending our borders.”
ISI, the Inter Services of Intelligence, an agency which only holds political scandals on its credit sheet. ISI has on numerous occasions tried to subvert the elected governments. ISI is the name of a filthy political player.
ISI managed to create IJI, a right wing alliance to counter the Leftist Pakistan Peoples Party though an alliance of the Pakistan Muslim League and several religio-political parties including the Sipah-e-Sahaba, Jamaat-e-Islami and others. For this purpose, ISI used state money and resources to bring the fundamentalists on political front.
ISI tried to over-throw the elected government of Benazir Bhutto via Saudi riyals. ISI distributed huge sums of money in the right wing politicians to buy loyalties of pro-Benazir Bhutto parliamentarians.
ISI distributed millions in right wing politicians in order to ensure their victory against Benazir Bhutto.
ISI rigged the elections 2002 to ensure the victory of its divine master Pervez Musharraf. The ISI chief Lt. General Ehtashnm Zameer later confessed the fact in the Pakistani media.
A lot more can be written on what ISI’s real role is, but the clowns of the establishment in Pakistan’s mainstream and alternative media might find it hard to ruin their show.
I will just give a glimpse of what “ISI has done to protect the borders of Pakistan.”
ISI briefed the MO branch on the possible reaction of the Indian side on the Kargil Adventure. According to ISI India will at the most move forward with Special Operatives and try taking back the Tiger Hill. There are rare chances of application of artillery as India would try not to agitate Pakistan. Role of Air Force or Navy is beyond possibility grounds. India will never look forward to a full scale war. All these fables of ISI were flushed to gutter when India respond to Kargil drama with full might and Pakistan Army had to accept the bodies of it’s soldiers with humiliation.
Pakistan is under attack but by whom?
Pakistan is under attack by the filthy politically motivated generals of Pakistan Army and its political and jihadi operatives.
All the terrorists today were given birth by the Pakistan Army in early 1980s under the Riyal-Dollar umbrella. These mujahhideen of the past have turned blood sucking beasts of today’s Pakistan and Afghanistan. The lives of hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis go in the credit sheet of Pakistan Army.
Today Balochistan lies at the brink of demise. Thanks to Pakistan’s myopic generals, Balcohistan now does not see a way back. The genocide and rapes in Balochistan have yielded perfect results, Balochs are not ready to forget the humiliation they were served with.
“Ahmed Qureshi is a Patriotic Pakistani”
Yes Ahmed Qureshi, the ISI’s stooge in Pakistani media (along with other more refined operatives who keep on reinforcing the military establishment’s narrative on Taliban, India, drone attacks, politicians etc) is patriotic to the extent that he spends days and nights making up stories which have no farthest connection to reality.
In the words of this patriot:
“Yes we need to create more fake stories that appeal to the audience, like the one created about the Israeli Primer David Ben Gorian to have more guys attracted towards Pakistan.”
Sorry LUBP is not that patriotic we publish which is the truth!
“You people will be liable for high treason when a revolution comes”
I guess the clown brigade is once again looking forward to the politically and financially corrupt generals of the nation.
Let us prepare some lushing medals for Pakistan Army as their achievement sheet does not seem to end. Even a glimpse is hectic to watch:
1. Land Grabbing: The colonial tradition of land grabbing by military officers continued unabated during the past three years.
a) 111 armed forces men have allotted to themselves at least 400 or more kanals each of prime land in Bahawalpur and Rahimyar Khan districts, heart of Punjab, “to defend it from the enemy,” at the throw away rate of Rs 47.5 per kanal, while the real price in those areas ranges 15,000 to 20,000 rupees per kanal. Thus 35,000 kanals of land were distributed among 111 military men in one case alone. Theypaid 1,662,500 rupees at the nominal rate of 47.5 rupees per kanal, while the real price comes to 700 million rupees.
The list includes the names of:
· General Pervez Musharraf, Current President, 400 kanals in Nouabad village, Yazman, Bahawalpur.
· General Moinuddin Haider, Current Interior Minister, 400 kanals in Chak DB/43.
· General Aziz, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, 400 kanals in Chak DB/44.
· Lt. General Khalid Maqbool (Current Governor Punjab), 400 kanals in Chak 54/p.
· Major General Muzaffar Usmani (Later promoted to Lt General and retired recently as Deputy Chief of Army Staff Musharraf), 400 kanals in Chak 93/p.
· Lt. General Muhammed Afzal Janjua, 400 kanals in Chak 54/p
(i) 64 serving and retired officers of colonel to general rank got 400 kanals or more. They include:
10 Generals, 9 Lt. Generals, 16 Maj. Generals, one Admiral, one Air Marshal, 18 Brigadiers, 5 Lt. Colonels and 3 Colonels.
They paid 19,000 rupees for 400 kanals of land worth 400,000 rupees at market ratesif the land is unirrigated. The value of irrigated land in these areas is much higher.
(ii) 47 non-commissioned officers also got plots of agricultural land measuring 200 kanals or less.
Many of the generals have already sold their lots earning millions of rupees in profit at market rates, while others have turned into feudal lords with hired labor toiling for them.
b) Former Chairman of national Accountability Bureau Lt. Gen. Muhammed Amjad was allotted a 2-kanal (1000 sq. yd.) plot in Lahore, with a market value of 10 million rupees, against mere 800,000 rupees payable in 20 years. Invested in Defense Saving Certificates, those 800,000 rupees would multiply to 225 million rupees. He immediately sold half of the plot for 4.5 million rupees earning a profit of 8.2 million rupees on one plot.
c) General Musharraf has acquired a commercial plot, with the market value of 20 million rupees, in Defense Society, Lahore, for mere 100,000 rupees that he will pay in installments spread over 20 years. The General has neither showed this piece of land in his assets, nor sold it. If 20 million rupees are invested in the Defense Saving Certificates, they would grow up to about 500 million rupees. He owns several plots in other localities with a total market value of 200 million rupees. He has gifted a house with a market value of 20 million rupees to his daughter, which he has not shown in his assets. The 400 kanal agricultural plot that he got in Bahawalpur is also not mentioned in his assets.
d) The ISI has forced Environment Minister Shahida Jameel to allot 100 acres of land in the Margalla Hills National Park, one of the big attractions of the capital city. The agency wants to construct a new and “safe” Headquarter as well as, quite intriguingly, a housing colony for its officers. An official summary generated by Barrister Jameel’s ministry has been sent to President Pervez Musharraf, for an urgent decision. Initially the Environment Ministry response was one of alarm, as giving away 100 acres on these hills would almost destroy the whole area as a natural park, which needed to be preserved. When the ISI bosses learned about it, they immediately contacted the Minister and “convinced” her about the immediate need of 100 acres. The lady, naturally, could not resist the pressure. Again, the Generals would grab the best pieces for their homes.
