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ÿþD i r e c t A m e r i c a n s u p p o r t t o P a k i s t a n i T a l i b a n |
Sajjad Shaukat
THE killing of Osama Bin Laden by a US military raid in Pakistan on May 2, terrorists’ attack on Pakistan Navy’s aviation base, PNS Mehran on May 23 and assault by more than 400 militants who entered Pakistan’s Upper Dir from Afghanistan on June 1 cannot be seen in isolation. These terror-events are part of inter-related developments against Pakistan.
Regarding the terror-attack on the Mehran base, some sources indicate the involvement of Indian intelligence agency, RAW which conducted this assault with the consent of American CIA and tactical support of Israeli spy agency, Mossad. In this respect, these agencies got the services of a group of Al Qaeda. Similarly, Al Qaeda-related Afghan Taliban who crossed over Pakistan, were also backed by these secret agencies.
As regards Osama, various sources suggest that videos released by the Pentagon are actually fake. Some political experts also say that he was met a physical death around about 2002. It does not matter that whether Bin Laden died on May 2, this year or in 2002. In fact, under the pretext of his death, the US wants to fulfil its multiple aims—especially against Pakistan.
First of all, America wants to show to its western allies that its mission in Afghanistan is over, and the US-led NATO troops could be withdrawn in accordance with the announced schedule. In this regard, on May 25, in a joint press conference in UK, US President Obama and the British Prime Minister Cameron confirmed that NATO forces were “preparing to turn a corner in Afghanistan…beginning the transition to an Afghan lead for security this year and completing that transition by 2014.”
It is mentionable that American public was particularly worried about the failed campaign in Afghanistan in wake of acute financial crisis. So Osama’s death could be used to distract Americans’ attention from internal crisis, which was essential for re-election of Obama. It is notable that just like the previous Afghan war against the former Russia when Washington had left Afghanistan in particular and Pakistan in general to face the fallout of a prolonged conflict—now Pakistan will be thrown in era of uncertainty and lawlessness as US is determined to entangle Islamabad in a long war with the Al Qaeda militants and Pakistani Taliban. Notably, Al Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban are America’s creation as they were turned against the Americans due to their blunders in that respect.
US which has already made Pakistan volatile to the ‘different war’, wants to ensure that the latter must be the main target of Afghan Taliban and Al Qaeda after the US-led NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, in wake of the strained relations between Islamabad and Washington, the visit of the US Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator John Kerry to Islamabad was of great significance. While showing previous contradictory approach of America towards Pakistan, on May I6, John Kerry pointed out that future relations of the United States with Islamabad would be determined by “its actions, not words,” emphasizing to ‘do more’ against the militants by ignoring the sacrifices of Pak Army and intelligence agencies—especially ISI regarding war against terrorism. However, Pakistan and the US agreed to work together in any future actions against high-value targets in Pakistan. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who visited Islamabad insisted upon Pakistan on May 27, “to take decisive steps to defeat al Qaeda.” She also revealed that US relations with Islamabad have “reached a turning point.”
A few days after the May 2 raid at Abbottabad and even during the visit of John Kerry, CIA-operated drone strikes on Pakistan’s tribal areas continued. These strikes which started during the Bush era have intensified under the Obama administration.
Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has repeatedly protested against the attacks by the pilotless aircraft by pointing out that these are likely to affect war against terrorism in the country, but American policy makers do not bother for any internal backlash. Instead, Washington is considering a strategy of widening the course of drone attacks which will also include Balochistan. In the last three years, more than 700 innocent civilians and only 14 Al-Qaeda commanders have been killed by the US unmanned air vehicles.
Regarding drone attacks and casualties, New America Foundation said in a recent report, “when the US drones attack Pakistan’s tribal areas, it is not just the 10, 20 or 50 innocent civilians they kill, but it creates the anti-US sentiments among masses…the civilian killings provide reason to the youngsters for joining terrorist groups waging war against US and of course Pakistan…while killing 10 militants through spy planes, the US has murdered more than 1400 Pakistanis not involved in any terrorist or extremist activities. Could it not imply that it killed 10 militants and gave birth to another 1400?
