| 'According to Bari,' writes Arif Jamal, 'the general stated his intentions plainly: he had decided to contribute to the American-sponsored war in Afghanistan in order to prepare the ground for a larger conflict in Kashmir, and he wanted to involve the Jamaat-e-Islami of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. To the general, the war in Afghanistan would be a smokescreen behind which Pakistan could carefully prepare a more significant battle in Kashmir. The general said he had carefully calculated his support for the American operation, predicting that the Americans would be distracted by the fighting in Afghanistan and, as a result, turn a blind eye to Pakistani moves in the region.' Bari claims he was sceptical. But Zia was persuasive: how could Americans, he pointed out, stop 'us from waging jihad in Kashmir when they themselves are waging jihad in Afghanistan?' |