Dangerous delusions
AS speculation about a possible army operation in North Waziristan gathers momentum, spare a thought for those who will have to make this fateful decision and for those who will have to implement it.
For years, our army has been embroiled in an escalating conflict of mounting ferocity. Since those attacking the state and ordinary Pakistanis are from within our society, they are harder to fight than a uniformed foreign force.
What must make it worse is the realisation that this invisible foe is, to a great extent, a creature of the establishment’s own making. Many of the groups that are targeting our security forces are offshoots of militant organisations earlier created and cosseted by our military intelligence agencies. How many are still aided and abetted by them is unclear.
But what is clear is that these groups have the capacity to hit military targets at will. Time after time, they have demonstrated sophisticated planning and disciplined execution in their attacks on well-guarded bases. Police centres and civilian intelligence agencies have been similarly targeted.
At the Mehran naval base, militants infiltrated a supposedly secure area, destroyed expensive, brand-new surveillance aircraft, and held off the defenders for well over 12 hours. In the recent daring raid on the Minhas airbase, terrorists were able to penetrate the perimeter and fight off military troops for five hours after damaging one jet fighter.
While there have been numerous other attacks on military targets across the country resulting in hundreds of casualties, perhaps the most devastating one was on the army’s holy of holies, its headquarters in Rawalpindi. This was an imaginative, almost flawless attack involving militants in army uniforms driving vehicles with army number plates and armed with a detailed knowledge of security procedures.
But these attacks, damaging as they were, pale into insignificance when compared with the American raid in Abbottabad that rid the world of Osama bin Laden. Although no security forces lost their lives in that operation, the humiliation was immense. The spike in anti-Americanism can be traced directly to that fateful, moonless night in May.
The fury and frustration it provoked among our officer corps lingers on. The Pakistani public, for the first time since 1971, lost faith in the professionalism of our vaunted army that, suddenly and unexpectedly, found itself on the defensive.
The common thread running through all these events is an overarching failure of military intelligence. Repeatedly, our armed forces have had to react, often inadequately, to attacks without any warning. Even when there was information that should have put our security forces on high alert, red tape and complacency obscured the telltale signs. Zahid Hussain, the well-informed journalist and author of The Scorpion’s Tail, writes that a warning about the attack on GHQ was passed on to the army but was ignored.
One huge disadvantage our military establishment is struggling against is the presence of Taliban sympathisers within its ranks. In virtually every attack on military bases, militants have demonstrated detailed inside knowledge that could only have come from serving officers and jawans.
Those who have tried to reveal this nexus have not fared well. Salim Shahzad, the murdered journalist, had published one part of his exposé about the infiltration of the navy by Islamic militants, and was kidnapped and killed before he could write the sequel. In a letter he wrote before his death, he said that if anything happened to him the ISI would be to blame.
The intelligence agency vehemently denied the charge and said it would investigate the murder. We have yet to learn the result of this inquiry. Daniel Pearl, the slain American journalist, was tracking a story linking Richard Reid, the ‘shoe bomber’, with Pakistani intelligence before he was kidnapped and killed.
Another handicap our military establishment is suffering from is cultural. As jihadi groups claim to be acting in the name of Islam, many Pakistanis within and outside the armed forces find it difficult to perceive them as enemies, no matter how many soldiers and civilians they slaughter. Gen Kayani’s recent unequivocal pronouncement on this being Pakistan’s war, and describing militants as our foes, should be seen in this context.
Then there is the problem of identifying militants disguised in burkas. In many cases, they have been able to approach police and army check posts without being challenged and trigger their suicide belts. Children have been frequently brainwashed into becoming suicide bombers by cynical terrorists. They fool guards with their youth and approach barriers unchecked.
During the Cold War, Western and Soviet intelligence agencies constantly tried to infiltrate each other. Counter-intelligence organisations were engaged in a covert battle to smoke out moles. John le Carré’s brilliant novels featuring the self-effacing Smiley capture this cat-and-mouse game in all its grim, gritty overtones.
In Pakistan’s ongoing struggle, the militants are winning this undercover war. Given the sympathy and support they apparently enjoy among sections of our armed forces and intelligence agencies, this should come as no surprise. There is also the additional problem of keeping tabs on officers retiring from the military, the ISI and MI.
Some of them allegedly keep in touch with serving ex-colleagues and pass on information to militants.
As most militant groups are based in remote rural areas, outsiders are immediately detected, making it more difficult to infiltrate them. Hiring locals to spy on them is a hazardous occupation: over the years, hundreds have been summarily and brutally executed on the charge of spying either for the Americans or for Pakistani intelligence.
Naive people like Imran Khan and many of our TV anchors labour under the delusion that all will be well after Nato forces pull out from Afghanistan and we are no longer engaged in ‘fighting America’s war’. If only life were that simple. The more probable outcome of the pullout in 2014 is that the Afghan Taliban will come to the aid of their Pakistani cousins in the latter’s war against the state.
Hopefully, Pakistanis will then become aware that this is indeed our war, as Gen Kayani said in his Independence Day speech. Unless we unite to combat the evil we face, it will haunt us for years to come.