Nevertheless, a perennial wave of these strikes is not without some American hidden agenda. The main purpose behind the innocent killings is to provocate the people and cause more recruitment of the Pakistani Taliban, resulting into more suicide attacks inside Pakistan. As a matter of fact, America has been directly supporting the Pakistani Taliban in order to destabilise Pakistan because it is the only nuclear country in the Islamic world, which irks the eyes of US, India and Israel. Therefore, besides provocating Pakistanis, CIA is also helping RAW and Mossad in arranging continuous subversive activities such as suicide attacks, bomb blasts and targeted killings in Pakistan.
Recently in one of its diplomatic cables, WikiLeaks confirmed that there were enough evidences of Indian involvement in Waziristan and other tribal areas of Pakistan as well as Balochistan.
In the recent past, Asian Tribune Online had reported that CIA and RAW developed their tentacles in Swat, Bajaur, Kurram Agency, Waziristan and Balochistan. Some of the pro-Pakistan groups had been purchased or neutralized and those not coming to terms were eliminated by groups sponsored by CIA.
As regards the successful military operations by Pakistan, the Tribune elaborated that instead of getting pleased, the Americans got disturbed since they never intended to control militancy but to spread its flames into other cities and create anarchic conditions.
In the recent months, controversy existed between Pakistan and the US on the question of American national Raymond Davis who shot dead two Pakistani youths in Lahore on January 27, 2011. Sources had confirmed that David Raymond and his companions were agents of the American CIA and were on an anti-Pakistan mission. In fact, he was part of the illegal activities of the Blackwater whose employees entered Pakistan in the guise of diplomats. With the help of RAW and Mossad, Blackwater has rapidly established its network in Pakistan. It has recruited Pakistani nationals who were vulnerable and can work on payroll, giving them high financial incentives.
In fact, like other agents, a majority of the militants get arms and training from Afghanistan where secret camps are engaged in indoctrination of the youngsters, producing suicide bombers. Among them are Afghans, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Chechens and Muslims from India, who have joined the ranks and files of the Al Qaeda extremists and particularly Pakistani Taliban—they are committing acts of sabotage in Pakistan.
American direct Support to the Pakistani Taliban could also be noted from the fact that by setting aside the joint session of Pakistan’s Parliament, protesting the violation of the country’s sovereignty in relation to Abbottabad raid, the US President Obama made it clear in a BBC interview on May 22 that he would “approve a new incursion into Pakistan, if the United States found another leading militant there.”
In the post-Osama scenario, the US and India have revived the old blame game against Pakistan Army and ISI regarding alleged ties with the Taliban and cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan. Under the cover of Bin Laden’s death, America has also got the sympathies of western countries as Washington is distorting the image of Islamabad by propagating that other leaders of Al Qaeda have also taken shelter in Pakistan.
By playing a double game with Pakistan, US will produce more Pakistani Taliban by continuing drone attacks and conducting high-value targets inside the country. After creating unrest in Pakistan, Washington is likely to ask Islamabad to rollback its nuclear programme and to hand over its all nuclear weapons to the US. The self-contradictory statements of the US high officials—sometimes cajoling Islamabad with economic and military aid and sometimes pressurizing to ‘do more’ against the Taliban militants show duplicity, while America is directly supporting the Pakistani Taliban.
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Towards an HIV cure |
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Francoise Barre
TODAY marks 30 years since the first AIDS cases were reported. Since then, HIV science has been translated into prevention and treatment breakthroughs, one of the greatest being the antiretroviral treatment that has ensured that millions of HIV-positive people can lead healthy lives.
Furthermore, there is now robust evidence that early and highly active antiretroviral therapy can have a major impact on reducing HIV transmission, demonstrating the “treatment as prevention” concept.
AIDS is no longer the death sentence it was, but there now remains extreme uncertainty concerning the long-term sustainability of treatment access, especially in resource-limited settings.
More than ever we need to find an HIV cure. We need to invest in research that aims to find better and more cost-effective therapeutic strategies that may lead at least to a functional cure – the long-term remission of patients with a very efficient and persistent control of HIV after discontinuation of treatment.
This begs the question: After 30 years of HIV research, why have we still not found a cure?
The answer to that lies in the obstacles related to the complexity of the interaction between HIV and its host, the persistence of HIV in people on highly active antiretroviral therapy, and our limited knowledge on the very early stage of the infection. However, there are some promising signs that the pieces of the HIV pathogenesis puzzle are beginning to fall in place.
