Daily Jang, Pakistan

Pakistan’s Flat Refusal of Joint Pak-U.S. Operation

Editorial

Translated By Hamad Kiani

January 27, 2008

Pakistan – Daily Jang – ORIGINAL ARTICLE (Urdu)

When asked at the London Airport about the proposed Pak-US joint operation in the tribal areas, President Pervez Musharraf, while vehemently rejecting the possibility of any such move, said the U.S. should make its presence felt in Afghanistan before looking towards Pakistan - because the US and allied forces have been stuck so badly in Afghanistan that they are not in a position to participate in any joint operation inside Pakistan. The U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates must look at the realities on the ground before issuing such proposals and ask his commanders if they are able to launch an operation in the tribal areas of Pakistan. The President further said that Pakistan would not accept anything against its sovereignty and the people would also resist it. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates for the first time in a press conference on Thursday proposed that the US government has the full capability and is willing and ready to assist Islamabad in containing the insurgency in tribal areas, if agreed. He also explained that the U.S. assistance could be in the form of providing additional training to Pakistani troops, sending the US forces into war torn areas or dispatching a contingent of a few soldiers.

President Musharraf was giving his reaction to the said American proposal at London Airport after his nine-day visit. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his perspective, it is an undeniable fact that he has the capability to speak in a very bold and candid manner. Given the way the Western media have been unduly projecting concerns about Pakistan’s nuclear weapons’ falling into the hands of extremists, the president Musharraf has presented his stance clearly. His furious reply to the suggestion of the conditional dispatch of the U.S. forces in tribal areas was that Americans were already stuck in Afghanistan, so how could they die in the tribal areas and what magic wand did they possess to settle the situation there. It clearly reflects his great sensitivity about Pakistan’s freedom and sovereignty. And he is not ready even to think of, let alone accept a suggestion that compromises it. But this stance is not peculiar to Pakistan. Every honor-loving nation protects its honor in a similar fashion and there is no need for anyone to get irritated over it. As no American, British, French or Australian can be thought of compromising the security of their motherland, so no such thought should be entertained in mind or heart for Pakistan.

President Musharraf is not alone in his sensitivity towards Pakistan’s survival, security and sovereignty. Addressing the soldiers after the successful launch of atomic missile Shaheen 1, Hatf 4, the Chief of Pakistan Army General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani clearly ruled out concerns about nuclear assets’ falling into the hands of extremists and said that we know how to protect our nuclear assets and our security forces are fully capable of coping with any danger. It is a clear statement that President Musharraf, the Armed Forces and the Pakistani people have same thinking on this issue and all of them stand together.

The militant activities in Pakistan’s tribal and adjoining areas started by terrorists of Al-Qaeda, religious extremists and the victims of their brain-washing have been effectively countered by Pakistan’s armed forces with gallantry and bravery, representing such a bright chapter in our history, whose splendor and brightness will not fade. It is unthinkable for a foreign army, fighting in air-conditioned tanks, to make such sacrifices. A result of the laborious struggle of the Pakistan Army with the foreign terrorists is that Al-Qaeda’s back has been broken. And slowly the locals, who had been held hostage by their power and force, are now getting free from their effects.

The local population of Swat is openly helping the Pak Army against armed militants. An operation launched with gun-ship helicopters and heavy artillery fire in Derra Adam Khel is in full swing and has so far claimed the lives of 35 resistance fighters while 10 security personnel have embraced martyrdom.  It is an open testament that the Pak Army is fighting against the terrorists with full determination and effort and, if God wills, will soon achieve its goal of success. Therefore, it is not useful to criticize them. Such an attitude will not be helpful in any way against the global war against terrorism. It is feared that if such trend continues, it could lead to negative fallout that would not be pleasant for the U.S. itself or its allies.

The war on terror is not a war of a single person, nation or country. Rather, it is a war to help millions and billions of people who live on this planet to get out from poverty, deprivation, narrow-mindedness and a quagmire of regional and religious biases and to enter a free environment in which people have the opportunity, without any discrimination on the basis of color or race, to brighten their mental capabilities and use these for the growth and benefit of all humankind, with their own will and intent. Pakistan has been playing the role of a vanguard in its quest to attain these noble and superior objectives. Its marvelous effort requires the world community to back it and discourage any effort that pushes it along the wall. As the U.S. is leading this war, it should be particularly cautious.