Pak cannot be friendly, says former diplomat

CHANDIGARH: Noting that it was impossible to have a friendly Pakistan, former diplomat Satish Chandra today said a nexus between military, ultras and Muslim clerics in that country was responsible for the terror infrastructure standing intact on its soil.

"A military-terrorist-mullah nexus is a reality in Pakistan. This explains why it has not moved decisively against Taliban and not wound down the infrastructure of terror," Chandra said delivering the 20th Panchnad annual lecture here on the theme 'Handling Pakistan'.

If the history of India-Pakistan relations is any guide, it is obviously not possible to have a friendly Pakistan, the former high commissioner to Pakistan said.

Accusing Pakistan army of lacking the willingness to act against ultras, the former diplomat who retired in 2005 as the Deputy National Security Advisor said, "The army in Pakistan has the ability but not the desire to take on the terrorists as it is in cahoots with them."

The serious governance deficit which has for so long plagued Pakistan may be attributed in large measure to the fact that the army has been the major power centre in that country, he said.

"The absence of any underlying ideology of what Pakistan stood for and institutional poverty paved the way for the military's dominance in Pakistan's polity," he said.

Quoting statistics compiled by the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, he said incidents of terrorism in Pakistan had risen from 254 in 2005 to 3816 in 2009 and the number of those killed had increased from 216 to 12632 during the same period.

He underlined the need for a vigorous campaign to project Pakistan as a "terrorist state" so that international sanctions are imposed on it, including suspension of military and economic assistance.