e) Another 100 acres is being selected in Bahawalpur for the outgoing Naval Chief. Defense officials’ teams have been seen visiting Bahawalpur to select these 100 acres, while an offer had also been made to the outgoing Chief to become Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tunisia. The Chief wants to be Ambassador to France and his argument is that his force has a lot to buy from France, like the Augusta submarines his predecessor Admiral Mansurul Haq bought.
f) In a report, after a random check of 4 out of 11 military estate offices in 2000 –2001, Director General of Audit of the Defense Services has found close to five billion rupees loss caused by misuse of land, mismanagement and encroachments. According to an analyst, “the report is an outright indictment of the military, as it not only shows the monumental size of the lands acquired, but also the losses being caused are gigantic, compared to peanuts for which politicians are persecuted day in and day out.”
g) The Defense Housing Authority has been grabbing large chunks of valuable residential land at nominal prices around the country for the exclusive benefit of officers of the armed forces. For instance, in January 2001, the Sindh Governor bypassed the Sindh High Court stay orders, and permitted sale of highly valuable 200 acres of coastal land along Clifton, Karachi, at embarrassingly low rates to Defense Housing Authority. The land valued at market rate of Rs. 4,000/- per square yard was sold to Defense Housing Authority at Rs 20/- per square yard. Thus, the governor caused a staggering loss worth billions of rupees to the exchequer! An acre contains 4840 square yards. The real cost of 200 acres, multiplied by 4,000 per sq. yd. comes to 3.872 billion rupees
2. Defense Purchases: The submarine purchase scam involving Mansurul Haq is only a tip of the iceberg. Many more such deals with heavy kickbacks are hidden in the military closets. A large of deals for purchase of tanks, submarines, mine hunters, Mirage aircraft and army jeeps were signed through the Army Welfare Trust, Sheen Foundation and Bahria Foundation. It is estimated that various military officers pocketed commissions totaling 5.7 billion rupees in these deals.
a) A former NAB Chairman is reported to have written to the three service chiefs to provide records of certain arms deals, but NAB still awaits an answer.
b) The records could provide proof to the allegation that a former air chief Abbas Khatak received three million dollars (180 million rupees) in the purchase of 40 old Mirage aircraft for 120 million dollars. He is also accused of receiving kickbacks in deals for French missiles and Italian radars.
c) Another former air chief Farooq Feroze Khan is suspected of receiving 5 percent commission on purchase of 40 F-7 aircraft for 271 million dollars.
d) In 1996, Army bought 1047 GS-90 jeeps at 20,889 dollars per jeep, while the market price of the jeep was 13,000 dollars. NAB sources have been reported saying that some senior army officers pocketed 8.5 million dollars (510 million rupees).
e) The British Inland Revenue Services wrote a confidential letter to the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) in Islamabad to confirm a payment of five million pound sterling (450million rupees) in commission to an Islamabad-based Pakistani citizen who had acted as an intermediary between the British agent of an American company and the Pakistan Army for an 80 million pound sterling deal.
When summoned to the CBR in Islamabad for confirmation about the payment he had received from London, the Pakistani agent stunned the then chairman CBR Moinuddin Khan by acknowledging, unhesitatingly, that he had received the amount mentioned in the letter.
This shadowy businessman soon dropped a bombshell by disclosing that he got only 200,000 (2 lakh) pounds from the total payment of five million pounds (50 lakh pound) while the remaining amount was distributed among four senior officers of the Army. He also provided an actual breakdown of the payments and impressed upon the then CBR chairman that the then Chief of Army Staff had personally authorized the contract, meaning the COAS was also involved in corruption.
Within next few days a retired major general, who was the former Director General Weapons and Equipment (DGW & E) at the GHQ and had structured the deal with the American company through its British agent, approached the top CBR official and briefed him as how the disclosure and any probe into this deal would jeopardize the national security interest of the country.
After a flurry of activities between the CBR and some retired military officials, the CBR shelved the matter. This controversial deal is understood to be in the knowledge of the present military set-up, but there is nothing on the ground to suggest that it is being probed afresh
Around June/July this year, Pakistan Army awarded a contract for purchase of 1000 Hino trucks at $40,000 per truck, while the Gandhara Industries had offered Isuzu truck of same specifications at $25,000. As per standard procedures for bulk military purchases in Pakistan, no international tenders were invited but tender documents were sent to four pre-selected companies for procurement of 1,000 5-ton 4×4 trucks (ammunition carrier vehicle) by the director general military purchase on April 10. Gandhara Industries sources dispute the Army’s claim that their vehicle was not approved as 5-ton ammunition carrier. The Isuzu trucks were delivered to the Army for extended trial in February and after two months of trials the vehicle was finally short-listed and approved as 5-ton ammo carrier at the GSEEC meeting held on April 13. However, the top brass made final decision in favor of the Hino trucks. The loss to the national exchequer in this deal, at the rate of $15,000 per truck amounted to $15,000,000 (900 million rupees).
g) Pakistan Army’s purchase of more than 3,000 Land Rover trucks in 1995 had also generated controversy with the allegation that the owner of Sygma motors, which had supplied the vehicles, was closely associated with the then chief of general staff of the Pakistan Army. Corruption amounting to 2 billion rupees is alleged in that deal.
h) The Field General Court Martial (FGCM) sentenced former Naval Intelligence Chief Commodore Shahid to 7 years of hard labor, but former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Fasih Bukhari wrote off his sentence after three months, which he had spent in the comfort of his home. It is believed he was freed after he threatened to disclose many more shady deals including a 250 million dollars purchase of mine sweepers.
i) In April 2001, the Public Accounts Committee ordered court trial of 22 corrupt officers of Garrison Engineers (Army) Rawalpindi for causing over a loss of over one billion rupees to the national exchequer with dubious purchases and embezzlement. Defense Ministry officials present at the PAC hearing opposed publication of the culprits’ names, whereupon senior PAC member Lt. General Talat Masood (retd.) admonished them and said that hidden faces involved in corruption must be exposed.
A lot more will be provided on demand.
In the meanwhile, let us salute the saviors of the nation before we are beheaded by the patriot brigade!
یہ پوسٹ جولائی ٢٠١٠ میں ڈان نیوز سے نشر ہونے
والے پروگرام رپورٹر کی دوسری قسط پر مبنی ہے. پروگرام کی ریکارڈنگ اور اہم نقاط کے اقتباسات پیش خدمت ہیں.٣٢ منٹ دورانئے کی یہ بحس پاکستان کے دفاعی اداروں میں جہادیوں کے اثر و رسوخ اور انکی سرگرمیوں کو سمجھنے کے مددگار ہے.