What we have known for some time now is that latent HIV reservoirs, where HIV hides and persists, are one of the main barriers to finding a cure. It is precisely why treatment does not eradicate HIV and why, when treatment is stopped, the virus rebounds.
What we haven’t had until very recently are the scientific advances and new approaches to tackling those viral reservoirs. For instance, our basic understanding of the mechanisms of HIV persistence in latent reservoirs is far superior than it was a decade ago. We are also witnessing promising developments from recent studies and small-scale testing reactivation agents that can reverse latency and “flush” the HIV reservoirs.
We have also been aware that the so called “elite controllers” – those very few people who are infected with HIV for at least a decade, do not take treatment and yet do not develop AIDS – were always going to be a vital part of future cure research.
Now we are gaining a better understanding of this unique group of patients. Some of the more recent science is showing that the elite controller status is related to the host genetics permitting robust cell-mediated immunity and/or restricting an infection in their CD4 lymphocytes and macrophages.
Understanding this group of people who efficiently control the virus replication and reservoirs, we believe, will be key in our search to attaining a “functional” cure that would allow long-term remission of infected individuals.
Last week’s announcement that researchers had identified a new restriction factor that inhibits an early step of the HIV-1 life cycle in immune cells is greatly encouraging as well. New findings on the innate control of HIV have implications for treatments and can provide us with insight into therapeutic vaccine development.
In addition, there is now a “proof of concept,” as scientists like to call it, for a cure. The case of the Berlin patient Timothy Brown, who received a stem-cell bone-marrow transplant in 2007 leading to the remission of his leukemia and now considered to be cured of AIDS, has now provided us with one.
I believe that given our current knowledge and innovative tools and concepts, a functional cure is a more realistic goal for the near future.
A cure will require funding commitments, strong community engagement, rigorous and innovative scientific endeavour and, above all, further collaborative multidisciplinary science with a better connection between basic and clinical research – in short, all the same ingredients that got us where we are today with the global antiretroviral treatment.
Thirty years is a long time and yes, we still do not have a cure. But if we do not seriously start looking for one, now that the science is telling us that perhaps we should be, do we want to be here in another 30 years regretting that we did not try?
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Sophisticated hypocrisy |
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Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal
NOW that you have launched your campaign for a second term, I expect you will soon come to the same location in Chicago where we first met in that summer of hope, in the rush of a hype that promised to change the course of history. My own life did change that year, as I entered Harvard and voted for the first time in my life. That act of voting, like all things one does for the first time, was a precious experience for me. As an adult citizen of the United States of American who was born to an immigrant family, I dreamed big dreams, following your rise to a position that no black man could have dreamt even a generation ago. I am hoping to meet you again, but know that both of us are changed men. You have become, by now, a symbol of power and authority of the most powerful nation of this world and I have matured into a young Harvard student whose future looks exceedingly bleak. I harbour no hope in my heart, just like millions of other young Americans whose imagination your electrifying campaign of two years ago had ignited and who now carry the amber of that bitter experience in their dead souls. We have been betrayed, dear President Obama; you have not only killed our hopes, but you have also filled our lives with a darkness that we do not know how to dispel.
I know it is of no consequence to you, riding a wave of big successes as you are in the wake of assassination carried out by your orders of a man who has been pitched to Americans as evil incarnate. I also note that you have already made the fatal speech which every US President has made since 1948 at the altar of AIPAC and you have said what every US President has said since then: Israel’s security is “sacrosanct” and “non-negotiable”. So, I must admit that you are doing pretty well, despite the inconsequential media hype about the chastisement you recently received from Benjamin Netanyahu. The only reason for this letter is that I know that even at the height of your glory and power, you are still going to return to that Chicago riding where we first met and you are still going to ask me for my vote, or at least you will pretend that you need my vote. You will tell me, and millions of other young Americans who saw a glimmer of hope in that summer two years ago, that we still count. This pretension, on which the entire edifice of American political system is built, is now no more than a naked allusion and anyone with an iota of deductive knowledge knows it to be the greatest farce on earth. My generation has been forced to become wise before mature age; we no longer harbour false hopes and as a result have gained the strength to stare into the bleak future that awaits us.
