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Pakistan rejected on Tuesday a US proposal for joint operations in the tribal areas against terrorism and militancy as differences of opinion between the two countries over various aspects of the war on terror emerged. The proposal for joint operations in the tribal areas had been floated by US presidential envoy for the region Richard Holbrooke and Joint Chief of Staffs Admiral Mike Mullen during a series of meetings with the civilian and military Pakistani leadership.
During meetings on Tuesday, US officials were told that continuing drone attacks inside Pakistan’s territory were counter-productive and Pakistan requested that drone technology be shifted to the Pakistan Army. US officials were also told that it would be difficult to bridge the trust deficit if statements maligning the ISI kept coming from the US and if US officials kept ignoring the contributions of the Pakistan Army and ISI in the war on terror.
Do you think the Pakistani decision to refuse to conduct joint operations in FATA is correct? Should Pakistan’s cooperation with the US in the war on terror be made conditional on the cessation of drone attacks? How best can the US proceed without the support of the Pak Army and ISI?
I still think people are divided on taliban and USA. Recent events have only shamed and tainted pakistan on the world front. More over the so called taliban who once thought all pakistanis were brothers are now targeting their own people in the name of islam which is disturbing.
I think no one has ever gained from the support of USA. Sometimes I think pakistan should have joined hands with the Soviet Union who do not put their nose in other country matters after the USSR was broken down to just Russia. Wherever USA has gone, it has been followed by sadness and total disintegration of that place. Divide and rule was once practised by the British … now its been practised by the USA … History is repeating again … The difference is now its pakistanis against pakistanis.
Sometimes i think it was a big mistake to break Pakistan away from India. maybe People knew that one day if India and Pakistan joined forces then it would have put everyone behind as a superpower. But unfortunately we are divided. And now if pakistan is further divided then one day there will be no pakistan … but maybe different countries like the Islamic state of Sindh , Republic of Punjab and State of Sharia Taliban.
Pakistan needs U.S. assistance in SWAT Valley and other areas controlled by the Taliban. It is beyond the Pakistani army to control the situation now.
Joint operations by U.S. and Pakistani forces would be a better solution than drone attacks, which harbors hateful sentiments by FATA tribal towards Islamabad and others.
There should not be two opinions about the Talibans being crushed as early as possible. As these people don’t believe in dialogue and just want to impose their will on the whole nation. It is a great misunderstanding that Talibans are killing innocent people just because of American presence in Afghanistan & Pakistan’s support to US forces. In fact they want to impose their brand of Islam in Pakistan, which is based on cruelty & hate. The US exit from Afghanistan will not stop Tablibans subversive activities.
It could be a point of discussion that how they should be elimanated. I believe US and Pakistan’s joint operation will not be fruitfull in the long term. US should support, help and encourage Pakistan to tackle this problem. The US policy to dominate & dictate will not help in this case.
I personally believe Pakistan should not allow America to enter Pakistan. Pakistan’s government should take the responsibility and build the confidence of the local people. America will not stay here we will stay here. This is our problem to solve. We should talk to our people and put confidence in them ask them to develop themselves. America should take care of her own states. It’s not her jurisdiction to interfere. May God help Pakistan and May Pakistan live forever.
Yes, get rid of the Barbarians (Taliban). But it seems that Pakistan alone cannot do it. US help under Pakistani control is necessary. Taliban are the greatest enemy of Pakistan.
US is offering plenty of civilian help for education and other civil uplift work in Pakistan. But most of it will go into corruption. When Zardari and company hears ‘no blank check’ they become disinterested. I believe that this is the reason why Pakistani government is taking a tough stand against US – they want US to soften its control on money. They want a ‘blank check’.
If 10 people are killed in a drone attack, at least 5 to 6 of them are always notorious militants.
The drones would stop coming if we cut the hollow patriotic bull, pull up our socks and go after the militants who so conveniently are able to “hide” from the local forces but get exposed by the drones.
The drone attacks are in our interest. And we should be more concerned about our interests than the cheap stakes held by our right-wing media.
I believe the fundamental aim is to destroy all terrorists training centres / militia hideout’s so that these camps are not used against America in Afghanistan, Pakistan in Pakistan and Kashmir in India. Being the epicentre of terrorism, this is a vital step towards global security.