شرکا گفتگو
ائیر وائس مارشل شہزاد چوہدری
زاہد حسین – فرونٹ لائن پاکستان کے مصنف
ائیر مارشل مسعود اختر
ویڈیو کا پہلا حصہ
ویڈیو کا دوسرا حصہ
ویڈیو کا تیسرا حصہ
ویڈیو کا آخری حصہ
پاکستان فوج کے عسکریت پسندوں کے ساتھ مبینہ رابطے
حسین حقانی اپنی کتاب ‘پاکستان : ملا اور ملٹری کے درمیان’ میں لکھتے ہیں کے پاکستان فوج کے جہادی تنظیموں سے رابطے سٹرٹیجک ہیں اور اسی وجہ سے جہادیوں کو سرپرستی ملی اور وو پروان چڑھے
آمر میر اپنی کتاب ‘جہادیوں کا اصلی چہرہ’ میں لکھتے ہیں کے پاکستان فوج کے تقریباً پانچ جہادی تنظیموں سے تعلق رہے ہیں جن میں جہاد اسلامی، لشکر طیبہ ، لشکر جھنگوی، جیش محمّد اور حرکت المجاہدین شامل ہیں
ڈان نیوز کی ٹیم نے ٨ جولائی ٢٠١٠ کو انٹر سروسز پبلک ریلشنز (ISPR) کے سربراہ اطہر عبّاس کو ای میل بھیجی کے وو بتایں کہ کیا فوج میں جنداللہ نامی تنظیم کا وجود رہا ہے ؟ اور اگر ہاں تو وو لوگ کون تھے اور انکے خلاف کیا اقدام اٹھائے گئے . نہ تو اس ای میل کا کوئی جواب موصول ہوا اور نہ ہے انہوں نے انٹرویو کے لئے وقت دیا
ڈان نیوز کی تحقیق کے مطابق
فوج کے دو جونئیر افسران نے فروری 2000 کو کوئٹہ میں جنداللہ نامی جہادی تنظیم کی بنیاد رکھی. انکے جہاد کے پرچار سے متاثر ہو کر جلد ہے چھاؤنی کی مختلف یونٹوں کے ٣٠ فوجیوں نے جنداللہ مے شمولیت اختیار کر لی. انہوں نے باقی یونٹوں سے چندے کی وصولی کا کام بھی کیا اور اسکا کچھ حصہ افغانی طالبان کو بھی بھیجا کرتے. فوج میں پھیلنے کے لئے انہوں نے پاکستان ائیر فورس مونگلی بیس کے افسران سے تعلقات استوار کئے. انھوں نےجیکب آباد ائیر بیس کے علاوہ جنرل مشرف پر ٢٠٠٣ میں دو حملوں کی منصوبہ بندی بھی کی. پاکستان ائیر فورس کے ایک سربراہ کا کہنا ہے کہ انٹر سروس انٹلیجنس (ISI) کی طرف سے انکو جیکب آباد حملے سے متعلق کوئی معلومات نہیں دی گیئں تھیں. جنداللہ کے کالعدم تنظیم جیش محمّد سےقریبی روابط رہے اور انہوں نے فوج اور ائر فورس کی مختلف یونٹوں اور رجمنٹوں مے اثر و رسوخ قائم کر لیا. جیش محمّد نے جنداللہ کے کارکنوں کو بالاکوٹ میں تربیت دلوائی اور انکی مالی معاونت بھی کی. جنرل مشرّف پر حملے کے بعد فوج سے جنداللہ کا اس حد تک خاتمہ کیا گیا کہ انکے بہت سے کارکنوں کو گرفتار کیا گیا. ان کو سزا تو دے دی گئی پر ان تنظیموں کا وجود اب بھی ہے اور یہ اپنا جہادی لٹریچر دھڑلے سے چھاپتے اور پھیلاتے ہیں
لیفٹننٹ جنرل حامد نواز پروگرام سے اٹھ کر چلے جاتے ہیں
عوامی رائے :
افغان جنگ کے دوران پاکستان آرمی نام نہاد جہاد میں پوری طرح شامل تھی اور طالبان سمیت تمام جنگجوں سے اسکے تعلقات تھے. مگر ٩/١١ کے بعد صورت حال بدل گئی اور آج یہ نوبت ہے کہ فوج اپنے ہی پیدا کئے ہوے بچے سے لڑ رہی ہے
حکومت کو فوج کے بجٹ اور جہادی تنظیموں کے فنڈس کا احتساب کرنا چاہیے اور نظر رکھنی چاہیے کے یہ فنڈس کہاں سے آتے ہیں اور کہاں جاتے ہیں
ایجنسیوں کے طالبان یا مجاہدین سے تعلقات ہونا کوئی تعجب کی بات نہیں ہے
افغان جہاد کے دنوں میں پاکستان فوج اور مجاہدین نے مل کر جنگ لڑی اور جیتی. اس دور کے فوجی افسران اب یا تو ریٹایر ہو چکے ہیں یا ہونے والے ہیں. انکے ذاتی طور پر اپنے پرانے مجاہدین ساتھیوں سے تعلقات ہو سکتے ہیں پر جس طرح بین ال اقوامی میڈیا کہتا ہے وو غلط ہے
امریکا کے افغان طالبان سے گہرے روابط ہیں جو پاکستان آرمی اور طالبان کے روابط سے کہیں مضبوط ہیں. انکے تعلقات افغان جہاد کے دنوں سے ہیں
پاکستان کے دفاعی اداروں اور ایجنسیوں کے کسی شدّت پسند جماعت سے کوئی تعلقات نہیں ہیں. وو صرف ملکی دفاع اور قومی مفاد میں کام کر رہے ہیں. فوجی افسران جن پر ہمارا لاکھوں روپیہ خرچ ہو رہا ہے، ان میں سے درجنوں شہید ہو چکے ہیں. اگر انکے روابط جہادیوں سے ہوتے تو ان جہادیوں کا شکار فوج کیوں ہے ؟
زاہد حسین کہتے ہیں کہ بھارتی طیارہ ہائی جیک کیس بھی جیش محمّد سے جڑا ہے. اور اس واقعے کے بعد اپنے دیکھا کہ مسعود اظہر نے کھلے عام کراچی میں ایک بارے مجمے سے اجتماع میں خطاب کیا
میزبان کا سوال: ضیاء دور میں تو فوج میں جہادی تربیت اور مذہب کا استمال عام تھا . کیا مشرّف دور میں اسمے کوئی تبدیلی آئی ؟
جواب میں شہزاد چوہدری کہتے ہیں کہ مذہب کا استمال تو پاکستان بنانے کی تحریک میں بھی ہوا. اسکے بعد ١٩٤٨ کی پاک بھارت کشمیر جنگ میں بھی جناح نے قبائلیوں کے لشکر تیار کروا کر انسے جنگ لڑی. اسی طرح ١٩٦٥ میں آپریشن جبرالٹر ذولفقار علی بھٹو اور جنرل اختر علی ملک کا نظریہ تھا جسکے مطابق آپنے یہ کہا کہ ہم غیر ریاستی فوج یا جہادیوں کو استمال کر کہ کشمیر میں قدم جمایئں گے
