Indo-US Hidden Agenda in Afghanistan
Date: 13 Jan 2012
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By Sajjad Shaukat
When US had invaded Afghanistan in 2001, political analysts had opined that America seeks to control the energy resources of Central Asia by making Osama Bin Laden a scapegoat. But now the sole superpower has included India in its hidden agenda by adding multiple strategic designs against Pakistan, China, Iran and Russia.
In this respect, after the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2014, US has decided to establish six permanent military bases in the war-torn country. Even Afghan President Hamid Karzai has strongly supported American plan of permanent bases in the strategically located country. US is also holding peace talks with the Afghan insurgent group in Qatar for its long-term scheme in Afghanistan.
Iran fears that US bases in Afghanistan would enhance its ability to gather intelligence on Iran which could give the US a major strategic advantage, if the two countries go to war. Tension between Washington and Tehran soared in December, 2011 after Iranian authorities recovered a CIA surveillance drone which had been launched from Afghanistan. Now, war-like situation exists between Iran and America over the Strait of Hormuz and Tehrans nuclear programme. Notably, on January 8 this year, Iran launched military exercises near its border with Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama unveiled a defence strategy on January 5 which calls for greater US military presence in Asia. Obama elaborated that the strategy also calls for the US military to rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region...even as our troops continue to fight in Afghanistan, the tide of war is receding.
However, US new defence strategy cannot be seen in isolation as it is also part of Indo-US hidden agenda in Afghanistan. First of all, by maintaining its military presence in Afghanistan, America wants to protect the puppet regime of Karzai, and Indian influence in Afghanistan which could be toppled by the successful guerrilla warfare of the Taliban.
India which has already invested billion of dollars in Afghanistan, signed a strategic partnership agreement with that country on on october 5, 2011. Apparently, it is open strategic agreement, but secretly, New Delhi wants to further strengthen its grip in Afghanistan not only to get strategic depth against Islamabad, but also to use the war-torn country in destabilizing Pakistan. For this purpose, American CIA, Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad and Afghan Khad, based in Afghanistan have been sending well-trained agents and militants in Pakistan, who not only attack the check posts of Pakistans security forces, but continuously conducting suicide attacks and targeted killings, ethnic and sectarian violence in our countrycoupled with ground shelling by the US-led forces and air strikes from time to time.
In fact, under the pretext of cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan, safe-havens of militants and Haqqani group in Pakistans tribal areas, CIA, RAW and Mossad have been destablizing Pakistan to denculearize the latter. Especially, regarding Indian activities in Afghanistan the then NATO commander, Gen. McChrystal had revealed: Indian political and economic influence is increasing in Afghanistan
is likely to exacerbate regional tensions.
India and US are supporting the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other Balochi separatist leaders who have taken shelter in Afghanistan, while backing separatist group, Jundollah (Gods soldiers) which is working against the cordial relationship of Pakistan with China and Iran. In the past few years, Jundollah kidnapped and murdered a number of Chinese and Iranian nationals in Pakistan. This insurgent group has been committing acts of sabotage both in Pakistan and Iran. Regarding various suicide attacks in Iran, Tehran had directly accused CIA for funding of that type of terrorism, while diverting the attention of Iran towards Islamabad through secret propaganda. Last year, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei revealed, The bloody actions being committed in Iraq, Pakistan and Iran are aimed at creating a division between the Shias and Sunnis
those who carry out these terrorist actions are foreign agents.
Particularly, Balochistans mineral resources and geo-strategic location with Gwadar seaport, connecting Central Asia have further annoyed America and India because China has already invested billion of dollars to develop this port. However, it is due to multiple strategic benefits that the US which signed a nuclear deal with India in 2008, intends to control Balochistan to encircle China and subdue Iran. The province of Balochistan has also shifted the Great Game to Pakistan which has now become its arena.
On October 15, 2010, Indian Army Chief General VK Singh had openly blamed that China and Pakistan posed a major threat to Indias security, while calling for a need to upgrade countrys defence. Indian former Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor had also expressed similar thoughts.
On the other side, in the recent years, several persons died in the terror-incidents and ethnic riots occurred in various regions of Chinas Xinjiang-the largely populated Muslim province. For all the incidents, India accused Pakistani militants of supporting the insurgency in order to deteriorate Sino-Pak ties. In fact, New Delhi which had given shelter to the Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama and his militants has been playing a key role in assisting upsurge in the Tibetan and Muslim areas of China. Recently, US President Obama also met Dalai Lama so as to indirectly encourage insurgency in China.
It is of particular attention that, on July 20, 2011, during her trip to New Delhi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged India to be more assertive in Asia as a US ally, and should play a leadership role. She explained, India has the potential to positively shape the future of the Asia-Pacific. On the other hand, while indicating US double game towards Islamabad, She remarked, Pakistan must do more to tackle terror groups operating from its territory being used for attacks that destabilize Afghanistan or India.
Notably, American defence thinkers presume Chinas fast-growing economy and military modernization, and its cooperation with Iran and Middle Eastparticularly strategic partnership with Pakistan as a great threat to Indo-American secret interests.
