VIEW: Whither national dignity and self-respect? —Mohammad Jamil

From President Obama to Holbrooke, all consider Pakistan as an epicentre of terrorism, but they conveniently forget that the US was also equally responsible for creating the spectre of terrorism, and, therefore, it should share the blame and responsibility and foot the bill for the war on terror

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was partially right when he said, “America has no friends or enemies, only interests.” For one, when the US invades and bombs other countries killing people, it indeed makes many enemies. There are two other exceptions, i.e. Number 10 Downing Street and the Israeli leadership with whom the US has a special relationship. All countries have their own interests; everything depends on whether they can protect these interests or not.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her recent visit to Pakistan, in regard to the strategic dialogue, has said “no” to the Pakistani demand for a civil nuclear agreement, mediation on Kashmir and the water issue, but has continued the litany of ‘do more’. She said that Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar were on Pakistani territory. One would not buy such conjectures, because when the US is killing al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in drone attacks, what stops it from taking on prime targets like bin Laden and Mullah Omar? Hillary also talked about the trust deficit with Pakistan, adding that it could not be removed overnight. But the reality is that the US has, in the past, betrayed Pakistan and it is Pakistan that distrusts the US, and also the other way around.

The question is whether the Pakistani leadership has any concept of national dignity and self-respect, and how long it will continue taking the insults heaped on Pakistan by members of the US administration, which even a banana republic’s leadership would not tolerate? It is generally believed that the major cause for our national woes and miseries is corrupt, unimaginative, wishy-washy and namby-pamby leadership, which has been a victim of self-contradiction, self-abnegation and self-abasement in its thoughts and actions. Since the 1950s, almost all governments, whether democratic or military, failed to make this resourceful country into a self-reliant one, which is the primary reason for dependency on the US and others. Perhaps, it will not be an exaggeration to say that almost all rulers in the past remained in office at the pleasure of the US — till the time they looked after American interests. And, whenever any one of them became unpopular because of flawed policies, he was written off. Of course, Pakistan’s leadership is responsible in equal measure for either signing the pacts whereby the US and the West had committed to help only in case of communist aggression.

From President Obama to Holbrooke, all consider Pakistan as an epicentre of terrorism, but they conveniently forget that the US was also equally responsible for creating the spectre of terrorism, and, therefore, it should share the blame and responsibility and foot the bill for the war on terror. And it is not in good taste to remind all that it is helping Pakistan. Before 9/11, Pakistan was not familiar with terrorism and suicide bombings, and one did not see terror in any form or manifestation before the Afghan jihad in the 1980s. It was the US and its cohorts who introduced this predominantly moderate polity to this dangerous phenomenon when they were fighting a proxy war against the Soviet invaders of Afghanistan. Apart from roping in zealots in hordes from all over the world and disgorging them in Pakistan to cross over to Afghanistan’s battlefields, bagfuls of greenbacks and petrodollars were unloaded here by the US’s CIA for religious radicalisation. This created fanatics locally as well as to fight a proxy war that they had labelled as the Afghan jihad with fighters called mujahideen. Osama bin Laden was projected by the international media as a great mujahid who sacrificed every comfort of life and all his wealth for the sake of jihad.

Pakistan should have good relations with the US and the West but a line has to be drawn beyond which Pakistan should not go. Tomorrow, if the US reinvents its active policy of containing China and wants Pakistan to be a part of the alliance, Pakistan should disagree with any such suggestion because Pakistan cannot afford to be a part of the big game. There is a perception that Pakistan was disintegrated by becoming part of SEATO and CENTO against the former USSR in the 1950s. But it should also be remembered that flawed domestic policies, lack of socio-economic justice and unequal development of the regions were equally responsible for the break-up of our motherland. And our allies acted as silent spectators. Today, the PPP, the PML-N and almost all other political parties are pro-American, and do not feel any shame at the insult heaped on the nation by visiting US officials. There might have been cogent reasons for joining pacts with the US and the West in the 1950s, but our leadership has been very fond of the US, and has the habit of discussing even their personal matters with American ambassadors, as if they were members of their families. One would not criticise such intimate relations provided Pakistani leaders give overriding consideration to national — over American — interests. However, the US has always shown distrust towards Pakistan.

Though former President Musharraf had persistently cooperated with the US in the war on terror, there was an element of distrust that either Pakistan was not willing to do the job wholeheartedly, or its forces were not capable of delivering. It was also thought that some elements in the security forces were turning a blind eye to the militants’ philandering between Afghanistan and Pakistan to the detriment of US and NATO forces. However, in a bid to cover up the failure of ISAF and the US forces, Pakistan was accused of not doing enough to rein in the militants. Western analysts abound who opine that the increase in insurgency in Afghanistan is due to rampant corruption by Afghan officials, cabinet members, warlords and Northern Alliance elements, as people in general are getting a raw deal from them. The Pakistani leadership and establishment should not sing and dance to Hillary Clinton’s abominable tunes, as the people of this country are not the least amused. There is a long list of US betrayals in this country over the past several decades. And this list is lengthening with the passage of every decade. In the coming decades too, predictably, the list will continue expanding, as Pakistan invariably comes to every US administration as a sacrificial goat to be exploited, manipulated and used, and then ditched to the abattoir when found to be of no further use.

The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at mjamil1938@hotmail.com