ائیر مارشل مسعود اختر کہتے ہیں کہ ضیاء الحق کے زمانے کا ایمان، تقویٰ، جہاد فی سبیل اللہ ایک نظریے کے طور پر بوہت مقبول ہوا. مشرف نے ٩/١١ کے بعد یو ٹرن لیا مگر اس نظریے کے اثرات اب تک باقی ہیں اور انکو زائل ہونے میں وقت لگ رہا ہے. ان لوگوں کا یہ نظریہ تھا اور ہے کہ یہ ملک انتہائی دایئں بازو کے لوگوں کے لئے بنا ہے
زاہد حسین کہتے ہیں کہ پاکستان کا مقصد اور اس سے منسلک مباحث تو پاکستان کے وجود سے ہے شروع ہو گیئں لیکن ریاستی اکثریت کا نظریہ ١٩٨٠ کی دہائی میں زور پکڑنا شروع ہوا. سوویت قوت کے خلاف عوامی راے بنانے اور لوگوں کو لڑنے کے لئے آمادہ کرنے کے لئے اسلام کا بڑی بے رحمی سے استمال کیا گیا. یہ تجربہ کامیاب رہا اور دنیا بھر کے مسلمان ملکوں سے لوگ جہاد کے لئے آ پوھنچے مگر اب وہ ہمارے قابو میں نہیں ہیں. جہاد کا ریاستی پالیسی کے طور پے استمال ضرور رہا ہے مگر اسکی بنیاد نظریاتی نہیں بلکہ سٹرٹیجک (حربی) تھی.
سوال: مشرف پر حملوں کے سلسلے میں ائیر فورس کے ١٠٦ افسران برطرف کے گئے اور ٥٧ فوجی بھی اسی سلسلے میں پکڑے گئے. ان لوگوں میں ان رجحانات کی وجہ کیا تھی ؟
ائیر وائس مارشل شہزاد چوہدری کہتے ہیں ١٩٧٩ سے ١٩٨٩ تک پاکستان فوج اور امریکا نے جہاد، اسلام اور جہادیوں کا استمال کیا اور مقصد پورا ہو جانے کے بعد انکو لاوارث چھوڑ دیا. یہ ایک ناکام پالیسی کا نتیجہ ہے کہ آج وہی ہمارے گلے پڑ چکے ہیں. ہمارے ملک میں کل ملا کر ٣٠،٠٠٠ اموات ہو چکی ہیں اور ان میں سے فوجیوں کی تعداد تو تقریباً ١٩٦٥ کی جنگ کی شہادتوں کے قریب پوھنچ گیئ ہے
حملوں کی پلاننگ کرنے والوں فوجیوں کے وکیل کہتے ہیں کے ان ٦ لوگوں کے خلاف ٹھوس ثبوت دستیاب تھے جو کورٹ کو دیے گئے. پاکستان ائیر فورس میں مذہبیت کا رجحان باقی دفاعی اداروں سے زیادہ ہے.
ائیر مارشل مسعود اختر کہتے ہیں پاکستان فضایہ میں جہادیوں نے اس لئے گھسنا پسند کیا کیوں کہ وو جانتے تھے کہ یہ لوگ باقی دفاعی اداروں کی نسبت زیادہ ماہر اور کاریگر ہیں اور ہر قسم کے ہتھیاروں سے اچھی طرح واقف ہیں. ہم نے ان رجحانات کو ختم کرنے کے لئے اقدامات اٹھایئں ہیں. ہم تمام افسران اور فوجیوں پڑ کاری نگرانی رکھتے ہیں. بھرتی ہونے والوں کے لئے ہم نے سخت نفسیاتی ٹیسٹ بنایا ہے. ہم کوشش کر رہے ہیں کہ فوجیوں کو قرآن کی ہدایت کے مطابق وسط کا راستہ دکھائیں. ہم انکو یہ بھی سمجھا رہے ہیں کہ امیر کی اطاعت ضروری ہے، یہ قرآن اور حدیث میں بھی ہے.
فوج کے ایک معلم جو جمعہ کے خطبے دیتے ہیں کا کہنا ہے
افغانستان پر امریکی حملے کے بعد ہمیں کہا گیا کہ اپنے افغانستان کا ذکر نہیں کرنا. لیکن کچھ دیر بعد جب حالات سخت ہوے تو مجھے کمانڈنگ افسر نے بلا کر کہا کے ہر یونٹ میں جا کر ایسا لیکچر دو کہ ہمارے جوانوں کو آگ لگ جائے اور لیکچر کا موضوع صرف جہاد ہونا چاہیے. حالانکہ پہلے مجے اسی سے روکا گیا تھا.
زاہد حسین کا کہنا ہے کہ اس چیز کی کبھی بھی اجازت نہیں دی گئی کہ جہادی فوج میں اپنا راستہ بنایں مگر عسکریت، جہاد اور اسلام کا استمال ریاستی پالیسی ضرور رہا ہے. اسکے اثرات فوج پر پڑے. ائیر وائس مارشل شہزاد چوہدری کہتے ہیں کہ دہشت گردی اور مذہبیت وہ دو ازدہے ہیں وو آگے چل کر اس ملک کو کھایئں گے.
December 16, 1971 was a gray and chilly winter day in Canada. We had just turned of the TV after watching the ritual of Gen. (Tiger) Niazi surrendering East Pakistan to an Indian commander displayed on the evening news when phone rang. It was Islam Waheed, a university student from Pakistan and a left political activist. He wanted me and my colleague Dr. Feroze Ahmed to come to Montreal as soon as possible and talk about the political situation back home at a meeting of the metropolitan city’s Pakistani community. The two of us took a flight from Sault Ste Marie[i] on the 18th, reaching Montreal in the evening. From the airport we were driven directly to the McGill University where a large room was full of Pakistani expatriates and their families.
From previous experience I must admit that our compatriots had not been inclined to take our “leftist” ideas seriously, but on that evening a large gathering of them seemed to be waiting very anxiously to hear us speak. They wanted to know what had happened to Pakistan and why it happened.
