Pakistani tribal people stand near a check post where militants kidnapped eight officers in Ziariey in Khyber tribal area, 15 kilometers north of Peshawar, Pakistan on Sept. 4, 2008.
AP Photo

"Pakistan: Counter-terror Policy is in Disarray"

Magazine or Newspaper Article, Oxford Analytica

September 16, 2008

Author: Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program

Belfer Center Programs or Projects: International Security; Managing the Atom; Project on India and the Subcontinent; Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Event: President Asif Ali Zardari will take up the issue of Pakistan's sovereignty in talks with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown today, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said yesterday.

Significance: A cross-border raid by US ground forces, together with media claims that US President George Bush had authorised Special Operations troops to conduct such operations without seeking permission from Islamabad, has provoked anger from Pakistan's politicians, media and army. Pakistan's counter-terrorism policy may suffer as US-Pakistan relations deteriorate.

Conclusion: Pakistan's approach to countering terrorism in the tribal areas has shown some promising signs of consensus and civil-military coherence, but this risks being undermined by recent US actions. While the civil and military leadership may accept precision strikes by US airpower, they will strongly resist unauthorised ground operations by foreign forces.

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For Academic Citation:
Abbas, Hassan. "Pakistan: Counter-terror Policy is in Disarray." Oxford Analytica (September 16, 2008).