Pakistan's New Strategy

In the light of the worsening situation at Pakistan's tribal areas and the repeated violation of the international border of Pakistan by the US, it is imperative that Pakistan evolve a strategy that would stop the gung-ho American crusader cowboys at their tracks. American policy of attacking Pakistan's tribal areas are a clear violation of the international law and Pakistan (Army) has repeatedly reiterated that this violation would no longer go unanswered. There is a new wave of antipathy against the US growing in Pakistan in the light of the latest developments. The Pakistani government is also in a tight spot to respond and support the statements coming from the Pakistani military. In the light of the above mentioned scenario, Pakistan should evolve a strategy that demands the following from the US,

a. Pakistan should tell the US that it is in clear violation of the international law by violating Pakistan's sovereignty and US soldiers would be tried in international court if they are guilty of killing innocent Pakistani civilians in the tribal agencies of Pakistan whose defense is the responsibility of the Pakistan Army.

b. In case the above mentioned policy fails, Pakistan should stop all fuel supplies and support to the coalition forces as a second step and let the US beg its enemies like Iran and Russia for transport of fuel supplies through their territories (better luck USA).

c. If all else fails Pakistan should make a comprehensive defense strategy that should involve strategic positioning of Pakistan's missiles to hit the US Aircraft carriers and other ships in the Arabian sea as a last resort. US can ill afford to start another theater of war and that should be made perfectly clear to the United States of Warica.

US has already annoyed a great deal of countries on the international stage like Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, North Korea, Russia, Iran, Syria, Thailand, Sudan and a host of other countries. I hope common sense prevails and Pakistan and Pakistani Army can truly guarantee the safety and security of Pakistan and its civilians. Long Live Pakistan, our heart and soul.

Pony Express: Time

By ARYN BAKER/ISLAMABAD

Full Speed Ahead
Racing for the ball during a match in Pakistan's Hindu Kush mountains
Matthieu Paley

After he died, noble roll, a polo pony that once belonged to Asif Zardari, one of Pakistan's most powerful politicians, was buried under a house being built outside the capital Islamabad. That might seem an unusual, even macabre act. But Zubair Idris, owner of the house and inheritor of the pony, says that in a polo-playing family like his, it's tradition to bury under a new home an old, favorite mount that has passed away. Says Idris: "The house gets the strength of the horse."

So does its rider. In Pakistan, polo stands at the nexus of power and money. Long the province of the feudal landlords, who by virtue of their holdings could afford the strings of ponies required to field a team, polo is also the Pakistani army's preferred sport, a legacy of its cavalry origins. Polo ponies, stables, grooms and trainers are subsidized by the military. Officers, and their children, have access to one of the world's most expensive sports for the cost of a few rupees a month. Idris, a sixth-generation polo player, comes from one such family. The country's best players, if not military themselves, are descendants of military families. And for most of Pakistan's 60-year history power has been traded between the feudals and the military. Polo matches are where they meet. It is only inevitable that, in Pakistan, the game of kings is a kingmaker.

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Editorial: Alienating Allies: Arab News

The slaying in a US airstrike on Tuesday of 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border is an outrage which demonstrates the bitter failings of the Bush White House foreign policy. Put bluntly, the Americans have still not learned to respect their allies and understand that those allies cannot fall into precise steps behind Washington's lead in the war against terror.

More than a thousand Pakistani troops have perished fighting Taleban militants and their local supporters in the North West Frontier region bordering Afghanistan. President Pervez Musharraf tried the big stick to smash Taleban support and failed. Now Pakistan's new coalition government is taking the sensible approach of seeking to negotiate with the local tribes in order to end their armed confrontation with Islamabad and, by extension, their support for the Taleban.

Whatever Washington's suspicions, there may still be Taleban sympathizers in the Pakistan Army and in particular, its intelligence services, no one can doubt the country's deep opposition to terrorism. A thousand dead soldiers are surely proof enough of that.

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