Feroze spoke first. The gist of what he said was that the defeat of the Pakistan army at the hands of India was not the defeat of the people of Pakistan. The elitist rulers of Pakistan had kept the people in deception in order to serve their own interests. They had been too busy in manipulating the system to keep their hold on power, instead of caring for the integrity of Pakistan. He warned that the unity of Pakistan cannot be maintained by emotionally charged sloganeering and authoritarian rule of the central power elite. We expatriate Pakistanis, he said, will have to do more than engaging in seasonal demonstrations of patriotism. What is needed is a coolheaded and critical understanding of political and economic issues confronting our country. Pakistan’s unity and integrity can only be preserved by basing it firmly on the principles of equality, social justice and popular participation. Pakistan cannot be protected by the strength and supremacy of its armed forces alone.
When I was called upon to speak a Punjabi lady in the audience stood up with tears in her eyes and said, “Before you begin, I want to know if Indra Gandhi is going to annex the rest of Pakistan as well?” To appease such fears, I had to point out that Prime Minister Gandhi was not so foolish to annex Pakistan and thereby put around her neck a chain of troubles forever. It may have been possible to create a unified independent India at the time of the withdrawal of British rule with agreement between the different political parties, but too much has happened since that moment, including the holocaust of partition, for the people of Pakistan to ever reconcile to integration with India, particularly a forced one.
The discussion then turned to the principles of federalism and how the ruling class of Pakistan at the centre had violated these principles by not only refusing to share governing authority with provincial units but using brute force to suppress their legitimate cultural identities and economic aspirations.
This type of discussion and dialogue continued for some time even after the end of the formal meeting in smaller groups, until everyone stepped out into the snowy night of Montreal. We too left and reassembled at our host’s place for late night snacks and conversation. We were joined also by two Bengali sailors who had jumped ship at a Canadian port after army action was launched in their province of East Bengal on March 25, 1971.
While we sat chatting, someone brought the latest issue of McGillDaily, theuniversity’s student newspaper for circulation in our small group. It carried an interesting report of an earlier meeting of our compatriots held on the campus on December 4, a day after Pakistan had launched an air strike against India from the West in retaliation against Indian army’s invasion of East Pakistan. According to the student newspaper report the organisers of that meeting had invited Mr. A. K. Saadi an emissary of the government of Pakistan to address the audience. But as soon as the meeting started the entire building began to resound with the call to prayers, azan, and soon thereafter two men entered the meeting room waving Pakistani flags and announced that the meeting was adjourned for the evening prayers. After the prayer break the meeting was reconvened but the guest speaker, Mr. Saadi, was missing. While some people went looking for him one of the organizers took the floor and launched a passionate speech attacking Soviet Premier Kosygin, Mao Zedong, Indra Gandhi and Gen. Yahya Khan.
Mr. Saadi was eventually brought back to the meeting and after a long introduction started his address by expressing his worries at the political situation back home, but before he could get very far with his address, another call for prayer rang out in the building, this time for the night (asha) prayer. The meeting was adjourned for another break, but this time Mr. Saadi disappeared without a trace. People who had some questions for him were left frustrated. Two of the organizers got into a heated argument and had to be separated by others before coming to blows.
This newspaper account of the earlier meeting obviously stood in sharp contrast to the proceedings of the one we had just attended. The flag waving patriotism, the religiosity, and the combativeness displayed in the earlier meeting was quite amazing. Was all this indicative of something about our national character or could it be attributed to isolated behaviour of a few individuals carried away in the excitement of the news of extraordinary events occurring in Pakistan? And what about the calm and tolerant, almost penitent, mood we had encountered in our meeting? Had our fellow Pakistanis learned a lesson of realism, mutual respect and humility after the dismemberment of their beloved Pakistan? Time flew by as we pondered these questions through the long winter night.
Finally someone came up with the bright idea of getting some sleep. Our host took us upstairs to show us to our beds. Still wide awake, I walked to the window to take a look outside. There was no sign of life on the street below. Montreal, the city of over 5 million people, had gone to sleep. Snowfall had tapered off. A few tiny white flakes were visibly flurrying around the street lamp. That for a moment brought to mind a familiar image of the rainy summer seasons in Pakistan – the frantic dance of those winged insects around street lights till they dropped dead by hitting the hot light bulbs again and again.
—————————-
If someone would ask me today, what have you learned since that night in Montreal 39 years ago? I will have to say that I now know the answers to the two questions that had arisen that night.
Yes, flag waving patriotism, religiosity, and combativeness are very much part of our Pakistani national character.
No, we Pakistanis never learned the lesson of realism, mutual respect and humility from the fall of Dhaka.
I leave it to the readers to imagine were this is going to lead Pakistan and its people.
LUBP has been boldly stating for the last many years that Pakistan Army’s continued policy of jihadi and sectarian suicide attacks, and its collaboration with extremist Deobandis of Sipah-e-Sahaba and Taliban and extremist Wahhabis of Lashkar-e-Taiba / Jamatud-Dawa is fatal for peace and security of Pakistan and the entire region.
Now it has been once again proven without doubt that jihadi and sectarian suicide attacks are an integral element of the Pakistan Army’s military strategy, and that this strategy is executed through the notorious anti-democracy (but pro-extremist-Deobandi and pro-extremist-Wahhabi) spy agency, the ISI.
Actual screenshot
Screen-shot from the Pakistan Army's website
The original site has been removed by the Pakistan Army, hence not opening up any more, but Google retains a cache of the original page.
ISI man on a suicide mission in India listed as ‘Martyr’ on Pak Army website
The Shuhda (Martyrs) Corner on the Pakistan Army Website
ISI man who died in Delhi a martyr for Pak
It took over a decade for the Pakistani army to accept that its 500 soldiers and officers were involved in infiltrations along the Line of Control and were killed during during the 1999 Kargil war with India. Their names were recently listed as “martyrs” in ‘Shuhada’s (martyrs) corner’ of the Pakistan army’s website. And yesterday, there was another addition to the list: Naik Zulfiqar Ahmed — an ISI operative who was on a “suicide attack mission” to India.
Pakistani army’s website, http://www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk, claims that the ISI operative died at New Delhi’s Ganga Ram Hospital on November 16, 2007. Notwithstanding the fact that he was on a suicide attack operation, Naik Zulfiqar Ahmed’s name has been listed in the “martyr’s corner”.
The listing stated that Ahmed was on a “suicide attack” operation at the time of his death. The cause of death was given as “neptrrotic syndrome/ARI”. Nephrotic syndrome is a kidney disorder while ARI refers to acute respiratory infection.
Ahmed’s army serial no was 1726016 and he belonged to the engineering wing. His formation or unit was HQs 30 Corps/Dte Gen ISI, according to the listing, which has a picture of Ahmed.
As expected, the move invited sharp reactions from New Delhi. The (Indian) Army said the “intentions and ways” of Pakistani army had “become clear” with the neighbouring nation owning up a suicide bomber.
