By
Sajjad Shaukat
Pakistan’s military capabilities qualify it to
play a balancing role in the Muslim World in general and the Middle
East in particular.
In this regard, rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran
widened in the aftermath of the execution of the prominent Shia religious
leader Nimr al-Nimr as part of Riyadh’s
executions of 47 persons on terrorism charges, on January 2, this year. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries like Qatar, Bahrain
and Kuwait, including Sudan broke off diplomatic relations with Iran.
The long rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has come to a boiling point,
as rulers and religious leaders of both the countries were accusing each other
of promoting sectarian divide in the Islamic World on the Shia-Sunni basis,
while manipulating Arab-non-Arab differences.
In this respect, on January 5, 2016, the
Adviser to Pakistan’s
Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz said before the National
Assembly. Pakistan is
concerned over recent tensions between Saudi
Arabia and Iran…the Muslim World faces grave
dangers in the situation.”
The statement follows criticism from
opposition parties which lashed out at the government in the National Assembly
for not coming up with a clear stance on the situation arising out in the
region because of the tension between Saudi
Arabia and Iran and called for a parliamentary
briefing on the issue. Aziz also gave an in-camera briefing to the National
Assembly on the Saudi-Iran tensions.
Aziz maintained that Pakistan will continue to play its positive role
to ease tensions between Iran
and Saudi Arabia
and it advocates unity among the Muslim countries.
For the purpose, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief
of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif had visited Saudi
Arabia and Iran. They held meetings with their
rulers in a bid to defuse tensions between the two countries. They called for
resolution of the crisis through peaceful means in the larger interest of the
Muslim world.
According to the ISPR, during the meeting
in Riyadh, Gen. Raheel highlighted Pakistan’s perspective on the Middle East
situation and pointed out, “Due to the situation in Middle East, the Muslim
Ummah is weakening,” and “stressed the need for opening up the communication
channel between Saudi Arabia
and Iran.”
Speaking to media in Tehran
after meeting Iranian President HasanRouhani and his cabinet members, the prime
minister said Pakistan had
achieved success in normalizing ties between the two countries in 1997 and also
played the same role during tensions between Iran
and Iraq.
He said, “Pakistan will appoint a focal
person on Saudi-Iran issue and sincere efforts are being done in this regard.”
In his meeting with the Iranian Defence
Minister Hosse Dehghan in Islamabad, Gen. Raheel
Sharif reiterated that “Pakistan
takes Iran as a very
important neighbouring Muslim country and the people of Pakistan have a
great affinity with their Iranian brothers.” The Iranian defence minister
thanked Gen. Raheel and the people of Pakistan for their efforts to
bolster regional security.
While, during the trip of Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince and defence
minister, Mohammed bin Salman at Islamabad,
Pakistan’s
prime minister and chief of army staff had assured him to defuse tension
between the two brother countries. His visit
came just four days after the kingdom’s Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir visited
Islamabad.
It is notable that some media analysts had
misinterpreted the statements of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Gen. Raheel
Sharif that during their interactions with the rulers of Saudi Arabia, they
preferred Riyadh over Tehran by reiterating that “the people of Pakistan would
always stand with the people of Saudi Arabia against any threat to the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of the kingdom.” However, it was not true,
as Islamabad decided to play a mediatory role
between the two Muslim countries as part of a balanced approach in the Middle East.
It is mentionable that in
the recent past, Islamabad refused to send its
troops in Syria
to fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS) which is Sunni-based militant
outfit and wants to oust the Shia-government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Similarly, last
year, Riyadh insisted upon Pakistan to send its armed forces in Saudi Arabia and also to join the coalition to
conduct aerial strikes on Yemen.
Islamabad which did not join the coalition had
also refused to dispatch its forces in Saudi Arabia. Instead, Pakistan’s parliament had passed a unanimous
resolution which stated, “The war in Yemen
is not sectarian in nature, but has the potential of turning into a sectarian
conflict which will have critical fallout in the region including Pakistan.” It
urged the government “to stay neutral in the Yemen”
conflict and called upon “warring factions in Yemen to resolve their differences
peacefully through dialogue.”
On December 15, 2015, Saudi Arabia announced a 34-state Sunni-based
military alliance to fight the ISIS. The
alliance included Islamic states such as Egypt,
Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey,
Malaysia, and some African
states, with a joint operations centre established in Riyadh. The name of Pakistan was
also mentioned in the list. Washington
immediately welcomed the alliance.
