Pakistan resembles US puppet regime of Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan
Since 1947, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Land of the Pure), a military dictatorship, has been a fragile entity perpetually on the brink of internal civil war, and constantly at loggerheads with India over contested Kashmir. It is a destabilizing factor on the Asian continent. The recent sacking of Pakistan's Supreme Court Justice by President Pervez Musharraf in March of 2007 is just another one of many straws weighing on the central government's back in Islamabad, a portent of what more is to come.
The Sunni dominant country is a nation-state in name only being held together by the force of its military and with the Machiavellian support of the USA. It is a powder keg of conflict pitting Pakistan's ruthless military against tribal factions in the North along Afghanistan's border and, in particular, against the Baloch in the South whose homeland is resource rich Balochistan.
In many respects, Musharaf's Pakistan resembles the US puppet regime of Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan. There, the central government has little influence beyond its seat of government in the capital city and any authority it does have comes from the barrel of a gun or the bomb rack of an American made military aircraft. And, in rather depressing respects, Islamabad's handling of the Baloch and their homeland is seems a mirror image of the US treatment of local Iraqis in the ongoing US misadventure in Iraq. But, one must have hope that the USA will learn.
PAK has NUKE: Anyone Care?
The CIA Factbook 2007 paints an even grimmer picture of the Land of the Pure. It garners a “high risk” mark for food and waterborne diseases such as bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever. It suffers from water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff. Pakistan has limited natural fresh water resources and a majority of the population does not have access to potable water. It's a transit country for opium. Yet, this military dictatorship overseen by Musharaff maintains a nuclear arsenal and each year, in the face of its internal strife, manages to find the funds to purchase weaponry from an assortment of international military contractors - among them the USA. But the hard reality for the USA is that Pakistan, or whatever may become of it, will remain a chess piece for the geopolitical machinations of the USA, China, India and Russia.
If the National Security Policy of the USA makes any sense at all, then it's Pakistan that the USA should be looking to target with UN sanctions or economic/military pressure, perhaps in conjunction with India and in consultation with China and Russia. After all, Pakistan is a failing state that already has nuclear weapons . And it is worth stating again that the country is a military dictatorship whose intelligence service - the ISI - is known to have a lot of animosity towards the USA, and has continually lent support to the Taliban - if not Al Qaeda. Moreover, US oil and natural gas concerns own 30% of the finds in Balochistan. It would be in the USA's best interest to court the local Baloch rather than sit by and watch the government in Islamabad crush the Baloch. Lessons-learned in Iraq should have taught the leaders in Washington, DC something (anything?) about how not to make enemies out of local populations.
Strategic Interests Served
Balochistan is in the southwest portion of Pakistan and borders Iran, Afghanistan, and India. The province is rich in oil & natural gas and its mostly 800 miles of underdeveloped coastline is flush with an abundance of ocean resources. A portion of Balochistan resides in Iran and is known as “Sistan and Balochestan”, an Iranian province bordering on the Sea of Oman and Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is Iran's poorest province and is home to roughly 400,000 people. Could the The US and Iran find some common ground for an independent Balochistan? Why not link the issue to current US and Iranian grievances with each other? Perhaps Iran cedes some territory for US concessions and economic aid. Once the troublesome Pakistani military is out of Balochistan on the Pakistan side, and the Baloch become independent and negotiate fair treatment for their people, and worthy prices for their land and resources, the Baloch might agree to stop attacking commercial interests.
The Baloch view themselves as an occupied territory and have done so since March 27, 1948 when the Pakistanis invaded Balochistan. Quoting Dr. Wahid Baloch, “Balochistan was a free sovereign independent state with its own parliament, the Dar-ul Awaam, the House of Commons, and Dar-ul Umraa, House of Lords. Soon after the creation of Pakistan, Pakistan invaded Balochistan and forcefully annexed it into Pakistan. From 1977-2005, Pakistan continues its crime against the Baloch people. Thousands of Baloch political activists and students have been arrested and are being tortured in secret jails. Many are missing, including Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch, Goher Baloch and Akther Nadeem Baloch. Pakistani military, paramilitary and security forces are given the task to arrest, kidnap or kill any Baloch who talks or thinks about freedom. More than 600 military check [points] have been established all over Balochistan to control the activities and movements of the Baloch people.
