Pakistan bombed Indian embassy in Kabul: Bruce Riedel
By Rana Fawad
WASHINGTON: History of South Asia makes it hard to dismiss accusations
of the security services of Afghanistan as well as India that Pakistan
did attack the Indian embassy in Kabul.
This comment was made
by Bruce Riedel of the
Saban Center for Middle East Policy (Brookings Institution) during a
discussion 'Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan: US Foreign Policy Challenges
this Fall and Beyond" organized by the Brookings Institution on
Wednesday at its Falk Auditorium.
He was responding to a question by Pakistani journalist Khalid Hasan
about his (Bruce's) accusation that Pakistan attacked the Indian embassy
in Kabul.
He acknowledged that the information available in the unclassified arena
was not conclusive to say that but the accusations of the Afghan and
Indian security agencies supported by the US intelligence report
mentioned in The New York Times pointed finger at the ISI.
Bruce Riedel is also the author of The
Search for al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future, to be
released by Brookings Institution Press later this year.
Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution Michael O'Hanlon conducted
the proceedings. Other two speakers included Kenneth Pollack (Senior
Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East, Brookings Institution) and Jeremy
Shapiro (Fellow and Director of Research, Center on the United States
and Europe, Brookings Institution).
Earlier he started his talk by declaring
Pakistan as the most dangerous country in the world and said if
the US was attacked one more time on a scale of 9/11 , the attack would
come from Pakistan.
Illustrating his views, Bruce Riedel informed the audience that Pakistan
was the sixth largest (population-wise) country in the world and second
largest in the Muslim countries.
Bruce added though poppy was being produced in Afghanistan, Pakistan was
the main conduit of its supply to the rest of the world through the
Karachi port.
He revealed that Pakistan had between 50 to 200 nuclear weapons and was
responsible for their proliferation to many countries like North Korea,
Libya, Iran, etc.
Bruce also told the gathering that a small area in Pakistan along
Afghanistan's border called FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Area)
was a safe haven for the Al Qaeda and Mullah Omar of Taliban.
Referring to Pakistan's domestic problems, he commented that the country
was stuck between dictatorships and attempts of democracy.
He said that Pakistan's spy agency ISI (Inter Services Intelligence)
reports to the army and also accused that it was responsible for the
recent bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul.
Bruce was of the view that the ISI was not in civilian control and
probably Pakistan's prime minister was not aware of the Kabul embassy
attack.
In his analysis of the situation, he commented that currently the
country was focused on the issues of judiciary and the future of
Musharraf. He suggested it is time for Musharraf to leave the stage.
He also said that every US President supported dictatorships in Pakistan
and the US had a huge catch up job to do as far as the promotion of
democracy in Pakistan was concerned.
In his view, Pakistan's army does not trust the US any more.
Referring to Pakistan's strategic importance for the US, he said 85
percent of the logistic support in this war on terror was coming through
Karachi and Pakistan was aware of this leverage. He warned any pressure
on Pakistan would slow this war on terrorism in that region.
He also warned against any loose talk about large scale military
operation in Pakistan but supported the idea of strikes against high
value targets in Pakistan.
Bruce also opposed any attempt to secure Pakistan's nuclear weapons
saying we don't know the exact number and location of those weapons. He
said it would not be a good idea.
He recommended that instead of military aid the US should increase
Pakistan's civilian assistance. Moreover, he suggested the regional
situation on both sides of Pakistan (India and Afghanistan) needs to be
fixed.
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