KABUL — Across Afghanistan, behind the obvious battles fought for this country’s soul, a shadow war is being quietly waged. It’s being fought with spies and proxies, with hundreds of millions of dollars in aid money and ominous diplomatic threats.
The fight pits nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan against one another in a battle for influence that will almost certainly gain traction as the clock ticks down toward America’s military withdrawal, which President Barack Obama has announced will begin next year.
The clash has already sparked bloody militant attacks, and American officials fear the region could become further destabilized. With Pakistani intelligence maintaining ties to Afghanistan’s Taliban militants, India has threatened to draw Iran, Russia and other nations into the competition if an anti-Indian government comes to power in Kabul.
There is a debate going on in the west on the issue of a possible threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba – A Jihadi group fighting against Indian occupation of Kashmir and blamed for Mumbai attacks in 2008 – to the western interests. There is no doubt Lashkar hates United States for a number of reasons. Apart from the widespread anti-America resentment in almost all Islamic groups across the globe, the group has some of its own reasons to dislike US. US declared Lashkar-e-Taiba a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) a few months after 9/11 without any substantial reason. The group until then never attacked or planned any attack on US interests. Its focus was totally on Kashmir against Indian forces.
The group believes that by declaring it terrorist organization US wanted to please India and press Pakistan to back off from freedom struggle in Kashmir. Despite its anger the group refrained from attacking US interests in the region but US was not satisfied with its own measures by putting Lashkar on FTO list of the State Department and went to UN Security Council in 2005 for international sanctions against the group. Eventually UNSC put the group in the list of Al-Qaeda and Taliban affiliates and asked the member countries to freeze its assets and impose embargo on purchase of weapons while its members were banned from international travelling. These sanctions could not affect the group in Pakistan as technically it was not active in Pakistan anymore after January 12, 2002 when the then president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf banned the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Sipa-e-Sahaba, and Tehreek-e-Jafria.
WASHINGTON: The atmospherics are good but the ground realities are unfavourable. India is struggling to stay relevant and advance its geo-political equities with the United States at a time Washington is buffeted by domestic pressures and international crises that are undercutting its resolve to put ties with New Delhi on a higher plane.
Good intentions, broad agenda, and packed schedules notwithstanding, Indian diplomatic foray into Washington this week was notable for gripes and grievances than any significant advancement towards the stated goal of achieving a strategic relationship with the US, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao had a series of meetings on Tuesday, including a drop-in by secretary of state Hillary Clinton at a state department meeting with her counterpart William Burns, but in the end there was no meeting of minds on the most fundamental security issue of the times.
India and US disagree on Afghanistan and Pakistan. That much became clear towards the end of the foreign secretary’s visit although elaboration on this issue was foiled by the cancellation of Rao’s wrap-up press meet (Indian Embassy said she was unwell).
Reiterating their demand for the defence of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, thousands of Pakistani farmers alongside the Farmer Wing of Jamat ud Dawah lead by patriot Professor Hafiz Muhammed Saeed lashed out at the recent Indian blockage of water that rightfully belonged to the Pakistani fields.
In a protest one of a kind – hundreds of tractors marched along Mall Road and gathered at Nasir Bagh area of Lahore. Demanding an end to the water terrorism being committed by India, the farmers showed their courage and determination to defending their rights .Their emotions were described by the banners they held. From ‘Water or War’, ‘Diversion of Pakistani Rivers = Indian Water Bomb’, and ‘Liberate Kashmir to Secure Water’. Realising the realities on the ground and unstinted by the fake promises and photo-sessions by the government ministers in contact with their Indian couterparts they held up a banner which read “No Peace with Indian Water Aggression”. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed once again reiterated his pledge for peace in the region and said that its India which is imposing war on Pakistan.
“My crime is that I speak for the oppressed people of occupied Kashmir and India, my Deen demands that I should speak for Indian Muslims and other minorities subjugated by ruling elite of India,” he said.
DELHI lost its own plot one day before foreign secretaries Nirupama Rao and Salman Bashir sat down at Hyderabad House to reopen the dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Salman Bashir came to Delhi for two sets of talks, not one. The Indian government was the second half of his agenda. The first, and from his perspective the more important, part was the resumption of dialogue between Islamabad and secessionist elements in Jammu and Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and the more extreme Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Bashir did not want to talk to Omar or Farooq Abdullah, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Mehbooba Mufti or Ghulam Nabi Azad, who represent parties that won a substantial number of seats in the assembly. He wanted to hear what Geelani said, that there was a storm brewing in the valley. Bashir reassured Geelani that Pakistan had not abandoned its dream of altering the map of India.
These pre-arranged meetings were held with the consent of the Indian government. If the Indian government had wanted to prevent them, Hurriyat leaders and Geelani would not have been able to catch the flight from Srinagar to Delhi. Precedence — the fact that we have enabled such meetings before — is not the point.
How about exchanging Taliban Number Two Abdul Ghani Baradar for terror master Brahamdagh Bugti and the dismantling of the terror network targeting Pakistan’s Balochistan?