As regards Russia, it opposes US intention to deploy national missile defence system (NMD) in Europe, while differences already existed between Moscow and Washington over the US-led NATOs attack on Libya. Both Moscow and Beijing have opposed UN incremental sanctions on Iran.
In the recent years, besides, various annual summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which includes Russia, China and four Central Asian states including Pakistan and Iran as observers, on 16 August 2007, in their summit, the leaders of the SCO displayed strength against the US rising dominance in the region. The SCO is seen as anti-western club against the United States as well as the NATO military presence in Afghanistan, near the region of Central Asia.
Pakistan has been rapidly strengthening its relations with Russia and Iran so as to cope with Indo-US hidden agenda. Notably, America had opposed the Iran-India-Pakistan (IPI) pipeline project. So Islamabad and Tehran had signed the IPI without New Delhi as the latter was reluctant in this context owing to its pro-US tilt. Recently, Pakistan refused to cancel Pak-Iranian gas agreement on the insistence of Washington.
Although, tension already prevailed in Pak-US relations since May 2, 2011 when US commandos killed Osama Bin Laden by violating the sovereignty of Pakistan, yet these received a further blow when on November 26, US-led NATO aircraft deliberately carried out unprovoked firing on two Pakistan Army border posts in Mohmand Agency, killing 24 troops. In response, Pakistans civil and military leadership took tough measures such as blockage of the NATO supply to Afghanistan, vacation of the Shamsi Airbase, boycott of the second Bonn Conference on the future of Afghanistan, rejection of US investigation report in relation to the air strikes. Besides, Islamabad also decided to review its engagement with the US. For this purpose, the two-day envoys conference deliberated on the countrys foreign policy on December 12, last year with special focus to redefine the relationship with the United States.
Taking cognizance of Indo-US covert strategy, Pakistan and China have signed multiple agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors. In this context, during the latest trip of Pakistans Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to China, on January 6 this year, Beijing and Islamabad have pledged to strengthen military ties.
Nonetheless, America is determined to maintain permanent military bases in Afghanistan in order to fulfill Indo-US hidden agenda which is likely to destabilize whole of the Asia.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
That's why Pakistan must not reopen transit routes or make it easy for Americans. Pakistan needs to coordinate with Russia and Iran not to allow any American supplies through to Afghanistan
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Enter Russia as tension rises
The political fault line along the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, from Hindi Kush Mountains in Central Asia to the salty waters of the Mediterranean, started to crack earlier than expected as triggered by the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.
The day before we were talking about the U.S.-Taliban talks in Afghanistan that led to the reaction of Afghan President Hamid Karzai because of being left out. Since then an awful video was leaked to media showing four American soldiers urinating like barbarian on the dead bodies of supposedly Taliban militants.
The statement made by the Taliban in a few hours’ time in an extremely cold-blooded fashion saying that the video would not damage the talks – despite the prejudgments the other way around – underlined a few factors:
1) Taliban is focused on cutting a deal with Americans and assessed that the video was leaked by those who are against such an agreement; not necessarily Karzai, could be anyone else.
2) The deal they want to cut with Americans is to claim ownership on Afghanistan as soon as possible, since Obama wants to wash his hands out of the rough geography since the elimination of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last year. And
3) Knowing the political dynamics of the region, the Taliban assessed the fragility of the situation in Pakistan so does not want to be squeezed in between in the power struggle there.
The day before yesterday we were also talking about the radical political consequences in Pakistan following the ultimatum of the Army led by Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani; the probabilities include a military takeover of the government. Yesterday President Asif Ali Zerdari left his country “for a scheduled trip” amid rumors the U.S. applies pressure on the Army in order not to topple the government.
But will the Pakistani Army listen to the U.S.? That is another matter, since the main focus of the Americans in the region is Pakistan’s and Afghanistan’s neighbor Iran.
Following the assassination of a nuclear scientist working in Iran’s program for which the Israeli Army spokesperson “shed no tears,” the tension around Iran increased further. The U.S. Navy sent another ship to the Hormuz Strait area, which is the passage for more than one third of the world’s oil exports, amid increased demands for more sanctions on Iran.
It was not a very good day for Washington regarding its sanction demands. The European Union demanded some more time to make its mind up, which in practice means playing with time, and Turkey said clearly that Ankara would only implement United Nations Security Council resolutions on sanctions, which are not very likely to come since China openly objected to it.
And enter Russia... Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev’s interview with Kommersant was something bold, warning the U.S. to avoid a military intervention in Iran, which Israel opts for the opposite. Moscow also warned NATO countries on Syria, including its neighbor Turkey, about a military intervention.
In response, the Turkish Foreign Ministry revealed Turkish Navy intelligence showing that the Russian ship reportedly carrying ammunition and which had been released by the Greek Cypriots the day before on the promise that it would not go to Syria, actually did go to the Syrian port of Latakia where the Russian fleet had a support visit last week. We might have more to see as the tension rises.