Torture, Mr. Obama, is something we all abhor and torture is what you have sanctioned. Torture of human beings whom no court of justice has yet declared criminals. You have officially sanctioned it by your orders; this has doomed America on moral grounds. You promised to close down that American heart of darkness during your election campaign, but on March 7, 2011, you signed an executive order, reversing your own policy. The order to resumes military trials for Gitmo detainees will be one of the darkest deeds written in your record forever. But this is not enough.
What particularly bothers me, and millions of other young men and women of this country, is the daily dose of darkness that oozes out of the White House and fills our lives. Around the world, America remains the most hated country and you have become a symbol of sophisticated hypocrisy for billions—mark my words—for billions of human beings who saw or read your Cairo speech and harboured a sense of hope in their hearts, you have become a symbol of despair despite your golden words which we all know now to be false. You ignored the popular uprising against Ben Ali, only joined in the international farcical chorus of contempt for Mubarak when he was on his way out, and you are still to produce a meaningful murmur against the Syrian regime which has killed more of its people than any other autocratic regime since this strange Arab spring began.
Of course you are going after that mad man called Gaddafi, but make no mistake, we all know this game plan: you go and destroy the entire infra-structure of the country, somehow take that man out, install your own men in power, then send in American companies to rebuilt the country, sell arms worth billions of dollars and be happy ever after. Of course, you will have to share this pie with the Europeans, but Libyan oil is enough to cover both sides.
I understand all of this, and so do millions of other young men and women of my generation from around the world. We also know that our understanding is inconsequential to the actual state of the world: we can make no difference whatsoever. There are no rules left for anything, the so-called international law stands null and void: A head of state is a target of cold blooded murder and assassination by another head of state, even petty tugs on our Chicago streets have better moral standards.
My heart cries for the Afghan children you have killed recently. I say “you”, because as the Commander-in-Chief of “our” armed forces, you are directly responsible for these crimes of war and while I know there no court of justice that is going to have the gut to try you here on earth, but I carry a faith stronger than the mountains which tells me that justice will catch up with you, either here or in the Hereafter.
Yes, you have guessed right: I am a Muslim, born in a Chicago suburb to a family which came to the United States of America in hope of a brighter life. They, instead, found darkness that now engulfs them from all sides, even though one of their sons has entered Harvard and the other is a successful physician. I do not think I will come to hear you when you come to Chicago on your election campaign but want you to remember: there is a verdict of history that awaits all men who rise to power and that verdict has already been passed against you.
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Operations in Pakistan |
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Hamid Waheed
THE ground realities show a visible improvement on ground in NWA of Pak. However the international media and few groups in Pak media still keep on projecting a dismal picture for their own agendas. I intend reproducing some of the facts to prove my point from the existing ground realities. An article “Pakistan Leaps Towards Bright Future” tells that the arrest and killing of hundreds of suspected TTP militants, improved policing in KP, stepped-up air strikes in North Waziristan and pressure on Taliban hideouts in Orakzai and South Waziristan helped drain militant strength, The neutralization of suicide bombing ability of the militants gave the security forces an added edge to wipe out the remaining Taliban….…Decrease in terrorist attacks throughout the country and on law-enforcing agencies is a visible sign of improving law situation….
A security report from the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) said the number of violent incidents and terror attacks in Pakistan fell by 11 per cent during 2010, compared to 2009. The number of suicide attacks fell by 22 per cent to 68 in 2010, compared with 87 last year. For details read here.
Another article “Flurry of officials startles many in N. Waziristan” conveys the message that situation in NWA was quite normal and residents were living peacefully. Political Agent Yahya Khan Akhunzada along with Brigadier Azam Tareen and officials of different departments visited Miramshah, Mirali and several main villages and participated in the functions held to inaugurate development programmes in the areas.
During the past couple of years, officials of political administration had confined themselves to their offices and avoided visiting public places owing to insecurity. The political agent himself could not travel by road since militancy plagued the agency. For more read here.
An Editorial “3Ds: dialogue, development, deterrence?” says that Pakistan’s “3Ds” strategy is essential to winning hearts and minds of the people. 3Ds are dialogue, development and deterrence. Pakistan was promised support to develop its cleared area by the world community and the US its front line partner.
To reap the fruit of better security environment due to military operations. The most important thing is provision of economic and financial stability to the residents of area.
