Two recent reports — the United Nations’ Benazir Bhutto murder probe, and the STRATFOR Intelligence analysis — puts the global spotlight back on Pakistan. If the UN Bhutto murder investigation turned the needle of suspicion on Pakistan’s ruling coterie, the STRATFOR report highlights the US exit strategy in Afghanistan and America’s growing reliance on Pakistan.
First the STRATFOR analysis: “The Americans want to leave — and if the price of departure is leaving behind an emboldened Pakistan supporting a militant structure that can target India, the Americans seem fine with making India pay that price.”
Although it is a fact that “Pakistan is geographically and geopolitically doomed to perpetual struggle with poverty, instability and authoritarianism… the alternative now being pursued is the current effort at Vietnamization of the conflict as a means of facilitating a full U.S. withdrawal.
“In order to keep the country from returning to the sort of anarchy that gave rise to al Qaeda, the United States needed a local power to oversee matters in Afghanistan. The only viable alternative — though the Americans had been berating it for years — was Pakistan.
“If U.S. and Pakistan interests could be aligned, matters could fall into place rather quickly… But now, U.S. and Pakistani interests not only appear aligned again, the two countries appear to be laying groundwork for the incorporation of elements of the Taliban into the Afghan state.
“The Indians are concerned that with American underwriting, the Pakistanis not only may be about to re-emerge as a major check on Indian ambitions, but in a form eerily familiar to the sort of state-militant partnership that so effectively limited Indian power in the past. They are right.
“The Indians also are concerned that Pakistani promises to the Americans about what sort of behavior militants in Afghanistan will be allowed to engage in will not sufficiently limit the militants’ activities — and in any event will do little to nothing to address the Kashmiri militant issue. Here, too, the Indians are probably right.” More here…
Now the UN report on Benazir Bhutto assassination. Before that let’s take a look at another development that made quite a splash in the media. Pakistan’s former ISI spy chief Hamid Gul alleged that “the United States government was involved in the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.“More here…
The Guardian reported that although some police officials were suspended after the damaging United Nations’ report on Bhutto murder, “no action was taken against any officers of the army or intelligence agencies, though the UN report directly implicated the military in the events leading to Bhutto’s death.” More here…
The Times of London has an interesting story on “Who murdered Benazir Bhutto?”. See here…
And here an eye-witness account… See here..
The two reports taken together indicate a rather uncertain and turbulent future for not only the South Asian region but also the world. Is it back to square one situation when the so-called war on terrorism began?
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.