A general’s joy

The Persian poet Hafiz said, “the General’s joy in dominating the world is not worth the suffering of his army”.

Since September 11 Pakistan’s General Musharraf basked in the global glow that joining the War against Terror brought him. Once a pariah whom President Clinton refused to spend much time with, he became a close friend of President George Bush.

But the General’s joy of dominating the friendship with Washington while allowing the religious parties to rise in Pakistan created an ambiguous situation.

Technically Pakistan is a key ally of the Washington led alliance to eliminate al-Qaeda cells across the world. On the ground, pro-Taliban religious parties were key beneficiaries of the rigged elections the General held last October.

General Musharraf’s novel leadership places Islamabad in an unenviable position. It is viewed simultaneously with friendship and suspicion. Two recent events highlight the situation that Islamabad finds itself in. First the clash between an officer of the Pakistan army with American troops. Second, the finger printing of Pakistani male nationals under new US Immigration rules.

Pursuing fleeing al-Qaeda/Taliban remnants from Afghanistan this January, US troops found them doing another Tora Bora: escaping into the tribal areas that border Afghanistan. The US troops went into hot pursuit. They were confronted by a Pakistani military officer. The officer opened fire on the US forces wounding the US soldier. In retaliation, the US dropped a 500 pound bomb on a Masjid where the officer took refuge. (The bomb failed to hit the officer).

This was the second incident between the two armies. The hotlines between Washington and Islamabad burnt as the two countries tried to calm down the incident.
According to one of the wire services, “‘minimum cooperation with the Americans is the word that has gone out to Pakistani military units still going through the motions of assisting the US Special Forces”.

The duality in open and secret policy sends conflicting signals to the Pakistani public and the Pakistani army. They are victims of the official policy of double speak and unable to clearly identify either friend or foe. Presumably these are commando tactics to keep the enemy confused. Only no one knows who the enemy is.

Therefore, Pakistanis find themselves included in the new Immigration rules set by the United States to screen all those leaving and entering the United States. All males between the ages of 16 and 45 are finger printed and have mug shots taken. Most Pakistanis are angered at the treatment given that Islamabad is a member of the alliance against terror.
Islamabad’s image is hardly helped by the collapse of institutions taking place since the death of democracy in 1996. There was a time when the Pakistan military could seal its own borders giving little excuse for hot pursuit.

There was a time when Pakistan’s police force broke the back of an ethnic insurgency. But such is the state of the police force in the post democratic period, that Islamabad gave permission to the FBI to make arrests of suspected persons.

Islamabad was allowed generous rescheduling of debts in exchange for helping clean the world of terrorism. But Pakistanis still face the iron fist of the terrorist on their own soil. The death toll rises sickeningly as one terrorist attack follows another, as one bomb blast precedes another. As Hafiz said, “the General’s joy in dominating the world is not worth the suffering of his army”. Or of his people.

The writer is former Prime Minister of Pakistan.