Politics As Usual

As hundreds of thousands flee the war-ravaged areas in Pakistan, a status-quo in US-Pakistan relations has been regained. US officials express no immediate danger of collapse of the state and the two week alarm raised by General Petraeus has been changed.

The US congressional committee has approved $1.9 billion in aid for Pakistan. President Zardari thinks this amount is very little compared to the government money given to AIG. He wanted some drones and managed to get some helicopters.

Pakistan army will receive an extra $400 million in aid this year as their artillery, helicopters and fighter jets pound areas occupied by Taliban. The US resolve to strengthen democracy in Pakistan came under suspicion since the army was reinstated as the key player in US-Pakistan relations, once again.

US administration is determined to change the mind-set of Pakistani military into acceptance of India as a friendly neighbor. A common Pakistani may not find this US suggestion objectionable for the sake of peace in the region, but hatred of India is the soul and spirit of Pakistan army.

US fears a coup by army officers supportive of Taliban so they insist that the army stays engaged against the internal threat. The rehabilitation of army as the leading role player comes with a reward of increased aid.

Mr. Holbrooke advised congress that Mr. Zardari’s government and democracy is stable in Pakistan. He suggested that conditions for US aid to Pakistan regarding transparency about their nuclear weapons should be deferred for now, as the country fights insurgency.

Pragmatic decisions could defy allegations of hypocrisy when proclaimed goals are not compromised. Establishing sovereignty of civilian rule in Pakistan was stated as an objective by the US, not so long ago.

At a tripartite meeting in Washington, Secretary Clinton introduced the Afghan and Pakistan delegations to US administration officials including the Attorney-general and the Secretary of agriculture. The Attorney-general would review the rule of law with the two delegations and the Secretary of agriculture would discuss ways to help agriculture in the two countries.

On CNN, Christiane Amanpour suggested legitimizing opium trade to cut the source of funds for insurgency in Afghanistan. Abolition of feudalism in Pakistan was absent from conversations. Agriculture in the developing world is one of the few profitable sources of investment left, in times of global recession.

The military is left to guard democracy in Pakistan and the ruling elite are entrusted with implementing the rule of law. The oppressive status quo responsible for the suffering of 170 million people has thus been upheld.

General Petraeus believes al-Qaida leadership is rooted in Pakistan, and the country faces severe threat, but he praised coordinated effort to beat the Taliban uprising.

President Zardari revealed that Osama bin Laden paid ten million dollars to oust Benazir government, and she thought bin-Laden was a US operative acting on America’s behalf.

The complicity and duplicity allegations fly back and forth as President Zardari sounds like ZA Bhutto from his death cell. Coup d’etat and re-organizing government, according to the wishes of military, is politics as usual for Pakistan.

The military did not regard Taliban as a formidable foe but they are pounding Swat and Malakand region with the explosive force of artillery, helicopters and fighter jets. The heaven-like Swat valley is facing destruction and ruin.

This operation could re-vitalize the strength of Taliban and al-Qaida, insists Fareed Zakaria in a BBC interview, warning that application of excessive force could be counter-productive. Only a counter-insurgency operation may have the required precision to minimize collateral damage.

Such a heavy deployment and operation of troops must have been planned weeks in advance but the preparedness for human exodus from the disaster zone falls far short. Facilities and food for the displaced persons is scarce and looting has been reported.

As hundreds of thousands flee their homes, and many towns and villages are destroyed, it is the same old politics, played in a cold-hearted, secretive manner, in Washington and Islamabad.