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The army's view
[DAWN] WHEN the army chief speaks, listening can be instructive, especially if the chief is dilating on issues of national security and foreign policy. In more normal times, Gen Raheel Sharif's speech to fresh graduates of the military academy in Kakul would have been a routine affair, but context can be everything. With violence along the LoC and Working Boundary having flared up recently, tensions with India still high, a military operation in North  Wazoo looking set to continue into the winter, a new dispensation in Afghanistan and civil-military relations having taken more than a few knocks in recent months, Gen Sharif's words were all the more important. And it is more than likely they indicated state policy direction on key issues in the near future.On India, the message was not quite a dismal one ‐ given the aggressive tone emanating from New Delhi under the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. But it certainly suggests that Pakistain and India are back to square one, with Pakistain insisting that normalisation and peace can only take place in an environment where the Kashmire dispute is placed front and centre. Yet, nothing Gen Sharif said suggests that the army-led security establishment is quite looking for a solution on an urgent or innovative basis. By reiterating that the Kashmire dispute must be resolved "in accordance with the will of Kashmiri people as enshrined in the UN resolutions" the army here has signalled that it is not in fact really seeking any forward movement on Kashmire. In reality, principled and legal as Pakistain's long-standing formulation on Kashmire has been, the original fair and just solution is a virtual non-starter now. Anything that does nudge the Kashmire dispute closer to resolution ‐ as opposed to a return to the non-violent impasse of the past decade ‐ would have to be the so-called out-of-the-box solution that  Pervez PervMusharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... semi-championed. Clearly though, the army leadership does not believe ‐ and it may well be right ‐ that the Modi government is remotely interested in pursuing peace right now, let alone a resolution of the Kashmire issue. On Afghanistan, meanwhile, Gen Sharif sounded a more conciliatory tone, essentially welcoming the Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. -Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... governance experiment and even suggesting that the Pakistain Army will support the Afghan cops, despite long-held reservations about the size, purpose and viability of the foreign-funded Afghan National Army. While the army's Afghan policy may not fundamentally have changed as yet, there are signs that if the Afghans find a way to establish relative peace and stability in their country, Pakistain will not intervene against or scuttle an internal Afghan settlement. Finally, on internal security and Operation Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... , Gen Sharif suggested that "cohesive, dedicated and timely involvement of all stake holders and state institutions is essential" for peace. But then, what has the army really done to encourage civilian input? Posted by: Fred 2014-10-20 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=402366 |