11-19-2008, 04:09 AM
<b>The world cannot afford a âfailedâ Pakistan</b>
* Former congressman Lee Hamilton says countryâs underlying economic weaknesses, global financial crisis have devastated it
* Says India remains Islamabadâs national security obsession
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: The danger of a failed state, replete with nuclear weapons, ethnic tensions, Taliban sympathisers and Osama Bin Laden in residence, is chilling, according to Lee Hamilton, former congressman and co-author of the 9/11 report.
Writing in the Indianapolis Star, Hamilton argues that Pakistanâs underlying economic weaknesses and the global financial crisis have devastated the country. Between July and October, the rupee lost a quarter of its value. Foreign-exchange reserves have dwindled to dangerously low levels. Pakistan has sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund in the $5 billion to $13 billion range to avoid defaulting on its debts. President Asif Ali Zardari has âyet to demonstrate the capacity to tackle Pakistanâs toughest challengesâ. He lacks popular support to wage a campaign against the Taliban. He must carefully balance his countryâs strategic alliance with the United States and widespread public hostility to the US.
Hamilton write that the dispute over Kashmir lingers, while the reach of the Taliban increasingly extends from the Tribal Areas into Pakistan and its cities. From their tribal agency base, the Taliban have launched deadly raids on US and allied troops in Afghanistan, where their presence is growing. The US response thus far has been increased cross-border military action into the Tribal Areas, but it needs a comprehensive plan to promote stability in the region with integrated security, political and economic components. Even then, the US cannot achieve success and eliminate terrorist sanctuaries in the Tribal Areas without Pakistani help. The United States needs to discreetly help Pakistan defend traditional forms of tribal governance and the elders who could form the backbone of indigenous resistance to the Taliban. In dealing with the Tribal Areas, the United States must differentiate its enemies.
Obsession:
Hamilton notes that Kabul has opened low-level negotiations with pragmatic elements within the Taliban under Saudi Arabian auspices. The US should sharply expand and improve its commitment to Pakistanâs economic development. India, he points out, remains Pakistanâs national security obsession. To Islamabad, Afghanistan represents an opportunity to achieve âstrategic depthâ vis-Ã -vis India. The United States should support rapprochement and a settlement over Kashmir, while encouraging Pakistan to view its regional security challenges more broadly. But, even with the right military, economic and political resources, the US faces an enormous challenge, nation-building in a country of 170 million people. The United States needs a unity of effort in support of the Pakistani government, the Pakistani people and our own national security interests.
* Former congressman Lee Hamilton says countryâs underlying economic weaknesses, global financial crisis have devastated it
* Says India remains Islamabadâs national security obsession
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: The danger of a failed state, replete with nuclear weapons, ethnic tensions, Taliban sympathisers and Osama Bin Laden in residence, is chilling, according to Lee Hamilton, former congressman and co-author of the 9/11 report.
Writing in the Indianapolis Star, Hamilton argues that Pakistanâs underlying economic weaknesses and the global financial crisis have devastated the country. Between July and October, the rupee lost a quarter of its value. Foreign-exchange reserves have dwindled to dangerously low levels. Pakistan has sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund in the $5 billion to $13 billion range to avoid defaulting on its debts. President Asif Ali Zardari has âyet to demonstrate the capacity to tackle Pakistanâs toughest challengesâ. He lacks popular support to wage a campaign against the Taliban. He must carefully balance his countryâs strategic alliance with the United States and widespread public hostility to the US.
Hamilton write that the dispute over Kashmir lingers, while the reach of the Taliban increasingly extends from the Tribal Areas into Pakistan and its cities. From their tribal agency base, the Taliban have launched deadly raids on US and allied troops in Afghanistan, where their presence is growing. The US response thus far has been increased cross-border military action into the Tribal Areas, but it needs a comprehensive plan to promote stability in the region with integrated security, political and economic components. Even then, the US cannot achieve success and eliminate terrorist sanctuaries in the Tribal Areas without Pakistani help. The United States needs to discreetly help Pakistan defend traditional forms of tribal governance and the elders who could form the backbone of indigenous resistance to the Taliban. In dealing with the Tribal Areas, the United States must differentiate its enemies.
Obsession:
Hamilton notes that Kabul has opened low-level negotiations with pragmatic elements within the Taliban under Saudi Arabian auspices. The US should sharply expand and improve its commitment to Pakistanâs economic development. India, he points out, remains Pakistanâs national security obsession. To Islamabad, Afghanistan represents an opportunity to achieve âstrategic depthâ vis-Ã -vis India. The United States should support rapprochement and a settlement over Kashmir, while encouraging Pakistan to view its regional security challenges more broadly. But, even with the right military, economic and political resources, the US faces an enormous challenge, nation-building in a country of 170 million people. The United States needs a unity of effort in support of the Pakistani government, the Pakistani people and our own national security interests.