War within or outside?

Why Jihad?

 Having witnessed riots and violence arising out of the fanatics during my childhood, I often wondered if ever there ever will be any solution for these struggles. “Jihad” by definition was coined for the holy war undertaken by the initial followers of Prophet Mohammed to take to arms in protecting and spreading the interests of Islam, overtime it has changed and evolved dramatically. The people who fight these holy wars are called Mujahidin or warriors fighting for freedom. Historically many popular rulers have waged Jihad on the Subcontinent which comprises today’s India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Mujahidin are fighting holy wars all over the world even today, in the nations of Afghanistan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Myanmar, Chechnya, India, Iran, Iraq, Philippines, Somalia, among others. It is speculated that some countries also sponsor the fighters for their personal gains.

Neighbors at loggerhead:

Since independence from the British, the two neighbors – India and Pakistan have been fighting overt and covert wars for over 50 years. There are been consistent attacks on the soils of these two countries for the years culminating in the recent Mumbai attacks in India and Ms. Bhutto assassination in Pakistan. All along the two neighbors have blamed each other for creating and fermenting separatisms within each other’s countries. This blame game has ebbed and troughed the relations and spanned beyond many leaders lives.

Adding to this mix is Afghanistan. Afghanistan holds one of the most important geological locations in the world. Anyone who controls Afghan controls the Silk Road since it is the crossroads between east and west since eons. When Soviet invaded Afghan in 1978, India supported the action being a staunch ally of Soviet. At that point US sided, armed and funded the Afghan Mujahidin to take up arms struggle against the invasion. Once the Soviet withdrew everyone including US forgot Afghan leaving it in tatters and a perfect ground for vested interest groups – warlords. Even though Mohammed Najibullah was at the helm as President, due to the chaos in the Afghan society, the Taliban started gaining prominence. Eventually it captured Kabul in 1996 and Pakistan was one of the three states to recognize it as a legit government.

Elements within and outside army:

Taliban began with a holy intent of fighting the local government lead by Mullah Mohammed Omar. But it later evolved into a society known to implement very strict Shariah Law. Fanatic hatred against the US and western allies drove the Taliban to plot and execute the September 11 massacre in US and soon the entire world turned against them. Bowing to the pressure from US and international community, Pakistan was left no choice but to tow the line and do a complete 360 on the support to Taliban regime. Even though Pakistan is actively fighting Taliban, it is alleged there are numerous officers of rank and file within the army of Pakistan who are against deserting Taliban.

Pakistan’s trapeze act:

Pakistan is right now walking a tight rope since the start of the US led war in 2003. On one end it is trying to block the western border with Afghanistan and on the other it is trying to weed out these elements from its own society who have emerged as sympathizers towards Taliban. Many conservatives view Mullah Omar and Osama as those who stood up against the mighty west and its allies. It is a difficult choice for Pakistan to follow the international war but still pacify its fanatic citizens.

In recent years it has been reported that Taliban and its fanatic supporters with arms have spread far and wide within the society of Pakistan. They have moved down from the mountains of the Afghan-Pak border to the inlands and cities.

Tough road ahead:

Pakistan is staring at quite a few stiff challenges. On one hand, it has to please the international community and ensure not being alienated and at the same time also cannot afford to lose credibility and the hold Pakistan has on Afghanistan. All this while trying to appease the international community that it’s nuclear assets are well protected with a proper chain of command and controls in place is getting to be a juggling act that is coming apart at its seams.

It is alleged in recent reports that some elements in Pakistan have been diverting the terrorists stationed at the western border to the eastern border. It is mentioned that the terrorists are provided with a choice of either join the covert war in Kashmir with India or face jail. Pakistan has also publicly shown its displeasure over India supporting the reconstruction in Afghanistan. India so far has invested in Infrastructure, Health, and other areas to the tune of $1.3 billion. It has already opened multiple consulates showing its interest and influence in the Afghan society. This is particularly not going well with Pakistan as it sees Indian influence in Afghanistan as a potential threat on both sides of its border. It is speculated that Pakistan’s notorious ISI has been covertly trying to destabilize this Indian influence by attacks on Indian citizens, consulates and its interests in Afghanistan.

Does the future look good?

The main challenge in my view Pakistan faces today is to stop thinking India as an enemy both within its military and civilian population and work towards a bilateral relationship. Before the relation went sour, the bilateral economic flow was significantly high with each offering the other the MFN status. In this age of technology and growth, it makes less sense to pursue an age old theme of war. To achieve this Pakistan needs to weed out the fanatic elements within its society and try to please the world over. The same thing also applies to the India and its conservatives/fanatics. Pakistan should stop viewing Kashmir as its problem and focus more on Waziristan and Baluchistan. India on the other hand has lot more its own internal issues to look after.

Both these nations are of same age with similar cultures, interests, cuisines, etc. If the three nations – India, Pakistan and Afghanistan can come together and work towards common development, the pre-independence country can be brought to life. When two Germanys can merge why cannot the two countries? It is a tricky situation to be in – to fight a big war within and also a war outside. Let’s all hope that someday better sense prevails and there will soon be a political solution to all these issues.