US advised Pakistan not to fight the USSR in 1979 but Pakistan wanted revenge for the 1971 war

[Pakistan Space Agency]

Here's an interesting interview of Major (retd) Muhammad Amir of Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) with Shahid Masood, aired on 5 September 2021.

Major Sahib explains that Pakistan had considered Soviet Union as it's main enemy and that it was the Soviet Union which was responsible for the break up of Pakistan in 1971.

He goes onto say that the US and the Soviet Union had an understanding in 1979. Which was that the Soviet Union will look the other way while the US topples the pro-Soviet President Idi Amin in Uganga and in return, the US will not be too critical of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) had found out that the Soviets were planning an invasion of Afghanistan and it informed President Zia-ul-Haq in June 1979, who in turn then wrote to President Jimmy Carter in July 1979. However, the US President did not respond due to the above mentioned understanding between the US and USSR.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 and President Jimmy Carter wowed to defend the Persian Gulf in January 1980 (without committing any soldiers).

The US did send it's National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski to Pakistan in February 1980. His advice to President Zia-ul-Haq was, "Not to engage the Soviet Union in Afghanistan." Instead, the US would provide $400 million to Pakistan to fortify it's border with Afghanistan so there's no fallout on the Pakistan side.

President Zia-ul-Haq rejected the offer and instead told the US National Security Adviser, "Thank you very much for the nice advice. You may now go and relax. We will not only engage the Soviet forces but we will drive them back (out of Afghanistan)."

The next day, President Zia-ul-Haq ordered the military to act swiftly against the Soviet forces before they could fortify their positions on the Pak-Afghan border.

Pakistan confronted the Soviet war machine on its own for around 2-years before the US finally stepped in with military assistance to Pakistan.

The nearly decade long war took it's toll on the Soviet Union, eventually leading to the dissolution of the Empire and creating 11 independent nations in its place

Please watch from 16:00 onwards.

I have to admit I've always heard from the civilian and the military establishment that Pakistan was used by the United States in the 1980s instead of Pakistan actually wanting to take on the Soviet Union to take revenge for the 1971 war.

 

[Rank]

I forgt the name of the person but a guy who was in charge at that time (for dialog btw ISI and Talibans) stated a similar thing that there was a problem btw Russia and Pakistan. That was one of the core reasons why Pakistan go little beyond its......... I guess it was Kashif Abbasi Program back in Nov

 

[Maula Jatt]

good that we took the initiative, or powerful pro-soviet Afghanistan and india on the other side would have been the end of us

 

[jamahir]

good that we took the initiative, or powerful pro-soviet Afghanistan and india on the other side would have been the end of us

It's actually the opposite. The Indian government of the mid-1980s under PM Rajiv Gandhi saw Zia ul Haq's Pakistan as the buffer which would protect Rajiv's India from increased Soviet presence in India which could very possibly enable the Indian Communists from politically taking over at some point. Rajiv Gandhi was ready to assist Zia to get back into power in case he was toppled by Soviet-assisted Pakistani leftists where the Soviets would try to extend their influence into Pakistan beyond their presence in Afghanistan. From my 2015 thread :

Rajiv Gandhi regarded Pakistan as 'strategic buffer' against USSR: CIA document

Sep 01, 2015

• Rajiv Gandhi was the seventh Prime Minister of India (Photo: PTI/File)

Washington: Contradicting perceived proximity to the Soviet Union in the Cold War era, India under the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had toyed with the idea of supporting anti-Russian civilian groups in Pakistan if the then Zia regime was thrown out by Moscow, a recent declassified CIA document has claimed.

According to CIA documents of the era, which were recently declassified and posted on the CIA website under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which is similar to India's Right to Information Act, Gandhi wanted non-interference from both the United States and the then USSR. "Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi would like both the USSR and the United States to end their involvement in South Asia," noted the 31-page CIA document titled 'The Soviet Presence in Afghanistan: Implications for the Regional Powers and the US'.

While taking note of the historic India-USSR relationship in particular in the defence field, the CIA report of April 1985 noted that India is likely to become increasingly concerned about long-range Soviet intentions in the region and could find itself moving towards confrontation with the Soviets if Pakistan was effectively neutralised.

"New Delhi regards Pakistan as a strategic buffer against the USSR and would oppose Moscow's effort to dominate Pakistan. New Delhi and Moscow would find themselves supporting rival factions within Pakistan," said the report, according to which Moscow had plans to change the regime in Pakistan and extend its influence beyond Afghanistan. In that case, the report said, "The Indians would seek to significantly reduce their dependence on Moscow and reorder their strategic relationship with the USSR, the United States and China if they perceived Soviet ambitions as extending beyond Afghanistan toward the subcontinent."

According to the report, the Soviets tried to heighten India's suspicion about Pakistan's intentions and its security relationship with the US in order to foster Indo-Pakistani tensions and heighten New Delhi’s dependence on Moscow. "In Soviet view, conflict between India and Pakistan would work toward solving Moscow's Afghan problem and would give Moscow opportunities to strengthen its position in South Asia," the report said.

"If (Gen) Zia (Ul Haq) regime were to fall, the Indians might try to prevent Soviet attempt to dominate Pakistan by supporting rival Pakistani political factions, Soviet military moves against an already neutralised Pakistan could even result in military confrontation with India," it added.

