New Delhi: Cracks have started appearing between Pakistan’s political and military leadership over the latter’s continuing policy of using jihadi groups and in a “blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning" the Nawaz Sharif government has alerted Pakistani generals of a growing international isolation of the country.
According to Pakistan’s leading newspaper Dawn, an “undisclosed" meeting between the civil and military leaderships that took place on the sidelines of an All-Party Conference on Monday also saw “verbal confrontation" between Shahbaz Sharif — chief minister of Punjab and younger brother of Nawaz Sharif — and ISI chief Gen Rizwan Akhtar over the latter’s support to jihadis.WATCH: Pakistan's Denial Over Surgical Strikes Exposed
Interestingly, during the meeting, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry told the military leadership that even the country’s all-weather friend China had expressed a preference for a “course correction" by Pakistan.
“Then, to a hushed but surprised room, Chaudhry suggested that while China has reiterated its support for Pakistan, it too has indicated a preference for a change in course by Pakistan. Specifically, while Chinese authorities have conveyed their willingness to keep putting on technical hold a UN ban on Jaish-i-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar, they have questioned the logic of doing so repeatedly," the report said.
Dawn said that as a result of the most recent meeting, at least two sets of actions have been agreed.
Dawn said it pieced together the story based on its conversations with individuals present in the crucial meetings this week. “All declined to speak on the record and none of the attributed statements were confirmed by the individuals mentioned," the report said.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Sharif and included senior cabinet and provincial officials. On the military side, ISI DG Rizwan Akhtar led the representatives. The presentation by the foreign secretary summarised the results of the recent diplomatic outreach by Pakistan, the crux being that Pakistan faces diplomatic isolation and that the government’s talking points have been met with indifference in major world capitals.
Chaudhry said that relations with the US have deteriorated and will likely further deteriorate because of the American demand that action be taken against the Haqqani network. On India, Chaudhry stated that the completion of the Pathankot investigation and some visible action against Jaish-i-Mohammad were the principal demands, Dawn said.
Responding to foreign secretary Chaudhry’s rather dramatic conclusions, the ISI chief present in the meeting asked what steps could be taken to prevent the drift towards isolation. “Chaudhry’s reply was direct and emphatic: the principal international demands are for action against Masood Azhar and the Jaish-i-Mohmmad; Hafiz Saeed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba; and the Haqqani network," Dawn said.
“To that, Gen Akhtar offered that the government should arrest whomever it deems necessary. At that point came the stunning and unexpectedly bold intervention by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Addressing Gen Akhtar, the younger Sharif complained that whenever action has been taken against certain groups by civilian authorities, the security establishment has worked behind the scenes to set the arrested free. Astounded onlookers describe a stunned room that was immediately aware of the extraordinary, unprecedented nature of the exchange," Dawn said.LISTEN IN: The Telephone Conversation That Exposed Pakistan
To defuse tensions, Prime Minister Sharif himself addressed Gen Akhtar and said that policies pursued in the past were state policies and as such they were the collective responsibility of the state and that the ISI DG was not being accused of complicity in present-day events.
Dawn said that several eyewitnesses to the “incredible events of Monday" believed that the foreign secretary’s presentation and Shahbaz Sharif’s intervention were orchestrated by the prime minister to stir the military to action, leading to the decision to dispatch the ISI DG on an inter-provincial tour.
“According to several government officials, Monday’s confrontation was part of a high-stakes gamble by Prime Minister Sharif to try and forestall further diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. In separate meetings with the army chief, participants describe an animated and energised Sharif, who has argued that Pakistan faces real isolation if policy adjustments are not made," Dawn said.
Government officials, however, are divided about whether Prime Minister Sharif’s gamble will pay off. According to one official, commenting on the ISI DG’s commitments, “This is what we prayed to hear all our lives. Let’s see if it happens."
Another government official offered: “Wait till November to see if action will be taken. By then a lot of things will be settled."
Dawn said military officials declined to comment for the story.
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