The writer is the author of Fatal Faultlines: Pakistan, Islam and the West.
irfan.husain@gmail.com
wish you had mentioned the case of 11 year old child kept in jail because her neighbors accused her of blasphemy. what kind of country this has become?
Waziristan, NWFP and Balochistan have never identified themselves as part of Pakistan. Why not let them go free and save a lot of headaches.
This “feel good” article” … is Much too little, Oh so late.Especially since the army is still to declare all out War on Militants. And the oppression of minorities continues to escalate.
This is the typical pseudo-intellectual “oh look now time for us to change” regret story that is accompanied by even less action than before. And there was very little to begin with.
With shouts of “Pakistan ZIndabad” and stories about how Allah has created Pakistan as a “great Win” for Islam … and the murderous oppression of all minorities and their voices … and ofcourse vitriol for all things secular and progressive (especially India and the US)
we can expect more of the same old from “Islamic Republic” of Pakistan.
after reading his articles over a period of several years, i find irfan hussain views and taliban views are of same mind set. both views are contrary to the vision of great jinnah.
regarding irfan hussain, if he has true love for pakistan than he should be spending rest of his life in pakistan promoting peace and tranquility, instead of writing article of criticism, which does not do any good for jinnah pakistan.
Absolutely true and factual writeup.
Good article. Hope government pay heed to it
You are very right Mr. Hussain. Imran Khan is deluded man. This hypocrite, opportunist will be the first to be strung on a lamp post in Islamabad when Pakistani Taleban come to power.
military alone can’t fight this war. educationists need to come forward but unfortunately they are also unable to do anything as long as we don’t change our syllabus.
I like NFP, no doubt one excellent journalist, but what happened to all those NFP liberal followers, here it is no sarcasm, no lighten up kind of thing, but a reality that has eyes into the future. If American forces pull out of Afghanistan, then Afghan, Pakistani Taliban become one and the same. Hats up to you Irfan Husain, unfortunately how many people follow an English language News Paper in Pakistan?
Hey Indians be careful, troubles after American pull out will increase in multifold to India.
-ravi
Imran Khan’s stance is not that unrealistic that he be called naive. He suggests that we should disengage ourselves from America’s war. If this is our war, we should fight it on our own. At this point in time, our Army seems to be working as mere mercenaries. Services are available to anyone who pays good. Our Army’s pay cheques come from Washington(taking figuratively). How can they possibly be fighting our war?
The last two paragraphs of the article describe the gist of the problem eloquently and totally.
The points you raised are indeed thought provoking.Will the stake holders take notice of this?
Mr. Irfan Hussain is making a case that state should declare a war against its own citizens. Did it work in East Pakistan? Imran is right; the solution is dialog not military action. So, let us see who is delusional? Imran Khan or Irfan Hussain?
although few in numbers, the sane voices in pakistan are highlighting these brutalities and i hope that more and more people will awaken from their deep slumber and join them before it is too late.
People in Pakistan should turn to the likes of Irfan Husain to get them out of this morass. Alas…very unlikely.
Excellent article, but absolutely no mention of powerful role of foreign intelligence agencies. The major powers have been involved in creating all those outfits the author is pointing out. I think Pak-military, ISI and MI are doing their best to counter-foreign intelligence agents & remnant of US/Western sponsored religious adventurism against Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Yes, there must also be some words of appreciation of their sacrifices in defending Pakistan.
As usual, a sane, beautiful and timely analyzed article demanding not only the naive but seasoned Politicians,TV Anchors,State Ministers and Men-in- Khaki to ponder over this obtaining situation facing Pakistan. As charity begins at home we must unite ourselves from within to answer all our problems ranging from Suicide Bombing to Drawn Attack.
But is it really a fact that some military and intellegence personnel are helping the terrorists to destablise Pakistan? Amazing.
Mr.Husain writes very insightful articles – this is not one of them. This is a condensed version of old news from the recent past to the present.
Excellent article. You have again tried to give your sincere opinions. Let us hope Pakistanis still believe it. Congrats.
Excellent article. You have opened your heart to all Pakistanis. Let us hope people believe the dangers shrouded in mystery. My congratulations to you.
About the retired armed forces/intellegence services Officers, you wrote “some of them allegedly keep in touch with serving ex-colleagues and pass on information to militants” is a very serious charge. The book recently published in US by an ex-commondo says that information about Abbotabad attack was passed on to Military authorities of Pakistan – before five months – is also a very serious allegation. Hope the authorities will take notice.
Mr. Hussain has proved himself to be an able defender of the imperialists mindset. It is he who is naive, and would do well to read Zafar Hilaly’s article in the other newspaper to understand the imbroglio that Pakistan finds itself in. It is a pity that these stooges of the west blindly toeing the line suffering from cranial flatulence, living in far off land, enjoying western largess, refuse to look at the picture from Pakistanis perspective. Mr. Hussain needs to be a bit less hysterical and bit more objective.
If after losing 35-40000 people we still have problem identifying our enemy then even God cannot help us.
What a beautiful but lonely voice.
Not so lonely.