Pakistan’s response to Hillary Clinton’s allegations

In quite an odd move, the Foreign Office expressed its lack of knowledge that Pakistan has been used as safe hideaway by Al-Qaeda and its ally outfits.

In reply to the allegations leveled by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said she believed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri is somewhere in Pakistan, the Foreign Office completely denied the statement.

Likewise game was played out in the past. The US Secretary of State made similar accusations, back in 2010, about then Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and the Foreign Office had brushed aside the allegations in the same way.

A year later, the US Special Forces abducted Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, a garrison town of the country and a throw-away distance to Pakistan Military Academy Kakool.

We have not plausible deniability when many including OBL, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, Walid Attash and Ramzi bin al-Shibh were found in the country.

We will be better served by confessing the possibility that we have militants in our midst instead of issuing denials. Apparently, it will no different while explaining to the United States how finding terrorists can be like searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Nonetheless, Hillary Clinton chose the wrong time and place to accuse Pakistan for hiding Al-Qaeda operatives and supporting the militants. The statement came at a time when negotiations between the US and Pakistan is underway to reset ties.

Presently, the problem is that no one is liable to deny those statements and accusation. We were in position to arrest Mullah Omar’s second-in-command Mullah Baradar when the US and Afghanistan decided to start negotiations with the Afghan Taliban, sidelining Pakistan from the process.

However, we did not work accordingly. Such actions based on self-interests will serve only confirm its worst fears what the US leveled charges that our intelligence agencies may be supporting the Afghan Taliban.

The Clinton’s statement with a plea for Pakistan to do more to capture terrorists was not quite inapt. However, the US Secretary of State should have been careful about the venue of the statement.

Her statement at the Indian soil will surely raise Pakistani hackles. However, the responsibility on us to eliminate militancy that has found it all too easy to hide in Pakistan.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=21852

Posted by Faisal Farooq on May 9 2012. Filed under National, Opinion, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.