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| Pakistan’s should look towards India as a friend | | | Karan Bandesha | 6/22/2011 8:59:02 PM |
| General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani is the first ever Chief of the Pakistan Army who has clearly and unambiguously elucidated his organisation’s doctrine of strategic depth. He has made a number of statements on the subject in the recent past. “We want a strategic depth in Afghanistan but do not want to control it”; “if Afghanistan is peaceful, stable and friendly, we have our strategic depth because our western border is secure”; and “our strategic paradigm needs to be fully realised”. Inexplicably he also said that “it would be a cause of worry for Pakistan if Afghanistan’s projected army developed the potential to take on Pakistan”. Pakistan’s preoccupation with strategic depth has been discussed threadbare in Islamabad and in foreign capitals. However this is the first time that a Pakistani Army General has overtly and publicly announced the policy.
Strategic depth is a term in military literature that refers, broadly speaking, to the distances between the front lines or battle sectors and the combatants’ industrial core areas, capital cities, heartlands, and other key centers of population or military production. Pakistan’s military thinking has perennially focused on the creation of strategic depth against India. Always wary of India’s military might, Pakistan looks towards Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics (CAR) as land masses that can provide to it strategic depth in relation to the threat emanating from India. This has been the primary reason for its assisting Afghanistan during the Russian invasion and establishing a cordial relation with the Taliban regime, which was otherwise a pariah for the world community. Even now, Pakistan is maneuvering to position itself as the sole military arbitrator for Afghanistan post the imminent withdrawal of the NATO forces for the same reason. More importantly, it does not want to see India playing a significant role in the strategic affairs of Afghanistan.
The doctrine of strategic depth was fine tuned during the dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq. His penchant for using militants, terrorists and other non-state actors for political effect was used liberally in giving shape to this doctrine. The fact that the Taliban emerged victorious in the post Russian regime gave yet another boost to the policy conceived by Zia-ul-Haq. The government of Pakistan, under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, extended recognition to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan on May 25, 1997, almost immediately after the government was established. The Taliban government of Afghanistan responded by giving all possible consideration to Pakistan’s security concerns.
While applying this policy/doctrine, Pakistan has failed to consider the long term effect that it would have on its society, culture, and survival as a nation state. That this policy was inherently flawed was pointed out by a number of eminent security analysts and experts both within and outside Pakistan, however, such sane advise has not stimulated the military leadership of the country towards considering a modification, let alone a total withdrawal, of this doctrine.
Even the change in environment post the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in the US and the resultant Global War on Terror (GWOT) did not bring about a paradigm shift in the basic policy of the country. All through this war, the country’s relationship with non state actors has been kept alive through the infamous ISI. This led to the evolution of lopsided policies like compartmentalising of militants into good and bad Taliban, striking a number of deals and counters deals, creation and break up of alliances, attacks and standoffs etc. Some militants were sheltered, others were set up for drone attacks or handed over to the US - this double game has been on ever since GWOT was launched. It was the common man of the war torn North West Frontier Province who came out as the worst sufferer from this warped policy.
Instability breeds anarchy and this has become a bane for Pakistan on its western frontier. Fundamentalist ideology started have gained ascendency and religious zealots have weaned away youth from the mainstream. This phenomenon has assisted the Islamist fundamentalists in creating a very formidable and dominant constituency amongst the people. While the Pakistani Army, the government and the ISI continue with their policy of denial and two timing, the militants have closed ranks and established their writ. Alliances both strategic and ideological have been made between the various groups to establish the religious authority of Jihad. The networked organisations are busy planning attacks not only in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan but also in India.
Who can forget the visage of Baitullah Mehsud or Maulana Fazlullah also known as Mullah Radio amongst a host of others, who can forget the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai which continues to haunt Indo-Pakistan relations? A situation has now come about where Pakistan, due to its fallacious policies has started facing isolation in the world community. Its leadership has lost the distinction between friend and foe, good or bad and is hurtling down a tunnel of despondency. The monster created by the Pakistani State is now ready to devour its masters. The policy put in place to create strategic depth has turned out to be a strategic blunder.
There is a way out!! Pakistan has to get over its fear of being overwhelmed by India’s might and clout. Instead it should look upon India as a country capable of providing strategic depth against its western neighbours who are more volatile and unstable. Understandably, it is difficult to shed inhibitions and insecurities that have been nurtured for decades, but there seems to be no other way for Pakistan in case the country wishes to get out of the mess that it has landed itself into.
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