September 29, 2011

10 questions that need to be answered at the All Parties Conference

As you all might know an All Parties Conference (APC) is currently under way in Islamabad to chalk out a united response from the country's political leadership to the threats and accusations made by Admiral Mike Mullen in which he accused the Taliban's Haqqani network as being a veritable arm of the ISI. Almost 58 politicians belonging to all the major political parties are attending this conference including Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan and Chaudry Shujaat Ali. The important question is whether this conference will actually achieve anything substantial?

We of course need a united stance on the American accusations and allegations which are by their nature very extreme. To help the politicians achieve that, General Ashfaq Kayani (COAS) and General Ahmed Shuja Pasha (DG ISI) will be presenting themselves before the politicians and answering the various questions that they might have.

Some of the questions that I have and which I would really like to be answered are as follows:

  1. Does Pakistan actually have any "veritable" links to the Haqqani network?
  2. Does the Pakistani military support a "strategic depth" doctrine in Afghanistan?
  3. If yes, then what exactly does the Pakistani military intend to achieve with that strategic depth in Afghanistan?
  4. Does the ISI share strategic intel with the US intel agencies?
  5. Does the Pakistani military have compulsive, incriminating evidence against CIA/US double dealing in Afghanistan and Pakistan?
  6. Does the Pakistani intelligence apparatus have compulsive, incriminating evidence against Indian involvement in Pakistan's tribal areas and Balochistan?
  7. Does the Pakistani military believe that it can defend the country in the event of a ground invasion by the US forces?
  8. Why did the Pakistani military allow a known CIA operative who is also a murderer (Raymond Davis) go scot free?
  9. Has the Pakistani military officially sanctioned the lease of Shamsi airbase to the UAE and further on to the USA?
  10. How can General Kayani and General Pasha convince the Pakistani nation that after the OBL fiasco (being discovered in the heart of the Pakistani military) a repeat of that episode will not take place?

These are just some of the many questions that I would like to be answered. Because they form the bedrock of the many confusions plaguing our nation regarding the intentions of our armed forces.