Author:
Publication: www.jihadwatch.org
Date: November 30, 2003
URL: http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/000282.php
Just as India's BSF charges that
Pakistani intelligence is working with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Abdullah
Al Madani of Gulf News writes that in fact, "Pakistan, through its madrassah,
fundamentalist parties, and Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI, is helping
the Taliban remnants return to power, repeating exactly what was done in
the mid-1990s." And all this despite the Musharraf regime's claim to be
"doing everything it can to fight terrorism."
Madani says that "observers today
do not need to do much to prove that Taliban figures and leaders are moving
freely in Pakistan and plotting without hindrance. According to some Pakistani
newspapers, they openly preach at mosques, travel around collecting donations,
hold meetings at recognisable addresses in Quetta, and recruit new fighters
for the jihad against the International Security Assistance Forces, ISAF,
and what they call 'the infidel regime' of Hamid Karzai. All these take
place at the time when Pakistani troops are searching the mountains for
the Taliban and Al Qaida's activists."
Yet "in spite of the above facts,
the US shows no concerns, refusing to take a decisive action against Islamabad
or even criticise the Musharraf regime. Washington still maintains that
the latter is doing everything it can to fight terrorism.
"It argues that further pressure
on General Musharraf's regime to curb the resurgence of the Taliban to
clamp down on the madrassah (the incubators for fundamentalist militants),
or to stop cross-border infiltration into Afghanistan will damage his political
position and could lead to further complexities and chaos in the entire
region."
Madani isn't buying: "The counter
argument should be that the insistence on protecting an undemocratic regime
that hesitates to impose law and order in parts of the country and plays
games to prolong its stay in power is what could have a devastating impact
on both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"Unlike the Bush administration,
the Democrat opposition is now the only force in the US that openly calls
for action against Islamabad for its double stance towards the Taliban.
"Democrats have recently showed
strong opposition to the $3 billion aid package for Pakistan announced
by Bush in June. They are against sending money to Islamabad unless the
latter controls its provinces bordering Afghanistan and curbs the Taliban
and like-minded groups.
"Such a stand by the Democrats,
however, must not lead to the conclusion that they are concerned about
Afghanistan more than the Bush Administration. As the presidential election
nears, it is merely a game to embarrass Bush.
"In fact, Democrats played a role
in bringing the Taliban to power in 1996 by accepting and endorsing the
ISI's creation and installation of the latter.
"Democrat figures holding prominent
position in the Bill Clinton administration, such as assistant secretary
of state for South Asia Robin Raphel, her successor Karl Inderfurth, deputy
secretary of state for political affairs Thomas Pickering, and ambassador
to the UN Bill Richardson, were among the first Americans to visit the
Taliban state, meet mullah Omar's assistants, and forge friendly relations
with them in 1996,1997, and 1998."