Indian Army’s Reaction
Chief of Indian Army Staff General VK Singh said: “I have nothing to say on what they (Pakistani Army) have put up on its website. But if it has (owned up), then it clearly show what their intentions and ways are and what their next move will be.” “All I can say is we have to be more alert and only then we can protect our people and troops,” Gen Singh said while speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of an Army function. (Source: The Tribune India)
Pakistan Army’s Reaction:
A red-faced Pakistan Army has hurriedly removed from its website the records of an alleged suicide bomber of ISI who died in New Delhi in November 2007 of renal failure. (Source: Deccan Herald)
Report in Pakistan’s daily Jang
While there is a complete blackout of this news item in (the ISI dominated) Pakistani media, only an invisible single column news was published in daily Jang:
پاک فوج کی ویب سائٹ پر خودکش بمبار کی تصویر ہے ، بھارتی آرمی چیف
لاہور( خالد محمود خالد ) بھارتی آرمی چیف جنرل وی کے سنگھ نے خودکش بمبار بھارت بھیجنے کے اعتراف پر پاکستانی فوج پر شدید تنقید کی ہے ، نئی دہلی میں وزارت دفاع کے زیر اہتمام ایک تقریب میں انہوں نے کہا کہ پاکستان آرمی نے اپنی ویب سائٹ پر ” شہداء کارنر“ میں نائیک ذوالفقار احمد کی تصویر لگا کر اس بات کا اعتراف کر لیا ہے کہ پاکستان بھارت میں آئی ایس آئی کے ایجنٹ کے طور پر اپنے فوجی خودکش حملوں کیلئے بھجوا رہا ہے ۔واضح رہے کہ پاکستان آرمی کی ویب سائٹ پر شہداء کارنر میں نائیک ذوالفقار احمد کے پروفائل میں کہا گیا ہے کہ ہیڈ کوارٹر 30کور / ڈائریکٹوریٹ جنرل آئی ایس آئی یونٹ کی انجینئرز آرم سے تعلق رکھنے والے ذوالفقار احمد کی شہادت 16نومبر 2007 کو نئی دہلی کے گنگا رام اسپتال میں ہوئی اور اس کا تعلق خودکش بمبار آپریشن سے تھا۔ یہ بات اہم ہے کہ پاکستانی فوج کی ویب سائٹ بھارتی آرمی چیف کی تنقید کے بعد ساڑھے تین بجے دیکھ بھال کیلئے بند کر دی گئی۔
It is a fact that while urban, middle class chatterers of Pakistani media and blogs bash Pakistani politicians, financial (as well as moral and political) corruption of the military remains conveniently ignored or is not subject to one tenth of the scrutiny which is shown in the case of politicians. Historically and institutionally in Pakistan, military is not under any transparent accounting check and control system or audit. Therefore irregularities and corruption in the military remain unnoticed by the public. While the Military Incorporated is engaged in vast business activities in Pakistan, there is an urgent need to make them subject to proper accounting systems, internal financial controls supervised by reputed external auditors preferably reputed international auditing firms and also in the parliament. (Sarah Khan / Abdul Nasir).
NLC scam: PAC ruling in limbo till Army inquiry is over
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has decided to wait for the outcome of the inquiry ordered by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in the Rs4 billion NLC scam instead of giving its own ruling in the light of three inquiry reports pending before it for more than a year.
Defence Secretary Lt-Gen (retd) Syed Athar Ali, who attended the PAC meeting, said the military inquiry would be completed within one month and its details would be shared with the PAC.
General (retd) Athar told the committee that the army command had ordered inquiry into the NLC scam after the Planning Division’s inquiry report was brought to his notice.
He said the army act fully empowers the high command to hold inquiries against retired army officers. General Athar said the purpose of this inquiry was to send a loud message to junior military ranks that all uniformed men were equal in the eyes of military laws.
He said COAS General Kiyani had decided to hold military inquiry public “so as to show our genuine intentions” to establish transparency and fair play.
PAC Chairman Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had claimed in the last meeting that no further investigations were required to reach any conclusion in the scam.
The protests by one PAC member that it was a body of a sovereign house and should proceed in the light of three available inquiry reports on NLC scam were, however, not given any weight by the PAC chairman and his fellow members.
The defence secretary was told that the PAC would not announce its own decision, though it was convinced about the alleged role of military generals in the scam. Lt-Gen Athar was informed that the committee would wait for the arrival of a fourth inquiry report and then make up its mind how to proceed.
Earlier, in a dramatic move, army chief General Kayani had announced instituting an inquiry into the scam to determine the role of three military generals allegedly involved in the mega scam. General Kayani’s initiative was taken in a negative sense as it was claimed that the inquiry was apparently ordered to preempt the PAC decision which was expected in the first week of December.
PAC member Saeed Zafar Padhiar did not agree with Chaudhry Nisar’s decision to wait for the GHQ report. He told the committee “we should treat NLC and GHQ like we treated the rest of civilian institutions” whose acts of omission and commission come before them.
“We even don’t know what the GHQ was up to and what sort of inquiry they were conducting,” he remarked.
But Nisar argued that the committee should keep its intentions positive and should take action of General Kayani in a positive light.
“We will treat the GHQ report as fourth inquiry report into the scam,” Nisar said. He also told General Athar to tell the GHQ that its inquiry board should read three past inquiries conducted into the scam, so they should know what were the main points raised in those reports.
Nisar said if the military wanted to conduct its own inquiry as an institution, then he did not have any problem. But he wondered if the army act allowed action against retired army officers. He said the inquiry should be done in a transparent manner, “so we should know what those generals under Musharraf were doing”.
He added that it might have been better had the defence secretary discussed it before ordering an inquiry so that everyone remained within the given domains.
Auditor General of Pakistan Tanveer Agha also proposed that the army should conduct its inquiry in the light of three earlier investigations into the affair.
Two serving major generals appeared before the PAC members surprisingly in civilian clothes, not in military uniforms. Usually, all serving military men are required to attend parliamentary bodies’ meetings in their military uniforms. PAC member Riaz Fatiana pointed out this lapse on the part of two military generals but, noticing complete indifference of his colleagues towards this otherwise serious issue, he too did not push it further.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2010.
According to the Independent report: “But on the larger themes and broader issues, the cables offer only confirmation rather than surprise. ”
“The diplomatic cables only serve to confirm what people have been worried about, especially in regard to the US fears about our nuclear assets.”
Here are some features and high points from the messages which appeared on Britain’s Guardian newspaper website, as well as some frame of reference on key issues covered in them.
* According to a cable from U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson dated Feb. 9, 2009, Zardari had raised the issue of his personal security in a meeting in Karachi.
