ISLAMABAD: Having Pakistan’s military leadership resistant to follow American dictate in deviation from ‘best national interest,’ US Navy Admiral Mike Mullen exerted “imperial powers,” during his meetings here the other day.
Well-placed defense sources told Online on Thursday that “it was for the first time Admiral Mullen, too, had toed the Obama Administration’s line focusing North Waziristan. “And we are not in a position to react to these allegations in an unequivocal manner. But the reaction from our side would be seen more than said, since we have not taken his statement as positively” the sources rushed to add.
“No matter the American might or dictate, Pakistan army has to move further in the best national interest. And any instruction in the garb of assistance, be it technical or monetary, would be resisted that would lead us away from our own strategic national interests,” the sources told this scribe when asked about Pakistan army’s reaction to Mullen’s statement on Wednesday alleging ISI connections with so-called Haqqani network in North Waziristan.
While the Pakistani military leadership finds Mullen, who it always considered as appreciative of its professional performance, jumping on Pakistan-bashing American bandwagon, defense analysts have termed his latest statement as “playing politics in Pakistan.”
“Now the American military has started playing politics in Pakistan,” said Dr Shireen M Mazari, Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Technology Resource (STR). “This is totally unacceptable that an American military leader holds political briefings with local media and makes unacceptable allegations,” she maintained.
She was of the view that the Americans should understand now that time for Pakistan doing bidding blindly on their dictates was over.
Likewise former ISI chief Lt General (Retired) Hamid Gul described the latest assertions from the US, were “mere efforts to justify the failure in Afghanistan and to make Pakistan a scapegoat.”
Talking to Online, Gul said, “It is the professional right of the intelligence agencies to stay in contact with the opposition. Opposition in any conflict is the government of the future,” he said with reference to the Mullen’s allegations that there were elements in ISI having connections with the Taliban. “Therefore we are having connections and contacts with them (Taliban), but we never supported them as he (Mullen) has alleged,” he added, perhaps, on behalf of his former organization.
Like Dr Mazari, former ISI chief was also of the view that “time for American presence and sway in Afghanistan was over and it was Afghan’s (Taliban and non-Talibans) term ahead to govern their country.” He said it was the imperial powers’ typical style to cover up their failures by blaming the weaker partner and look for scapegoats.
According to the former spymaster, the US was now dictating Pakistan to accept the supremacy of India and withdraw forces from Eastern border to deploy more on the Western borders. “How could we withdraw troops from the Indian border, especially, when India is threatening us constantly with so-called doctrines of cold start and limited war,” he maintained in a tone of questioning. Online
