Chicago Summit, Afghanistan exit strategy and Pakistan army

Amidst well-coordinated bold terrorist attacks, a growing indication of strong logistical and planning support from places beyond Afghanistan’s boundaries, and early morning Presidential press conferences, both sides in Afghanistan are claiming a victory. What is certain is that international force will start withdrawing from Afghanistan sooner than later. It therefore, should not be surprising if Pakistan’s army is busy in damage control with regard to its relationships with Taliban.  Traditionally Pakistan and Iran have been on the same page when it came to suppressing Baloch nation, whose land is divided between the two countries, but in Afghanistan they have had their differences on the choice of partners. But during the recent attacks on NATO supply line by the so called non state actors or ISI’s implementing partners and subsequent block on NATO supplies by Pakistan’s Army, the Iranian President rushed to Pakistan and following two issues were at the forefront of the agenda,

·         Coordinated military action against Baloch nationalist and Jundullah on Pakistan and Iranian occupied part of Baloch homeland respectively, to facilitate development of gas pipeline between two countries.  

·         Pushing their respective militant groups in Afghanistan and agreeing on a power sharing mechanism after withdrawal of international forces.

As was expected Pakistan’s military has decided to reopen NATO supply line but not without additional conditions. The GHQ in Pakistan is one of the best pundits of American foreign policy and internal politics simply because it’s the American tax payers money that for generations supported the lavish life style of Pakistan’s army generals from Ayub Khan to General Kiyani, off course the ISI chiefs including the mastermind behind Haqqni network, Hameed Gul, have also been amongst top beneficiaries. Therefore Pakistan army was not expected to let go of such an important source of funding and the fact of the matter is that Pakistan’s army prefers to play the middle man. Their longstanding relationship with pentagon and west has convinced them that they can, and always have, played on both sides.

Another important issue that made Pakistan’s generals (parliaments committees are a joke) to reopen the supply line was growing international and especially US concern on human rights violations in Balochistan. Again Pakistan’s army generals realize that their brutalities against Baloch civilians during President Musharraf’s era were completely brushed under the carpet by west because of their halfhearted and dual role in war against religious militants in the region hence they have decided to travel the same path so that the genocide of Baloch nation could go on without any reaction from western democracies. Besides Pakistan’s regular army and FC the ISI sponsored group “Defense of Pakistan” has also announced Jihad against Baloch civilians and political activists. One of the major organizations in Defense of Pakistan is Jammat u Dawa that has already decided a comprehensive multifactorial “Balochistan plan” which comprises of attacking Baloch nationalists, student activists, journalists and freedom fighters on one end and establishing free medical treatment camps on the other. It must be noted that Pakistan’s military and its allied religious militant groups do not allow local and international neutral NGOs to operate in Balochistan but Jammat u Dawa, despite its militant wing and announcement of war against Baloch, has been granted access by Pakistan’s secret agencies. 

 Meanwhile, Baloch are being hunted by Pakistan’s military and paramilitary forces in their own homeland as well as Baloch diaspora overseas is threatened, intimidated and constantly ridiculed by Pakistan’s consulates throughout the west. Likewise pro-Pakistan groups in the west are busy stepping up their hate campaign against small number of Baloch diaspora in the west. Baloch under Pakistan’s occupation are worried about their well-being and are economically crippled. It’s becoming exceptionally hard for Baloch nation to feed their children. Internationally Baloch diaspora are the least funded and supported group of all stateless people in the world. Among stateless people in the western cities such as Kurds, Tamils, Palestinians, Kashmiris, Baloch diaspora has the lowest per capita income. It is ironic that Pakistan continues its forcible occupation of Baloch homeland and genocide of Baloch nation and yet it claims billions of dollars from international community to give them access to routes that travel entirely through Baloch homeland to southern Afghanistan. In Pakistan thousands of Baloch civilians have been targeted by military operations and at least 300 students, activists, and nationalist leaders have been killed in custody by Pakistan’s secret agencies. Internationally Baloch do not have a single office in the entire North America a region that spends billions of dollars of Pakistan’s army that is the brutal killer of Baloch civilians.

Nuclear armed Pakistan army is far more dangerous than any other militant organization in the world especially when many of its high level officers have been arrested in the past few years trying to mastermind a religious coup within military. Empowerment of Baloch nation is essential to resist Pakistan’s sinister designs for the region and to establish a neutral, liberal and stable state along the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Western leaders and Governments have not supported this idea thus far, but it must be kept in mind that with the fall of liberal, peace loving Baloch nation in the region Afghanistan will regrow into a ghost that it once was and will haunt world peace for centuries.