The Taliban is firmly rooted in the hostile border country between Pakistan and Afghanistan. While Al Qaeda is their ally, they are seen as outsiders and have been on the outs lately since fighting has broken out between them.
IPS News
A sizeable section of the Pakistan establishment regards Afghanistan as Pakistan's backyard, which can offer it "strategic depth" against India. "It regards the Taliban as ‘quasi-allies'," Pervez Hoodbhoy, a peace activist and political analyst based at Islamabad's Qaid-e-Azam University told IPS. The Taliban are expected to offer Pakistan a base in Afghanistan when the NATO forces, led by the U.S., eventually leave.
"This section of the establishment wields considerable influence in the army's middle-level ranks and the secret services; Musharraf has to pay heed to it," says Qamar Agha, a Central and West Asia expert at the Jamia Millia Islamia university in Delhi. "Besides being pro-Taliban, it is also hostile to any Indian influence in Afghanistan. Musharraf, weakened by the domestic crisis, would want to deepen relations with the Taliban." "This would also suit his agenda of creating a mutually beneficial relationship with domestic Islamicist elements, whose support he needs to get re-elected as President by October, the deadline set by the Supreme Court,'' added Agha.
Musharraf is believed to have recently extracted from the Taliban a promise to allow the free flow of energy from Central Asia and Iran overland to Pakistan. Musharraf now acts against the Taliban only when forced to by the U.S. An instance is the visit earlier this month by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, during which he threatened to cut off aid to Pakistan. Shortly before Cheney landed, Pakistan announced the capture of Mullah Obaidullah, a senior Taliban leader and deputy of chief Mullah Omar. The U.S. had to welcome this.
Musharraf has also been trying to neutralise U.S. pressure by turning to China. Following Cheney's visit, he despatched his Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, to Beijing to emphasise and deepen the two countries' close, "all-weather" friendship.
During Kasuri's visit, Pakistan offered China a lucrative overland energy route from Gwadar port in Baluchistan, which would cut transit distance for oil and gas by almost one-half. China is investing heavily in developing Gwadar.
China and Pakistan have close military relations and are jointly developing a new-generation jet fighter. China is believed to have clandestinely transferred missile technology to Pakistan in the past.
Thus, the U.S.'s ability to push Musharraf is limited. A few weeks ago, Washington delivered threats and hinted that it would look beyond Musharraf. Analysts in Washington reassured themselves that the alternative to Musharraf might not be an Islamist takeover of Pakistan.
washingtonpost.com
An intense clash between local tribesmen and foreign al-Qaeda fighters that has left approximately 130 people dead this week suggests that resentment toward the outsiders is growing, according to Pakistani officials.
The battle, in the semi-autonomous region of South Waziristan, has involved thousands of fighters. Local Pashtun tribe members -- including many Taliban supporters -- have squared off against Uzbek, Chechen and Arab militants, who since 2001 have massed near the border to plan attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials say. Most of those killed have been foreigners. About 10 civilian bystanders have also been killed, and many more have fled.
[...]Retired Lt. Gen. Talat Masood, a military analyst, urged caution, however. He said the fighting could lead to new problems. "This is movement in the right direction," he said. "But I hope it doesn't lead to a situation where the militants establish their own control and don't listen to what the government has to say." Masood said the tribal leaders, who already possess considerable autonomy, are not fighting because they support the government. Instead, he said, they are battling the foreigners to show their own people they are still capable of providing security.
Tension between the tribal members and the foreign fighters has been simmering for months. Tribesmen had accused the foreigners of violating local customs, and the foreigners had begun to charge locals with spying for the Pakistani and U.S. governments, according to a local official. Uzbek militants had already beheaded a number of local people, according to Maulana Mairajuddin, a member of a far-right religious party who represents South Waziristan in parliament. Speaking by satellite telephone from Wana, a town where much of the fighting has taken place, Mairajuddin said the fighting this week started with the abduction of four local women by the Uzbeks. He said he wished that locals and the foreigners would stop fighting each other and return to battling U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan. "This is the worst news for those who hate the occupation of foreign forces in neighboring Afghanistan," Mairajuddin said.
No comments:
Post a Comment