Author: Kanchan Gupta
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 29, 2005
The Bush Administration's unshakeable
faith in Pakistan as a steadfast and loyal ally in America's war against
terror, which has resulted in Washington's decision to supply F-16 multi-role
fighter jets to Islamabad, flies in the face of a recent report prepared
by the Congressional Research Service which provides crucial input to policy-makers
on Capitol Hill.
A CRS report titled "Pakistan's
Domestic Political Developments", prepared by K. Alan Kronstadt, senior
analyst in Asian affairs, foreign affairs, defence and trade, which was
updated as recently as on February 14, 2005, and is available on the US
State Department website, highlights a 2004 testimony before the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, during which one senior expert opined that
"Pakistan is probably the most anti-American country in the world right
now, ranging from the radical Islamists on one side to the liberals and
Westernised elites on the other side."
Referring to "US concerns about
Pakistan's domestic political developments", the CRS report mentions "increasing
signs of Islamisation and anti-American sentiment there." In an obvious
put down of efforts to portray Pakistan as a "moderate Islamic state",
the report mentions that "the Islamist coalition in the NWFP (has) passed
a Shariat bill in the provincial Assembly, and the government of Baluchistan
later established an Islamist legal council."
These developments, the CRS asserts,
"may seek to replicate in Pakistan the harsh enforcement of Islamic law
seen in Afghanistan under the Taliban," adding, "Pakistan's Islamists routinely
denounce Pakistani military operations in western tribal areas, resist
government attempts to reform religious schools that teach militancy, and
harshly criticise Islamabad's cooperation with the US Government."
However, "anti-American sentiment
among Pakistani citizens is not limited to Islamic Groups," the report
says, going on to quote a "March 2004 Pew Center opinion poll (that) found
that 65% of Pakistanis held a favorable view of Al Qaeda founder Osama
bin Laden." This Pew survey also "found that only 6% of Pakistanis believed
the United States was sincere in its efforts to combat terrorism; about
half viewed the United States as seeking to dominate the world," the report
adds.
Commenting on the Pakistani army,
the CRS report says, "The Pakistani army, which was significantly radicalised
by Gen. Zia's policies in the 1980s, continues to be home to Muslim hardliners
at the middle and lower ranks." The report also comments on anti-American
Islamic organizations: "The leadership of . the Jamaat-i-Islami's (JI)
Qazi Hussein Ahmed and the Jamiat-Ulema-Islami (JUI)-Fazlur's Maulana Fazlur
Rehman are notable for their sometimes virulent anti-American rhetoric;
they have at times called for jihad against what they view as the existential
threat to Pakistani sovereignty that alliance with Washington entails."
According to CRS, "In addition to
decrying and seeking to end President Musharraf's cooperation with the
United States, many clerics also are viewed as opposing the US-supported
Kabul government. Pakistan's Islamists have benefitted greatly from Musharraf's
undermining of the country's mainstream parties, and today (they are) a
fairly cohesive political force that presents a serious challenge to Musharraf's
policies of moderation."
The CRS report underlines that Gen
Musharraf, who came to power in a coup on October 12, 1999, is continuing
to undermine the democratic process and predicts that it is unlikely Pakistan
will move towards a stable democracy during 2005: "In December 2004, President
Gen. Musharraf formally announced his decision to retain his position as
chief of army staff beyond the December 31, 2004, deadline he had set for
his own retirement from the military. The widely expected decision reversed
a commitment Musharraf had made as part of a December 2003 arrangement
to gain parliamentary passage of the 17th Amendment to Pakistan's Constitution,
which significantly strengthened his presidential powers."
Repudiating "the claims made by
Pakistani leaders" about restoring democracy, the CRS report says "condemnation
of perceived non-democratic practices in Islamabad is unabated. In its
Freedom in the World 2005 report, and for the sixth consecutive year, the
non-partisan Freedom House rated Pakistan as 'not free' in the areas of
political rights and civil liberties. Human rights groups continue to issue
reports critical of the military-dominated Musharraf Government for its
'violent repression' of opposition political rallies, for protecting its
'grip' on the country's economic resources, especially land, and for using
Pakistan's role in the 'war on terrorism' to maintain an oppressive, non-democratic
hold on national power."
Perhaps a further revised version
of the CRS report shall now be issued to make it compliant with the Bush
Administration's policy on Pakistan revealed on Easter eve.
