Indian Defence Review

America’s decade old war on terror is finally drawing down in Afghanistan in next seven months. Even though Americans are going back on their own vocation in an orderly manner, most of the world sees this as an American defeat. To that extent Americans have lost face. However Pakistan who was the main player in promoting this conflict is not only flooded with aid but still continues to relentlessly use jehad as state policy harbouring many wanted criminals and terrorist with impunity. It will never dismantle its jehad machine come what may.

On the eve  of visit of Pakistani Prime minister Navaz Sharif to US in the third week of October, where he will be meeting American president Obama ,The US State department has moved a proposal to congress to restore the American Aid to Pakistan which had trickled down to pittance in recent months  after ties between the two countries deterioted sharply in the after math of Raymond Davis episode, the Salala incident and elimination of Osama bin Laden in Pakistani garrison military town of Abbot bad. Under this proposal Pakistan will get 1.6 Billion dollar military and economic aid from the US.

The new narrative of US state department is that Pakistan under its new PM Navaz Sahrif has somehow changed its military dominated policy outlook which continues to use jehad as a tool to its state policy. This view of the state department has been challenged by many analysts of international repute. Pakistan’s own liberal commentators have questioned this new found wisdom of US state department. The ex Pakistan envoy to US, Hussein Haqqani made a recent statement that US totally misunderstands Pakistan when it is trying to buy Pakistan’s compliance with the American world view by doling out money. The truth of the matter is that till date Pakistan has taken from us 21 billion dollar aid but has continued to follow its use of terror as state as policy. America is in full knowledge of the fact that Pakistan is arming and training Haqqauni network and Afghan Taliban to operate against Americans in Afghanistan from the Pakistani territory, still it continues to provide money to Pakistan.

The story from New Delhi is similar. Anybody and everybody from India is fully aware of the fact that since 1988 Pakistan is hell bent in arming and training jehadis in its territory and then sending them to India. By new Delhi’s own statements currently Pakistani army and ISI are running 27 jehadi training camps in its Punjab province and 17 in Pakistan occupied territory where 2500 jehadis are being trained to be infiltrated into India. This year alone Pakistani army so far has done 197 cease fire violations despite there being an official commitment from Pakistan, existing since 2003, that it will not allow its territory to be used against India by Pakistan based jehadis. Most of the major terror strikes in major towns of India including 26/11 Mumbai attack have been Pakistan sponsored. Still our Prime minster Dr manmohan Singh is harbouring a dream of Pakistan having good relations with India and India is bending backwards to accommodate Pakistan.

China whose mineral rich Xinxiang province having 10.2 million Muslim population is facing a major uprising from these Uyghur Muslims. This uprising has direct connections with the Pakistani based jehadis. Still china is going all out not only to arm Pakistani army but has recently agreed to construct three nuclear reactors in Pakistan against all norms because Pakistan has not signed CTBT. Saudi Arab the most important country in west Asia has been mentor of Pakistan for decades. Any time it is prepared to bailout Pakistan from any major economy crisis.

The whole world knows that anywhere and everywhere if a jehadi strike takes place be rest assured that it will have link with Pakistan. In Pakistan the world’s most wanted jehadi and professor of terror Mr Hafiz Mohammad Syeed who heads the jehadi organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba is an icon. The lashkar –e-toiba a Punjab based terror organisation has now strength of 3 lakhs. It came up as anti India jehadi organisation but has  morphed into a global capability. Haqqani network and Afghan Taliban, again operating from Pakistani soil are currently busy in Afghanistan against American forces. However once US draws down from Afghanistan and these people oust the shaky regime of Krazai they will be free by end of next year.

All in all there are about half a million jehadis operating from Pakistan who are well armed and trained. Bulk of them are illiterates and come from very poor families. having brought up in madras’s, they have been so badly brainwashed that for them being a jehadi and killing innocent people are of other faith is a god ordained duty. Truth of the matter is these jehadis who have to lose nothing, be it America, China, Britain, Saudi Arabia, India the whole world is afraid of them. It is this fear of the whole world of these jehadis which Pakistan and especially Pakistani army is exploiting. The world mistakenly believes that if anybody who can control them it is Pakistani army.

The recruiting areas of Pakistani army, which is 70 percent Punjabi, are the same as these jehadis specially of L-e-t.Meanwhile the Afghan Taliban and Haqqqani network who are basically pakhtoons, constitute the rest of 30 percent of Pakistani army. In addition despite all the hype given to Pakistani army as being highly professional force, truth is that it is a political army with 20 billion dollar business running of its own. Such armies do not fight. Additionally this army has been highly radicalised, thanks to Gen Zia ul haq opening admission to army of madarsa educated youth and declaring Pakistani army not an army to defend the country but to defend Islam.

Pakistani Army is having a very cosy relationship with these jehadis. In actual fact for them these jehadis are cannon fodder to be used and forgotten. All the developed countries of the world know that once America pulls out from Afghanistan these jehadis are going to claim from roof tops that they first defeated one super power Russia and now other super power America thus proving to the Muslim world that jehad is still relevant in 21st century. As such world will see more such terror activity.

We must understand that today the fear of these jehadis is resulting in large inflow of military and economic aid to Pakistan from all quarters. Everybody from developed world is prepared to pay as long as Pakistani army keeps them away from these countries shores. The country under biggest threat is India. Pakistani army will take all the money and aid offered to it from the developed world at the same time direct these jehadis towards India. By this it kills two birds with one stone. First it keeps these jehadis occupied lest they create havoc in Pakistan itself. Second it deals with its arch enemy India without shedding blood of its single soldier.

It is really pathetic that when such dark clouds of terror are gathering on our horizon our political masters and their bureaucratic advisers are just not sounding worried maybe all this is beyond their comprehension. Our efforts to make friends with Pakistan will just not gel because Nawaz Sharif and his civilian government do not have any say over army.  Besides Navaz sharif is also party to it. This time the Pakistan sponsored jehad will include human bombs and other mass killing apparatus not seen before in India.

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It is very important that Indian political masters wake up and hold an all party meeting on the issue earliest. We must form a long term policy to deal with Pakistan and this new threat. The three Army Chiefs must be included in cabinet committee on security on permanent basis. We must acquire whatever additional arms and gadgets necessary to deal with this threat. We must plan to light as many fires within Pakistan as they are doing in India by covert means. We should not lose sight of the fact that Baluchistan and Sind may not like to be with Pakistan and Afghan Pushtuns who form a formidable 48 percent population of Afghanistan south of Kabul in Afghanistan and large number of Pakistani Pushtuns south of Durand line in Pakistan pakhtoonwala province may like to unite to form an independent pakhtoonistan. Answer is to become proactive and not remain reactive.