Denial is part of ignorance. And, Pakistan since the foundation of terror factories on its soil in the late 70s has overindulged itself in denying everything from its caesarian birth to a perennial threat it created in the region on an entirely new scale. Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s statement earlier this week that they have developed short-range nukes to take on India is ample proof that it cannot fix its deformity despite the fact that the world has already moved on to a new strategic battlefield.
A secret Pakistani army communication said, “Pakistan is not willing to live as a surrogate of India as it can compel India to pay a heavy price if it uses its military instrument to brow beat Pakistan. It is determined to chart its own course and strengthen its connection with the rest of the Muslim countries.”
The missive, however, deliberately omitted the connection with the rest of ‘terror groups’ it continues to maintain despite a series of sanctions imposed by United Nations and Western countries.
With 40 per cent Pakistanis living in extreme poverty and 48 terrorist outfits operating with thousands of dangerous modules deeply entrenched in the political system, army, Intelligence organ and society, Abbasi’s claim that its nukes are safe, is a crazy one. When the erstwhile Nawaz Sharif government was discussing a new global realignment, the rogue elements within his government were pushing to venture on exploring thermo-nuclear weapons technologies and development of limited second strike capability based on sub-marine-launched missiles. Although, the proposal was shot down due to economic reasons, it revealed Pakistan’s desperation.
The growing radicalisation of Pakistani army poses a more serious threat to its nuclear arsenals. The military leadership at Rawalpindi is well aware of the fact that Jihadi elements are now integral part of its army and ISI, which in the past tried to help Taliban acquire the nuclear weapons.
The so-called deterrence in fact has a high probability of landing in the armory of some terror groups closely connected with the ISI. A former American intelligence CIA officer talking about the threats had recently said that the hotbed of global Jihad—Pakistan—probably is the most dangerous country for the world.
He had further noted that there seem few levers to pull in Pakistan today, but if the world pursues a strategy of containment or disengagement, things will only get worse.
With both terrorists and around 130 nukes in its hand, Pakistan has been pursuing a dual policy: Give us money to protect our soil from Jihadi threat and build up more arsenals to counter India.
It is very clear that money wired to Pakistan by America helped terror outfits grow more rapidly. This lifted non-state actors like Hafiz Saeed from being a pariah to a legitimate political leader with considerable influence in radicalised Pakistani army and ISI.
The US and global powers need to change their strategy towards Pakistan. They must realise terrorists are purely Pakistan’s harvest. And, even in the state of suffering and continuous attacks in the cities of Pakistan, it has not been able to avoid the temptation of sowing fresh seeds of Jihadists, which it ultimately wants to use against India as a proxy.
Pakistan’s Lt General Tariq Nadeem Gilani in a secret analysis paper for his army, has said seeds of conflict nurtured by extremists and fundamentalist elements in Pakistan that are not under control of government are quite capable of pushing hostilities that could become the main trigger of future conflict with India. Pakistan lives in lies. It is yet to realise that no country with terror outfits on its back can be in absolute control. Nuke or no nuke, deep down Pakistan will remain a terror state.