Pakistan’s Man in the Shadows
The United States and India, budding economic and political partners, share a common problem. Despite providing aid and repeatedly attempting diplomacy, both nations cannot eradicate what President Barack Obama has called the “cancer” of terrorism in Pakistan.
The country continues to subvert American efforts in Afghanistan by remaining a hub for al Qaeda and the Taliban. This week, it demanded that Washington withdraw many of its Special Forces and CIA operatives from the country. And it threatens India by allowing terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, who have been known to lead attacks on Indian cities, to continue to operate within its borders.
The problem is that neither Washington nor New Delhi has a coherent strategy to coax or coerce Pakistan. Both have failed to appreciate how integral Pakistan’s military has become in steering the Pakistani ship. They need to concentrate their efforts on influencing the man behind its wheel: Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Kayani.
Consider the role the army plays in Pakistan’s power structure. From Ayub Khan’s coup d’état in 1958, to Zia-ul-Haq’s hanging of then-Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1979, to Pervez Musharraf’s takeover in 1999, the nation has become increasingly militarized. The military sees itself as the backbone of the Pakistani nation-state because it has been the core of stability amid democratic failures, assassinations, and terrorist attacks.