Islamabad, Jan 30: Cricketer turned Pakistani politician, Imran Khan has written an open letter to US President Barack Obama asking him to undertake a review of the US-led war on terror.
"Our entire social, political and economic fabric is in a state of meltdown. Our sovereignty, dignity and self-respect have been trampled upon," Khan wrote in a letter addressed to "Dear President Obama".
No people desire change more than the people of Pakistan, as we have suffered the most since 9/11, despite the fact that none of the perpetrators of the acts of terrorism unleashed on the US on September 11, 2001, were Pakistani, Khan said to Obama.
"...Your extraordinary ascent to the US Presidency is, to a large part, a reflection of your remarkable ability to mobilise society, particularly the youth, with the message of `change`," states the letter published by forbes.com.
Welcoming the change in US politics where Obama replaced George W Bush as the American President he said, "Indeed, change is what the world is yearning for after eight long and almost endless years of carnage let loose by a group of neo-cons that occupied the White House."
Khan said the previous US administration "invested in dictators and corrupt politicians" by providing them power crutches in return for total compliance to pursue its misconceived war on terror.
"Understandably, your overarching policy focus would be the security and welfare of all US citizens and so it should be. Similarly, our first and foremost concern is the protection of Pakistani lives and the prosperity of our society."
The former cricketer who heads Tehrik-e-Insaf party said that, US and Pakistan may have different social and cultural values, but they share the fundamental values of peace, harmony, justice and equality before law.
Asking Obama to restore peace in the region he said, "This can only be achieved through a serious and sustained dialogue with the militants and mitigation of their genuine grievances under the ambit of our constitution and law."
"Since Pakistan`s founding leader signed a treaty in 1948 with the people of the country`s Federally Administered Tribal Areas and withdrew Pakistani troops, they had remained the most peaceful and trouble-free part of Pakistan up until the post-9/11 situation, when we were asked to deploy our troops in FATA."
He said that the Pushtuns are proud of their history of resisting every invader from Alexander onwards, to the Persians, Moghuls, British and the Russians.
"So no government, Pakistani or foreign, will ever be able to stop Pushtuns crossing over the 1,500-km border to support their brethren in distress on either side, even if it means fighting the modern-day superpower in Afghanistan."
Recent history shows how the mighty Soviet Union had to retreat from Afghanistan with its army defeated even though it had killed over a million Afghans, he added.
"Therefore, the greatest challenge confronting US policy in Afghanistan is how to change its status from an occupier to a partner. The new US administration should have no doubt that there is no military solution in Afghanistan."
Warning the US to be cautious while dealing with Afghans the former cricketer said, "As more innocent Pushtuns are killed, more space is created for new Taliban and even Al-Qaida recruits--revenge being an integral part of the Pushtun character."
"So, as with Iraq, the US should give a time table for withdrawal from Afghanistan and replace NATO and US forces with UN troops during the interim period," Imran wrote. Khan wrote that terrorism worldwide is an age-old phenomenon and cannot be eliminated by rampaging armies, no matter how powerful.
"The roots of terror and violence lie in politics—and so does the solution. We urge the new administration to conduct a major strategic review of the US-led war on terror, including the nature and kind of support that should realistically be expected of Pakistan keeping in mind its internal security interests."
Linking economic assistance to sealing of its western frontier will only force the hand of a shaky and unstable government in Pakistan to use more indiscriminate force in FATA, a perfect recipe for disaster, Khan told the new US President.
Bureau Report
