Political India: Engaging America

President Barack Obama returned to front-foot batting in the ongoing crisis of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, when he said at a White House news conference on Thursday that Islamabad was hedging its bets in terms of the post-drawdown denouement in Afghanistan, in particular by associating with “unsavoury characters.”

In a rare departure, Mr. Obama explicitly alluded to Pakistan's role in its troubled history with India, saying Pakistan saw its “security interest threatened by an independent Afghanistan, in part because they think it will ally itself to India and Pakistan still considers India their mortal enemy.”

“Part of what we want to do is actually get Pakistan to realise that a peaceful approach towards India would be in everybody's interests,” he said.

The comment came a few days after New Delhi and Kabul inked a Strategic Partnership Agreement under which India would likely to take on new responsibilities for training the Afghan National Security Forces.

The President also left little doubt that his comments related directly to the controversy of the last few weeks centred on the alleged ties between Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and the dangerous Haqqani network terror group.

Mr. Obama said Pakistan had “hedged [its] bets in terms of what Afghanistan would look like and part of hedging their bets is having interactions with some of the unsavoury characters who they think might end up regaining power in Afghanistan after coalition forces have left.”

“There is no doubt that there's some connections the Pakistani military and intelligence services have with certain individuals that we find troubling,” Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Obama also underscored several challenging situations facing Pakistan at the moment, including illiteracy, poverty and underdevelopment, and weak civil institutions.

“In that environment, you've seen extremism grow, you've seen militancy that threatens the Pakistani government and Pakistani people as well,” he said, adding, “Trying to get that reorientation is something we continue to work on. It is not easy.”

Labels: Barack Obama, Haqqani network, Pak terror links, Rabbani killing

After a dangerous verbal escalation between top officials of the two countries, the United States appeared to back down from the simmering faceoff with Pakistan over allegations that the latter's spy agency, the ISI, regularly connives with the Haqqani network to attack western and allied forces in Afghanistan.

In a series of comments, the White House and the State Department seemed anxious to douse the flames, with President Barack Obama saying, “The intelligence [from Pakistan] is not as clear as we might like in terms of what exactly that relationship is.”

Further, the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said that it was important to “appreciate their perspective about where we both are right now.”

However, she warned: “That in no way excuses the fact that they are making a serious, grievous, strategic error supporting these groups, because you think that you can keep a wild animal in the backyard and it will only go after your neighbour?”

Recalling the history of Pakistan's linkages with terror groups Ms. Clinton added, “They also have used groups in the past to support their ongoing conflict with India over Kashmir... and were trying to draw a distinction between the good terrorists and the bad terrorists.”

Following sharp comments last week by the erstwhile Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, who said that the Haqqani militants were a “veritable arm” of the ISI, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar pushed back strongly, warning the U.S. could “lose an ally” in the war against extremism.

Mr. Obama also adopted a softer tone on a radio talk show on Friday when he credited Pakistan with “outstanding cooperation in going after al-Qaeda” and vowed that Washington would remain firm with Islamabad on the safe haven issue.

Yet, he was firm on the need for action from the Pakistani side, saying, “My attitude is, whether there is active engagement with Haqqani on the part of the Pakistanis or rather just passively allowing them to operate with impunity in some of these border regions, they've got to take care of this problem.”

Mr. Obama, however, placed a question mark on Admiral Mullen's initial comments to the U.S. Congress, saying that in the testimony the Admiral had expressed “frustration” over the fact that safe havens existed, including for the Haqqani network, inside Pakistan.

Labels: Haqqani network, U.S.-Pakistan relations

Labels: Haqqani network, terror network

Labels: Haqqani network, Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen, Memorial Day Monday, military offensive, North Waziristan, Pakistan, U.S.

From The Hindu

A rare window of opportunity for peace and political stability in Afghanistan might have opened up, according to a Washington Post article which reported that the Taliban and representatives of Afghan President Hamid Karzai have embarked upon “secret, high-level talks” aimed at ending the war in the country.

Quoting unnamed European, Afghan and Arab sources the article said that they believed that the Taliban involved in the discussion were authorised to speak for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan wing of the group that is based in Pakistan. In particular the discussants were said to represent Mohammad Omar, leader of the Quetta Shura.

However the sources mentioned by the Post were also equally clear that the groups that were kept out of the talks included the Haqqani network, a militant outfit in Pakistan that “U.S. intelligence considers particularly brutal.”

This group was said to still exert some influence on the process, with one Afghan source noting that Pakistan’s insistence on a central role in negotiations had made talks with the Quetta group difficult. Regarding this role of Pakistan this source reportedly said, “They try to keep very tight control.”

In January Pakistan’s role in Afghan peace negotiations was criticised in some quarters after it has emerged that Abdul Ghani Baradar, a senior operational commander of the Taliban, was arrested by Pakistani authorities because they reportedly feared being left out of a deal that the Taliban was striking with the Hamid Karzai government in Kabul.

Media reports at the time had quoted an unnamed Pakistani security official as saying, “We picked up Baradar and the others because they were trying to make a deal without us... We protect the Taliban. They are dependent on us. We are not going to allow them to make a deal with Karzai and the Indians.”

