Pakistan: Taliban’s fertile ground

A. Rahman
Published : 23 Dec 2014, 08:44 AM
Updated : 23 Dec 2014, 08:44 AM

After nearly nine months of struggle for independence, a point had been reached on the 16th of December 1971 that could easily be dubbed a "make and break" day – make a new sovereign nation called Bangladesh and break the old faith-based egregious country called Pakistan. The day was no less momentous than the 14th /15th of August 1947, when two nations were created out of one; or may even be more momentous – as what had been achieved in those historic days of 1947 could easily be undone leaving only the geographical ruins for the subcontinent to ruminate.

Pakistan came into being in 1947 as the flag bearer of Islamic identity in the subcontinent. The eastern part of Bengal was swept away in that tide of irrational exuberance for religious identity and formed what came to be known as East Pakistan.

But at no point in time had East Pakistan the religious enthusiasm to match that of West Pakistan's. Pakistani military junta wanted to instil real religious zeal among the Muslim Bengalis by sheer military might. What transpired from that attempt was a clash of military titans – India/Bangladeshi forces on the one side and demoralised Pakistani forces on the other. The city of Dhaka and, indeed, the whole of the country were on tenterhook that either Pakistan surrenders unconditionally on this day or face the military onslaught leading to unimaginable bloodshed of civilians and soldiers alike.

The proverbial sword of Damocles hung over the head of Lt Gen Abdullah Khan Niazi, the head of Eastern Command of Pakistani occupying Forces that if he did not surrender unconditionally to the joint command of Bangladeshi and Indian Army by that day, the full might of Indian / Bangladeshi forces would be brought to bear on him. He had 92,000 prime military personnel with all the arms and ammunition that the army might require, but they were confined to the safety of the cantonments surrounded by the hostile population and that in military terms may be called the sitting targets to be taken out. Even more sinister scenario was staring for Pakistan on the western wing as India was hell bent on destroying what remained of Pakistan in the western side – the West Pakistan. The odds were so much stacked against Pakistan at that point in time that the very survival of even West Pakistan was in question, let alone East Pakistan. What started as the simple quelling of some unruly elements in East Pakistan turned out to be the existential threat to Pakistan itself. The nightmare scenario for Pakistan was playing out in reality on that day.

The surrender of East Pakistan was a very small price to pay at that time. Lt Gen Niazi, renowned to be the tiger of the Pakistan Army, was reduced to a mere goat in front of the victorious Maj Gen Nagra who demanded his surrender. By 13:30 the Lt Gen agreed to surrender, wept shamelessly and then went to sign the surrender document in full public view to complete total humiliation for himself and for his country. Did Pakistan recover from that utter humiliation on that day? I guess not. (Incidentally this Lt Gen Niazi is the uncle of the Pakistani cricketer turned politician, Imran Khan Niazi, who had the audacity to condemn the hanging of Quader Molla and others war criminals in Bangladesh).

Fast forward to events exactly 43 years from that date – to 16th December 2014 – Pakistani army is again utterly humiliated; this time not by the age-old enemy India, but by its own glorious creation, now turned monster. Taliban, which spawned out of Afghan Mujahedeen, massacred 134 innocent school children (children of army officers) and nine staff members in the Army Public School in Peshawar out of sheer vengeance for the military actions by the Pakistani Army against Taliban. The monster that the Pakistan Army (ISI) created some 35 years earlier had effectively become the Frankenstein now and chased the creator to destruction!

When Russia (the then USSR) invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 to stop the country from disintegrating and falling into American hands, Pakistan at the behest of America and Middle Eastern cohorts supported enthusiastically the Afghan rebels, called Mujahedeen, to fight the Russians. The man and machines, logistics and funds flew endlessly through Pakistan – the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) took the lead role – to support Afghan Mujahedeen. After all Pakistan, as the Islamic Republic, was well primed to take such a role to support Islamic causes against the 'infidels'. Admittedly, there were additional incentives for the armed forces; the money, arms and ammunition etc. that were channelled through Pakistan had been always sliced off to meet Pakistan's need. So the Afghan conflict came as a blessing in disguise for Pakistan after the disastrous loss of Eastern wing. It gave the Pakistani army an opportunity to redeem itself, at least to the countrymen.

