The American led War on Terror in Afghanistan is turning out to be not so much about the Taliban or the Al Qaeda but about regional strategic equations involving India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The two major powers—Washington and Beijing—are keenly interested on the outcome of this dynamics. There is now sufficient indication that although the US is very much interested in helping Islamabad with whatever aid and other support system, the latter is all along playing a double game of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. It makes absolute sense to partner the western alliance in the war against terror but covertly ensure that its real ‘threat’ India does not gain anything substantial. As rightly pointed out by experts, this Pakistani obsession with India is what drives this double game. Some leading US analysts find nothing shocking or surprising about “revelations’ of Pakistani spy agency ISI’s links with Taliban given Islamabad's India obsession. In fact most experts are calling for a re-look of US policy towards Pakistan after the leak of tens of thousands of documents about the war in Afghanistan. One expert even goes to the extent of saying the US itself has created a situation for Pakistan to play the double game as it does not want to see the emergence of India as the sole regional power if Pakistan collapses. This is something for the US to seriously ponder upon. Remember only last month during a visit of US Secretary of State to Pakistan, Washington poured in more aid and assistance to placate its so called ally. What has it got in return? A half hearted commitment from the Pakistan establishment.
The problem also stems from the fact that the current civilian leadership in Pakistan is not strong enough to take any initiative against extremist elements including the ISI. The military and security establishment in Pakistan continue to wield real power. And this is at the heart of the problem—the failure to establish complete control over the war efforts. And as the WikiLeaks have shown there is ample evidence of covert ISI ties to the Taliban. The tragedy for the American war effort is that they know about this but cannot do anything about it. That is why the only way to make Islamabad act is for US policy to be reworked in the direction that the war on terror should be pursued i.e. to focus on the goals. There is no point in prolonging the war. But to achieve results and make the exit, the current military and political efforts will require a turnaround. For instance it is acknowledged that ever since it’s coming into existence as a nation state Pakistan has supported extremist groups against both Afghanistan and India. And as mentioned, with the inherent control of the civilian authority and public discourse by the military/ISI establishment this practice persists. Therefore the question is what Washington will be able to do about this inherent problem. It is not surprising to learn (through a recent poll) that though terror groups continue to strike in their country, a majority of Pakistanis still consider India as a major threat, view America as an enemy and are far less concerned about Taliban and al-Qaeda. The US should not take for granted its presence in the region. It can take a leaf out of what British Prime Minister rightly said during his recent visit to India i.e. for London to work with Pakistan in clamping down against terror groups and outfits being shielded, patronized by the regime in Pakistan. Washington must also follow suit.