Destabilised

Kai Eide, a former special representative in Afghanistan for the United Nations Secretary General, had also said shortly thereafter that secret U.N. discussions with the Taliban in Dubai were destabilised by the arrest of Mr. Baradar.

The most recent indications of ongoing dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban have emerged amidst a “distinct change of heart by the Obama administration toward full backing of negotiations,” the sources said.

Labels: Haqqani network, Karzai-Taliban secret talks, Quetta Shura, Washington Post

From The Hindu

Three key leaders and financiers for the Haqqani Network and the Taliban have been “designated” or targeted through sanctions for supporting acts of terrorism linked to the militant groups based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States Department of the Treasury announced this week.

The designation was made pursuant to Executive Order 13224, according to which the Treasury was authorised to target Gul Agha Ishakzai, the head of the Taliban’s financial commission; Amir Abdullah, former treasurer to senior Taliban leader Mullah Berader; and Nasiruddin Haqqani, an emissary for the Haqqani Network.

In targeting these three individuals, the Treasury noted that the Haqqani Network was a Taliban-affiliated group of militants operating out of North Waziristan Agency, and that “Pakistan and has been spearheading insurgent activity in Afghanistan”.

As per the latest Executive Order, the Treasury has effectively frozen all assets that the three individuals hold under U.S. jurisdiction. Further the Treasury may now prohibit any U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with them. Further the three individuals were also added to the United Nations 1267 Consolidated List on July 19, 2010, for being associated with Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or the Taliban, the Treasury said in a statement.

Commenting on the designation Adam Szubin, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, said, “Today’s designation of three senior leaders and financiers for the Taliban and its affiliated Haqqani Network builds upon Treasury’s longstanding efforts to deprive these extremists of the resources they need to execute their violent activities.”

He added that the U.S. would continue to aggressively work to expose and dismantle the financial networks of terrorist groups in support of President Barack Obama’s goal of a stable Afghanistan.

Background details provided

The Treasury also provided background details identifying information on the three individuals targeted.

Regarding Mr. Ishakzai, the Treasury said he was the head of the Taliban’s financial commission and part of a recently-created Taliban council that coordinated the collection of zakat — a tax sanctioned by Islamic law — from Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. The Treasury further noted that Mr. Ishakzai collected money for suicide attacks in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and has been involved in the disbursement of funds for Taliban fighters and their families.

Mr. Abdullah was said to have served as treasurer to senior Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Berader and was the former deputy to the Taliban governor of Kandahar Province. He was also charged with fundraising for the Taliban from numerous countries in the Middle East and in 2001 Mr. Abdullah reportedly “helped many senior Taliban members who fled Afghanistan settle in Pakistan”.

Finally Mr. Haqqani was regarded as a key leader of the Haqqani Network, being the brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, previously designated by the U.S. in March 2008. Nasiruddin Haqqani was said to function as “an emissary for the Haqqani Network and spends much of his time raising money”.

Labels: Afghanistan, Haqqani network, Taliban

From The Hindu

Efforts led by General David Petraeus, head of military command for Afghanistan, may lead to the fearsome Haqqani network group of militants being labelled terrorists, reports have suggested, a move that could prove to be thorny for the United States-Pakistan relationship.

An article by the New York Times on Wednesday quoted unnamed administration officials as saying that General Petraeus had introduced the idea of blacklisting the Haqqani network late last week in discussions with President Obama’s senior advisers on Pakistan and Afghanistan. It went on to note that the action “was being seriously considered”.

In terms of immediate consequences, the application of the terrorist label to the group would likely lead to legal restrictions on U.S. entities trading with it and possibly the freezing of the group’s assets in the U.S..

However, the broader implications of such a move include the possibility of it posing a serious challenge for the U.S.’ Af-Pak strategy. This is especially likely given Pakistan’s close ties with the Haqqani network and the efforts of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to build broader alliances in his country, including with members of the Taliban, who are also known to have links to the Haqqani group.

One immediate issue that is likely to be affected by the Haqqani network question is the ongoing debate on which members of the Taliban should feature on a United Nations sanctions list and which of them should be taken off the list, as requested by President Karzai.

Responding to a question from The Hindu, Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan said at a briefing, “In every war of this sort, there’s always a window for people who want to come in from the cold... If they are willing to accept the red lines… there has to be a place for them.” He added that some of these Afghans “may live next door and take sanctuary next door”, in a reference to Pakistan harbouring some members of these groups.

The Haqqani network, now controlled by militants based in Pakistan was created by the Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani. Today it is reported to be led by his son Sirajuddin.

The NYT report noted that the idea of blacklisting the network was “first made public on Tuesday by Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, who has just returned from Pakistan and Afghanistan.” It added that Senator Levin did not disclose any conversations he might have had with General Petraeus on the subject.

The report further quoted Senator Levin as saying, “At the moment, the Haqqani network — and their fighters coming over the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan — is the greatest threat, at least external threat, to Afghanistan.”

He was reported to have also said, “More needs to be done by Pakistan… The Pakistanis have said they now realise, more than ever, that terrorism is a threat to them — not just the terrorists who attack them directly, but the terrorists who attack others from their territory.”

Labels: General David Petraeus, Haqqani network, U.S.-Pakistan ties