Criticism of intelligence services is nothing new. The CIA has been accused many times over the years of pursing its own political agenda and keeping the White House in the dark. It has been accused, too, of incompetence — most recently in the wake of 9/11. Spanish intelligence after the 2004 Madrid train bombings, British intelligence following the London 2005 terror attacks and, most recently, Indian intelligence in the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai have all faced similar charges. Pakistan’s intelligence services, too, have found themselves in the firing line in the past, accused like the CIA of pursing their own agenda, independent of the government in Islamabad. Specifically, they have been accused of nurturing and then maintaining the Taleban regime in Afghanistan and of masterminding terrorist attacks in India.
The big difference between the accusations against the CIA and those against Pakistani intelligence is that the former largely came from within the countries concerned. In Pakistan’s case, the accusations have came from outside — from the US, from India, from Afghanistan. It muddied the picture. Many in Pakistan rejected the allegations as crude political attacks aimed at demonizing and humiliating the country.
The reaction may be understandable, even natural — no country likes to be criticized by others, particularly when it feels under pressure from them — but it is wrong. In particular, Pakistan’s denials of India’s claim that the Mumbai terrorists were Pakistani, so forcefully made by President Asif Ali Zardari, has damaged its credibility. It was not his fault. When India said that the one terrorist who was caught alive, Ajmal Qasab, was Pakistani and that he had revealed he had been trained in Pakistan, the president naturally relied on the intelligence services for an answer. Clearly, now that Pakistan has admitted in public what some of its officials were already admitting in private, that Qasab is Pakistani, it is woefully apparent that the intelligence misinformed the government. Either they did not know what they were talking about or were involved in a cover up. Whatever, it has embarrassed President Zardari and the government of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. They have every reason to feel angry and let down. To be fair, ever since the attacks, they have tried to prevent the crisis triggering a new confrontation with India, with promises to take action against any Pakistanis shown to have been involved. Hopefully, Pakistan’s admission can draw a line under the crisis and defuse any further tension. It is, after all, clear that the Pakistani government is facing up to reality.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh certainly wants to defuse tension. But he is not in full control of events. Pakistan’s refusal to accept that Qasab is Pakistani and that the plot was planned there made it in many Indian minds appear at best to be in denial, at worst that it had something to hide. That is what has been so destructive. The scale of the damage was seen in yesterday’s announcement by the Samajwadi Party that it will review its support for Manmohan Singh’s United Progressive Alliance government within a week if he does not take action against terrorists in Pakistan. Although not part of the ruling coalition, the Samajwadi Party backs it in Parliament. If that support goes, the government will collapse. In fact, the populist Samajwadi Party is clearly out to establish its nationalist credentials ahead of what will be a bitterly fought election, particularly in its home base of Uttar Pradesh. If it sticks to its word, though, there is every chance that the center government will fall. Prime Minister Manmohan is not going to take action that could spiral into war with Pakistan. But his government can’t escape responsibility for whipping up an anti-Pakistan hysteria in the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. Of course they did it with an eye on election. But responsible leaders should not view things through the prism of electoral politics.