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan has agreed to hand over Afghan Taliban’s number 2, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, to Afghanistan. How about asking for Mr. Brahamdagh Bugti in exchange? Or for the dismantling of the Afghan-based terror infrastructure targeting Pakistani Balochistan?
There are signs that Afghanistan’s role as a base for anti-Pakistan operations over the past seven years is gradually shrinking. But it is not completely over yet. The rollback in that role is directly linked to what the United States wants. And Washington’s recent change of heart regarding Pakistan’s role and legitimate regional security interests are the result of the Pakistani military standing its ground, not any genuine change of heart in US policymaking circles. This is why you did not see any US official jumping in excitement at the idea of Pakistani military training the Afghan National Army, which is what our army chief has proposed.
RIYADH: Shashi Tharoor, minister of state for external affairs, was at the centre of yet another controversy after his remarks here on Saturday evening that Saudi Arabia could be a “valuable interlocutor” between India and Pakistan.
The remark, in response to a question from a reporter, triggered a storm on Sunday, with many viewing it as a deviation from the country’s stand to treat the dispute with Pakistan as a bilateral affair, and reject all suggestions of third-party mediation.
Tharoor strongly argued that he had been misinterpreted as he had not used the word “mediation or anything like that”. He also tweeted, ruing the misinterpretation of the word “interlocutor”, while insisting that an “interlocutor was different from a mediator”.
POKHRAN, India, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Indian fighter jets pounded mock enemy bunkers close to the Pakistan border on Sunday in a symbolic show of air power at a time when the two nuclear-armed rivals are trying to improve relations.
The exercise was watched by military attaches from about 30 countries but not Pakistan and China, neighbours who would be keen to take a look at India’s military firepower.
It follows the first official talks between India and Pakistan since the militant attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
The talks ended with an agreement to keep in touch, signalling relations remain fraught despite a desire to reopen a dialogue that India suspended after the Mumbai killings.
THE INDIAN CLAIM TO JAMMU AND KASHMIR – A REAPPRAISAL:
The formal overt Indian intervention in the internal affairs of the State of Jammu and Kashmir began on about 9.00 a.m. on 27 October 1947, when Indian troops started landing at Srinagar airfield. India has officially dated the commencement of its claim that the State was part of Indian sovereign territory to a few hours earlier, at some point in the afternoon or evening of 26 October. From their arrival on 27 October 1947 to the present day, Indian troops have continued to occupy a large proportion of the State of Jammu and Kashmir despite the increasingly manifest opposition of a majority of the population to their presence. To critics of India’s position and actions in the State of Jammu and Kashmir the Government of New Delhi has consistently declared that the State of Jammu and Kashmir lies entirely within the sphere of internal Indian policy. Do the facts support the Indian contention in this respect?
The State of Jammu and Kashmir was a Princely State within the British Indian Empire. By the rules of the British transfer of power in Indian subcontinent in 1947 the Ruler of the State, Maharajah Sir Hari Singh, with the departure of the British and the lapsing of Paramountcy (as the relationship between State and British Crown was termed), could opt to join either India or Pakistan or, by doing nothing, become from 15 August 1947 the Ruler of an independent polity. The choice was the Ruler’s and his alone: there was no provision for popular consultation in the Indian Princely States during the final days of the British Raj. On 15th August 1947, by default, the State of Jammu and Kashmir became independent.
The Delhi politicians wanted the talks, but only as a PR exercise–not as a vehicle to make peace with a neighbor. The Zardari Administration was too eager for talks–and should have held out. Mentioning Kashmir during the talks achieves nothing. Unless and until Delhi decides that the cost of war in South Asia is an impediment to tis regional role–Bharat will continue to play Russian Roulette with the lives of more than 1.5 billion people of South Asia.
There is no point to talking to Delhi–Pakistan has tried talking to the bigots in Bharat for 60 years. It serves no purpose at ll.
Bharat has been unable to resolve border disputes with any of her neighbors. It has lost friendships with Nepal, Bhutan, Lanka, China, Myanmar, and Pakistan.
Taliban guerrillas attacked a hotel and a guesthouse in central Kabul in a dawn assault that killed at least 17 people including 9 Indians.
Three suicide bombers struck at the Park Residence Hotel and the Aria Guesthouse nearby, in the Shahr-i-Nau neighborhood, where many international aid organizations, companies and diplomatic missions are located.
The attack targeted “an Indian guesthouse,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a phone interview. Read the rest of this entry ?
No sooner did Pakistan arrest leading Afghan Taliban figures, conspiracy theories surfaced in the US media in an attempt to malign Pakistan. Indians and their apologists in US were at the forefront of this campaign. Far from appreciating Pakistani stand, strong signs exist that CIA continues its double game against Pakistan. Despite statements to the contrary, Washington continues to bet on the puppet regime of President Asif Ali Zardari.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The US duplicity in its dealings with Pakistan continues unabated and I have always maintained that the scale of their enterprise in destabilizing Pakistan can only be understood by finding linkages in seemingly unconnected events and publications.
