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| March 14, 2002 | Thursday | Zilhaj 29, 1422 |
West shift termed move on wrong premise
ISLAMABAD, March 13: International Crisis Management Group (ICG) in a paper “Pakistan: The Danger of Conventional Wisdom,” released to the press on Wednesday has concluded that the shift of West towards Gen Musharraf’s government in the post-September 11, scenario was based on wrong premise.
The paper, after examining whether uncritical support for Gen Musharraf which it describes as the one driven by fears of the extremist alternatives, is justified, draws the conclusion that it is not.
The ICG is a private multinational organization committed to strengthening the international community to anticipate, understand and act to prevent and contain conflict.
Former president of Finland Martti Ahtisaari and former foreign minister of Australia Gareth Evans are chairman and president of the ICG respectively.
The paper noted that since September 11, there had been a fundamental shift in the West’s approach to Pakistan.
The government of President Pervez Musharraf has been repeatedly praised as a key ally in the war against terrorism.
The US alone has indicated it will offer Pakistan more than one billion dollars in assistance. But much of the conventional wisdom about President Musharraf’s government relies on faulty assumptions, with important implications for future policy and regional security.
Western officials, analysts and reporters, the paper said, had regularly issued dire warnings of the Pakistani government’s fragility, suggesting that it could succumb to angry street protests or swelling Islamic extremism.
Much has been made of the influence of extreme Islamic religious parties within Pakistan’s political system and public life. Others have pointed to potential splits between the country’s military and its directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in trying to explain Pakistan’s long running support for Islamic extremist groups. All these points are often combined, to suggest that the Musharraf government has made a fundamental strategic and philosophical shift in recent months.
Far from being besieged by Islamic extremists, Pakistan’s military government has carefully used them as an essential tool to justify its hold on power, improve its standing with the West, and resist restoring secular democracy — and as a tactical means to advance its goals in both Afghanistan and Kashmir.
ICG’s Pakistan Project Director Dr Samina Ahmed said: “Giving the Musharraf government carte blanche will only likely drive the country further into its long spiral of corruption and economic malaise. Ultimately, instability in Pakistan would lead to intensified regional instability and help create an environment in which terrorism could flourish.”
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