PAKISTAN'S PARLIAMENT has set what could be a collision course with Washington and Nato by passing a sweeping resolution calling for dialogue with extremist groups operating in the country and an end to military action.
The new strategy, backed by all parties, emerged after a fierce debate in parliament where most parliamentarians said Pakistan was paying an unacceptable price for fighting "America's war". If implemented by the government, support for Pakistan from international allies would come under severe strain, adding further instability to a country facing a spiral of violence and economic collapse.
"We need to prioritise our own national security interests," said Raza Rabbani, a leading member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party. "As far as the US is concerned, the message that has gone with this resolution will definitely ring alarm bells, vis-a-vis their policy of bulldozing Pakistan."
Pakistan is confronting multiple crises, political, security and financial, which threaten to overwhelm the nuclear-armed country and push it into chaos. It is heading towards bankruptcy, forcing Islamabad this week to approach to the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package - but the IMF bailout could be jeopardised if Washington is not on board.
Ordinary people complain that the country feels like it is falling apart, with a severe shortage of electricity causing blackouts of 12 hours or more in many areas and crippling food price inflation of up to 100 per cent, swelling the numbers living under the poverty line.
The intense American pressure on Islamabad to take on the militants was underlined yesterday by another US missile strike inside Pakistani territory, an instance of the heavy-handed intervention that parliament railed against.
The attack came in Pakistan's border area with Afghanistan, at an Islamic school being used by suspected extremists, killing 11. The madrassa (school) was linked to Afghan Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, who has an extensive network in Pakistan.
There have been about a dozen US missile strikes inside Pakistan since the beginning of September and a ground assault, fanning massive anti-Americanism in the country.
The US and Nato depend on Pakistan to prevent its tribal area being used as a safe haven for Afghan Taliban. Past attempts by Pakistan at making peace with militant groups in the tribal area have allowed them to regroup and led to a sharp increase in cross-border attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan. A US official made clear yesterday what it expected.
"Pakistan needs to and is attacking insurgents in its northern areas," Patrick Moon, a deputy US assistant secretary of state, said during a visit to Kabul. "Sanctuaries for Afghanistan Taliban in Pakistan complicate our security operations. Pakistani Taliban and other extremists such as al-Qaeda are posing a threat to the stability of Pakistan."
The country's northwest, especially its tribal border area with Afghanistan, is under the control of Taliban and al-Qaeda, who are connected to militant groups that have networks across the country.
Yesterday, in what is now a typical day for Pakistan, aside from the US missile strike, eight anti-Taliban tribal leaders were killed by militants in the Orakzai part of the tribal area, while the army killed 20 fighters in Bajaur, another part of the tribal belt.
In Swat in the northwest, the headless body was found of a policeman, kidnapped by Taliban, and posters went up warning women against shopping in markets, saying it was "unIslamic".
"Our country is burning," said Khurshid Ahmad, a member of the Pakistan senate for Jamaat-e-Islami, a mainstream religious party. "We don't want Bush to put oil on the fire, we want to extinguish this fire."
A resolution passed unanimously in Pakistan's parliament on Wednesday demanded an about-turn in Pakistan's US alliance and the abandonment of the use of force against extremists, in favour of negotiation.
"Dialogue must now be the highest priority, as a principal instrument of conflict management and resolution," said the resolution. "The military will be replaced as early as possible by civilian law enforcement agencies."
It also said Pakistan would pursue "an independent foreign policy" and, in a pointed reference to US military incursions into Pakistani territory, said: "The nation stands united against any incursions and invasions of the homeland, and calls upon the government to deal with it effectively."
Some analysts believe the differences between the parties will see a tussle over implementation that could mean changes on the ground are minor. The army remains the ultimate arbiter of security policy. - (Guardian service)