?? ????? ????| PAKISTAN LEDGER | ???????? ????? | September 16, 2008 | Moin Ansari | ???? ??????? | 
| RUPEE NEWS | Moin Ansari | September 16, 2008 | ???? ??????? | ????? ????? |
The tiff could end into a serious separation or even a divorce. President Bush wants to bring home a trophy and improve his legacy–calling all available CIA agents on the Afghan border to find and hunt down Osama Bin Laden. Any modicum of reality would tell him that the old fox would hide in areas where his chances of getting caught are minimal. It is not the Wild Wild West. This is West Asia. The capture and death of one man will not make any difference to the complex situation in Afghanistan.
There are three wars going on in Afghanistan. One is the anti-occupation forces fighting ISAF and NATO. Pakistan considers this America’s battle and provides support when asked to to prevent the supply of fighters. This war is being carried on by the Taliban, Hiz e Islami and 36 other anti-occupation groups against NATO-ISAF and the US forces which are considered occupation forces.
I have deliberately avoided mentioning the Taliban, because the label is a narrow and unreal characterisation of the ethos that has shaped the insurgency in the Pashtun-dominated regions of Afghanistan. ‘Taliban’ is a convenient term, and makes the adversary identifiable, portraying him as anti-everything that stands for civilised and humane notions of social organisation. The portrayal is not entirely untrue in view of the conduct of the Taliban in the border regions of Pakistan or in Afghanistan during their regime. The Daily Times: Winning a losing game —Rasul Bakhsh Rais
The other war is the Indian sponsored war against Pakistan which is headed by RAW and the Indian Consulates from Afghanistan. Karzai is also part of this terror network against Pakistan. The US either has a blind eye on this or is fully complicit in supporting Bait Mehsud and the Tehrik e Taliban e Pakistan (TTP). In either case, the US has refused to attack the stronghold of Bait Mehsud. Inida is supporting the TTP and the BLA to put pressure on Pakistan to abandon the support for the Kashmiris.
The third war is the remnants of the so so called Al-Qaeda who are fighting in Afghanistan. There is symbiosis with the 38 insurgent groups and these militants have some common goals with the anti-occupation forces.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, America’s top military official, made a hastily arranged visit to Pakistan on Tuesday for talks about recent incursions by American commandos based in neighboring Afghanistan.
The visit by the chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, came as an uproar continued to grow in Pakistan about the incursions, which have severely strained relations between the United States and Pakistan, its top Muslim ally in the war against terrorism. Admiral Mullen’s visit coincided with conflicting accounts about a possible second American raid, as well as a warning by the Pakistan military that it would shoot at any foreign forces who crossed the border. New York Times
Pakistan has upped the ante. The US thought that Pakistan would stand down and allow the US full access so that it could cross the Pakistani border with impunity and fire at will at Pakistani targets. Pakistan has resisted this effort
ISLAMABAD — On the eve of a meeting with the top U.S. military commander, Pakistan upped the ante in its standoff over U.S. troop incursions, saying its soldiers had orders to open fire on American troops if they crossed from Afghanistan on raids.
A Pakistani military spokesman said Tuesday that the nation’s troops have been ordered to open fire if U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan launched another raid inside Pakistan, raising the prospect of a clash between Pakistani and U.S. forces on the border. Pakistani military officials have repeatedly emphasized that they consider such incursions — made permissible for U.S. troops by secret orders issued by U.S. President George W. Bush in July — to be a violation of territorial sovereignty.
“No incursion will be tolerated anymore,” said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, chief military spokesman. The prospect of allies fighting each other as they hunt down Islamist militants still appears remote, given the Pakistani government’s desire to receive billions of dollars in aid from the U.S. But the repeated warnings against U.S. troop raids reflect the strong anger felt among Pakistan’s senior ranks that the U.S. is overstepping its bounds with a close ally
Which terrorists to get first, the Indian sponsored bait Mehsud or the anti-occupation insurgents who are fighting NATO-ISAF.
Pakistan’s military resent these latest attacks because it believes a higher priority is to fight supporters of Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal commander in South Waziristan, whose supporters present a bigger threat to Pakistan. Pakistani aircraft continued Tuesday to bomb militant strongholds in the area of Bajur, killing nine militants. The government claims hundreds of militants have been killed in the Bajur campaign, which was launched in August.
A Pakistani military spokesman said the militants have constructed underground bunkers and, along with foreign fighters, are putting up stiff resistance.
Pakistan in border warning to US: Pakistan has thousands of troops in the border region
Pakistan’s army spokesman has made clear that its forces have been ordered to open fire if US troops launch another raid across the Afghan border.
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told The Associated Press that “no incursion is to be tolerated”.
His remarks come a day after Pakistani troops were reported to have fired shots into the air to stop US troops crossing into South Waziristan.
Tension is rising in Pakistan over an increase in US attacks on the border.
On Monday, there were reports of nine US helicopters landing on the Afghan side of the border and US troops attempting to cross into South Waziristan.
The tribal region is one of the main areas from which Islamist militants launch attacks into Afghanistan.
Locals said seven US helicopter gunships and two troop-carrying Chinook helicopters landed in the Afghan province of Paktika near the Zohba mountain range.
US troops from the Chinooks then tried to cross the border. As they did so, Pakistani paramilitary soldiers at a checkpoint opened fire into the air and the US troops decided not to continue forward, local Pakistani officials say.
Pakistan’s military confirmed firing but denied that Pakistani troops were involved.
Diplomatic fury
It emerged last week that US President George W Bush has in recent months authorised military raids against militants inside Pakistan without prior approval from Islamabad.
The BBC’s Barbara Plett in Islamabad says there is a growing American conviction that Pakistan is either unwilling or unable to eliminate militant sanctuaries in its border area.
There have been a number of missile attacks aimed at militants in Pakistan territory in recent weeks.
Pakistan reacted with diplomatic fury when US helicopters landed troops in South Waziristan on 3 September. It was the first ground assault by US troops in Pakistan.
Locals in the Musa Nikeh area said American soldiers attacked a target with gunfire and bombs, and said women and children were among some 20 civilians who died in the attack.
On Monday, the tribesmen say they grabbed their guns and took up defensive positions after placing their women and children out of harm’s way.
Pakistan’s army has warned that the aggressive US policy will widen the insurgency by uniting the tribesmen with the Taleban.
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