Asia
Is Pakistan aiding Syrian rebels?
Pakistan denies claims it is arming Syrian rebels at Saudi Arabia's behest. Experts, however, say Islamabad is not only providing military equipment to anti-Assad groups, it's also helping jihadists to go fight in Syria.
Pakistani and international media have reported about Pakistan-based Wahhabi militant groups, including al Qaeda and the Taliban, sending their members to Syria to fight against President Bashar Assad's forces. Some observers claim these fighters are also getting some kind of state support.
Despite the Pakistani government's categorical denial of any involvement in the Syrian conflict, the Islamic Republic's opposition parties, including the main opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by former President Asif Ali Zardari, have challenged Islamabad's claims. A number of political experts in Pakistan also disagree with the government's stance that it did not get itself involved in the violent Syrian conflict on Saudi Arabia's request.
"We strongly reject the media speculation that Pakistan has changed its position on Syria or is supplying arms to Syrian rebels directly or indirectly. These impressions are totally baseless and misleading," Sartaj Aziz, an advisor to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on national security and foreign affairs, recently told the country's parliament.
The discussion about whether or not the Pakistani government armed the Syrian rebels commenced after the Saudi Crown Prince, Salman bin Abdulaziz, travelled to Pakistan last month.
Pakistan denies involvement
"I would like to clarify that during the Saudi Crown Prince's visit, the two sides only mentioned the need to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of defense with an aim to have a mutually beneficial defense and security cooperation," said Aziz.
According to news agency AFP, which quoted a source close to Saudi decision-makers, Riyadh was interested in getting Pakistan-made shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, known as Anza, and anti-tank rockets, to aid the rebels.
"The United States could allow their to allies provide the rebels with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons following the failure of Geneva talks and the renewed tension with Russia," AFP quoted the head of the Gulf Research Centre, Abdel Aziz al-Sager.
Ghaffar Husain, a London-based researcher and counter-terrorism expert, told DW that Saudi-Pakistani alliance is decades-long, and that it is highly likely that Riyadh could have asked for Islamabad's assistance in turning the tide in Syria.
Claims 'not exaggerated'
Ali K. Chishti, a security expert in Karachi, told DW that Pakistan's assistance to Syrian rebels was of covert nature, and that it was obvious why Pakistan did not officially admit it. "I don't think that the claims that Pakistan is helping Syrian opposition are incorrect or exaggerated. Islamabad believes that since Iran is openly supporting the Assad regime, which is responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of people in his own country, it is justified to aid the rebels," said Chishti.
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Pakistani educationist and former BBC journalist, Nauman Naqvi, says there is no doubt whatsoever that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are on same page over the Syrian conflict.
"The Pakistani government can deny it, but everyone knows what is going on. Pakistan's respectable journalists have written about the matter," Naqvi told DW, adding that Pakistan had put its relations with Iran at stake in order to please Saudi Arabia. "Pakistan has been serving the Saudi interests in the Middle East and South Asia for a long time. Our relations with Tehran were different in the 1970s. They have been severely damaged since the last phase of the Cold War. The expert gave the example of Pakistan-based terrorist organization Jundullah, which Iran claimed to be a proxy group used by its enemies, to highlight the worsening Iranian-Pakistani ties.
Sharif's personal involvement
Some experts argue that the alleged Saudi-Pakistani deal on Syria was a result of Sharif's personal connections with the Saudi rulers. Earlier this month, Pakistan received a 1.5 billion USD loan from Riyadh, which Pakistani opposition parties claimed was a "gift' from Saudis to Sharif for his "services" to the kingdom.
Husain says Pakistan has "the expertise, weapons and fighters for the Syrian war, and Saudi Arabia has the cash that Pakistan desperately needs right now."
Naqvi, however, says that any other head of the government in Islamabad would have complied with the Saudi demands. "We must not forget that Sharif has no say in defense related matters. It is the Pakistani army which calls the shots. Former President Zardari would not have acted differently in this scenario."
Saudi Arabia wants to minimize Iranian influence in Syria, say experts
For Chishti, accepting the Saudi demands was a sensible decision: "Iran is openly supporting Assad whereas Saudi Arabia is aiding the rebels - both for their sectarian interests. Why would then the Pakistani state, which follows the Saudi Wahhabi Islamic ideology, side with the Shiite Tehran on this?"
Pakistani militants migrating to Syria
"A large number of foreign fighters are based in Pakistan's northern Waziristan area, which shares border with Afghanistan. Some of them are now migrating to Syria. The Pakistani Taliban have actually established a cell to monitor the Syrian situation. Al Qaeda's head, Aymen al-Zawahiri sent out a message to Pakistani militants to move to Syria," told Chishti, adding that Muslim al Shishani, a Chechen commander from North Waziristan, was one such Islamist who migrated to Syria on March 27.
Most Pakistani militant groups are pro-Saudi Arabia and anti-Iran
The expert, however, is not sure whether it's a good thing for the Pakistani state. "We need to see how certain non-state actors are being used in this conflict. It can be a double edged sword," he said.
