Pakistan's Role in the War Against the Taliban

Of late, Pakistan's role in fighting the Taliban has come into question from some quarters in the West, especially the United States and other NATO countries.  Questions have been raised about the Pakistani intelligence agency (the ISI) and its contribution (or lack thereof) towards fighting the Taliban.  Questions have also been raised as to the long-term thinking of the Pakistanis vis-a-vis a stable Afghanistan.  The West has termed Pakistan an "ally" in its fight against the Taliban and terrorism.  That being the case, one needs to critically analyze what the "ally" has done and what the "ally" seeks to achieve as its long-term objective in Afghanistan.  This is vitally important so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated again.  Mistakes that have proved far too costly to be ignored.  This article would seek to examine all of the above and what the West's strategy should be in dealing with Pakistan and forcing its hand (subtly if possible, forcefully if required) to do more.

The Pakistanis have inherently been sympathetic to the Taliban and have been reluctant to fight them all along. Hardly surprising that, since the Taliban were a creation of the Pakistani intelligence agency (the ISI). Its quite well known that a lot of retired Pakistani and other military personnel were captured during the fight to drive the Taliban out - post 9/11.  They were obviously in cahoots with the Taliban and were providing the Taliban logistical and military advice, along with all of the military hardware necessary in fighting the Northern Alliance.  The Pakistani military had in fact actively encouraged its military officers to train the Taliban and provide them assistance and arms.  The goal of the Pakistani Army was to expand its sphere of influence, to include Afghanistan, but also beyond its borders.  Afghanistan was looked upon as territory that could give the Pakistanis strategic depth vis-a-vis its enemy India.  Indeed, the Pakistanis found an Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban quite convenient in its fight with India over Kashmir.  Terrorist camps funded by the ISI and supported by Al-Qaeda sprang up all over Afghanistan and men trained there started finding their way to Indian-Administered Kashmir.  The Pakistanis would love to have that situation return and its no secret that they'd love to see the NATO/American troops withdraw, so that they can continue their Taliban experiment.

The United States and the West took its eyes off Afghanistan post the Soviet withdrawal.  Once the Soviet Union was forced to head back from Afghanistan, they thought the problem was over.  However, what was forgotten was that the millions and billions of dollars and weapons given to Pakistan remained unaccounted for and no effort was made to trace or keep track of it.  Indeed, the only goal was to drive the Soviets out.  A familiar pattern seems to be emerging now.  We have billions of dollars being provided to Pakistan in the form of "assistance" to fight the War on Terror and to compensate Pakistan.  However, there is no mechanism to ensure that such "assistance" is proportionate or warranted or getting the desired results.  We have helicopter gunships and F16s being provided to Pakistan to fight the Taliban, which probably would end up being used by Pakistan in a war with India (its traditional enemy).  One wonders about the logic behind the sale of F16s to Pakistan.  Are we arming them to fight India - rather than the Taliban.  Its highly unlikely that they would use F16s to bomb their own territory.  One hopes that past mistakes are noted and are not repeated.  Funds provided to Pakistan needs to be conditional on performance of the Pakistanis in cracking down on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan.

The goals of the Pakistanis are at odds with the goals of the West and the US.  They seek to engineer instability in Afghanistan and would do everything in their power to see that the Afghans don't become self-sufficient and independent.  An independent Afghanistan is not thought to be in the best interest of the Pakistani State.  Although we term them as an "ally," they are in fact not allies.  They don't have any shared sense of goals and objectives with the West.  Indeed, a section of their military and intelligence personnel have become radical islamists and are not trusted by the West.

Whatever America and NATO choose to do, they'd be best served to remember the enormous consequences of taking the eye of the ball - post the Soviet withdrawal.  That costly mistake enabled the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies to create and develop the Taliban and cause havoc, not only in Afghanistan but ultimately in the United States itself.  The stability of Afghanistan is vital, and ensuring peace in Afghanistan should be a far greater priority than in Iraq.  America can't afford ignoring the Pakistanis and their infamous intelligence agency.  The Pakistanis need to know constantly that they are being watched and evaluated.