News & Comment
Yet Again, Pakistan's Rulers Strive to Prove American Accusations Against Pakistan

News

On 13th October 2017 the military leadership announced the rescue of a Canadian-American family that was held by a Taliban affiliated group. The military leadership said it launched the rescue operation after a tip off from US intelligence that the family had been moved into the tribal areas from across the border in Afghanistan. The Director General (DG) of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, said Pakistan was told by US intelligence on 4pm Wednesday that the hostages were on the move. "We sent our troops, traced the vehicle on the basis of intelligence sharing by 1900 hours yesterday (Wednesday) and recovered the hostages," he said in televised comments late Thursday.

Comment

After President Trump’s speech of 21st August 2017, an atmosphere was built by the regime's mouthpieces to suggest that the political and military leadership of Pakistan had started moving away from America and was trying to realign Pakistan’s foreign policy, which so far has been there to fulfill US objectives in the region.

Trump said that Pakistan had to do more to help the US win in Afghanistan. He said that “...they are housing the same terrorists that we are fighting. But that will have to change. And that will change immediately”. In response to the Trump administrations hostile approach towards Pakistan, the regime appeased public opinion by making a show of postponing the foreign ministers visit to the US. Instead he was sent to Russia, China, Turkey and Iran and get statements in favor of Pakistan from the respective countries. Although General Qamar Bajwa made it clear quite early on that business will be as usual with US, he also tried to posture to gain favor with the strongly anti-American armed forces' cadres. When Bajwa had a meeting with US Ambassador, David Hale, on 23rd August 2017, he said that, "We are not looking for any material or financial assistance from the US, but trust, understanding and [an] acknowledgement of our contributions.”

So after almost a month-long deceitful posturing, the regime’s foreign minister went to America and said on 10th October 2017 that Islamabad has offered Washington joint operations against Haqqani network. He also said that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had made the same offer to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during his Kabul visit earlier this month. So it was no surprise that the political and military leadership promptly acted upon US intelligence and rescued Canadian-American citizens. By doing so, Pakistan's rulers confirmed the accusation that Trump leveled against Pakistan in which he asserted that the Afghan resistance has safe havens in Pakistan and therefore Pakistan has to “do more.”

This drama of rescue on Pakistani soil is a replay of the Abbottabad incident of May 2011. Once again, Pakistan’s political and military elite helped the US prove her accusations against Pakistan, when they allowed the US attack on Abbottabad to capture Osama Bin Laden. The people are not so foolish that the whole scenario was staged. A couple who had been in Afghanistan for the last five years could not be traced by the US, until a few days ago when suddenly the US informed Pakistan that captors are moving them to Pakistan. The US did not even try to rescue them on Afghan soil which would have steered matters in another direction entirely. Trump’s statement confirmed this ploy whilst announcing the rescue at White House event that, when he said, “The Pakistani government’s cooperation is a sign that it is honoring America’s wishes for it to do more to provide security in the region.” So the political and military regime rescues only those people when it helps to implement the US foreign policy in this region. All this while hundreds of callers to Islam and Khilafah, who call for the breaking of the US alliance, are still missing.

Their families are pleading with the rulers to rescue them from their illegal abduction, and among those is Naveed Butt as well, the Spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in the Wilayah of Pakistan who was seized in May 2012.

It is clear that the US does not have the capability to implement its foreign policy objectives in our region without the help of Pakistan. As soon as the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood is established, all support to US will be severed and our armed forces and intelligence agencies will moved to force US into humiliating defeat and withdrawal from our region.

(قَاتِلُوهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ وَيُخْزِهِمْ وَيَنْصُرْكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَيَشْفِ صُدُورَ قَوْمٍ مُّؤْمِنِينَ)

“Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of a believing people” [At Taubah:14]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Shahzad Shaikh
Deputy to the official Spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Pakistan