A recent report Beyond Bullets and Bombs” of Centre For Global Development published in June 2011 is about US Development Strategy in Pakistan and tells that how US can improve the planning and implementation of its development program which is not yet on a clear or steady course; and what substantive elements could contribute to a strong US Development Strategy in Pakistan. While explaining why and why now strong US Development Strategy is required the report says: “Weak political institutions, lackluster growth, poor education and job opportunities for a huge and growing youth population, and a profound sense of injustice among the Pakistani people put at risk the legitimacy of the democratic government and undermine its ability to combat extremism and terrorism. At the same time, Pakistan is not Yemen or Somalia; from a development perspective, it is not Afghanistan either.
Pakistan has a large middle class, an active and engaged civil society, a free press, and a fledgling civilian government that is asking some progress strengthening democratic institutions. The U.S. interest in Pakistan justifies a reasonable effort to help that country exploit its economic and social assets to build a capable, democratic state. The report urges that administration officials and congress Congress to display humility, patience, and clarity of mission, and we make five procedural recommendations to get the U.S. development program on track: 1. Clarify the mission: separate the Pakistan development program from the Afghanistan program and from the Pakistan security program. 2. Name a leader: put one person in charge of the development program in Washington and in Islamabad.
3. Say what you are doing: set up a website with regularly updated data on
U.S. aid commitments and disbursements in Pakistan by project, place, and recipient.
4. Staff the USAID mission for success: allow for greater staff continuity, carve out a greater role for program staff in policy dialogue, and hire senior-level Pakistani leadership.
5. Measure what matters: track not just the outputs of U.S. aid projects but
Pakistan’s overall development progress.
The ingredients of success in Pakistan are threefold: a stable and capable state able to deliver justice and meet the basic needs of its citizens, a strong private sector able to provide jobs to Pakistan’s growing population and revenues to the government, and a healthy civil society able to play its rightful role in the democratic process. These three ingredients are what Pakistan needs to achieve the fundamental goal of development—the slow, painstaking transformation of poorly functioning states and societies into ones that function well.
The report indicates: Two years later, the U.S. development program in Pakistan is not yet on course. There has been little serious attention paid to the potential for U.S. trade and investment policy to spur growth and create jobs in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the aid program has not yet delivered. Observers in Pakistan and in Washington identify the same set of weaknesses in its design and implementation.
No one is sure what the United States is trying to accomplish in the development space. Because of a debilitating lack of transparency in the aid program, no one is even sure what the United States is doing. With an approach to foreign policy in Washington that emphasizes integrating development and diplomacy, lines of authority over planning and implementing development policy are blurred.
Long-term and short-term objectives compete for the same resources, and suspicion abounds in Pakistan that the United States’ aid spending is driven more by security concerns and objectives than by development best practice. On the ground in Pakistan, an aid mission already asked to instantly scale up its operations is hampered by shifting (and often conflicting) instructions from Washington and by burdensome oversight and bureaucracy that limit flexibility, innovation, and risk taking. For Complete report visit here.
White Paper of the Interagency Policy Group’s Report on U.S. Policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan, March 2009 states that “Achieving our core goal requires, first of all, realistic and achievable objectives. These include: Assisting efforts to enhance civilian control and stable constitutional government in Pakistan and a vibrant economy that provides opportunity for the people of Pakistan.”
The media intentionally portraying one side of the picture which maligns Pak and its security forces on financial issues and asks them to do more but it never asks what international community has done.
The promised foreign aid is not coming and the one which is coming is being delivered in bit and pieces and due to which no worthwhile economic project could take off. Our own media quoted economic aid figures wrongly saying that in last 11 years we have got 20 billion USD from US, 14 billion USD for military and 6 billion USD for civilians which is not true as according to Pak official budget now being discussed in assembly discloses that from Oct 2001 to June 2010 US aid received is total of 8.8 billion out of which army says it got 1.9 billion USD. Mind boggling facts given by media analysts raises questions about their loyalty and authenticity.
Mullen stated that Pakistan Army will start operation in North Waziristan Agency within a month where as senior most commander of Gen Kayani operating in FATA stated that “There is no plan to launch operation” The complicated relationship moves on a thin rope of mistrust but both know that loosing each other close to exit timings from Afghanistan can cost them and this region heavily. For a person looking at ungoverned areas of Pak there is a certain ray of hope however development strategy needs a revisit by all stake holders.
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