The Prime Minister of Pakistan said almost everything he needed to say if he is to have any hope of keeping aid flowing and keeping us out of PK territory. FWIW, this is the same script that the Musharraf regime used, although PM Gilan did not mention (or at least the APP did not report) how many thousands of PK citizens, soldiers, and paramilitary personally had died as a result of the PK COIN effort.
From APP article, “PM Gilan says everyone has to do more, urges cooperation, opposes unilateral action notion” (I added bolding [and comments] to bring out the most interesting assertions).
WASHINGTON, July 29 (APP): Asserting that all anti-terrorism partners have to do more to wipe out terrorism along the Afghan border region, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has urged Washington to enhance Pakistan’s counterterrorism capacity as well as improve intelligence sharing for more effective results. In a CNN appearance during his official visit to Washington, the prime minister emphasized that “his government is certainly doing its best” as Pakistan is “fighting the war for ourselves.”
“There are two things. One is the will, the other is ability. We have the will . But at the same time, the militants are equipped with the most sophisticated weapons in the world—-therefore, when the U.S. cooperation is more on the defense side, we’ll be able to have more capabilities of fighting. [i.e. we have the will, but need your help to improve our ability].
“ He strongly opposed the notion of unilateral anti-terror action into Pakistani territory and said the country itself would take action when it has actionable intelligence.”
“I have already talked to President Bush that there should be more cooperation on the intelligence side so that when there is credible and actionable information given to us, we will hit ourselves.” Gilani urged patience and the need for greater intelligence cooperation.
[I wonder if we define “actionable” the same way they do… the Afghan government does not. The problem is that intelligence is not just facts, but is classified to protect sources and methods. Even if we could completely trust the Pakistan government and bureaucrats/agents, we do NOT trust all of their allies.]
“Americans are a little impatient. Therefore, in future, I think we’ll have more cooperation on the intelligence side and we’ll do the job ourselves” and any unilateral action is violation of Pakistan trade’s sovereignty, he added in response to a question. Pakistan, he stated, is looking into reported incident of missile strike in South Waziristan on Monday and collecting details.
At the same time, he noted, the two countries have bilateral relations in most of the areas, in defense, in science and technology, in education, in health, in food and agriculture.
He also pointed out the fact that Pakistan has inherited about three million refugees from Afghanistan. “We have a difficult terrain. We have a huge, long border. And we have set up about 900 to 1,000 posts, checkposts. And on the other side, the NATO has fixed about 100 posts.” Pakistan, he said, has also introduced biometric system, which can help get hold of militants. “But on the other side, they’re not cooperating.”
[Alas, this is all true. The number of checkposts is impressive, but isolated posts are susceptible to all kinds of pressures from insurgents. So much so that they are practically ineffective unless tied in more strongly to PK and Coalition informational, QRF, and logistical networks.]
“At the same time, it is a challenge and it is a challenge for both of us. Even you can understand, for the last five years, they’re fighting war. The war is not like an ordinary war. It’s a guerrilla war. And so we are fighting the war, too, but for our own interests because I’ve lost my own leader, Benazir Bhutto, because of this terrorism and extremism.”
Gilani said he has come to the United States with a message of prosperity, peace and partnership for the world.
“And my democratic government is taking every step to combat terrorism because we are fighting not for the United States, it’s a war for Pakistan.”
[Given the stakes, I REALLY hope they win].