For his part, Naqvi says there is "structural linkage" between the Pakistani military apparatus and the jihadists. "These militants have been doing what the army thinks is in Pakistan's geo-strategic interests," said Naqvi. The expert is of the view that Pakistan finds itself in a quagmire for not keeping itself non-aligned in regional and international conflicts and will ultimately have to pay a big price for its actions.
http://www.dw.com/en/is-pakistan-aiding-syrian-rebels/a-17528187
Sunni Side Up: Saudi Arabia Seeking To Acquire Arms From Pakistan To Supply Syrian Rebels
BY
PALASH GHOSH @GOOCH700 ON 02/24/14 AT 1:56 PM
Saudi Arabia has entered into talks with Pakistan to purchase weapons that would be transferred to opposition forces in Syria to aid in their three-year battle to topple president Bashar al-Assad. Citing a Saudi source, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported that Riyadh is seeking to buy anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets in an effort to help Syrian rebels equalize the firepower of Assad’s military. Pakistan manufactures shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, called Anza, which are based on a Chinese model.
The unnamed Saudi source cited that Pakistan’s army chief of staff, General Raheel Sharif, met with Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz in Riyadh earlier this month. Last week, Salman himself led a large Saudi delegation to Pakistan, just after the kingdom’s top diplomat Prince Saud al-Faisal visited the South Asian state. The Saudi source also stated that Jordan has agreed to store the Pakistani weapons before they are transferred to neighboring Syria. Syrian rebels have long desired anti-aircraft rockets to protect themselves from Assad’s warplanes, which regularly bomb rebel-controlled territories.
The Saudis are likely taking the circuitous route with Pakistan since the U.S. adamantly opposes supplying such weapons to Syrian rebels over fears they would fall into the hands of Islamic extremists who are believed to be helping the anti-Assad forces. But AFP noted that Syrian opposition leaders suggest that the U.S. has recently softened its position on this topic in the wake of the failed Geneva peace talks. "The United States could allow their allies to provide the rebels with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons following the failure of Geneva talks and the renewed tension with Russia,” said Abdel Aziz al-Sager of the Gulf Research Centre, a Persian Gulf-focused non-partisan think tank.
Saudi Prince Salman Photo: Reuters
AFP noted that Saudi Arabia, which helps coordinate with Jordan to offer assistance to Syrian rebels in the southern part of the county (while Turkey and Qatar do the same in the north), has become the biggest foreign supporter of the anti-Assad factions. Indeed, Ahmad Jarba, the leader of the Syrian opposition, has strong links to the Saudis.
Dr. Dilshod Achilov, assistant professor of Political Science at East Tennessee State University and an expert on Middle Eastern affairs, explained that the Saudis are seeking wider support for the Syrian rebels from the Sunni Muslim world (Assad and his Iranian allies are Shia Muslims). “Pakistan is a large Sunni country with a sizable military industry,” he said. “Saudi Arabia views the Syrian war as a key conflict against the archenemy of Sunni Islam -- the Shia Islam spearheaded by Iran. Saudi Arabia may [also] be looking for broader Sunni support against the threat of rising Shia influence in the region. And Pakistan would be one of the natural allies to bring in.”
Dr. Hasan Askari Rizvi, an independent Pakistani political and defense analyst, wrote in an op-ed piece for the Express Tribune newspaper that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appears to be favoring Saudi Arabia (and other conservative Arab states like Bahrain and Kuwait) with respect to Middle Eastern policy. In fact, Pakistan has relinquished its earlier neutrality on the Syrian civil war by supporting Saudi demands for the removal of Assad from power. Rizvi suggests that Pakistan’s principal motivation for endorsing the Saudis lies more with financial needs than religion or politics. “Pakistan expects to get financial support in the form of loans, aid, investment, more jobs for Pakistanis, and supply of oil and gas on favorable terms from conservative but rich [Arab] kingdoms,” he wrote. “Furthermore, Nawaz Sharif and his family have special reverence for the House of Saud because it saved them from the clutches of [former Pakistani president Pervez] Musharraf’s military government in December 2000.”
Noting that Pakistan faces a “difficult economic situation” in 2014 and it is looking towards Saudi Arabia and other conservative Arab states for “economic support,” Islamabad should not become entangled in Mideast intrigues. “Pakistan must not be seen as partisan in intra-Arab conflicts,” he warned. “It should stay away from dynastic and regional rivalries in the Middle East.”
Achilov also commented that it’s not clear how involved Pakistani even wants to be in the Syrian quagmire. “In case Pakistan decides to extend military assistance [to the Saudis], it will be primarily driven by strategic calculations to counter Iran’s growing influence in the region, secure Saudi financial support , appease the Sunni majority inside [Pakistan], and influence the course of the conflict since Iran-dominated Syria would be unacceptable to Pakistan as well,” he said. “It is more likely that Pakistan may choose to support the Syrian armed rebels covertly in the first stage. It's unlikely that Pakistan will rush its arms openly, at least not immediately."
http://www.ibtimes.com/sunni-side-s...re-arms-pakistan-supply-syrian-rebels-1557572
.PPP is already pro-Iran and holds an agression against KSA-may be because they are Shia or may be because KSA was pro-Zia. 
On one hand, they wont listen to Pak govt and on the other, they are trying to create Pakistan as a battle ground for proxiy wars b/w Iran and KSA. Infact they are trying their best to create sect. divide between Pakistani public for someone's interests. Inshort, Mullah loyalists have came out of their caves to support their true homeland, Iran.
