President Musharraf is bending over backwards to please the US and shake his country's "soft on terror" image, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad The conflict between Al-Qa'eda and the Pakistani authorities intensified last week after a threat from the terrorist organisation against President Pervez Musharraf was followed by a raid on an Al-Qa'eda hideout in northern Pakistan by government troops. Nevertheless, some members of the Bush administration continue to question Pakistan's commitment to the "war on terror". The taped threat to Musharraf, reportedly from Al-Qa'eda, was broadcast by Al-Jazeera on 28 September. In it Ayman El-Zawahri, number two in the organisation after Bin Laden, attacked the Pakistani president as a "traitor" for helping the US during the Afghan War and planning to send Pakistani soldiers to Iraq "to be killed instead of American soldiers". El- Zawahri urged Pakistanis to "unite to oust this traitor and put in place a loyal leadership in Pakistan which defends Islam and Muslims". If the Pakistan government was bothered by the threats, it did not show. "Pakistan is part of the war on terrorism and our pursuit of terrorists, Al-Qa'eda and their cohorts will continue despite these threats," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Masood Khan said in a press briefing. Musharraf's opponents within Pakistan, including pro-Taliban Islamist parties, were also quick to distance themselves from the Al- Qa'eda threats. Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam leader Fazal-ur- Rehman, who has claimed credit for starting the Taliban movement, rejected the call to topple Musharraf. "We don't need guidelines from El-Zawahri or any other leaders from outside," he said. "We have strong differences with Musharraf's policies and are democratically trying to influence him to bring a change," added Khurshid Ahmed, a Jamaat-i-Islami senator. President Musharraf has just returned from a trip to the United States, where he renewed Pakistan's commitment to the war on terror. To demonstrate that commitment practically, or in retaliation for the Al-Qa'eda threat, Pakistani troops launched a massive offensive against Al-Qa'eda militants in the country's northern tribal belt. The 2 October operation took place in a small hamlet near the town of Angor Adda in South Waziristan. Part of the autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region, South Waziristan borders the Paktika province in Afghanistan, once a former Taliban stronghold and allegedly a current hideout for many former Taliban and Al-Qa'eda fighters. The Pakistan army's Quick Reaction Force (QRF) went in after apparently receiving a tip- off from American intelligence that suspected Al-Qa'eda militants were hiding there. In the QRF's largest offensive to date against Al-Qa'eda, as well as the largest ever by the Pakistan army in the FATA belt, some 200 soldiers attacked a compound of several buildings. Women and children heeded the call to surrender, but the men put up fierce resistance. Helicopters were called in for air support as ground forces took up positions around the compound. A group of journalists taken to the area by the Pakistan army witnessed the fighting. By the end of the operation, eight militants and two Pakistani soldiers had been killed. Eighteen militants were taken into custody. An army spokesman said most of those killed or detained appeared to be foreigners, most likely Chechens. Chechens went into Afghanistan in the days of the Taliban to receive training for their own separatist movement against Moscow. Many of them fled with their former hosts to the tribal belt bordering Pakistan after the collapse of the Taliban government. The Pakistani authorities wasted little time in publicising the operation and touting it as proof of their support for the war on terror. "We have shown our commitment to fight terrorism. We are ever ready to take action wherever there are foreign elements in the tribal region," said Azam Khan, the region's political administrator. Others in Pakistan, however, were not so happy about the operation. Maulana Fazal-ur- Rehman condemned it as not in Pakistan's interests. "Al-Qa'eda may be against America, but they are certainly not against Pakistan and Muslims. The operation will give a negative impression about Pakistan in the Muslim world," he said. Local reaction was also muted. Inhabitants of the tribal belt have traditionally been supporters of the Taliban and share their strong anti-American sentiment. They also resent intrusion by the Pakistan army into what was -- until just last year -- a no-go area for the authorities. Last Thursday's operation was carried out, despite this opposition, because the Pakistan government feels it has to be seen fighting against terror. A recent editorial in the influential New York Times questioned both Pakistan's commitment and America's support for Musharraf. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, while lauding the efforts of President Musharraf personally, questioned whether he had the full backing of the army in tackling Al- Qa'eda and other extremist groups. Both for image and for more pragmatic reasons it is to Pakistan's advantage to lose the "soft on terrorism" label. In June this year, during President Musharraf's last trip to Camp David, President Bush announced a $3 billion aid package for Pakistan. The package is to be spread over five years, with half earmarked for defense spending. It is still waiting for Congressional approval. Furthermore, successful lobbying by India led the House of Representatives to pass an amendment in July requiring the US President to report annually on the measures being taken by Pakistan to tackle terrorism -- in particular, infiltration of terrorists into India -- and cease the transfer of weapons of mass destruction to any third country. Pakistan is desperate to ensure that the amendment is not passed by the Senate, and hopes that the recent operation against Al- Qa'eda will help its cause. The timing of the operation was excellent, coming just days before a visit to Pakistan by Richard Armitage and Undersecretary for South Asia Christina Rocca. During the trip Armitage appeared to have lost all his previous doubts. "In no way do I have any sign that those running the security forces as institutions are anything but 200 per cent behind the president," Armitage said. In an effort to counter the other main charge against it, of being undemocratic, Pakistan's Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali made a high profile visit to the US last week, during which he met President Bush. Everyone knows that President Musharraf pulls the strings in Pakistan, but it suits both him and Bush -- who is sensitive to criticism of supporting an anti- democratic military rule -- to push Jamali into the spotlight. The ruse did not fool the Commonwealth however, which renewed Pakistan's suspension from the body last week on the grounds that it had not achieved a full return to democracy. In other bad news, six Shi'ites were killed in the port city of Karachi on their way to Friday prayers. Terrorism, democracy and sectarian violence: President Musharraf has not managed to demonstrate concrete success on any of these fronts. As he celebrates the fourth anniversary of his ascent to power, he will have to start delivering -- soon.
