US cannot control Mexico border, how can Pakistan control their border!

"If the U.S. cannot stop infiltration from Mexico, how do you expect us to control our border with Afghanistan that's mostly desolate and mountainous?"

Pakistan fed up with U.S. and allies on Afghanistan fed up with U.S. and allies on Afghanistan
Pakistan tired of hearing it's not doing enough on Taliban and Al Qaeda, says Haroon Siddiqui
Haroon Siddiqui / February 25, 2007 / TheTorontoStar


PESHAWAR–Those who invaded Iraq claiming it had weapons of mass destruction and have been blaming Iran and Syria for the murderous mess in Iraq, are also the same people now blaming Pakistan for the mess in Afghanistan.

They say Pakistan is aiding and abetting the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Maybe it is. But U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have offered little or no proof.

The American media are running a parallel campaign, hurling a more serious allegation, that the Pakistan army is extending logistical help to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Most such stories are based on unnamed sources.

The New York Times, which in the pre-Iraq war days carried phony WMD stories, is back practising the same sort of discredited journalism.

In a Washington-datelined story last week on ostensible Al Qaeda camps in North Waziristan, I counted 20 attributions to unnamed "American officials," "intelligence officials and terrorism experts," "American analysts," "counterterrorism officials," etc.

The assertions of Pakistani involvement have been repeated so often they have become part of the received wisdom of many Canadian politicians, editorial writers and pundits as well. I do not know and have not been able to ascertain whether Pakistan is guilty or not. But, given the track record of those making the allegations, we should be skeptical.

In the circumstances, it is useful to know what the Pakistanis, from President Pervez Musharraf down, have been saying.


+ Pakistan cannot possibly fully control the 2,400-kilometre border, most of it uninhabited terrain.



"If the U.S. cannot stop infiltration from Mexico, how do you expect us to control our border with Afghanistan that's mostly desolate and mountainous?" pleaded Tariq Azim, minister of information, in an interview in Islamabad, the capital.


+ Pakistan has done more in battling terrorism in the neighbourhood than any other nation. It has deployed 80,000 troops along the Afghan border, double the entire American and NATO contingent in Afghanistan, and has lost more than 700 soldiers, more than double the casualty count of all the allies.




+ It has helped arrest dozens of Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives, in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.



Musharraf: "Tell me how many Taliban leaders have been caught in Afghanistan. Name me one."


+ The Taliban do have sympathizers among their 15-million fellow-Pushtuns in Pakistan and among the 2.6 million Afghan Pushtun refugees living in Pakistan. But the main problem lies in Afghanistan, because of widespread corruption, opium production and the incompetence of the American and NATO forces, which have failed to bring security and economic development to the population.



"We don't deny that Taliban come and go but that's not the entire truth," Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, spokesperson for Musharraf, told me. "If 25 per cent of the problem lies on our side, 75 per cent lies on that side."


+ Pakistan admits that a few dozen, or perhaps hundreds of Al Qaeda members are hiding in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).



Pakistan waged war on them and the Taliban over the last five years, but ended up alienating the local population. That's why it signed deals with the local tribes in North and South Waziristan, under which the army was withdrawn in return for the elders keeping the foreigners at bay.

"We did the same thing in Waziristan that the Brits did in Afghanistan," said Azim, referring to the arrangement the British made in Musa Qala in Helmand province. Both deals were opposed by the Americans, who insist on a military approach.

The deals did work, until recently, in that attacks on troops stopped.

But in both cases, some elements of the Taliban/Al Qaeda are now overriding the local elders and regrouping.

Lt. Gen. Ali Jan Mohammed Orakzai, governor of NWFP, architect of the deal, says: "It was imperative to switch tactics to a political approach after 700 soldiers had died, traditional tribal structures had collapsed and anti-government sentiments had soared, helping Islamic extremists."

In other words, Pakistan decided to cut its losses.

Sultan concedes that cross-border incursions have increased, but "we are not sure whether that's the result of the agreement or just a natural Taliban spike" in preparation for the expected spring offensive.

If the U.S. has new intelligence about Al Qaeda camps, it should supply Pakistan with the satellite pictures and other co-ordinates. "We have asked for proof and we never get it."


+ Pakistan is not knowingly hiding Taliban leader Mullah Omar, as alleged by Karzai. "Give me the address," snapped Musharraf. "I will go catch him myself."




+ Pakistan is tired of hearing that it is not doing enough, says Azim. "But nobody tells us what is enough. Nobody defines what will be enough." I asked him if Pakistan is getting fed up with the U.S. and other allies."Up to here," he said, lifting his hand to his throat.