Pakistan's military, high court both fed up with president

Los Angeles Times

The military appears to be aligning itself with the Supreme Court to loosen Zardari's tenuous grip, analysts say.

Asif Ali Zardari

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan—

In its standoff with President Asif Ali Zardari's administration, Pakistan's powerful military is relying on an institution that experts say is equally antagonistic toward the civilian government: the country's high court.

The Pakistani capital has been awash with rumors that the army, which is fed up with a civilian government defined by corruption and ineffectiveness, is planning a coup. But as the rift between civilian leaders and the security establishment widens, it's becoming clear that a military takeover isn't what the generals envision.

Rather, analysts say the military appears to be aligning itself with the Supreme Court, a body with strong backing from everyday Pakistanis and the legal firepower to endanger Zardari's tenuous grip on governance. An outright coup probably would bring international criticism of the generals; experts say those traditional power brokers would welcome Zardari's ouster through court action.

"Both are acting in a manner in which they are reinforcing each other," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based political analyst. "They are very quietly and discreetly helping each other … even if there doesn't appear to be a formal arrangement between the two."

Last week, Pakistani news media quoted military sources as saying the army stood ready to enforce any action that the high court took against the government. The remarks came just days after the Supreme Court had warned Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that it could remove him from office if he did not abide by the court's long-standing demand that he reinstate corruption proceedings against Zardari.

The court's feud with Zardari dates back to the early days of his presidency, when he initially balked at reinstating Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who had been driven from his post by former ruler Pervez Musharraf. Zardari reportedly feared that Chaudhry would allow old corruption charges against him in Switzerland to proceed.

For the last two years, the high court has been demanding that the government send a letter to the Swiss government requesting the revival of those charges. The case stems from Zardari's conviction in absentia in 2003 in Switzerland on money-laundering charges. The case was suspended while he and his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, appealed and was later dropped at the request of the Pakistani government.

Pakistan agrees to return chopper tail and go after enemy sanctuaries

A flurry of activity of Monday provided hope that the Pak-US marriage of convenience was not over despite the recent bellowing and booming of the Pakistani leadership.

By the end of Senator John Kerry’s day-long stay in Islamabad it appeared that the US had convinced Pakistan to undertake several steps for proving its commitment to the fight against terrorism. These included returning the wreckage of the helicopter which had malfunctioned during the May 2 raid in Abbotabad and eliminating terrorist sanctuaries in tribal areas.

In exchange Washington has committed itself to a process, which if successful, will lead to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Islamabad for reviving the strategic dialogue which has been stalled since the arrest of CIA operative Raymond Davis and subsequent events such as drone attacks and the unilateral US operation killing Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.

John Kerry, who heads the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, extracted these promises from the Pakistani leadership; he warned them that “if the relationship is to fall apart …. US will always reserve the right to protect its national security”.

Senator Kerry’s tough love message was reinforced, Dawn has learnt, by the telephone calls Secretary Clinton made to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

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The test will be how long Pakistan stays committed to the deal. Will they go after the Haqqani network? Getting rid of them would be a good way to get the UIS out of their hair.

Pakistan can and will shoot down US drones

Times of Srinigar

Pakistan has the capacity and the technology to shoot down American drones.  Pakistan mulls downing US drones. There has been tremendous pressure on the obsequious PPPP Government to ask the US to halt the attacks. There are even some rumors that the Zardari Government has a “wink wink nod nod” agreement with the US which allows the CIA drones to bomb “terrorists” in Pakistan. During the Clinton era at the height of the Monica Lewisnky sex scandal, President Clinton tried to draw the attention away from the his personal failings and fired a few of cruise missiles at All of them missed their stated targets. However a couple did not explode. These Cruise missiles were picked up by the Pakistanis and reversed engineered. Now Pakistan has Cruise Missile technology which Pakistan uses to further improve all its missiles.

