Column

The Chinese saying —’may you live in interesting times’ — might sound like a blessing, but it is actually a curse that connotes disorder and trouble. Pakistan, it must be said, is really passing through interesting times. Even before the dust of the Memogate scandal could settle, 24 Pakistani army personnel were killed by NATO helicopters in the Mohmand Tribal Agency bordering Afghanistan on November 26. The Pakistani army claims that the attack on two recently established border posts was ‘unprovoked.’

The Wall Street Journal, however, quotes “unnamed Afghan officials” and reports that the attack was called in to protect NATO and Afghan forces who were targeting Taliban fighters. “There was firing coming from the position against Afghan soldiers”.

In a knee-jerk reaction, Pakistan has asked America to vacate the Shamsi Air Base in Baluchistan “within fifteen days”. Reportedly, the base is operated by CIA to carry out drone attacks within Pakistan’s tribal areas. Pakistan has also closed two main NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. The NATO secretary general has expressed regrets on the “tragic unintended incident”. But not accepting the apology, Pakistan has threatened to “review its relationship” with the United States.

This is not for the first time that the Pakistani army has been attacked by NATO and American forces deployed in Afghanistan. Suspecting the Pakistani army for actively supporting the Taliban, American forces have killed more than seventy Pakistani army personnel in skirmishes. Last year too Pakistan had closed NATO supply routes for some days after few of its soldiers were killed by NATO forces during a “hot pursuit” of the Taliban.

To placate Pakistan, the US may describe the recent attack as “unintentional”, but the fact of the matter is that with each sensational Taliban attack in Afghanistan, America concludes that Pakistan is abetting the Taliban and is, in truth, a hostile country.

Little was left to the imagination after Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of US Joints Chiefs of Staff Committee, described Taliban’s Haqqani network as a “veritable arm of ISI” earlier this year. The public condemnation of Pakistan by the most senior officer of the American army, someone earlier believed to be ‘friendly’ towards Pakistan, had almost led to the breakdown of American-Pakistani diplomatic ties. After the whirlwind visit of Secretary Hillary Clinton to Islamabad, it was assumed that the diplomatic relations may have been repaired. Now it seems that the mending was a mere quick fix. The relationship may now be beyond any scope of repair. The Pakistan army spokesperson has said that “the incident could result in serious consequences”.

This aptly explains the gravity of the fast deepening crisis.
Whether the present crisis in the US-Pakistan relationship is irreversible or not, is a subject worthy only of academic interest, since other than avoiding a military confrontation, the two countries hardly share any other concern. America and Pakistan diverge in every respect and the radical difference in their strategic interests leaves no hope of any convergence in the near future.

The post 9/11 decade may have witnessed many twists and turns, but Pakistan has remained committed to its core ideology. During the time, when Pakistan was furiously targeted by the Taliban, it was thought that the bond between the two has finally come to an end. That has proved to be an erroneous understanding. The increased tensions between Pakistan and United States correspond fully with the decline of Taliban violence inside Pakistan.

Only last week did the Tehrik-i-Taliban and Pakistan announce a ceasefire. Popular sentiment in Pakistan is completely in favour of a realignment of ties with America; the recent incident has only added fuel to the fire. The anti-Taliban moderate forces in Pakistan view the repeated NATO attacks inside Pakistan as a unifying factor for the Taliban and Pakistan.

Whether the NATO attack on Pakistan was intentional or unintentional, it took place on the third anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai attacks. What a strange coincidence? Maybe this is a farfetched idea, but South Asia does not deserve to be a common theatre of war. Let us hope for the good senses to prevail.