Just when the Pakistan military has taken a strong position on its military operations in FATA and the pull towards dialogue with the tribals is becoming evident, the US subversive activities against Pakistan are becoming more overt, and old CIA connections are taking centre stage again including so-called “experts” on Pakistan! Let us look at some recent developments and see the linkages.
ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said the army is fully prepared to give a befitting response to any misadventure from the eastern border and there is no possibility of the adversary catching Pakistan unawares.
Responding to questions raised by members of the Senate standing committee on defence during a briefing at the General Headquarters, he said that India’s cold start doctrine based on hegemonic designs had not been taken lightly and the armed forces were capable of responding to the challenge and safeguarding the country’s geographical frontiers.
Pakistan’s Permanent Indus Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah had repeatedly asked his Indian counterpart to provide details of the proposed water storage and hydropower projects, including Bursar dam. – Photo by APP.
ISLAMABAD: With Pakistan still undecided when to formally seek intervention of the International Court of Arbitration against controversial construction of Kishanganga hydropower project by India in violation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, New Delhi has started preparations to build another big dam on River Chenab.
Documents available with Dawn suggest that the government of Indian-occupied Kashmir has invited bids for a ‘topographical survey of Bursar Dam (on Chenab) for acquisition of land and property’. New Delhi plans to begin construction by the end of the year.
Bursar Dam is considered as the biggest project among a host of others being built by India on two major rivers – Jhelum and Chenab – flowing through the state of Jammu & Kashmir into Pakistan and assigned to Islamabad under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. The proposed dam would not only violate the treaty, international environmental conventions and cause water scarcity in Pakistan but would also contribute towards melting of Himalayan glaciers.
The Pak army chief gets candid about India, and unresolved issues
MARIANA BAABAR
Worldview From GHQ:
Stridently opposed to India’s role in Afghanistan
India shouldn’t train the Afghan National Army
Gains from backchannel diplomacy need not be the starting point, especially on Kashmir
Principal focus remains Kashmir
Worried by India’s military doctrine: Gen Kapoor’s statements on a cold start strategy “under a nuclear overhang”.
For decades now, Pakistanis have watched on their TV screens images of the corps commanders’ conference room at the Pakistan army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. The images are invariably beamed every time the generals meet. And invariably, the images would show dour officers seated around a long table, engaged in discussions on the country’s future. Of course, these TV grabs are supposed to evoke a sense of awe, conveying to the audience who really holds the reins of power in Pakistan. It’s in this room that contemporary history has been shaped—generals are known to have walked out to stage a coup, call for election, or reprimand civilian governments trying to assert themselves.
There are a tonne of theories as to what motivated Pakistan’s shadowy Inter-Services Intelligence agency to suddenly co-operate in handing over an old ally. Were they making sure he did not make a deal behind their back? Were they buying some influence with the Americans? Or was it a stern warning to the Afghan Taliban to stay in line?
by Erik Randolph
Guardian
There has been plenty of tub-thumping over this week’s capture of Taliban commander Mullah Baradar, but all it really signifies is that Pakistan holds all the cards in the strategic game being played out across central and southern Asia.
President Barack Obama is well-known for his love of poker. It is a comforting image for the rest of the world: the stony-faced thinker, calculating the odds, in the game for the long haul. But when it comes to the bluff, no one can touch Pakistan’s military establishment. Consider the complexity of the game it is playing.
The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have issued travel advisories to its citizens in view of the critical security situation in India.
Recently, a bomb blast at a bakery frequently visited by foreigners in Pune has raised suspicions that Indian Hindu terrorist organization, which can go so far to block celebration of St Valentine Day, may carry out further attacks and suicide bombings on foreigners.
According to media reports, a US travel alert said “American citizens have been advised to be alert to the continued possibility of terrorist attacks in India as terrorists and their sympathizers are capable of attacking US citizens.”
In its travel alert, updated after the blast, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the UK government said: “British nationals are reminded to remain vigilant in public places”.
Secret Document Bares Indian Subversion in Pakistan
NEW DELHI, Feb 13 (APP): Even as India and Pakistan were actively engaged in laying a framework for normalizing their relations in the aftermath of Operation Parkaram (Dec 2001- Oct 2002), R&AW’s Counter Intelligence Team X (CIT-X), assigned to conduct subversive operations targeting Pakistan was working relentlessly to destabilize the country.
According to well placed sources, the details of these plans came to light once a copy of the classified document detailing these activities was accidently lost and became available for public scrutiny.
Lahore, Feb.17 (ANI): The Indian Government’s charge that he masterminded the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai is unfounded and baseless, said Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammed Saeed.
Accusing New Delhi of indulging in fabricated propoganda, Saeed demanded concrete proof of his reported involvement in the said attack that claimed the lives of over 160 people and injured more than 300.
“India always indulges in propaganda and has always fabricated false reports about me and that’s how India has been able to use international pressure against us,” Saeed said in an exclusive interview to Al Jazeera here.
