JEDDAH, 7 July 2004 — Pakistan has been a key ally of the United States in the war on terrorism, which has won it international recognition and helped it overcome some of its financial problems. But by coming out of its international isolation, the country infuriated hard-liners and still grapples with domestic militant groups that frequently unleash terror on its people.
The assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf and bomb blasts across the country have prompted a number of government operations. Areas adjoining Pak-Afghan border became a hot spot after Taleban and Al-Qaeda fugitives found sanctuary there with the support of local tribesmen. The government unsuccessfully tried to convince tribal chiefs to surrender the terrorists but later launched the operation in South Waziristan. A number of foreign terrorists and their hosts were killed in Wana, among them Nek Muhammad, a tribal leader who had been supporting the terrorists.
During a visit to Jeddah this week, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, said President Musharraf had no option but to join the war on terror. He said the decision taken by President Musharraf was to safeguard the vital national interests.
Shaukat addressed a press briefing arranged by Pakistan Journalists Forum and spoke to Arab News.
He said the operation in Wana achieved its objective to a great extent. Many foreign terrorists were killed and many arrested and those sheltering them were punished.
He vowed the government would continue reconstruction work in South Waziristan and provide basic facilities to the people there.
He stressed that four of the five tribes in the region did not support the terrorists, and only a small number of the fifth tribe were active supporters.
“They were given deadlines to hand the terrorists in but they did not heed the government warning,” he said. The terrorists “were exploiting the local tribesmen in the name of religion and luring others with monetary benefits.”
He said that when the army moved into the tribal region soon after the Sept. 11 to secure the western borders, they took a pledge from tribal leaders that they would not shelter any foreigners who may sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan. When the army learned that some had reneged on that promise, they told the tribal leaders to honor their pledge and hand the terrorists over to the army.
The negotiations went on until on Oct. 2, 2003, the army launched an operation to flush out the terrorists. Eight foreign terrorists were killed and 18 were arrested. One of those killed was Hassan Masoom, a leader of East Turkistan Movement, wanted in China. Another wanted terrorist killed was Abdul Rahman Al-Qatar alias Al-Kennedy, an Egyptian-Canadian.
Shaukat said Pakistan will continue to hit the terror network hard no matter where they are.
To a question why the government resorted to military action instead of holding negotiations with tribesmen to get hold of foreign terrorists, Shaukat said the government had exhausted all means to convince the few renegade tribesmen to hand in the foreign militants.
“The military action taken was the only alternative available because the terrorists had launched several attacks on the army without any provocation,” he said. “On March 16 this year they attacked members of the Frontier Corps in Palusha who had gone there for a routine search operation, killing a number of them.” Regular troops had to be sent to retrieve the paramilitary personnel.
“How can the people carrying out terror activities be mujahedeen?” he asked.
He said that after the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan, the country slid into anarchy. Most of the Mujahedeen joined warlords and got engaged in an internecine battle for power.
About Pakistan’s support for the Taleban, Shaukat said Islamabad supported all governments in Afghanistan. Taleban received a better treatment from Pakistan because they represented the Pukhtoons who inhabit the tribal region of Pakistan’s territory. It is not correct to say that Pakistan endorsed the actions of the Taleban, Shaukat said.
Shaukat said terror groups as well as some renegade army and air force personnel were involved in the attacks on President Musharraf, but no officers. “Investigations have begun to determine who were behind them and the results would be made public soon,” he said.
Otherwise the army was “fully behind Gen. Musharraf, and there is no dissent whatsoever in the military over any action taken by the president.”
There could equally be no doubt that the army would support the president if he took steps to resolve the core issue of Kashmir with neighbor India, he said, countering speculation of any potential opposition from the armed forces.
“The settlement of the dispute has to be in four steps. The first is the identification of the issue as a dispute; the second is initiation of talks; the third is coming up with options and the fourth is short-listing the options and arriving at a solution,” he said. “Right now the two countries are in the second phase, having both identified the issue as a dispute and holding talks to move forward.”
He said all other issues between the two countries were “minor irritants” by comparison.
Shaukat said the fencing of the Line of Control by India has no military significance and Pakistan does not want to raise the issue to vitiate an otherwise congenial atmosphere. Our main objective is the settlement of the Kashmir issue.
Asked why both India and Pakistan continue to carry out missile tests despite the improvement in relations, Shaukat said Pakistan needed to maintain a credible deterrent, but stressed the tests were not directed against any country. “Nor are they meant to convey any message.”
Shaukat appeared confident the US move to designate Pakistan a “major non-NATO ally” would further strengthen ties between the two countries.
However, Shaukat said the president had made it “very clear that Islamabad would not send troops to Iraq unless certain conditions are met. First it should be mandated by the UN. Secondly, Iraqis should accept it, and thirdly public opinion has to be in favor of sending troops to Iraq. Right now, that is not under consideration,” he added.