During the Afghan war the US sent hundreds of Stinger Missiles to those fighting the USSR. This technology is now ubiquitous not only in Pakistan but the rest of the world.

Pakistan has Hataf and Shaheen Missiles–some with land to air versions. In summary if Pakistan allows he Pakhtuns to begin shooting the drones that have brought death and destruction to the millions this will escalate things and affect the West’s war in Afghanistan.

If Pakistan reduces the level of security to the NATO Supply Chain, the Afghan war will come to a grinding halt because 70% of the supplies pass through Pakistani territory.

 

LAHORE: Pakistani officials are urging the incoming Obama administration to stop air attacks on Pakistani territory and are even hinting that they might shoot down US drones in its airspace, according to a report published in the Washington Times (WT).

The report said US forces based in Afghanistan had carried out around 25 strikes this year, most of them by drones, in the Pakistani border region. However, a November 19 attack was carried out in Bannu beyond the Tribal Areas, in the settled areas of Pakistan. After the strike on NWFP’s Bannu district, the government summoned US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson to the Foreign Ministry and lodged a formal protest.

Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said the US ambassador was told that the attacks violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Pakistani officials have publicly discussed a military option.

Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed said last week that if the government decided to shoot down the pilotless aircraft, the military was fully capable of intercepting them.
“The air force is ready for any type of air defence,” the air chief marshal was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

On September 23, a drone crashed inside Pakistani territory near Angoor Ada in South Waziristan Agency.

The Pakistan Army said the drone crashed because of a technical malfunction. However, residents in Angoor Ada claimed they shot down the drone.

US officials have told the Washington Times that Pakistan has given tacit approval for attacks that are confined to the Tribal Areas and do not involve US ground forces.

A Pakistani official, who asked not to be named, said “these are very sensitive matters” and that the target had to be “a very important asset” to justify an attack. Daily Times Monitor:

The PPPP government has been castigated by the opposition leaders in Pakistan, namely the leader of the Pakistan Tehrik e Insaaf as well as the PMLN. The PMLNQ also says that the number of drone strikes have increased dramatically.

In public, Pakistani officials vehemently deny any bargain with Washington.
Analyst: According to the report, Teresita Schaffer, director of the South Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Pakistan had agreed to a strategy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” when it came to US attacks. Denying it has given permission is “essential to the government’s survival”, she said. “Otherwise they are allowing themselves to be walked over as well as bombed.”

The danger, she said, is that “this is a moving target”. Though US intelligence appears to be getting better, there is always the chance of civilian casualties.

She predicted that the incoming Obama administration would continue the policy, noting that tracking Al Qaeda suspects in Pakistan was “the one issue on which (US president-elect Barack Obama) sounded more hawkish than [Senator John] McCain.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has told parliament that he hoped Obama would change the policy once he assumed office.

However, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad said he doubted that would be the case.
“It will be childish to expect anything from Obama,” he said. “One person cannot change the US policies; rather, it needs a gradual process.

“Neo-conservatives, Zionists and other extremist groups are very powerful and influence the US foreign policy. Obama will do whatever the neocons want him to do,” he said. Pakistan People’s Party Senator Anwar Beg said the attacks were destabilising the government.

“Drone attacks must stop immediately,” he said. “There is no time to wait until January 20.”
The Pakistan Army is ready to shoot down the drones now. It is a matter or time before the first US drone hits the dust giving many the opportunity to reverse engineer and rebuild it.

Colleague defended: ‘Qureshi loyal to PPP’

The Express Tribune

BAHAWALPUR: The prime minister was also quick to dismiss the notion that Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the former foreign minister, was quitting the PPP.

“He [Qureshi] is in the party, will be in it and will not do anything against the party,” said the prime minister.

Qureshi resigned from the cabinet as part of its restructuring in accordance with the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. However, he was not included in the newly reconstituted cabinet, reportedly under intense pressure from the United States government owing to Qureshi’s refusal to certify diplomatic immunity for Raymond Davis, the American citizen accused of murdering two people in Lahore.