On December 17, 2015, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary AizazChaudhry said
that he was surprised to read the news that Saudi
Arabia had named Pakistan as part of the alliance.
As already stated that in
wake of Iran-Saudi Arabia rift, Pakistan’s National Assembly debated the issue,
when Sartaj Aziz informed the Assembly that Pakistan would continue
to play its mediatory role between Iran and Saudi Arabia, The Leader
of Opposition Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah and other parliamentary leaders had
asked the government to refrain from joining the Saudi Arabia-led alliance at
the cost of neighboring Iran.
It is of particular attention that the US had planned
to spark a civil war between the Sunnis and Shias in wake of war on terror. For
the purpose, a study of Rand Corporation, titled ‘US
Strategy in the Muslim World After 9/11’ was conducted on behalf of the then US Deputy Chief
of Staff for Air Force. Its report which was released on December 27, 2004
advocated that Sunni-Shia sectarian division should be exploited to promote the
US
objectives in the Muslim World. The report was first implemented in Iraq.
In 2004, major terror-attacks were carried
out against the Shias. Afterwards, a chain of Shia-Sunni clashes started
between Iraqi Shias and Sunnis, targeting each other’s mosques and religious
leaders through bomb blasts, suicide attacks etc. After Iraq’s experiment, more deadly pattern of
sectarian strife and clashes have been conducted in Pakistan. With the tactical
assistance of American CIA and Mossad, Indian secret agency RAW have arranged a
number of attacks on mosques and religious leaders of Shias and Sunnis through
the militant groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jundullah (God’s
soldiers). These outfits kidnapped and killed many Iranian nationals in Pakistan
including Iranian diplomats. Jundollah conducted several subversive acts in Pakistan’s province of Balochistan
and Iranian Sistan-Baluchistan. In this connection, Tehran has directly accused CIA of funding
these types of terror attacks.
It is noteworthy that while hinting
towards US and Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei had
disclosed, “The bloody actions being committed in Iraq,
Pakistan and Iran are aimed
at creating a division between the Shias and Sunnis…those who carry out these
terrorist actions are directly or indirectly foreign agents.”
Pakistan’s leading Ulemas (Religious scholars) of
the Shia-Sunni sects, including politicians have repeatedly pointed out that
external conspiracies were being hatched to destroy peace in the country though
sectarian divide.
However, it is regrettable that some
Islamic countries are acting upon dual strategy. For example, if we take
cognizance of the perennial wave of terror attacks in Turkey and failure of
country’s security agencies in thwarting these subversive acts, question arises
either Turkey is implementing dual strategy.
In this respect, the triple suicide
bombing at the Atatürk International Airport
in Istanbul
killed more than 50 persons and injured more than 250 individuals on June 28,
this year.
No group claimed responsibility for these
suicide blasts. But, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. “Our thoughts
on those responsible for the attack lean toward Islamic State” (Also known as
ISIS or ISIL or Daesh). John Brennan, head of the US CIA also stated that the
attack bore the hallmarks of Islamic State “depravity.”
A Turkish official told the AP that the
“three bombers who carried out the attack on Istanbul’s
main airport had connections to Russia,
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan,”
having links with the ISIL.
Turkey is part of a US-led military coalition
against the ISIS in Syria
and Iraq.
But, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who always follow contradictory
policies has taken steps this week to improve relations with Israel and Russia
to strengthen its hand in fighting against militants, stated the attack at the
airport should serve as a turning point in the global battle against terrorism.
As part of his own dual strategy and that
of the US-led countries like Israel, some European countries in relation to
ISIS, Syria and Russia, including some Islamic countries such as Libya, Yemen
etc., Ankara has ignored any indication about the militant outfit Kurdistan
Workers’ Party-PKK which also did not claim
responsibility for these triple suicide assaults, and which is being assisted
by American CIA, including Israeli Mossad.
The Turkish government is
simultaneously facing two main terrorist organizations PKK and ISIS. Since July
2015, Turkish Special Forces have been launching a counter-terrorism campaign
against the PKK. While as part of the anti-ISIS coalition, Ankara
carried out numerous airstrikes against ISIS strongholds in Iraq and artillery shelling across the border
with Syria.
