White man speaks with fork tongue?

The POST, Sun, Oct,05, 2008.

Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema

Just as the history of American westward expansion and gradual elimination of the American Red Indians is studded with innumerable examples when the Red Indian Chiefs repeatedly stated that white man speaks with fork tongue, the post World War II era has also seen many events/ developments in which the American duplicity was too visible to be ignored. Most recent examples of similar policy pursuits in our region can be easily recounted if one just compared the American official’s statements with regard to their policy pursuits in the FATA region.

The latest example of American officials’ contradictory double talks has manifested in the form of official statements of State department and the Pentagon officials. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his most recent statement categorically asserted once again that the Americans can take unilateral action in Pakistan by stressing that the Americans have every right to save the lives of its troops.

Just as the Americans have every right to save its troops, the Pakistanis have every right to protect its citizens from the American unauthorized military onslaught. Ironically the State department officials after the recently concluded Pakistan-US strategic dialogue once again stated in no uncertain terms that US supports Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. If the US undertakes a unilateral action and violates Pakistan’s air space and even lands troops inside Pakistani territory, how can one take the repeated assurances given by the Americans to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty?

Another recent example of American double game revolves around the recently finalized Indo-US nuclear deal. The American administration not only refused to offer similar deal to Pakistan on the grounds that there exists a trust deficit on the issue of nuclear proliferation, yet they decided to reward nuclear proliferators which is not even a member of NPT.

Pakistan would not have even thought of acquiring nuclear weapons, if India had been prevented from its acquisition. Many Pakistanis quite convincing argue that it was India that made Pakistan a nuclear weapon state. As a matter fact Pakistan offered seven different proposals with a view to prevent the nuclearization of South Asia prior to following Indian nuclear explosions but India did not accept any one of them. Pakistan had also offered to make South Asia a nuclear free zone.

It is also a well known fact that the Americans invaded Iraq in pursuits of its own objectives without securing the blessings of the UN but as far as Afghanistan is concerned they managed to get UN support. Perhaps that is why it is often asserted that where ever the American sense that they can get the support of the world body they would opt for that and if they sense that world body is unlikely to extend its support, they bypass it and still continue to pursue their policy objective irrespective of the criticism they may invoke. Perhaps that is why many nations believe in the age old maxim that might is right.

A vast body of opinion in Pakistan believes that the war in the border regions of Pakistan was initially started by the Americans’ ill thought out policy pursuits but now it has became a Pakistan’s war. The assurances given by the American officials after the recently concluded Pakistan-American strategic dialogue that US would respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and would also boost Pakistan’s anti terror capability is a step in right direction. Undoubtedly Pakistan needs support in building its anti-terror capabilities.

The repeated violations of Pakistan’s air space have invoked strong reactions among the Pakistanis. Not only such unwarranted acts have incurred the wrath of public but even important leaders in Pakistan are also critically questioning the US presence in Afghanistan. Besides, ideas and notions like the Americans are following Indian and Afghan agendas in Pakistan’s border areas are gaining popularity.

The above mentioned assertions of Robert Gates are merely adding fuel to existing discontentment with the American regional pursuits. It makes the position of the incumbent government’ rather awkward. On one hand the American profess to support democracy, but they rarely extend due respect to the popularly elected democratic government on the other hand.

What both governments should realize that no body likes the violation of its territorial integrity. Some miscreants living in Pakistani borderlands also violate the Afghan territorial integrity by crossing the Durand Line despite Pakistan’s earnest and devoted preventive efforts to plug the cross border movement. Such developments are misconstrued and misinterpreted, inadvertently or deliberately, by both Afghan and American officials.

The main difference between the intrusions from Pakistani tribal areas and the American repeated violation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity and air space is that one is doing it without Pakistani blessing whereas the other is doing it with the joint blessings of the Americans, the Indians and the Afghans. As a matter of fact Pakistan is doing everything to prevent the cross border movement and have already met considerable success in this regard whereas the NATO/ Americans are doing it deliberately on the excuse of striking at the militants-perhaps to divert attention from their own failings in Afghanistan.

Undoubtedly the outcome of recently concluded strategic dialogue between Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte appears to be constructive. But what one has to wait and see the honest and sincere implementation of the commitments. There can be no two opinions about the curse of terrorism which indeed is a common threat to both Pakistan as well as to the United States.

Not only a joint sincere effort could facilitate the elimination of terrorism enormously but could also help in building up of the necessary trust between the Americans and the Pakistanis. Honest efforts on the part of the Americans also entail that they prevent both RAW and Khad from undertaking undesired destabilization pursuits in Pakistani territories. Such a development would automatically and quickly erode the perception that the American speak with fork tongue.

The writer works for Islamabad Policy research Institute.