Rabbani sees symbolic US pullout from Kabul
Posted on December 19, 2012
Saeed Minhas
ISLAMABAD: A close confidante of Benazir Bhutto, a follower of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto since 60s and former provincial minister, Rana Ikram Rabbani believes that Americans will have only a symbolic withdrawal from Afghanistan to counter Chinese, Irani and Russian influence in the region
In an exclusive Interview with The Frontier Post, Rabbani, who has recently switched his loyalties from the PPP to the PML (N), owing to differences with the Party leadership over massive corruption, dealt national and regional scenario besides elaborating his exit from PPP at length. In a detailed sitting during his visit to federal capital, the veteran politician and a guru on Punjab politics with a deep understanding of regional and international players, says that Pakistani establishment’s long standing mythical doctrine of strategic depth stands buried and it has weakened so much that it can no more influence Kabul rather it is looking towards Americans to help contain Indian influence growing in Afghanistan.
His fears rallied around the point that Pakistan will fall into even greater chaos if its leadership failed to evolve a national strategy about Iran, China, Russia viz-a-viz Americans. Rabbabni, who hails from Okara, strongly believes that besides education, and development, corruption remains the major curse and every successive government has failed to curb this menace. He called upon the government to immediately call in an All Parties Conference to set the national agenda which should later be given a constitutional cover to set the direction for the country, otherwise a huge crisis and chaos is awaiting all of us.
Explaining his exit from Peoples Party, he said: “I was feeling like an alien in a party, where I have given my whole life, health and even wealth because the founding principles of the party were being flouted and the corruption within party ranks and files topped all imaginations, especially of former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and his family, I raised the issues and found them falling not only on deaf ears but also was punished and incriminated for tarnishing the party’s image, that’s when I decided to switch with a very heavy heart and soul and Nawaz League was the best option I could come up with under the given circumstances and now all my expertise and services will be devoted to my new political home.”
Regarding the Pak-Afghan issue and likely Americans’ pull-out from Afghanistan, Rabbani was of the view that “Americans will make a symbolic exit from Afghanistan because it’s no more between America, Afghanistan and Pakistan rather China, Russia and even Iran have become an integral part of the whole quagmire.” He said that it is a known fact that Pakistan and this region is directly controlled by Pentagon not by the State Department or CIA and therefore decisions regarding Pakistan are taken primarily from a militaristic standpoint not from political perspective. Emphasizing his viewpoint he said that Pentagon would never like to leave an area where Iran remains an eye-sore especially when Americans backed Turkish efforts to neutralize have backfired. Then, he said Chinese and Russians advances remain a cause of concern for Pentagon, therefore, any future strategy regarding Afghanistan and this region will heavily be based on military approach.
Since Rabbani has been handling the foreign affairs wing of the PPP and was deeply involved with the successive local and foreign establishments, he revealed that “Myth of Pakistani establishment and its long-standing doctrine of “Strategic Depth” stands buried and reasons lie within the establishment which failed to develop and readjust according to emerging situation in Afghanistan. Now, instead of vying for a pawn in Kabul, Pakistanis are looking for a neutral setup there just to ensure that it should not lean towards India.” He said that Indians are actively backing anti-Karzai forces like Abdullah Abdullah to ensure that Karzai did not even try to show any tilt towards Pakistan. Simultaneously, Rabbani added that Indians are investing heavily in Afghanistan, which is a constant source of concern for the Pakistani establishment. In the wake of a hostile eastern border, Pakistan wants to have at least a neutral neighbor on its western borders.
About the emerging scenario in this region and its implications for Pakistan, Rabbani said that the country needs to play its cards very sensibly because any loose stroke at this moment may put them in further turmoil especially when Balochistan and Karachi are unstable. Any operation in Karachi or North Waziristan may spiral things out of control and destabilize the entire country and the region. He lamented President Zardari for cancelling the visit to Tehran which may enrage Iranians at a time when Eastern and Western neighbours are already hostile to Pakistan.
Commenting on the reasons for opening the NATO supplies, Rabbani said that Pakistani establishment is under tremendous pressure from Pentagon especially when they have moved their fleets in nearby waters. Apprehending that if Pakistan commits something under pressure by deserting Iran, China and Russia in the region, it will have to face huge implications as it will bring added chaos not only for Pakistan but also for the entire region.
When asked about the way out or choices for Pakistan, he said that politics is considered to be a heartless beast and phrases like friendship, partners or love affairs are mere words and supreme concern remains the national interests both in politicking and diplomacy. Americans have clear goals, but Pakistan is wondering in space without any national direction, he observed.
Talking about big game changer in South Asian and world scenario—India, Rabbani said that “it is her economy” which is why Americans are giving more attention to India than Pakistan, and unfortunately Pakistani government and establishment are not ready to look into this direction rather want to live in fools’ paradise by hanging on to its decades old India-centric policy. After shedding the Pakistan-centric policy, he said that India has progressed much faster which is evident from the fact that even American Presidents prefer to visit India over Pakistan.
Regarding ten years of War on terror, Rabbani said that he sympathizes with Americans for sustaining so much loss in Afghanistan but they have to realize that Pakistan has sustained even bigger losses than the US. Because of this war and the unending corruption of the current incompetent government, he said that Pakistanis are feeling insecure and its investors are going to Malaysia and Singapore to set up industries.
He said that a visionary leadership could have benefited from becoming a frontline state in this war on terror by either getting its loans written off or seeking infrastructure development. But, he said that unfortunately other than filling their foreign accounts, current leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party has done no service to Pakistanis.
He said that because of greed and selfishness of the PPP leadership, Pakistan today stands isolated in international comity of the nations. Talking about way out, Rabbani said that government should immediately call an All Parties Conference to set a national agenda and then give it a constitutional cover as well. This APC should be given live coverage so that the people can see for themselves that which party takes a stand for Pakistan.
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