Dubious Doings

A consequence of the Lahore incident (in which a US national shot two Pakistanis dead and then unidentified, possibly US nationals, killed another Pakistani while trying to take away the one who had done the killing) is the firm media and public focus on US activities in Pakistan and questions about their intentions. Such doubts, misgivings, suspicions and rumors had been on the periphery but now they are center stage. At first they were based on police-US nationals’ encounters on the streets with the US nationals refusing to come out of their fortified vehicles as they disregarded local laws, now there is a serious incident and the proverbial cat is out of the bag.

The first ambiguity under discussion is the US policy to employ Drones for targeted killings in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The general perception is that these are being carried out under a US-Pakistan agreement that is best described as ‘accept and facilitate but deny and condemn’ on the Pakistan side and ‘continue but downplay and do not discuss’ on the US side. Reports of such attacks are now reported as a routine by the media and the public has been conditioned to accept them as unavoidable, even helpful in the fight against terror.  Criticism is muted and there are reports from the US that technological improvements have made collateral damage minimal. There has been no denial of media reports that such a policy exists. Perhaps it is time to reevaluate the policy and then remove ambiguities and state the facts.

The next widely held perception is that US Special Forces and CIA personnel have been given access to locate and take out terrorists within Pakistan. The exact extent of this access and how it is being used by the US is not clear. A report in the media indicating such an arrangement has not been denied. There have been many incidents in the past of US personnel stopped by police at check points refusing to submit to local laws. The ‘Davis’ incident was simply waiting to happen and there is no doubt that ‘Davis’ is a trained operative on a special mission under cover. The problem is that for the US he is a hero—someone operating behind ‘enemy’ lines in most hazardous circumstances. For Pakistanis he is a killer who was up to no good and the same goes for his ‘accomplices’. The fact that those killed may have been robbers or his contacts or intelligence personnel tailing him have all become secondary—he has become the symbol of US high handedness and tyranny against which Pakistan must stand up. The chance to nip the problem right at the outset has passed because the US representation in Pakistan flip flopped and did not cooperate. Public opinion and media power were grossly under rated and are still not being acknowledged because pressures and threats are aggravating the situation.

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