Look at Americans, they wanted to destroy Soviet Union and they did; they wanted to control oil from Iraq & gulf states, they did; they wanted to keep China progress in check, they did by supplying India access to nuclear materials; now they want to dismantle terror hubs and training camps in Pakistan, and believe me they will do it.
The next step will be to destroy training camps in Pakistan administered Kashmir.
American’s could say that Osama has fled to Pakistan administered Kashmir, so they have reasons to attack that part as well. This is a systematic operation to dismantle Pakistan, which is utmost important for their security.
Pakistan’s foreign policy has been the policy of the Americans for the past 8 years and if the government fails to stand up and confront anti-Pakistan elements it would put the people of Pakistan in a pit of demoralization. However, Pakistan fights its own war now and it SHOULD not allow any Nato troops to enterPakistan or violate its airspace. Tribal empowerment through education, economic development is the answer and the solution to route out the taliban. Pakistan Paindabad!
Of course! The last Pakistan completely trusted US, in 80’s, we paid heavily for it and are still paying. So we would be really retarted to go by US agenda again and not what suits us best in the long run. We do not want a civil war just to please americans!
@ Asad
“I think there are very few people who are against the drone attacks actually.
These guys must remember that Pakistan is our identity. If Pakistan does not exist (which is a probability) then there will be no place for them either.”
First of all these very few people account for 90% of Pakistanis. Your suggested solutions are more likely to threaten Pakistan’s existence.
@ Sudhakar
“Can Pakistan handle the situation using their own forces? If not, join US.”
The real question is can Pakistan handle the situation after the joint strikes???
I fully agree with Mr. Qureshi, who has given a clear message to united states, in fact this message should have given much more ealier, for whom and for what pakistani govt. was waiting? Is Zardari under some pressure? Why don’t they stand like Ahmed Nijadi of Iran and Hugo Chavis or Cuba?
Rejecting US is a sane decision, I don’t know. Does it really matter?
May be it is just too late to say NO now? We have been taking some so called ‘strategic’ decisions, and sooner or later we have to pay back for them.
Will US accept our REJECTION open heartedly? Can we defend the pressure of US with our ‘thin line’ of patriotism? How many of our youth is willing to take the challenge? and fight for Pakistan? Do we even care? I guess no.
…. Yeah right.
We should also become the 53rd state of United States of America.
The question is whether Pakistan wants Taliban rule or a democracy. If it is the former then the answer is NO but if it is the latter then it poses a further question, is the Pakistan military able or willing to crush the Taliban?
If the answer to either one is a no then the Pak government has no choice but to seek outside help. The territory of Pakistan has already been invaded both by the Taliban as well as the US, so the question of territorial integrity is no longer valid but the larger question of survival of the Pakistan nation certainly is.
Referring to Iqbals opinion, i would ask would israel, india or united states allow such actions in their countries? If the answer is yes, then such actions are allowed universally everwhere. The world would be a disaster zone according to this approach of international dispute resolution. The soultion should come from within pakistan. Our ‘independent and soveriegn’ parliament should take issues in their own hands and show how potent and capable they are to handle the situation. They should come equal to their claim, which i very much doubt. The solution and solution makers are in the assembly, they need to take up the courage and show their resolve and ability.
People have to realise, that Pakistan has the threat of its own existence since its independence. Neither India nor USA, but Islamic Taliban is its greatest enemy.
We have to start thinking in a positive and progressive way. Do we want our mother, sisters or daughters to live in a constant threat of coercion and terror? Do we justify, in the name of Islam that the future generation be thrown to the barbaric society of 5th century? Generations to come be deprived of modern education of science, math, art, music, medicine, engineering, architecture and social sciences? Are our children going to better their lives by studying in madrassas? Can any graduate from madrassa build bridges, do the accounting or treat as a doctor? Can he be productive to the country or to the economy except spreading the hate doctrine of talibani Islam? Where are we going?
First and foremost, we should make modern education compulsory for the future generation. That will prevent them to fall from wrong Islamic influences. We should remove all the trade barriers. It will increase our influence in the world arena.