ISIL which accepted
responsibility for several terror attacks in Turkey
was also blamed for March 19 and January 12 terror attacks in Istanbul
as well as the October 10, 2015 assault in Ankara, which claimed over 100 civilian
lives. But, in most of the cases, PKK did not claim responsibility.
As regards the triple
suicide bombing at the Atatürk International
Airport, the
fact of the matter is that Turkish President Erdogan who have been acting upon the double game of the
US-led entities which include some European countries and particularly Israel against Russia
regarding Syria and ISIS have become target of his own double game.
When in September, last year, the
Russian-led coalition of Iran, Iraq, the Syrian army-the National Defense
Forces (NDF) and Lebanon-based Hezbollah began attacking the US-CIA-Mossad
assisted ISIS terrorists, Al-Qaeda’s Al-Nusra Front and the rebels who have
been fighting to throw out the Syrian President Assad’s regime and against the
present Iraqi regime as part of America’s double game to protect the Israeli
illegitimate interests in the Middle East, Turkish President Erdogan’s real
face was came to the limelight. Clandestinely, like some Arab countries,
especially Saudi Arabia, he
implemented the policies of America,
Israel and Western Europe,
and tarnished the image of Turkey
in the eyes of the Islamic World.
Notably, on November 26, 2015, a Russian
plane was brought down by Turkey
without any warning as part of the US-planned scheme and war-like situation was
created between Moscow and Ankara. Although Turkey
is the member of the NATO, yet President Erdogan misperceived that US-led NATO
would defend Turkey against Russia, as
attack on one country is considered as an attack on all the NATO countries. America and other NATO states did not want to
take the risk of war against Russia
for the sake of Ankara.
But, Turkish President Erdogan continued acting upon the double game of the
US-led countries.
In this context, Russia’s Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Lavrov said, “By shooting down a Russian plane on a
counter-terrorist mission in Syria did not violate Turkey’s airspace…the
Turkey’s actions appear planned, and undertaken with a specific
objective…Turkey’s role in the propping up the terror network through illegal
oil trade…Turkey’s involvement in the ISIS’ illegal trade in oil, which is
transported via the area where the Russian plane was shot down, and about the
terrorist infrastructure, arms and munitions depots and control centers that
are also located there.”
In this context, French General Dominique
Trinquand (R) also reaffirmed Lavrov’s stand by saying, “Turkey is either not
fighting ISIL at all or very little, and does not interfere with different
types of smuggling that takes place on its border, be it oil or people…the
reason we find this line of questioning fascinating is that just in the
aftermath of the French terror attack asked who is the one breaching every
known law of funding terrorism when buying ISIS crude oil, almost certainly
with the tacit approval by various western alliance governments, and why is it
that these governments continue funding ISIS”
On April 26, 2016, RT (Russian TV Channel)
documentary with exclusive eye witness reports and documents, abandoned by
retreating jihadists and found by RT documentary crew members in a region
liberated by Syrian Kurds, pointed to commercial scale oil smuggling operations
and cozy relations between ISIS and Turkey. The area surrounding the town is
well known for its vast oil reserves and extraction activity that for months
was reaped by ISIS command to generate
revenue. A teenage oil refinery worker told RT, “Of course, they wouldn’t get
any weapons from Turkey
if they didn’t ship them oil…they...go with the oil and come back with the
guns.”
ISIS member from Saudi Arabia, Muhammed Ahmed Muhammed told RT.
“Crossing the Syrian-Turkish border was also very easy…the Islamic State erased
the borders…there are apparent ties between Turkey
and IS…Turkey decided to
support IS so they could destroy Syria. But Syria will
stand up to them.”
Apart from RT, some analysts and Sputnik
have also shown solid proof by pointing out smuggling of oil, Turkey-ISIS
liaison in this respect, while mentioning, “Recep Erdogan’s son Bilal Erdogan
who owns several maritime companies has signed contracts with European
operating companies to carry Iraqi oil to different countries…ISIS is being fed
and kept alive by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish intelligence service, including
MIT, the Turkish CIA. ISIS militants were trained by US, Israeli and now it
emerges by Turkish Special Forces at secret bases in Konya
Province inside the Turkish border to Syria.”
US Vice President Joe Biden told a Harvard
gathering in October 2014 that Erdogan’s regime was backing ISIS
with “hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of tons of weapons.