Afghan Mujahedeen had been trained on Pakistani soil with American weapons and Pakistani/American military advisers, sent to fight the Russians and come back to the sanctuary of Pakistan. The Pakistan border was porous and that helped the Mujahedeen slip back to safety in Pakistan. Russians could not pursue the Mujahedeen into Pakistan as that would cause direct conflict with America. In eight short years Russians suffered so much loss in man and material that they had no alternative but to withdraw. The Mujahedeen kept all the weapons and Pakistan thought it had gained the ascendency it aspired into a regional power at par with India.

What the Mujahedeen learnt during the conflict had been applied in anger in Afghanistan and took over the control of the country. America, being content with the defeat of its arch-enemy, left the scene with Pakistan in charge of the region. As Pakistan basked in the glory of success and acted like the sergeant major, the Mujahedeen had other ideas. The ideology which helped them beat the Russians could be applied against America and its cohort, Pakistan. The Mujahedeen spawned Taliban, which means the Madrassa students, and sent them to the people to spread the religious message. This strategy fitted well with the Wahhabism propounded by Saudi Arabia. The Taliban with its army of madrassa educated bigots infiltrated the mainstream society of Pakistan. This was a classic case of Islamicised political ingress.

The Mujahedeen and then the Taliban who crisscrossed the borders during the war years eventually settled in the border areas of Pakistan – Peshawar, Swat and so on. The Islamic ideology with strong fundamentalist content started flourishing in Pakistan at an unprecedented scale. Of course, Pakistan – an Islamic Republic – had all the prerequisites for such a development. With a little prompting from the Taliban, Pakistan easily became a fundamentalist country.

America and the European Powers sensed the drastic transformation in Pakistan's religious attitude when they invaded Afghanistan in 2001 after the 9/11 attack on America. Osama bin Laden was granted sanctuary in Afghanistan by the Taliban government. Pakistan started playing a double role – supporting Taliban surreptitiously but siding with the western powers publicly. It took quite a while for the western powers to grasp Pakistan's dubious role. David Cameron said famously over two years ago when he visited India and Pakistan that "Pakistan cannot look both ways". That was exactly what Pakistan was doing. But the Taliban, unbeknownst to even ISI – who is their mentor and sponsor – was doing its work and spreading fundamentalist Islamic ideology right across the country.

The Pakistani Taliban who had long been involved in insurgency to overthrow the Pakistan government now feels strong enough to challenge the government. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) boastfully claimed responsibility for the killing of 134 children and urged people to accept Sharia laws. The Taliban does not condone western-style education and least of all education for women. For them women's place is the home. They hanker after the glorious (!) days of the 7th century when Islam was born and propagated.

As mentioned earlier, Pakistan is primed by the State to accept whatever these bigoted fundamentalist groups can throw at them. Immediately after the vicious slaughter of the children, a BBC journalist interviewed one of the aggrieved mothers, but she would not take her face cover, which was part of burqa, off as she perceived wearing burqa was her religious obligation and she got to uphold it. On the same vein, the Taliban perceived killing enemies – whether men, women or children – as their duty, as blood for blood was what their faith required. The Pakistani army killed some of the Talibans and so Talibans were justified in killing the children of army officers! Religion in Pakistan overrides all other considerations.

In another interview by the BBC, Lt. Gen. Gul, the retired head of ISI, was accused of supporting Taliban in Afghanistan, even when Taliban was carrying out indiscriminate killings and suicide bombings. The general angrily replied that ISI supported the Jihadi movement in Afghanistan. Now who is to say that Pakistan Taliban is not doing the Jihadi movement in Pakistan?

There are many instances when the gap between extremely ideologically driven men and the perceived moderates is so narrow that moderates with a little nudge could easily become hard core fundamentalists. The religious virus is so firmly embedded in the psyche of the people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan that it will not be very easy to take out.

When Pakistani soldiers killed innocent men, women and children in Bangladesh back in 1970/71, they were driven by the high morale of religious virtuosity; they were doing that as part of their religious duty. So, weren't those murderous soldiers the precursors to Talibans? Now who are the present Pakistani authorities trying to get rid of? The Taliban is simply in Pakistani blood.