And finally, bring peace to our international relations. It will save money for the uplifting of our people. Muslims in India can come in FORBES list of richest people or become a President or Captain of the cricket team or be the heartthrob stars of billion people in Bollywood.
We should stop worrying about Muslims in INDIA and start worrying about Muslims in Pakistan. They are much better of as minority then us as a majority in our own country. We must take support of USA with certain reservations and defeat the taliban or otherwise we will be prisoners of TALIBAN PAKISTAN. Our country will be divided in to many parts. The future of our kids will be dark and all our dreams shattered.
Why should we allow the US for a Joint operation with Pakistan, we have faith and we will support our Army at any cost including the ISI.
I think the US just wants a way in to enter the territory of Pakistan with there troops and we will not welcome the US army at any cost for a joint operation with the Pakistan army as we know what Pak army, pak air force, pak navy are capable of.
They are very capable and highly trained to take on this battle.
Since Pakistan is fighting for its own survival and doesn’t want to be told how to do it, why don’t you tell US to keep its money and at the same time make peace with your neighbors and fight terrorism/militancy as a common enemy.
Pakistan must be firm in wanting to defend its own strategic inetrests by not letting anyone interfere in own affairs in the total sense of the term. There have been serious indications for some time that the West including Washington has sinister geopolitical motives agaist Pakistan.
Haha! I cant believe I’m listening to Pakistani’s saying that there is an option of saying ‘YES’ to this outrageous US suggestion.
Isnt it enough that we got into this trouble in the first place beacsue of US-Aid?
I’m waiting for a day when our dear government and ‘englightened’ people realise that if you let the ‘talibans’ be the way they are, they wont say a single word to anyone who ‘claims’ to be a muslim (yes im including the whisky weeling muslims aswell).
All they want to do is stop the American occupation in Afghanistan, if Pakistan gets in their way – they mess with Pakistan.
And trust me when I tell you this, they CAN NOT be eliminated. There is NEW ‘taliban’ (the ones who mind their business until messed with) mentality growing in the elite class of Pakistan right now. If our dear American allies show up, I guarantee you, you’d see college graduates taking up arms to defend their countries and religons name.
What sovereignty are we talking about? Part of the country is being ruled by taliban, scores of foreign terrorists are living in the country and it seems our government is completely helpless in controlling the situation. I guess we should allow Americans to help us eliminate these animals.
Pakistan should only think about one point: Can Pakistan handle the situation using their own forces? If not, join US.
It is not wise to ignore the ‘truth’ and give importance to false prestige.
If accepting US command is an issue, have specific talks with US on how troops of both countries should work with each other.
Barbarians you say. What’s your definition of that? Killing innocent people? Well then the US government heads that list.
The US drone attacks are arousing anger amongst the militants and the Pakistani citizens are being targeted by them.
The military has achieved little if anything. Instead of spending $300 million on an F 22, they can spend $1 million to plant a school and provide it with security.
I feel the US government has as little intelligence as these “barbarians”. It’s hard to tell the difference between the two.
A joint operation will turn “Strategic Depth” in to “Strategic Death” for the army and agencies if they continue with fanciful dreams.
Time is running out for Pakistan military misadventures.
PLEASE READ THE WRITING ON THE WALL.
Pakistan should tell the U.S. Officials to immediately cease the drone attacks citing their ineffectiveness against the high value targets plus the mounting number of civilian casualties they are causing. Drone attacks are not only counter productive, they are also fueling the anti American sentiment throughout the country.
American leadership needs to be told in a firm manner about the difficulties Pakistan is facing in this so called war on terror. After all, no country has done more or suffered more at the hand of extremists than ours.
American leadership should also tone down their lingo on the ‘blank cheque’ per se. Their average expenditure in Iraq and Afghanistan is 6-8 billion dollars per week; and they are worried about 5 billion ‘promised’ dollars to Pakistan over the period of five years; which most probably will be spent through USAID as it is. It just sounds a bit funny given the math at the back end.
I personally feel that its the first time ever Americans have initiated a reach out policy to the people of Pakistan. The drone attacks are not helping in this cause.
Losing a battle is still better than losing the war all together. Our leadership needs to toughen up its language when dealing with Americans and follow up with action if necessary. The Government would have the support of masses if they take a principled stance.