Eye Of The Storm: Western Plans For Iraq-Style Tension On Pakistan-Iran Border?

The News
February 23, 2012

The Balochistan issue

While I condemn every wrong done to the Baloch people by our mindless rulers, both civilian and military, I also want to warn all my estranged Baloch brothers and sisters against the fallouts of treading a course that the US might have chosen for them because it clearly bodes more misery for them in the long run. The Baloch must wait to see how the best hydrocarbons in the world from Libya are landing into the war complexes in the United States, UK and France. They must wait to see how the countries sharing geographical contiguity with Israel are now in the eye of the storm. They must realise that Balochistan can be turned into another satellite state for American adventurism with Iran, China and Russia.

The Baloch people cannot have a future with only those who have selfish strategic interests in mind. The Khan of Kalat should know that his authority and clout will be eventually be dumped once the Americans achieve their objectives through his person. I request Imran Khan to take stock of the situation in Balochistan and raise the issue at the national level without any fear of annoying our establishment or the Americans. It is time to set aside political expediencies if we really want to address the Balochistan issue.

Shehrayar
Islamabad

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The Nation
February 23, 2012

In the eye of the storm
S.R.H. Hasmi

Karachi: The Nation in its February 22 issue has reported that the United States is putting pressure on Pakistani authorities to allow it to establish intelligence bases in the country’s Balochistan province to gather intelligence on Iran, and this report has been confirmed by two officials from the security agencies and one from diplomatic circles. Furthermore, the resolution introduced in the US Congress to recognize the right of the Baloch people to self-determination is part of the pressure tactics to force Pakistan to give in.

We heard so much about the dictator Pervez Musharaf giving in to the US on one telephone call and that this would not have happened had a democratic government been in power then. However, the continuation of drone attacks despite unanimous parliamentary resolutions against these as well as unequivocal condemnation by top civilian and military leaders, the Abbottabad operation and the subsequent attack on the Salalah post that killed 24 soldiers do not quite reassure the public of the government’s strength.

Of course the Salalah attack drew strong responses from civilian and military leaders, like the stoppage of Nato supplies going through Pakistan, throwing out the Americans from the Shamsi airbase, and determining new terms of engagement with the US by the parliament.

However, we heard that Nato supplies through our airspace resumed while the parliament has still not finalised its recommendations, which is surprising to say the least.

We have not seen much in the way of good governance but hope that at least on a matter of such vital importance for Pakistan the government would take a firm stand and will not accede to requests or even threats from the Americans who are no friends of ours and are here to implement their agenda of redrawing the maps of Muslim states as well as depriving us of our nuclear weapons.

Allowing the Americans to operate near the Iranian border would be doubly harmful because in addition to their subversive activities in Balochistan, they would successfully draw a wedge between us and friendly Iran. The Americans and their accomplices successfully created tension between the Shia and Sunni communities which have been living together peacefully in Iraq for ages. It would be a shame if we allow them to do the same here and thus cooperate with them in our own undoing and that of our neighbours, in return for a few dollars in aid or otherwise.