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| US, Pak adopting double standards on terrorism | | editorial | |
Bombing of a madarsa by Pak army, at a village in the Bajaur Agency of
the Federally Administrated Tribals Areas (FATA) on October 30,
killing 80 people, most of them local tribal with the majority of them
below 20 years of age, brings to fore as to what extent the Musharraf
government in Pakistan can go to appease the United States. Pakistan,
after joining the United States in the war against international
terrorism, after 9/11, has left no stone unturned to act in anyway
United States has been demanding it. The bombardment on the madarsa in
the tribal area was done on the behest of United States, whose
Intelligence Agencies had the report that some Al Qaeda and Taliban
terrorists were hiding there. The village is located on 10 km from
Khar, the headquarter of the Agency and 2.5 km from Damadola, where
the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had carried out a missile in
January last in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Ayman-al-zawahire, the
number 2 in Al Qaeda. The Spokesman of the Pakistan Army Major General
Shoukat Sultan has stated that they had the confirmed intelligence
reports that 70—80 militants were hiding in the madarsa, use as a
terrorist training camp, which was destroyed by an army strike led by
helicopters. Although the US Spokesman in Afghanistan has denied any
US involvement in the raid, claiming that it was purely a Pakistani
military operation, but there are liable reports to suggest that it
was a joint operation by Pakistani and US forces, aimed at killing
Zawahire, who was reported to be spending the night in the madarsa.
But the information proved wrong and instead so students in the
madarsa were killed in the attack. To ward off more protests in the
area as well as in Pakistan as a whole against the US and Pakistan
aligning with that country to bombard its own people, President Parvez
Musharraf decided to project it as a Pakistan Army operation with no
US involvement in it. In fact both Pakistan and US have been adopting
double standards in tackling the menace of international terrorism. So
long as USA was not targeted by the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists,
it showed least concern towards this growing menace. But once USA
became the target of allegedly Al Qaeda strike in a big way, what has
come to be called as 9/11 strike, USA declared a war on terrorism and
called all other nations to either side with them in this war or they
will by construed to be on the side of terrorists and will face the
reprisal. Similarly Pakistan which had been actively and openly
abetting and assisting the forces of terrorism, either in Afghanistan
or those operating against India, made a complete somersault. It was
after 9/11 that fearing American action against this country, it
joined hands with USA in war against Islamic Fundamentalist belong to
Al Qaeda and Taliban outfits as well as took actions against others,
who were targeting USA. Here it has no inhibition to go to any extent,
even to kill its own nationals, to address American concerns. But when
it comes to dealing with the terrorist who are operating against
India, from the territory under Pak control, Pakistan has been
pretending of having no solid ground and solid proof against them.
Even in the cases of those terrorists against whom India has provided
substantial and strong evidence of their violent acts within India and
who are having safe heaven in Pakistan, it has excused itself from
taking any action, under one pretext or the other. Obviously Pakistan
listens to the voice of force, the fear of which from US in always
hanging over its head or it is guided by monitory and other material
benefits from America in siding with them. In the case of taking any
action about Indian concerns, Pakistan policy has been deceptive, as
it knows that India has neither the will nor the capacity to take any
strong action against Pakistan.
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