Baluchistan

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Washington’s Mixed Signals to Pakistan

October 1, 2009 in Afghanistan, Foreign Aid, Pakistan, Terrorism | No comments

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/laden.htm

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/laden.htm

The U.S. deputy chief of mission in Pakistan, Gerald Feierstein,  told reporters today in Islamabad that the United States “strongly believes” Osama bin Laden is alive and in Pakistan.

Feierstein said Washington thinks bin Laden is operating from Pakistan’s tribal areas near the Afghan border.

Click here for the story.

This could explain why there has been an increased number of suspected U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Feierstein also said the United States believes fugitive Afghan Taliban leader Mohammad Omar is in the southern province of Baluchistan, possibly hiding in the capital of Quetta.

Again, the Pakistani government denies all the allegations, but Feierstein’s comments do reaffirm my post from yesterday.

My question is: What are Pakistanis supposed to take from this?

On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress approved legislation that triples non-military aid to Pakistan during the next five years.  That means starting next year, the Pakistani government will receive $1.5 billion annually for various development projects, including efforts to improve education, democratic institutions, human rights and conditions for women and children.  That’s a pretty strong signal from Washington.

But at the same time, the U.S. officials on the ground here are telling the local media that Baluchistan, specifically Quetta, is “high on Washington’s list.”  That angers the Pakistani government, as well as its people.  And the people are already angry at drone attacks in North Waziristan.

I wonder if Washington will unify its message.  The Pakistani people definitely want to know.

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US Shifting Its Gaze in Pakistan?

September 30, 2009 in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Violence | No comments

http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/index.cfm?page=MullahOmar&language=english

rewardsforjustice.net

Three suspected U.S. missile strikes hit Pakistan’s Waziristan tribal regions from late Tuesday through Wednesday.  Pakistani officials say the attacks killed at least 18 militants.

The first strike targeted a Pakistani Taliban commander’s house in South Waziristan.  The other two hit suspected Afghan Taliban locations in North Waziristan.

Click here for the story.

What’s the difference between the Pakistani Taliban and Afghan Taliban?  First of all, they are organizationally distinct from each other.  But most importantly, analysts say the Afghan Taliban only fights in Afghanistan, while its Pakistani version is believed to only operate in Pakistan against the state.  Some analysts use this reasoning to say that Pakistan gives the Afghan Taliban a free pass.

This leads us to U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson’s recent comments about the United States shifting its gaze to Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan.  She told The Washington Post that:

“In the past, we focused on al-Qaida because they were a threat to us.  The Quetta Shura mattered less to us because we had no troops in the region.  Now our troops are there on the other side of the border, and the Quetta Shura is high on Washington’s list.”

U.S. officials believe the Quetta Shura is a council of exiled Afghan Taliban leaders headed by Mohammad Omar and based in the Pakistani city of Quetta (a charge Pakistan and even the Afghan Taliban deny).  The troops Patterson is referring to are the coalition forces stationed across the border in Taliban-controlled southern Afghanistan.

All the local papers led with this interview today.  Whether or not the United States is actually planning to launch drone attacks in Baluchistan (or even a full-scale ground invasion), this is not helping to dissuade the Pakistani people from their anti-America mindset.  Especially after many Pakistanis view U.S. missile attacks in the northwest as an affront to their country’s sovereignty.

Also, Baluchistan is a powder keg already with fuel shortages and a strong desire to secede from the federal government.  Just one U.S. missile could be the spark that sets off a massive chain reaction.

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