Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak
Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak
Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak
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<strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>’s Unholy Alliance<br />
In April 1993, worried by the possibility of <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong> ending up on<br />
the terrorist list, Sharif sent his foreign secretary, Akram Zaki, to assure<br />
Washington that he would not support militancy. 27 But the USA insisted<br />
on stronger action to curb groups engaging in ‘terrorism’. <strong>The</strong> ISI’s<br />
direct support for the militant groups was curtailed, but help to the<br />
Kashmiri insurgents continued through ‘private channels’, comprising<br />
<strong>Islam</strong>ic parties like the Jamaat-i-<strong>Islam</strong>i. Although the measure fell short<br />
of the US demand, they prevented <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>’s inclusion on the list of<br />
terrorist states.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ISI’s involvement was not limited to India, however. Under<br />
General Nasir’s instructions, the ISI violated the UN embargo on<br />
supplying arms to the warring parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina and<br />
airlifted heavy weapons and missiles for the Bosnian Muslims. In 1993,<br />
several Arab countries, including Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, had<br />
complained about General Nasir extending support to radical <strong>Islam</strong>ic<br />
movements in their countries. 28<br />
<strong>The</strong> maverick General Nasir was sacked from the ISI and prematurely<br />
retired from the army in May 1993, following the dismissal of Prime<br />
Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government. <strong>The</strong> army-backed caretaker<br />
administration, led by former World Bank executive Moeen Qureshi,<br />
moved to clean up the ISI and alleviate US pressure on <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>.<br />
Scores of officers, who had become closely linked with radical Afghan<br />
mujahidin groups during the anti-Soviet struggle, were systematically<br />
weeded out. Some eleven hundred operatives were either retired or<br />
sent back to their units in the army. <strong>The</strong> purge was largely the result<br />
of a change in <strong>Islam</strong>abad’s policy of no longer aligning itself with<br />
any of the groups involved in the fratricidal war in Afghanistan that<br />
followed the fall of the communist regime of Najibullah in May 1992.<br />
<strong>The</strong> measure was also aimed at satisfying Washington. <strong>The</strong> purge may<br />
have helped restore some discipline in the ISI, but did not change<br />
its basic orientation. <strong>The</strong> agency had become deeply involved in the<br />
Kashmiri separatist struggle, and the military was reluctant to pull back<br />
support for the militants it believed were fighting <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>’s war. Many<br />
in the military establishment contended that by engaging around half a<br />
million Indian troops in Kashmir, the ‘Kashmiri freedom fighters’ had<br />
ensured <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>’s security.<br />
<strong>The</strong> game of musical chairs continued as it was now Benazir<br />
Bhutto’s turn to form the government again. She returned as Prime<br />
Minister for the second time in November 1993, just three years after<br />
her unceremonious exit. This time around she was much better placed.