Australia: Trying To Understand Pakistan

Although Australia has joined hands with the US to train Pakistani soldiers in the on-going “war-on-terror”, there seems to be a great deal of doubt and confusion with regard to the success of this mission.There is an excellent article by Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor, The Australian, under the heading “Unhappy Marriage With Pakistan”.

The immediate cause for concern in Australia is the imposition of Sharia law in Swat Valley, close to the capital Islamabad, and the rehabilitation of A.Q. Khan, described as “single greatest proliferator of nuclear weapons technology to rogue states in the history of the human race.”

Greg Sheridan writes of “Australia’s problematic relationship with Pakistan, but more than that he writes of the divided nature of Pakistan itself, which can’t decide whether it is fighting the Taliban or fighting with the Taliban.”

Sheridan noted: “Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is just back from Pakistan and this week made an important ministerial statement about Australian policy towards Islamabad. We are increasing virtually all forms of civil and even military aid. We are bringing more Pakistani officers to train, not least in counterinsurgency, in Australia.

“What are the facts about Pakistan at the same time as we are increasing our aid to it and hoping, once more, that this time it is really, really serious about countering the extremism, incompetence and corruption that is eating its own society? First, the Pakistan Government has made a deal, in part with the Taliban, to allow the imposition of full sharia law in the Swat Valley, which is very near to the capital, Islamabad.

“As Smith noted in his ministerial statement, these deals have not worked in the past. They have always unravelled but only after allowing the extremists a good chance to consolidate, to enjoy rest and recreation, to rearm and reorganise themselves. Meanwhile, the hapless Pakistani army, dreaming of tank battles against India, does not know whether it is fighting the Taliban or embracing it.

“Australian government policy towards Pakistan is probably the only policy Canberra could pursue: engagement, assistance and blind hope. Almost certainly, however, it won’t work.” (Read the full article here…)

Does this also apply to the US, or Western, policy in Pakistan?