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G. Parthasarathy

No less than the US envoy to Pakistan has testified under oath what was known for long though denied by Gen Pervez Musharraf: The direct involvement of the ISI in drug smuggling. There is much evidence of the ISI using army vehicles to transport heroin from Peshawar to Karachi and Lahore. And it is no secret that the ISI uses the drug money to promote terrorism abroad, says G. Parthasarathy.

In Quetta, a Pakistani trooper stands guard as confiscated poppy straws that are used to make opium are destroyed... A different role for an army termed rogue and said to be deeply involved in the narco-trade.

ON MARCH 21, the US Assistant Secretary of State, Ms Christina Rocca, and the former US ambassador to Pakistan, Ms Wendy Chamberlain, appeared before the House International Relations Sub-Committee for the Asia-Pacific.

Ms Wendy Chamberlain was asked by Mr Dana Rohrabacher Republican Congressman from California: "How will you characterise the ISI's involvement in the opium smuggling business on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border over the past six years?" "Substantial," replied Ms Wendy Chamberlain.

"So the Pakistan Intelligence Service had substantial involvement in the opium business along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border over the last six years?" he asked again. "Over the last six years, substantial" confirmed Ms Chamberlain.

This was the first time that a senior American official testifying under oath was publicly admitting what had been long known and vehemently denied by Gen Pervez Musharraf and his minions about the direct involvement of the ISI in drug smuggling. Substantial evidence had emerged in the 1990s about how the ISI had indulged in drug smuggling across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and used vehicles of the army's National Logistics Cell to transport heroin from Peshawar to Karachi and Lahore.

It is no secret that the ISI uses the drug money to promote terrorism abroad. The US Congress should now inquire why the Clinton Administration chose to cover up these facts during its eight years in office.

It is not without reason that Pakistan's army has been categorised a `rogue army'. The highly respected International Crisis Group (ICG) in Brussels recently described how Gen Musharraf and the army establishment have been promoting the interests of fundamentalist political parties of the MMA in Pakistan.

The ICG asserts that neither the MMA nor any other religious group can confront the military. Nor do they feel the need, since Gen Musharraf's Administration has "appeased the clergy hoping to use them against domestic opponents". The report adds: "The Musharraf Government's pro-Mullah approach has, in fact, been clear before, during and after the 2002 national elections. While moderate secular parties have been systematically targeted, religious parties function and receive state support".

The ICG report notes that the MMA's anti-Musharraf rhetoric contrasts strongly with its willingness to work with the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) Government. It stated: "In Baluchistan the MMA sits comfortably with the PML(Q) with the military's approval.

Although a junior partner, the MMA received seven of the fourteen portfolios. Its members control 90 per cent of the provincial budget as well as all funding, including international aid channelled by Islamabad". Thanks to the generosity shown by Gen Musharraf to the fundamentalist forces in his country, the US faces the prospect of having to deal with a situation where the only two Pakistan Provinces bordering Afghanistan (NWFP and Baluchistan) are governed by pro-Taliban fundamentalist parties working hand in glove with the ISI. There is growing evidence to substantiate that while Gen Musharraf proclaims his undying loyalty to the American war against terrorism, he is also cosying up to the fundamentalists of the MMA.

While the candidatures of members of Ms Benazir Bhuttto's PPP and Mr Nawaz Sharif's PML (N) were rejected on frivolous grounds, there was virtually no instance when candidates of the MMA were similarly treated. Maulana Azim Tariq, the leader of the fundamentalist Sunni Sipah-e-Sahiba that has a record of countless pogroms against Shias, was suddenly released from jail in and permitted to contest from Jhang.

Not surprisingly, he won handsomely and sits today in the Treasury Benches alongside the ruling PML (Q). The Jamat-e-Islami leader, Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, was elected to the Senate from Rawalpindi with the support of the ruling PML (Q). While the MMA is permitted to hold anti-American demonstrations, burn American flags and even voice criticism of Gen Musharraf's policies, opposition politicians and newspapers that criticise the good General are dealt with summarily. ISI goons mercilessly beat up Rana Sanaulla, a Punjab Provincial Assembly member of the PML (N) in Lahore for daring to criticise Gen Musharraf.

The ICJ report describes the `elections' held by Gen Musharraf in October as "seriously" flawed. Even Ms Christina Rocca, who is very circumspect in saying anything that Gen Musharraf may find objectionable, described these elections as "flawed".

The ICG report indicates that by continuing to give a free hand to Jehadi groups to collect funds and train and arm terrorists for infiltration across the Line of Control, Gen Musharraf is in violation of the provisions of Security Council Resolution 1373. Pakistani Groups designated as terrorist organisations have merely changed their name and continue to function with the ISI's support.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad now calls itself the Khudamul Islam and the Harkat-ul-Ansar as the Jamiat ul Ansar. To placate the Americans, Maulana Masood Azhar is no longer the head of Khudamul Islam. The organisation is now headed by a Karachi based cleric Maulana Abdul Shah Mazhar. Maulana Masood Azhar, however, remains a "consultant" of the organisation.

The ICG recommends that the international community should take steps to force Gen Musharraf to change course. It suggests that he should be asked to take firm steps to curb religious extremism, reform the education sector, enforce strict anti-terrorism laws and finally gear up his security forces to prevent infiltration and movement of Jehadis across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Going by the testimony given by Ms Christina Rocca before the House Asia-Pacific Sub-committee on March 20, it is unlikely that the embattled Bush and Blair Administrations will have either the will or the inclination to take these tough measures in the midst of their Iraq military campaign.

While Ms Rocca spoke glowingly of forging a new relationship with India, a country she described as a "major regional power", she also urged Pakistan to progress towards "political moderation" and "economic modernisation".

She lauded the recent elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the policies of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syed and the appointment of N. N. Vohra as the Union Government's interlocutor with Kashmiri groups. She regretted that "violence in Kashmir continues and is aimed at exacerbating tensions". She asserted: "Ending infiltration into Kashmir remains a key goal" and went on to say, "In the broader context we will continue to urge dialogue and contact between India and Pakistan".

While Ms Rocca's reference to India being a "major regional power" is obviously intended to flatter us, we cannot ignore the fact that unlike last year, the Bush Administration is no longer asking Gen Musharraf to immediately and unconditionally end infiltration across the Line of Control. The recent killing of the moderate Hizb-ul-Mujahideen leader, Abdul Majid Dar, and the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits at Pulwama near Anantnag on March 23 are clear signals that Gen Musharraf intends to keep the pot boiling in J&K.

He is determined that efforts by Mufti Mohammad Syed, to promote reconciliation do not succeed. It would be unrealistic and indeed naive to expect the Americans to pull our chestnuts out of the fire, especially as they themselves are in the midst of a firestorm in Iraq. The Americans know that Gen Musharraf and the ISI have no intention of either ending their involvement in drug smuggling or stopping infiltration of their Jehadis across the Line of Control. We need to be very clear and firm about how we are going to respond to these developments.

(The author is a former High Commissioner to Pakistan.)

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