“Zardari revealed that, if he was assassinated, he had instructed his son Bilawal to name his sister, Faryal Talpur, as President,” said the cable.
President Asif Ali Zardari had spoken to former US ambassador Anne Patterson in 2009, saying that he had instructed his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to name his sister Faryal Talpur as President if he is assassinated.
In another cable quoted by the newspaper, US Vice President Joe Biden recounted to Britain’s then Prime Minister Gordon Brown a conversation with Zardari last year. Zardari told him that Kayani and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency “will take me out,” according to the cable.
Separately, President Zardari had told the then British foreign secretary David Miliband that his men (army officers and ISI) were keeping him unaware about critical information.
The general at the top of Pakistan’s army proposed to topple President Asif Ali Zadari during internal wrangling last year, WikiLeaks has revealed.
General Ashfaq Kayani, floated the idea during meetings with the US Ambassador in March 2009 as thousands of supporters of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif took to the streets.
Cable sent by Ambassador Anne Patterson on March 12, 2009.
The ambassador had met Army chief Ashfaq Kayani on March 10 before a long march by lawyers on March 12 in a political crisis that threatened Zardari’s government.
Another memo cited in The New York Times quotes General Ashfaq Kayani, chief of the military, telling the US ambassador during a March 2009 meeting that he “might, however reluctantly,” pressure Zardari to resign. Kayani was quoted as saying that he might support Asfandyar Wali Khan, leader of the Awami National League Party, as the new president — not Zardari’s arch-nemesis Nawaz Sharif.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai once told a US Senate delegation that the Pakistani president felt “lonely, threatened and under siege” and urged the senators to secure strong US support for Asif Ali Zardari, says a cable released by WikiLeaks.
In a meeting with Senators John McCain, Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham in Dec 2008, Mr Karzai stressed the importance of US support for the Pakistan president,
calling Mr Zardari “a good man who wants to free his country from extremists”.
The Afghan president noted that he had an excellent relationship with Mr Zardari and felt the two had a special rapport, adding that “never in 60 years of Pakistan`s history have we had such good bilateral relations”.
Mr Karzai described how, when he arrived in Istanbul for trilateral talks in Dec 2008, Mr Zardari called him directly and asked to meet him privately before their official meeting the following day.
Mr Zardari came to Mr Karzai`s room where they chatted over dinner for hours, “covering all topics imaginable”.
Mr Zardari believed he received too little support from the international community, the Afghan president said. Mr Karzai explained that India was still wary because of historic enmity with Pakistan; Russia withheld its support because Pakistan had helped the Afghans defeat the Soviets; China disapproved of Mr Zardari`s close relationship with the US; and the Arab countries wouldn`t support him because he wasn`t “one of them”.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik had told then U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson that it was not chief of army staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani but ISI chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who was hatching conspiracies against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The U.S. embassy cables revealed that Mr. Malik sought an urgent appointment with Ms. Patterson in November 2009 and said that Gen. Pasha was hatching plots against Mr. Zardari, adding that the president needed political security, The News International reported.
However, Ms. Patterson was certain that the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) could not do it alone.
In yet another cable, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden told then British prime minister Gordon Brown about a conversation he had with Mr. Zardari in 2009.
Mr. Zardari told Mr. Biden that Gen. Kayani and the ISI “will take me out”, according to the cable, which added that Mr. Zardari had made extensive preparations in case he was killed.
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani used the Pakistani civilian government for military purposes from behind the scenes and very effectively foiled the US plan to ensure civilian control over the military under the Kerry-Lugar Bill, according to a confidential diplomatic dispatch of the US embassy in Paris to the State Department on January 22, released by Wikileaks.
State Department cables: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH KAYANI AND PASHA ABOUT
Wednesday, 07 October 2009, 13:31
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 002427
SIPDIS
EO 12958 DECL: 10/06/2019
TAGS PREL, PGOV, PTER, PK
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH KAYANI AND PASHA ABOUT
KERRY-LUGAR
Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (S) Summary: Ambassador heard a number of complaints about the Kerry-Lugar bill from COAS General Kayani and DGISI Pasha in a two-hour meeting October 6. These focused on the history of Pressler sanctions, particularly a fear that the waiver in Kerry-Lugar would not be used and aid would be suspended. There were several clauses in the bill, such as an American assessment of civilian control over military promotions and the chain of command, that rankled COAS Kayani. DGISI Pasha said Kayani was receiving criticism on the bill from the Corps Commanders. Ambassador emphasized the bill’s long-term commitment to Pakistan and made three points: provisions of the bill could be waived; the bill only requires certifications and “assessments;” and the bill does not apply to the large amounts in the Pakistan Counter-insurgency Fund or Coalition Support Fund but only, so far, to non-appropriated Foreign Military Financing. Pasha and Kayani repeated that the Army had taken huge steps this year in its bilateral cooperation with the US and in its campaign in Swat and Bajaur and was getting little public (or private) credit from the US for these historic steps. Kayani said he was considering a statement on the bill, but he was struggling with what to say. He realized that Senator Kerry and Vice President Biden, the original sponsor of the bill, were among Pakistan,s best friends. He predicted the parliamentary debate would be tough, but in the final analysis the government controlled the agenda. Kayani said the language in the bill could undermine political support for the Army’s anti-terrorist effort.
Leaked secret cables from the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, just after the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai, reveal a more complex narrative than that chronicled so far.
The Pakistan government was willing to work with India; New Delhi was not painting Islamabad and the military nerve centre in Rawalpindi with the same brush, and the Europeans were initially keen on dousing any tensions that might have erupted.
The four WikiLeaks cables, though forming a narrow window, are a story of a missed opportunity for Pakistan to step up the friendship with India, being constructed through the comprehensive dialogue process.
“President [Asif Ali] Zardari, PM [Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza] Gilani and FM [Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood] Qureshi have made all the right public statements…Government of Pakistan is sending ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] chief M.G. Pasha to India to participate in the investigation…[Mr.] Zardari is meeting with appropriate Cabinet members to discuss further possible govt reaction and NSA [National Security Adviser Mahmud Ali] Durrani forwarded a message on the need to jointly fight militants that threaten both Pakistan and India.”
Pakistan’s powerful Army had vetoed President Asif Ali Zardari’s proposal to send ISI chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha to New Delhi that came on British insistence to calm down tensions with India following the Mumbai terror attack, a secret U.S. cable made public by WikiLeaks shows.
The confidential document shows that the then British Foreign Secretary David Miliband had called Mr. Zardari, asking him to send the ISI chief to India, to which the President readily agreed. He, however, was overruled by the Pakistani Army led by General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
Mr. Miliband described Major General Pasha as a welcome “new broom” and expressed U.K. support for ISI reform.
