The USCENTCOM Commander Visited Pakistan and Its Tribal Regions to Ensnare Muslims in a Fight Amongst Themselves

News:

The American military USCENTCOM released a press release (Number 20240509-01) on 9 May 2024 stating, “Between May 7 and 9, Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of United States Central Command, visited Pakistan where he met with Gen. Syed Asim Munir, Chief of the Army Staff and other Pakistan Armed Forces senior leaders. Their discussions focused on counter terrorism efforts and the enduring military-to-military partnership between Pakistani and US armed forces... While in the country, Gen. Kurilla traveled to several locations in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, bordering Afghanistan. There, he met with the leadership of Pakistan’s 11th Corps, Frontier Corps, and 7th Division to discuss the counterterrorism operations along the border.”

Comment:

America’s strategic goal in Pakistan, its tribal areas and Afghanistan, is interference under counter-terrorism. It is to maintain an ability to be able to shape Taliban government’s policy through pressure. It is to keep Pakistan Army engaged on the western border, to give Modi a free hand on the eastern border. This will give America an ability to shape policy on China's eastern border and Central Asia, which also effects Russia. It will allow America’s ally, India, to counter China, without facing Pakistan.

General Kurilla’s visit to tribal areas was thus to dictate Pakistan’s strategic relationship with Afghanistan, India and America. What is the basis of Pakistan and America’s military-to-military relationship? Historically the basis of this was the US seeking a military alliance against Soviet Russia. This is whilst Pakistan sought a military relationship with the US to arm itself against India. Now America wants a military relationship with Pakistan based on counter-terrorism cooperation, as a doctrine. If there were no doctrine behind the military relationship, the military relationship would weaken over time. Through this doctrine of counter-terrorism, America is seeking to redefine its strategic military-to-military relationship with Pakistan. America and Pakistan military are to cooperate to fight militancy. That is why America doesn't want the militancy to end. It wants to use the excuse of militancy to change its strategic relationship with Pakistan. The US Pakistan relationship actually did change during the “War on Terror.” Now that that the War on Terror has ended, America needs to invent a new one, to continue the excuse for strategic military-to-military relationship with Pakistan.

Through this new strategic vision, post-Afghanistan withdrawal, America wants to change how Pakistan views Afghanistan, not as a strategic ally and brother but an enemy. It also wants to change how Pakistan views India, not as an enemy but as a friend. It wants to change how Pakistan views America, not as a source for arming against India, but a source of arming against militants. Hence counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan is actually a new strategic vision for the Af-Pak region. It is to reset, at a strategic level, Pakistan’s relationship with America, India and Afghanistan. That is what counter-terrorism means politically.

Militancy in Pakistan’s border region is now entrenched. All America needs to do now is to keep on flaring it up, thus keeping the fire of battle alive. For that to happen America is encouraging Pakistan Army to come down harshly on Pashtun militants. In response, they will fight back more vociferously. Pakistan’s eastern border will thus keep on burning. Just for a little bit of perspective, militancy has been alive in Pak-Afghan border region since 1979, that is for five decades now. It consumed two superpowers. It will consume the strength of Muslims of the region, unless a new policy is adopted for this region.

Islam demands that borders be removed between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islam allows Pashtun Muslims to be free to move across the whole region without any checks. Islam enables tribal militants and Pakistan Army to rebuild the trust which helped them defeat the Soviet Union and before that liberate Kashmir. The security of the region could be partly managed by frontier tribes, who protect Muslim frontiers from foreign intruders, as they did against Soviets and Americans. The Pakistan Army would serve as their enabler and supporter in this paramilitary role. The Khilafah Rashidah can implement this vision for the frontier regions, by unifying the believers as a single brotherhood.

Allah (swt) said,

[إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ]

“Indeed, the believers are a brotherhood.” [TMQ Surah Al-Hujurat 49:10]. Imam Qurtubi said in his Tafsir, أي في الدين والحرمة لا في النَّسَبِ ، وَلِهَذَا قِيلَ أُخُوَّةُ الدِّينِ أَثْبَتُ مِنْ أُخُوَّةِ النَّسَبِ ، فإن أُخُوَّة النَّسَبِ تنْقَطِع بِمُخَالَفَةِ الدِّينِ ، وَأُخُوَّة الدِّينِ لَا تنْقَطِع بِمُخَالَفَةِ النَّسَبِ “That is, in Deen and sanctity, not in race. For this reason, it was said, ‘Brotherhood in Deen is of more permanence than brotherhood by race. Brotherhood by race is severed if it violates the Deen, whilst brotherhood in Deen is never severed by racial differences.’”

Written for the Central Media Office f Hizb ut Tahrir by
Engineer Moez – Wilayah Pakistan