Well this was expected, nothing surprising. But then again people wonder why Pakistanis look towards the US and its role in the region with wary eyes
Who's playing Pakistan's shadowy Great Game?
Shobhan Saxena, TNN 9 August 2009, 12:18am IST
Blame it on bad excuses. South Blockâs best explanation for the Sharm el-Sheikh âblunderâ was bad drafting. That means the poor language skills of some of our top diplomats led India to make two huge concessions to Pakistan. But âbad draftingâ was not the full story, namelt that the Indians werenât really that careless; the Pakistanis were more cunning.
Balochistan was included in the document because the Pakistani team had carefully planned it that way. Sources say that Pakistanâs foreign secretary Salman Bashir played a key role in exerting pressure on India to include Balochistan in the statement Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani. Bashir is said to have chalked out the "Sharm el-Sheikh plan" in the Prime Minister House. Gilani, officers from the Pakistan Army headquarters and interior ministry officials were present. It was so meticulously planned that senior Pakistani journalists reversed their decision not to travel with the delegation to Egypt. The hacks, itâs said, knew that Gilani and Bashir were âgoing to do something spectacular in Egypt.â
Hamid Mir, executive editor of the Islamabad-based Geo TV, was in Sharm el-Sheikh. He says, âSalman Bashir told Menon on July 14 not to link India-Pakistan talks with terrorism. He told Menon, âIf you make noise on the Mumbai attacks, we will have no other choice than to expose the Indian role in Balochistan through Afghanistan and it will create problems for Afghanistan, NATO and also for USâ.ââ The next day Gilani put two opposition MPs, who were part of the delegation, before the Indian Prime Minister. âThey actually told Manmohan Singh that âwe, the opposition, are with our government on the issues of Kashmir and Balochistanâ,â says Mir. It was a carefully planned move to show that there were no fissures within the Pakistani establishment on this crucial matter.
The whole affair is thought to underline the hard work Pakistan is putting in on three fronts â the West, India and China. The team thatâs doing the bold thinking and heavy lifting is a mix of hawks and doves:
l Prime minister Gilani
l Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi
l Minister of state Malik Amad Khan
l Foreign secretary Salman Bashir
l ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha
Qureshi, whom Pakistan considers a dove, was not at Sharm el-Sheikh. âQureshi is close to President Zardari who is also seen as soft towards India. So, itâs not surprising that Malik Amad went to Sharm el-Sheikh. He is 36, a former army officer from the Armoured Corps Regiment and an expert on military-strategic affairs,â says a source in Islamabad. âHe is also considered close to the GHQ because of his background.â
Qureshi, meanwhile, has been focusing on taking the âall-weather friendshipâ with China to a new level. In October 2008, he chose China to make his first trip abroad as foreign minister. He went with the President but is thought to have worked overtime to make the visit a major success. The two countries signed agreements for a major cash infusion from China, arms sales and energy assistance. There were also moves on a possible civilian nuclear pact similar to the Indo-US nuclear deal. âBefore leaving Beijing, Zardari called China the âfuture of the worldâ and promised to return there every three months. It was all Qureshiâs work,â says an observer in Lahore.
Qureshi is said to work closely with Bashir on China. Bashir was Pakistanâs ambassador in Beijing before becoming foreign secretary. Meanwhile, itâs on the India front that General Pasha and his men play a key role. Insiders say that Pakistanâs defence and foreign policies are deeply entwined when it comes to India. The India desk at the ISI office has the final say on bilateral matters, in collaboration with GHQ. Policy briefs are reportedly directly conveyed to the Presidentâs House and to the foreign secretary.
Bashir, whose younger brother Admiral Noman Bashir heads the Pakistan Navy, is often the pointsman and is thought to have been fairly successful at engaging the Americans and Chinese on the Balochistan issue. Mir says that âAmericans want to open a consulate in Quetta and maybe some bases as well. They need it to coordinate with their forces in south Afghanistan.â
Indeed, itâs on the Afghan front that Pakistanâs foreign policy honchos have achieved real success. The Pakistani armyâs successful campaign against the Taliban in Swat valley seems to have not only destroyed the militantsâ bases, but restored the ISIâs tarnished image somewhat.
The Great Game continues.
- That's one way to put a positive spin on it. You have nothing to do with it, but lets include it in a joint statement focusing on bilateral relations.