Six months later when Gandhi was planning to meet General Zia on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, the CIA analyzed that the then Indian Prime Minister, despite his strong public views on Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, was unlikely to push him hard on it. "Gandhi is unlikely to push Zia hard about the Pakistani nuclear program, although he probably will at least mention his continuing concern," noted the top secret CIA document dated October 21, 1985.

"For his part, Zia is also likely to propose ideas on ways to improve the bilateral relationship. He may suggest regular high-level diplomatic talks in addition to the formal Joint Commission sessions that focuses on trade, communications and cultural exchanges," the report said. "Zia may also solicit Gandhi's views on whether as the Pakistanis believe the Soviets are becoming serious about a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan," it said.

 

[Maula Jatt]

It's actually the opposite. The Indian government of the mid-1980s under PM Rajiv Gandhi saw Zia ul Haq's Pakistan as the buffer which would protect Rajiv's India from increased Soviet presence in India which could very possibly enable the Indian Communists from politically taking over at some point. Rajiv Gandhi was ready to assist Zia to get back into power in case he was toppled by Soviet-assisted Pakistani leftists where the Soviets would try to extend their influence into Pakistan beyond their presence in Afghanistan. From my 2015 thread :

dude seriously, Ill keep it 100% real
no one cares, you copy paste this repetitive post everywhere , we know whats up and you have been countered on this atleast a 100 times but people give up after a while
Don't take this thread off topic

 

[jamahir]

dude seriously, Ill keep it 100% real
no one cares, you copy paste this repetitive post everywhere , we know whats up

I just tell you the truth, so what if it's copy-pasted many times. Some here just have to look beyond elevating Zia to herohood. The major players in this case were USSR and Rajiv's establishment, though with plans of opposite varieties.

 

[Muhammad Saftain Anjum]

dude seriously, Ill keep it 100% real
no one cares, you copy paste this repetitive post everywhere , we know whats up

I heard in an interview of a ISI who said Soviets approached India to attack Pakistan but India rejected their offer.
Almost similar situation when chinese offered us to attack India simultaneously in 1962.
we even gave Indians the path to attack China in 1962 Sino Indian war.
In Kargil war, India approached China to give them path to attack PA from multiple fronts and surround PA completely.ButChina rejected.

Now imagine if there was some Muslim brother country instead of China on our border,we were f#cked up lol .

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

It's actually the opposite. The Indian government of the mid-1980s under PM Rajiv Gandhi saw Zia ul Haq's Pakistan as the buffer which would protect Rajiv's India from increased Soviet presence in India which could very possibly enable the Indian Communists from politically taking over at some point. Rajiv Gandhi was ready to assist Zia to get back into power in case he was toppled by Soviet-assisted Pakistani leftists where the Soviets would try to extend their influence into Pakistan beyond their presence in Afghanistan. From my 2015 thread :

So India did not want the Soviet Union to invade Pakistan but Indians being Indians, decided to take advantage of Pak-USSR hostilities and occupied Siachin Glacier instead.

That's called backstabbing.

 

[Sinnerman108]

Gen Zia was class,
he left very big shoes, that till date are unfilled.

 

[-blitzkrieg-]

I just tell you the truth, so what if it's copy-pasted many times. Some here just have to look beyond elevating Zia to herohood. The major players in this case were USSR and Rajiv's establishment, though with plans of opposite varieties.

It was a smokescreen.They occupied the dmz in siachin and later started operation brasstacks.
Learn about it.

 

[jamahir]

So India did not want the Soviet Union to invade Pakistan but Indians being Indians, decided to take advantage of Pak-USSR hostilities and occupied Siachin Glacier instead.

That's called backstabbing.

It was a smokescreen.They occupied the dmz in siachin and later started operation brasstacks.
Learn about it.

Well, I don't know about Siachin operation and Operation Brasstacks i.e. if they are not one and the same. I don't much like military things.

But like in the article I posted, Rajiv Gandhi had an understanding with Zia especially wrt nuclear weapons.

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

Well, I don't know about Siachin operation and Operation Brasstacks i.e. if they are not one and the same. I don't much like military things.

But like in the article I posted, Rajiv Gandhi had an understanding with Zia especially wrt nuclear weapons.

Understanding on what exactly? India moaning and whinning about Pakistani nuclear program and Pakistan not caring?

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

At the end of the day, Pak usually does what she has to do....

 

[Silverblaze]

As usual half lies and half truths. Major Amir considers General Raheel as the most cruel commander in Pak history so I would not rate his opinion as truth.

Anyways, Cia was already in Aghanistan prior to soviet invasion. Cia also wanted revenge for vietnam.

From Pakistans perspective this is what we should care about and nothing else.

Every war has a price whether you like any war or dont like it or you were forced into it or went into it willingly.

Pakistani elite must now mitigate the damage done otherwise keep getting humiliated by friends and foes alike.

 

[kingQamaR]

Sadly for us, Zia Ul Haq was a one off in Pakistan history, I’m not saying he was a perfect in everything he did . He was our winston Churchill of that time confronting a invasion that was going to destroy Pakistan split it in half Ussr designs was take Baluchistan to give them access to warm waters of gulf. That would have been the end of our Pakistan as a country