Mohammad Jamil
On Wednesday, the India Today website carried a news item titled ‘Big blow for Pakistan: Ex-ISI official admits Kulbhushan Jadhav was captured from Iran.’ The publication claimed that “an ex-ISI official admitted that Kulbhushan Jadhav was captured in Iran.” Rubbishing the Indian media’s assertions, Lt. General Shoaib said on Geo News: “The video circulated on the Indian media is doctored. I have countless recorded interviews with many television channels including Geo News, where I have clearly said that Jadhav was operating from Iranian port city of Chabahar, but apprehended in Balochistan.” He disclosed that the word “operated” from his recorded interview was snipped out from the video being circulated in the Indian media. “They (Indian army) do such disgraceful things and don’t understand that these tactics won’t help them,” he said, adding that the unedited versions of his interviews with the Pakistani media are available on the internet.
It is true that Defence Analyst appears regularly in talk shows on different TV channels, and is on record having said that KulBhushan Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan. It was indeed against the journalistic norms that Indian publication did not approach him for the confirmation before publishing the story and based its claims on the doctored clip, taking his statement out of context. General Shoaib said that in the show which the clip is taken from, he actually meant that Yadav was stationed in Iran, which Yadav had confessed himself. He said: “In a TV show I had once said “Only China will benefit from CPEC if Pakistan does not do its homework”, however Indian media ran the story that a retired Pakistani General said that Only China will benefit from CPEC, changing the whole meaning of the statement. But such ruses are common with India.
It has to be pointed out that in a talk show in ‘Such TV’, there were three other panelists in addition to Lt. General (retd) Amjad Shoaib. The subject was Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s participation in Arab-Islamic-American conference and Pakistan’s role in the 34 countries alliance. Other panelists argued that Pakistan should withdraw from the said Alliance, as it is basically against Iran. General Shoaib however said that “it is not advisable to withdraw from the alliance, but Pakistan should assure Iran that Pakistan would not be a part of any act that could harm Iran. He however blamed Iran for its policies that tend to stir sectarianism. There was heated debate and other panelists appeared to be Iran’s apologists, whereas General Shoaib remarked that Iran’s soil being used by India to destabilize Pakistan, and Kulbhushan Jhadav was case in point.
Of course, Iran and Pakistan had excellent relations during Shah of Iran era, and both countries were intertwined in Cento. After revolution in Iran, spiritual leader Imam Khomeini had asked Pakistan to stop persecution of Shias otherwise Pakistan will have to face the consequences. He had once asked the people of Pakistan to stand up and get rid of Zia’s regime. In Pakistan, despite the differences over fiqah, Shias and Sunnis had been living in peace, but both Saudi Arabia and Iran supported the religious groups and Pakistan became the victim of proxy war. Since two years, Yemen has descended into conflicts between several different groups, bringing the country to the brink of civil war. The conflict between the Houthis and the government is seen as part of a regional power struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which shares a long border with Yemen.
It was because of their power games and the shenanigans of the US and the west that al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State (IS) benefited from the ongoing civil war in Yemen. Iran and Saudi Arabia should understand that AQAP, because of its technical expertise and global reach, and IS militants’ outreach and ferocity can harm both Iran and Saudi Arabia. In the backdrop of a drastically changing political landscape, the situation is rather complex. Former president Barack Obama had reached understanding on Iran’s nuclear programme and there was convergence of their interests in fighting IS and al Qaeda. On the other hand, the US and Saudi Arabia had developed differences over the former’s refusal to provide air cover to Syrian rebels fighting the Syrian forces. But now, in the case of Yemen, both are on the same page.
The fact remains that the present situation in the Middle East has emerged after Saudi Arabia launched strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. A coalition of Arab countries had been formed and the US had said it would provide “logistical and intelligence support” to the operation. It is not likely to commit any troops, as it remembers the lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan. Pakistan has already suffered immensely in the war on terror and its armed forces are preoccupied with fighting the terrorists. They should not be overstretched under any circumstances. Yet, Pakistan should not be a part of any grouping of Muslim countries on a sectarian basis and should rather contribute towards bringing them closer. Pakistan cannot afford to be a part of any project of regime change or saving a regime. The project of regime change and fighting the rebels and insurgents could take years, and even decades.
In March 2011, when fighting in Syria began, the backers of the rebels had predicted an imminent overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Now, more than five years on, the Syrian government has survived despite many groups and forces inimical to Assad fighting the Syrian forces. Insurgentshad taken control of the strategically important border town Qusayr for a couple of days but Assad’s forces, with the support of Hezbollah fighters, recaptured Qusayr from the rebels. The Syrian army also retook control of the UN-monitored crossing at Quneitra in the Golan Heights that had been overrun by rebel forces. There is a perception that the US and the west are using contradictions between Muslim countries to weaken them by dividing them on sectarian lines. The US is accused by its critics of having played a role in stoking the Iran-Iraq war and Arab-Israeli conflict. Muslim countries should tread carefully and do not fall in the trap.
