Responding to Thursday’s statement of US Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen regarding Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency ISI’s involvement in recent attacks on US Embassy in Kabul, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani took ‘note’ of Mullen’s’ whimsical statements, terming them ‘very unfortunate.’
“While taking note of the recent statements made by Admiral Mullen, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff United States, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, termed these as very unfortunate and not based on facts. This is especially disturbing in view of a rather constructive meeting with Admiral Mullen in Spain. On the specific question of contacts with Haqqanis, the COAS said that Admiral Mullen knows fully well which all countries are in contact with the Haqqanis.
Singling out Pakistan is neither fair nor productive. Categorically denying the accusations of proxy war and ISI support to Haqqanis, the COAS wished that, the blame game in public statements should give way to a constructive and meaningful engagement for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, an objective to which Pakistan is fully committed,” says an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.
On September 5, following the arrest of Al-Qaeda’s high value terrorists Younis Al Mauritani, Abdul Ghaffar Al Shami and Messara Al Shami, the Pakistani military had gone all-out to shower unending praises over US support for Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies. “This operation was planned and conducted with technical assistance of United States intelligence agencies with which ISI has a strong and historic intelligence relationship. Both Pakistan and US intelligence agencies continue to work closely together to enhance security of their respective nations. The intimate cooperation between Pakistan and US intelligence agencies has resulted into prevention of number of high profile terrorist acts not only inside Pakistan/US but also elsewhere in the world.”
Admiral Mullen, however, cannot see any ‘intimacy’ in this relationship and goes the other way round to accuse Pakistan of jeopardizing the Pak-US strategic relationship. In plainly threatening and stern warning signals relayed against Pakistan, Admiral Mullen has indicated of ground operations in Pakistani tribal areas if the country failed to take out Haqqanis.
In a clear reflection of gradually giving in to mounting US pressure on Pakistan, General Kayani’s statement only contained vague implied references regarding ‘all countries’ linkages with the Haqqanis instead of adopting a categorically clear stance over the issue. Renowned foreign affairs analyst and an expert on Pak-US relations Atle Hetland said Pakistan is ‘unduly’ giving in to US pressure that, according to him, is all about ‘Obama election.’ “Why Haqqani’s again? It’s all about next year’s presidential elections. Obama’s poor economic management has brought the US under debt of trillions of dollars. He of course needs some points to score but why Pakistan has to unduly give in to the Obama agenda? Pakistan needs to adopt a loud and clear stance to guard its own strategic interests,” he told this newspaper on Friday.
The Pak-US strategic ties had soared to tension after the terrorists had stormed the US Embassy and NATO headquarters on September 13. The 20-hour long siege had resulted in seven reported causalities. The DG ISI Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha’s stealthy and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s fruitless visits to the US could not ‘calm down’ the fumed US government and defence officials. The killing of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbni has added fuel to fire as the US suspects ISI involvement in the suicide attack that took life of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council’s head on Tuesday.
