Looming Collision along Pak-Afghan border more hazardous than Large Hadron Collider

Today is September 11, 2008 the seventh anniversary of the devastating suicide attack against the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims who lost their loved ones on that day, and in the deadly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that erupted in the aftermath of 9/11.

By coincidence, yesterday the Large Hadron Collider at CERN headquarters near Geneva was switched on to start the biggest experiment in the world, to determine the nature of matter. The world has every reason to be proud of the achievements of the thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians who made that awesome project possible.

Sadly, a far more dangerous collision could take place along the Pakistan- Afghanistan border. Leading newspapers in the USA and Pakistan are painting a bleak picture of the situation. The New York Times of today reports that President BushPresident Bush secretly approved orders in July permitting American special forces to carry out special operations in Pakistan against the Taliban and Al Qaeda without the permission of the Pakistan authorities.

News has also emerged that the raid carried out by the United States ground forces last week was far more severe and intrusive than earlier reported.

The DAWN newspaper of the same day carries the lead story in which the Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) warns the United States to keep its troops out of Pakistan. General Ashfaq Parvez KayaniAshfaq Parvez Kayani points out that Pakistan's security forces are making huge sacrifices in the war against terror (more than the USA and NATO) and it is the presence of the Pakistan Army which has denied the freedom of movement to Al Qaeda and its affiliates.

General Kayani stresses the need for a collaborative approach to promote better understanding of a highly complex issue. Very rightly he argues that a trust deficit and misunderstandings would lead to more complications and increase difficulties for all: the United States, NATO and Pakistan. There are no quick fixes in this war, he says. Going for short-term gains while ignoring long-term interests is not the right way forward.

The New York Times article, relying on anonymous innuendoes and comments, accuses the Pakistan intelligence agencies of supporting the terrorists and also for being responsible for the attack against the Indian Embassy in Kabul. Unidentified interlocutors go so far as to accuse the Army Chief of being aware of the embassy attack before it happened. This is the height of irresponsibility and disinformation. Pakistan has nothing to gain from such an outrage and everything to lose, including the possibility of an Indian reprisal attack against which there is virtually no defence.

Pakistan has been supporting the United States in the global war on terror for seven years now. In the process, former president Pervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf lost his popularity and had to resign. To be sure, there were other reasons for the loss of his heavenly mandate but Musharraf's support to the US was surely a major contributing cause of his downfall. President Zardari, who has promised to cooperate with the United States in the GWOT, could come under great pressure to distance himself from the US if violates Pakistan's sovereignty and keeps attacking its territory.

In short, America ought to be more grateful to Pakistan instead of denigrating and bad-mouthing its ally.