Soon after his resignation, Qureshi began holding political gatherings criticising the performance of the PPP-led administration and appeared to be campaigning for a leadership role, though it remains unclear which office he aspires to. Qureshi is a member of the National Assembly, representing Multan. Prime Minister Gilani and Shah Mehmood Qureshi have historically been rivals, both from leading political families in Multan. The two had been able to work amiably together as cabinet colleagues until the Raymond Davis affair, when Qureshi refused to give in to American pressure to declare that Davis had diplomatic immunity.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2011.

Raymond Davis: US blackmails Pak

Pakistan Observer
Sajjad Shaukat

US Senator John Kerry (D) Mass meets
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani,

Controversial debate continues between Pakistan and the United States in connection with the arrest of American national, Raymond Davis who is an under-cover secret agent of American CIA, and has become a symbol of anti-American resentment in Pakistan because of the dreadful murder of two innocent Pakistanis in Lahore and subsequent suicide by the wife of one of his victims. Like other US high officials, even President Barack Obama urged Pakistan on February 15 this year to free Raymond as he has diplomatic immunity under the Geneva Convention. Meanwhile, the visiting Chairman of the US Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, while addressing a press conference in Lahore pointed out that issue of “Davis has nothing to do with local courts as diplomats enjoy immunity…we cannot allow that one incident can break the strong relationship between the two countries.”

On the other side, legal experts in Pakistan opine that Raymond Davis is a murderer who has no diplomatic immunity. Many Pakistanis are suspicious about Davis, who was arrested with loaded weapons, a GPS satellite tracking device, photographs of Pakistan’s defence installations and tribal areas, while American authorities are still silent about his role in Pakistan.

It is notable that the former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has stated that he was dropped from the new cabinet owing to his principled position on the question of diplomatic immunity to the killer, and he adopted a stance, seen by majority of people. Some sources confirms that Raymond Davis has visited Pakistan twice under the cover of diplomatic status, and this time he came with changed name to conceal his identity. However, Davis is killer and is an agent of CIA, while Washington is blackmailing Islamabad by applying coercive diplomacy. In this respect, on the one hand, US high officials say that on the issue of Davis, America will not break relations with Pakistan; while on the other, they continue pressure on Islamabad for his immediate release.The issue of Raymond Davis is not new one as past history of Pak-US ties prove that America has always blackmailed Pakistan on various occasions. In this context, it is of particular attention that in the aftermath of the November 26 catastrophe of Mumbai, Washington, while tilting towards India had blackmailed Islamabad. Setting aside the ground realties that Pakistan, itself, has been the major victim of terrorism, which has been bearing multiple losses in combating this menace since 9/11, with the support of the US, Indian blame game against Islamabad, continued during exchange of information between the two neighbouring countries regarding Mumbai mayhem.

While, rejecting Pakistan’s stand that its government or any official agency was not involved in the Mumbai attacks, presenting one after another list of bogus evidence, New Delhi wanted to make Islamabad accept all other Indian demands since our rulers admitted on February 12, 2009 that Ajmal Kasab is Pakistani national and Mumbai terror-attacks were “partially planned in Pakistan.” In fact, being a responsible state actor, Islamabad’s admission which had emboldened New Delhi was forced by the US-led some western countries which have continuously been blackmailing Pakistan by insisting upon our government to “do more” against the militancy in the tribal areas by ignoring internal backlash and sacrifices of our security forces during war on terror—while paying no attention to the Lahore-terror attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team including other similar terror-incidents. In that context, India wanted to avail the Mumbai tragedy in increasing further pressure on Pakistan with the help of America in order to force Islamabad to confess that all the terrorists responsible for Mumbai attacks came from Pakistan.

