Intelligence agencies under siege

While India has always been quick to ascribe blame for communal and terrorist violence to Pakistan,
President Hamid Karzai chose to abuse the SAARC Summit in Colombo on July 31 to launch a broadside
against Pakistan’s intelligence agencies for nurturing terrorists to target his ‘tolerant and

peace-loving’ country. On the same day, a Bush administration official joined the chorus by claiming it had evidence of ISI’s involvement in the July 7 bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul. Unfortunately, the timing of the announcements first of transferring administrative control over Inter-Services Intelligence from Prime Minister’s secretariat to Interior Ministry and then of revoking the decision played into the hands of ISI’s foreign and domestic critics. The notoriety of this agency for interference in domestic politics and conducting objectionable operations at home and abroad lent credence to allegations and the government felt obliged to offer to probe deeper into the allegations if it was provided with evidence. There is no doubt a solid case for review of decisions made not only by military dictators by also an elected head of government in the 1970s to expand the jurisdiction of ISI and the Federal Bureau of Intelligence, especially to limit if not prohibit resort to extra-legal measures such as prolonged detention and punishment of suspects of breaches of internal and external security but countries with such agencies as CIA and RAW that are notorious for documented intelligence operations like those that toppled the Mossadeq regime in Iran and divided Pakistan into two should remember the adage of a pot calling the kettle black.


Whatever the merit or lack of it in the allegations against Pakistani intelligence agencies, Mr. Karzai’s diatribe was illogical and incredible besides displaying ingratitude for the enormous sacrifices of Pakistan army and security personnel in the fight against Al Qaeda and Taliban opponents of the Karzai regime. Unlike Afghanistan which allowed sanctuaries to Al Qaeda during the Taliban regime, Pakistan government has sought to expel foreign militants who entered Pakistan after US intervention in Afghanistan. These illegal entrants and their Taliban cohorts have no doubt suborned some of the inhabitants of Pakistan’s tribal areas to carve out havens for hostile activities against Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. Mr. Karzai is not alone to overestimates Pakistan’s capacity to contain the scourge.
Mr.Karzai as well as US and NATO allies can legitimately expect Pakistan to do more to stop abuse
of its territory by Taliban for cross-border attacks. But there is no justification for impugning
Pakistan’s policy which is transparently aimed at liquidating terrorism. Realism requires instead
recognizing of Pakistan’s capcity limitations. The United States has therefore assisted Pakistan to
augment its capacity for fighting terrorism and militancy.


In contrast, Mr. Karzai has leveled accusations implying connivance by Pakistani agencies in Taliban
attack. His charge that Pakistani agencies are behind Taliban terrorists makes no sense simply because they Taliban have targeted and killed more Pakistani security personnel and inflicted greater destruction in Pakistan than they have done in Afghanistan. In analyzing the root causes of the challenge to his regime Mr. Karzai distorts facts and misconstrues Pakistan’s policy. The Taliban who abuse Pakistan territory for murder, mayhem and destruction on both sides of the border are enemies of both nations. They attack and kill state employees and civilians, bomb power pylons and gas pipelines, burn schools, kidnap and execute civilian officials, threaten critical media and impose arbitrary and savage rule wherever they succeed to supplant government authority. They are a threat not only to Afghanistan but also Pakistan and to the vision of its founding fathers of a free, democratic and progressive Islamic state. That is why the government of Pakistan joined the fight against terrorism and that is also why Islamabad supported the UN in promoting establishment of a consensus regime under Mr. Hamid Karzai in December 2001 and has sought to assist it in reconstruction of the destroyed state. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of the entire world and no neighbour has more at stake in its consolidation than Pakistan. Mr. Karzai’s attribution of ill will to Pakistan government flies in the face of reality and history.


No doubt Pakistan has many problems of governance but Afghanistan’s are unfortunately even more
forbidding because it lost military and administrative sinews during a thirty years long period of
troubles. The narcotics mafia and rival militias have further undermined the Karzai regimes precarious
capacity to cope with the challenge of the Taliban. Unfortunately its earlier promise of building popular support at home has suffered setbacks. The massive aid Afghanistan has received since 2001 has not been purposefully utilized. Too much of it has been pilfered by corrupt elements in the regime. Instead of reform and reconstruction that would have provided better lives for Afghans, the Karzai government has allowed Afghanistan to become the world’s biggest narcotics supplier and like its predecessors connived in smuggling and other illegal activities to the detriment above all of Pakistan. Instead of recriminations, Afghanistan and Pakistan would better serve common cause through better mutual understanding and intensification of cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Failure to do so would play in to the hands of extremists. Already left behind in the world community’s march towards progress and more productive lives for their people, they face dire danger of religious obscurantism, social regression and descent into chaos.