Mr. Zardari said the new ISI leaders were “straightforward” and their roles were proscribed by the constitution, but it would take time for real conversions.
Robert Brinkley, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, and Mr. Miliband pressed for Pasha to go to India, said a U.S. cable issued by its Embassy in Islamabad on December 1, 2008.
“Zardari gave Brinkley a long answer about various levels of directors in ISI but finally confirmed that the Army had vetoed the decision to send Pasha. Zardari told Miliband that it might be possible to send NSA Durrani, as he outranked Pasha,” it said.
The President said it would not be possible to send Pasha immediately as he needed to work public opinion first, the cable said.
According to the cable, the British diplomat passed the same intelligence information about LeT to Zardari that they previously had passed to the ISI.
“Zardari’s response was positive; he said ISI had to follow up and this was an opportunity. He criticised the Indians for statements that pushed Islamabad to make a defensive response and ‘made my job harder’
“Zardari said he thought it was not possible that terrorists could have launched attack boats from Karachi and the operation could not have been implemented without insider help from Indians,” the cable says.
In the conversation with Mr. Miliband, Mr. Zardari said he saw the attacks as an “opportunity to strike at my enemies”.
The attack, he said, was aimed as much at Pakistan as at India, but India had reacted in an unfortunate way.
“Miliband said that public messaging would be particularly important to link the Mumbai atrocity with Zardari’s own campaign against militants,” it said.
Mr. Zardari told Mr. Miliband that “my people” had not brought specific information to him about the individuals named in the information passed to ISI (on the day before).
Mr. Miliband said that LeT needed to “feel the full force of the law”.
“Zardari responded by saying he was setting up special courts, was contacting all political parties, and would take action immediately,” the cable said.
According to the cable, Mr. Zardari commented that he had a gut reaction that the attacks were the beginning rather than the end and went on to talk about Muslim-Hindu differences and attempts to split India.
“He urged the UK to push back on New Delhi and calm the situation. Mr. Miliband said they would do so, but India needs to see real action from Pakistan.
“India was asking for short-term actions, and this could buy some time for the Government of Pakistan,” it said.
Mr. Miliband later called Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and said he wanted to make sure that he saw the intelligence passed to ISI.
“He pressed that India needs actions not words from Pakistan. Mr. Qureshi said he would follow up on the intelligence but reiterated the GOP request for the U.K. to counsel restrain on the part of the Indians,” it says.
The U.S. Embassy cable signed off by the then U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson said that overall, the Pakistani public remains in denial about any culpability for the Mumbai attacks and believes India is unfairly and prematurely accusing Pakistan.
1. (C) Summary. During a meeting with Ambassador January 31, Nawaz Sharif confirmed…. As proof of his pro-Americanism, Nawaz reminded Ambassador that he had overruled his Chief of Staff to deploy Pakistani forces with the U.S. coalition in the first Gulf War.
2. (C) Ambassador and Polcouns met former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif January 31 for an hour during Nawaz’s recent visit to Islamabad. PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also attended the meeting.
8. (C) The best thing America has done recently, said Nawaz, was arrange to have General Kayani named as Chief of Army Staff. This appointment is helping Army morale and raising the level of public respect for the Army. Noting that Musharraf met the UK equivalent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Khan said the U.S. and the UK need to stop treating Musharraf as if he still ran the military. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Fallon would have met with Musharaf if the President had not been travelling, asserted Khan. Ambassador replied that we had excellent relations with the Pakistani military and meet them all the time at various levels.
WikiLeaks cables relay allegations that Nawaz Sharif’s government in Punjab province helped the group responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks evade UN sanctions.
Pakistan’s president alleged that the brother of Pakistan’s opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, “tipped off” the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) about impending UN sanctions following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, allowing the outfit to empty its bank accounts before they could be raided.
King Abdullah and ruling princes distrust Asif Ali Zardari, the country’s Shia president, and would prefer ‘another Musharraf’.
Oil power Saudi Arabia gained vast influence in the region when it, along with Pakistan and the United States, began backing the anti-Soviet mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Saudi Arabia, a vital U.S. ally, still has clout in the region. Apparently it consider’s itself one of our master.
* On Nov 20, 2007, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, boldly asserted during a meal with a U.S. diplomat:
“We in Saudi Arabia are not observers in Pakistan, we are participants.”
Pakistan continues to support the militant group which carried out the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai despite its claims to have launched a crackdown on the organisation, the United States Ambassador to Islamabad wrote in a cable.
The cables also laid bare US frustrations at what officials see as Pakistan’s refusal to cut off ties with extremists such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is blamed for carrying out the bloody 2008 siege of Mumbai.
“There is no chance that Pakistan will view enhanced assistance levels in any field as sufficient compensation for abandoning support for these groups, which it sees as an important part of its national security apparatus against India,” Ambassador Anne Patterson said in a cable quoted by the Times.
The cables also touch on allegations of extrajudicial killings by Pakistani forces, according to the Times.
A cable last year suggested there was credible evidence that the or paramilitary forces killed some detainees after an offensive against Taliban insurgents in the northwestern regions.
The embassy said that news of killings should not be leaked to the press, for fear of offending the Pakistani army. However, this year the United States said it would cut off support for some Pakistani units following the release of a video that appeared to show extrajudicial killings.
US diplomatic memos also reveal Western concerns that terrorists might get access to Pakistan’s nuclear material and American scepticism that Islamabad will sever ties to Taliban factions fighting in Afghanistan.
Washington’s frustration with Islamabad and the struggle in Pakistan between the country’s military and political leadership, analysts say the public disclosure of the cables will not damage relations between the two countries.
America is viewed with some suspicion by the majority of Pakistan’s people and its institutions. While the Army remains fixated on India as Pakistan’s mortal enemy, the common man (and most importantly the youth) is just as likely to point to America as the nation which has twisted Pakistan’s collective arm, leaving it weak.
Pakistan quietly approved drone attacks, U.S. special units:
On the record, Pakistan has persistently criticized the United States’ use of unmanned drones to attack militant hideouts in its mountainous border region.
But diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks reveal that in private the Pakistani government was not unhappy about the strikes and secretly allowed small groups of U.S. Special Operations units to operate on its soil.
The Pakistani military is not simply an arm of government. It is by far the most supreme and soverign institution in the country. Defence accounts for 5 per cent of the Government’s budget. The military also receives billions of pounds in US aid. It controls Pakistan’s nuclear weapons arsenal. It oversees the intelligence infrastructure. It also determines foreign policy especially with countries such as America and China. It holds veto rights on any peace initiatives with India.
For that reason the Chief of the Army Staff is arguably the most powerful person in the country.
Pakistan Blogzine 
