The current geopolitical developments between India and Pakistan have once again steered the conversation back to the age-old debate of war vs peace or means vs ends. As divisive opinions and heated exchange of words play out before both the nuclear-powered neighbours and its people on social media, many culled out Pakistan’s past and its preceding reputation.
Last week as Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitted to the country’s history of backing, supporting and funding terrorist organisations as a “dirty work for the West” it was his candour that surprised the political watchers and not his statement. “Well, we have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades, you know, and the West, including Britain…That was a mistake, and we suffered from that, and that is why you are saying this to me. If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later on the war after 9/11, Pakistan’s track record was an unimpeachable track record,” said Asif at a news television show when questioned about Pakistan’s response and stance on terrorism in the aftermath of Pahalgam attacks in India.
Many Pakistani political leaders dodged the follow-up questions on Asif’s statement, including The White House when during a press briefing, spokesperson Tammy Bruce sidestepped the allegation and said the “US was closely monitoring the situation.”
However, the dust over the explosive allegation of Pakistan doing the dirty work for the West, and the US for three decades, is yet to nearly settle. A few days ago former Pakistan FM Bilawal Bhutto admitted to the country’s dark past in an interview to the British media. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman said, “It is no secret that Pakistan has a past. As a result, we have suffered, Pakistan has suffered. We have gone through wave after wave of extremism. But as a result of what we suffered, we also learned our lessons. We have gone through internal reforms to address this problem.”
His statements also added to the widespread speculation that Pakistan’s leaders are finally admitting to having a past to build credibility which the nation desperately seeks at the moment. Bhutto further added, “As far as Pakistan’s history is concerned, it is history.”
However, any act of terror is never truly history as repercussions of death and destruction trickle down to generations. In 2020, Pakistan’s Science and Technology minister Fawad Chaudhry, during a debate in the national assembly admitted, much to the embarrassment of the entire nation. “Our success in Pulwama is a success of this nation under the leadership of Imran Khan. We entered their home and hit them,” he said of the Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF personnel and brought two countries on the brink of a war.
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Every now and then Pakistan’s top leadership has accidentally or intentionally let the mask slip. In 2021, when The Taliban seized power in Kabul, Pakistan one of its strongest cheerleaders, celebrated the win as a personal gain. Its then interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed delivered a triumphant speech to the press at the Torkham crossing with Afghanistan. Ironically, enough literature and archives exist on how through the decades Pakistan government has repeatedly denied that it provides any military support to the Taliban. Last year, in an interview with Afghan media, Pakistan’s former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, when questioned about the funding of Taliban in Pakistan, said, “You’re stuck in the old groove. Get out of that groove, please.” Not the only set of vague contradictions coming from a nation and its political rulers over the years.
What happened in Pahalgam was just as tragic and condemnable in the strongest language. But why has India been so quick to point fingers at Pakistan? Any critical thinker would have questioned the narrative of blaming any other country within hours of the brutal attacks. However, that did not happen in this case because of a decade-long history of contradictory statements and stance of the neighbour. Even currently, as absolute facts somewhat suffer at the hands of bias, misinformation, AI-generated visuals and exaggerated claims, there’s no overlooking the geopolitical past of the region. Pakistan has a history of backing terror as much as denying it. Can India be blamed for not giving the benefit of doubt to its neighbours this time?
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