War on terror Five basics turned the tide: COAS

The News International - RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani says Pakistan has suffered the maximum in terms of human and economic losses due to terrorism and violent extremism. However, it has not dented the resolve of the nation and its armed forces to fight and finish terrorism in accordance with our own national interests.

He was talking to a group of foreign correspondents on his return from Brussels, where he had gone to attend the conference of Nato commanders on a special invitation, says an ISPR press release.

The COAS said he has conveyed the concerns, challenges, contributions and constraints of Pakistan in its fight against the terrorists. He said that he had highlighted the key issues of the conflict that needed to be fully understood and addressed. He drew the attention of the forum towards the huge sacrifices made by the people of Pakistan and its armed forces, due to the effect of “blowback”.

While referring to Afghanistan, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said that our objective is to have peaceful, stable and friendly Afghanistan. “We cannot wish for Afghanistan anything that we don’t wish for Pakistan”.

He reaffirmed that geography, culture and history can neither be separated nor wished away. He emphasized that our operations in 2009 have helped improve situation in Afghanistan in terms of squeezing of spaces, better control of areas and continuous logistic flow.

The COAS identified five fundamentals that helped in turning the tide and must not be lost sight for future operations. These are: public opinion, media support, Army’s capability and resolve, ‘our war’ was not ‘US war’ and a comprehensive strategy based on four different phases namely clear, hold, build and transfer. For the way forward, he said that the fundamentals should remain strong and intact, short and long-term interests be reconciled, strategic direction should be maintained and coordination be effect-based.

He informed the Nato commanders that our strategic paradigm needs to be fully realised. He said we are the second largest Muslim nation in the world located in a strategic region defined by competing interests and civilisational crossroads, with a prolonged history of conflict. We have three million Afghan refugees. At present, our operations are in a transitory phase (from hold to build), we must consolidate our gains and fully stabilise the areas secured, lest it fall back to terrorists. Constraints of capability to absorb and operate, limited cutting edge counter intelligence/counter-terrorism capability and limited budgetary space should be factored in.

In his concluding remarks, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said that Pakistan has contributed to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan. We have the will and resolve to overcome the menace of terrorism in our country and we have the public support. We have also offered to train Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP), as we have the capacity and wherewithal to do so. He reiterated that Pakistan should be trusted and enabled.

The briefing was followed by an interactive question-answer session. Reuters adds: Pakistan offered on Monday to train Afghanistan’s security forces with the dual aim of helping to secure a friendly neighbour over its western border while also watching old rival India over its eastern border.

The United States and Afghanistan’s other Western allies want Afghan forces to take over security responsibilities as a vital step toward the eventual withdrawal of foreign soldiers now battling an intensifying Taliban insurgency.

Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani said Pakistan was offering to help train Afghanistan’s security forces but he warned it would take years before they would be in a position to take over from foreign forces.

“If we get more involved with the ANA there’s more interaction and better understanding,” Kayani told reporters at his headquarters in Rawalpindi. “We have opened all doors ... It’s a win-win for Afghanistan, the United States, ISAF and Pakistan,” he said, referring to Nato’s International Security Assistance Force.

He said he believed it would take at least four years to achieve a target of a 140,000-strong Afghan force able to take over security responsibilities. While Afghanistan is wary of Pakistan, Islamabad is deeply suspicious of the close ties India has built with the US-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Pakistan sees the Afghan government as dominated by traditionally pro-Indian and anti-Pakistani ethnic Tajiks. Pakistan says India is supporting separatist rebels in its gas-rich Balochistan province from Afghanistan.

For years, Pakistan saw Afghanistan in terms of “strategic depth”, meaning, in the event of Indian forces rolling over its eastern border, Pakistani forces could withdraw over the western border into a friendly Afghanistan and fight back from there. But Kayani said Pakistan just wanted a friendly Afghanistan.

“‘Strategic depth’ does not imply controlling Afghanistan,” he said. “If Afghanistan is peaceful, stable and friendly we have our strategic depth because our western border is secure ... You’re not looking both ways.”

Kayani did not comment on the possibility of Pakistan using its links with the Afghan Taliban to push them towards peace talks. Pakistan has shown support for an invitation that Karzai issued last week for the Taliban to take part in a peace council.

But Kayani stressed the importance of public backing of anti-insurgent operations in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Referring to a US-backed Afghan plan to lure lower-level Taliban out of the insurgency, Kayani said a vital factor was the public perception of who was going to prevail. “They sit on the crossroads, waiting to see who is winning and losing,” he said.

source - The News