While, taking note of Ankara’s pro-Israeli
policies and against the Syrian refugees, Muslim political experts and a number
of human rights groups, particularly Amnesty International in its press release
on April 1, 2016 criticized, the controversial Turkish-EU refugee deal by
indicating, “Large-scale forced returns of refugees from Turkey to war-ravaged
Syria expose the fatal flaws in a refugee deal signed between Turkey and the
European Union…all forced returns to Syria are illegal under Turkish, EU and
international law.”
Puzzled owing to his own double game and
that of the US-led West, on May 8, 2016, Turkish President Erdogan has kept up
his rebuke of European nations, accusing them of dictatorship and cruelty for
keeping their frontiers closed to migrants and refugees fleeing the Syrian
conflict. He clarified that “Turkey
would not meet a EU demand for his country to reform its anti-terrorism
legislation.” As Erdogan has become target of his dual strategy, hence, a rift
has been created between the West and Turkey, the close ally of NATO. On
February 10, 2016, President Erdogan lashed out at the US over its support for Syria’s main
Kurdish group, saying, “The failure to recognize the Democratic Union Party
(PYD) as a terrorist group is creating a “sea of blood”. He explained, “The
PYD, on which the US relies
to battle so-called Islamic State in Syria, is an offshoot of the banned
Kurdistan Workers’ Party.”
Following the American double game, Turkey has also been assisting the Syrian rebel
groups, the Al-Nusra Front and ISIS militants.
As per the CIA directions, in Aleppo
city, shell and mortar attacks by ISIS and the rebel groups have continued on
the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud. ISIS has also continued firing
rockets across the border into the Turkish town of Kilis. In the pretext, the Turkish military
is retaliating with shell fire and has also been interfering in Syria.
It is mentionable that like the US, Ottoman
Empire of Turkey was a large multi-ethnic state. European powers, especially
the Great Britain played a
key role in disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.
In order to maintain their control, one of the British strategies was divide
and rule which was being practiced through various tactics such as arrangement
of rebellions, manipulation of ethnic and sectarian differences and so on. The Britain provided soldiers, weapons and money to
the Arab subjects against Turkish Empire.
According to the Sykes-Picot Agreement,
the British and French agreed to divide the Arab world between themselves. The Britain took control of what are now Iraq, Kuwait,
and Jordan.
The French were given modern Syria,
Lebanon and southern Turkey. Thus,
they brought about the end of the Ottomans and the rise of the new states like Jordon, Sudan,
Syria, Kuwait etc. with
borders running across the Middle East,
dividing Muslims from each other.
Henry Kissinger had suggested the split of
Iraq
into three independent regions, ruled by Kurds, Shias and Sunnis.
Covertly, President Erdogan who has been
backing the US-led policy of divide and rule has become target of his own
double game at the cost of Turkey and other vulnerable
Muslim countries which have been destabilized by America, some European countries and Israel in the pretext of fighting ISIS or terrorism.
Muslim countries which have been destabilized by America, some European countries and Israel in the pretext of fighting ISIS or terrorism.
It is noteworthy that Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has sent his
condolences to the Turkish people regarding the terror attacks at the airport
in Istanbul.
Both the countries have reconciled after years of tension over the death of
Turkish nationals at the hands of Israeli commandoes who had stormed the
Turkish ship Mavi Marmara. Reuven Rivlin wrote a letter saying: “I take this
opportunity to welcome the chance to renew our good relationship especially
because our strengthened dialogue will greatly aid in our joint efforts against
this threat, and because it sends a strong message to the terrorists that we
will stand untied against hatred.”
When on March 19, 2016, three Israelis
were killed and five were wounded in the suicide bombing in Istanbul, Turkish
President Erdogan wrote a letter of condolences to President Reuven Rivlin,
saying he was “very sorry” to hear that three Israelis were killed and five
wounded in the Istanbul attack.
Sometimes, the hunter becomes the hunt and
the gunner himself becomes a target. It happens so with the Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan whose country Turkey
pays for his dual strategy and that of the US-led entities, as the militants of
the PYD, PKK and ISIS would continue
terror attacks in Turkey
as part of the secret game, especially of CIA and Mossad to destabilize this
Muslim country. On the other side, Pakistan’s
armed forces and country’s ISI are successfully castigating the double game of
the US-led India, Israel and some
Western countries against the integrity of their country. Turkey must better follow Pakistan in
this respect.
Returning to
our earlier discussion, Pakistan
is playing a balancing role, while, dual Strategy of some Muslim countries is
destabilizing the region and the Middle East.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international
affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible
Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
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