Washington-London memogate conspiracy

The secret memo was drafted in Washington by Pakistan’s Ambassador Hussain Haqqani (now retired), who dictated the text to the American businessman, Mansoor Ijaz. Both flew to London on May 10, where they met with the UK Chief of Defence Staff, Sir David
Richards, obtained the ‘seal of approval’ and flew back to Washington where the memo was handed over to National Security Advisor General James Jones, who delivered it to Admiral Mike Mullen. It contained the hybrid plan for regime change in Pakistan. In this
sordid game of conspiracy, however, the very important link of New Delhi is missing to complete the ‘triangle of conspiracy’.

In order to implement the plan, the findings of Abbottabad Commission were to be manipulated in the same manner as the 9/11 Inquiry Committee, which promptly blamed Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda for the tragic incident and punished them by launching a full-scale
war on Afghanistan. Also, the war-torn country was punished for giving refuge to Osama and his followers, and it continues with no end in sight.

The Commission, therefore, was expected to blame the army high command and ISI for their failure to intercept the intruding Americans, who allegedly killed Osama on Pakistani soil. Thus, under the cover of its findings, it would have been easy to remove
both the Army Chief and DG ISI. Then the new national security team would takeover and place its ‘loyalists’ at all important assignments, creating harmony between the civil and military leadership that is presently lacking. If the plan succeeded, it would
support the new AfPak policy and facilitate the US and NATO troops withdrawal from Afghanistan under a safe exit.

A safe exit, however, for them could be possible only with the permission of the new government to conduct sweeping operations in North Waziristan, and dismantle the Haqqani network and terrorist bases. America would then be able to talk to the Taliban from
a position of strength and establish loyalist civilian governments in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conditions would then be conducive to gaining “legitimate access to Pakistan’s nuclear assets”, handing over of Pakistanis to India blamed for the Mumbai terror
attack, and “a policy shift in Pakistan’s relations with India”, which meant that Islamabad accept Indian hegemony in the region and shift the bulk of its forces from the eastern to northwestern borders with Afghanistan. Further, develop good neighbourly relations,
trade and commerce by granting the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India. The utopian regime, thus, established could find a person no better than Haqqani to maintain the best of relations between Pakistan, India and the US.

In fact, the process of regime change in Pakistan initiated in September 2011, when the MQM split ways with the government and the opposition was activated to form a grand alliance for a political movement. However, the PPP government pre-empted the move
and striked hard at the MQM. had described this in my article, titled Pakistan’s Politics and Proxy War, by saying: “Zardari has won, conspiracy for regime change has failed and MQM has been cut to size, badly beaten and bruised.” So, the first round was won
by Zardari, but the real trouble begins now with the Washington-London memogate conspiracy.

The UK Chief of Staff arrived in Islamabad on November 22 and met PM Yousuf Raza Gilani to lobby for Haqqani, Whereas Haqqani has rendered his resignation to the President saying that the memogate scandal was “a conspiracy against Pakistan and demanded full
investigation into the matter to find the real culprits.”
Moreover, the Imran Khan phenomenon is developing into “a third political force for a future political dispensation.” The apex court is determined to ensure implementation of its verdicts, which so far have been sidetracked avoiding prosecution. The armed forces
are ready to play their historic role that destiny has bestowed on them. An atmosphere of fear of the unknown prevails, as the conspiracy spirals into an international game.
The frustration of Pakistanis is increasing under the pressure of bad governance and has turned into a popular demand for change earlier than 2013. And the worst that could happen to the government is the increasing distrust between the civil and military establishments,
particularly after the revelations made by Ijaz about the Washington-London memogate – a very sensitive issue, indeed, that needs to be handled carefully by the civil and military leadership. The sensitivity of the matter relates mainly to the following issues:

i There is no proof of President Asif Zardari’s involvement in this dirty game, except for Ijaz’s statement that Haqqani had assured him that “the president was onboard”, which may not be true. In this context, Ijaz also warned about the consequences, if
the plan was exposed as in 1996, when Benazir Bhutto – a very good friend of Haqqani – was the Prime Minister; a similar plan was hatched, but got exposed and Benazir lost her government. The intriguing aspect is, “the linkage” between the events of 1996 and
2011 by the same operatives, i.e. Ijaz and Haqqani.
i That there is a national security team, comprising civil, military personnel and technocrats, ready to take charge and “ensure harmony in the new set-up” through replacements and adjustments. It is a dangerous conspiracy, since it divides the loyalties of
important government functionaries and politicians.

i The intent and purpose of the change through these means is to grant big concessions to America and India, which would result into compromises on very important and critical national security interests of Pakistan. The conspiracy overrides Pakistan’s sovereignty,
as part of an international conspiracy against it, which has the right to approach the UN for action against the perpetrators of this crime.

These are the very hot issues that will be discussed and debated in the coming months heating up the political atmosphere to a boiling point. At this juncture, it is the responsibility of the government, opposition, civil society, courts and armed forces
to steer the movement in the right direction. Indeed, destiny beckons them to be positive and pragmatic to play their historic role.

The writer is former chief of army staff, Pakistan.

Disclaimer: This article is written by General Mirza Aslam Beg in ‘The Nation’.

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Posted by Ali Raza on Nov 27 2011. Filed under Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry