Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak

0 Frontline Pakistan
from him that he was going to abandon support for the conservative
regime, which he believed was in Pakistan’s interest. Musharraf was
visibly unhappy with the UN sanctions slapped on the Taliban regime.
‘We are putting them against the wall,’ he said, ‘They have banned
poppy cultivation. The world should understand that, since we have
imposed sanctions as well, that means we are telling them to commit
suicide.’ On the bin Laden issue, the President suggested a middle way
could be found on the issue of his extradition. ‘He can be sent to any
third country.’ But he was not sure how it could be done.
In the event, the change came astonishingly fast in the aftermath
of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The quick about-turn surprised even the
American authorities. Concern for the state of Pakistan’s democracy
melted away and the military government was hailed by the West as
‘an exemplary country in the fight against terrorism’.
Events in Washington and Islamabad during the week following
11 September provide an interesting insight into the decision-making
process in Pakistan on crucial national security and foreign policy
issues. Like the policy to support the Taliban regime, the decision
on the about-turn was also taken by just a few people. There were
no consultations at any level when President Musharraf decided
to abandon support for the Taliban and gave the American forces
complete access to Pakistani territory and airspace. It was all done
in the best national interest, Musharraf later declared. The military
leader had offered the same argument when Pakistan got into a messy
situation by supporting the Taliban.
There was no discussion with the political parties on the paradigm
shift in the country’s strategic policy. President Musharraf took his
handpicked cabinet into his confidence almost three days after he had
already consented to the US demands. On 14 September, he met with
his cabinet and the National Security Council in a marathon session
lasting until the early hours of the morning in which he explained why
he had decided to support the US. His line was that Pakistan itself was
a victim of terrorism and the Taliban government was providing refuge
to the religious extremists involved in sectarian killings in Pakistan.
‘We had given a long list of the terrorists who we wanted to be handed
over to us. At least they should have turned over the terrorists to us.’ He
told the ministers that the decision to cooperate with the United States
was necessary to safeguard Pakistan’s nuclear assets and its Kashmir
policy. He gave them the details of military and logistic support he
had agreed to provide to the US forces in the planned military action