In that respect, US former Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Milliband who had visited India and Pakistan stressed upon Islamabad to take actions against the banned Jamaatud Dawa and the already banned Lashkar-i-Tayba. Speaking in Indian tune, they had also said that the terrorists involved in the Mumbai events came from Pakistan. In that connection, Ameria had played a key role in getting passed a resolution through the UN Security Council which added Pakistan-based Jamaatud Dawa and four of its leaders to the list of Al Qaeda-related terrorists. Without any doubt, this similar approach by the US and India show that these states are in collusion to destabilize and ‘denuclearise’ Pakistan through blackmailing diplomacy as demands on Pakistan to take action against the Jamaatud Dawa and its related welfare organistions including admission regarding the departure of the Mumbai culprits from our soil were forced. And Islamabad accepted these false allegations as our country was facing serious internal and external challenges of grave nature.

In the recent past, IMF decided to sanction loan to Pakistan after American green signal. Past experience proves that economic dependence on foreign countries always brings political dependence in its wake. While, at that critical juncture, our country had been facing precarious financial problem, US-led some western allies compelled Pakistan to accept some Indian false demands. Hollowness of New Delhi’s allegations and forced admission of Islamabad could be gauged from the fact that on February 27, 2009, Pakistan’s Naval Chief of Staff Admiral Nuaman Bashir remarked that he had no proof that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman of the Mumbai attacks used Pakistani waters to reach India. The statement of our naval chief coupled with American duress makes it quite clear that Mumbai mayhem was pre-planned by the Indian intelligence agency, RAW to further distort the image of Pakistan in the comity of nations.

Another example of blackmailing is that the US is emphasising Islamabad to to take action against the militants of North Waziristan. It also continuous drone attacks on Pakistan’s soil without bothering for the sovereignty of the country. Inaction of the US-led west over Hindu terrorism and such duplicity undoubtedly indicates that America and major European states have their common interest in India. Hence, they blindly support New Delhi’s shrewd diplomacy against Islamabad. These major countries only tolerate Pakistan owing to its role as a frontline state against terrorism, otherwise, they leave no stone unturned in blackmailing our country so as to harm our interests. In this respect, forced demands on Pakistan regarding Mumbai mayhem entailing accusation of cross-border terrorism either in Afghanistan or the Indian-held Kashmir are also part of this blackmailing practice. In fact, we are living in an unequal world order. The prevalent global system tends to give a greater political and economic leverage to the affluent developed nations who could safeguard their interests at the cost of the weaker countries. Whenever, any controversy arises on the controversial issues, the UN Security Council enforces the doctrine of collective security against the small states, while the five big powers protect their interests by using veto.

This shows discrimination between the powerful and the weaker. In this context, it is notable that in 2001, UN had permitted the United States to attack Afghanistan under the cover of right of self-defence. In case of the Indian occupied Kashmir, the issue still remains unresolved as UN resolutions regarding the plebiscite were never implemented because Washington and some western powers support the illegitimate stand of India due to their collective interests. Particularly, in economic context, the world order reflects greater disparities as the flow of capital and credit system is also dominated by the United States and other developed countries—the consequent result is an increase in the activities of the Multinationals which have shattered the economies of the poor developing states. Besides, international financial institutions like I.M.F and World Bank are under the control of the US and its partners who protect their interests by blackmailing the governments of the small states through financial pressure. In these terms, US-led countries especially blackmail Pakistan directly or indirectly.

In sense of Hobbes, Machiavelli and Morgenthau, a renowned strategic thinker, Thomas Schelling remarks about the US, “coercion to be an effective tool of foreign policy.” Kissinger also endorses politics of bargaining and pressure through threats, coercion and even violence as essential elements of the American diplomacy. In this regard, diplomacy itself becomes the real tool of blackmailing. Returning to our earlier discussion, Raymond Davis is a murderer, but the US blackmails Pakistan for his release as the latter depends upon Washington for military and economic aid in wake of multi-faceted problems. America should remember that it also depends upon Pakistan which is a frontline state of the US war on terror, and without Islamabad’s support the sole superpower cannot win this ‘different war’ against terrorism.