|
Islamabad:
The year 2011 saw Pakistan making headlines for all the wrong
reasons, compounded by yearend uncertainty about the political
future of a nation that is a declared nuclear power. Will the
military take over the reins of government yet again was the
common refrain among Pakistanis following the memogate scandal and
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's accusation that the army was
acting like a "state within a state".
Of greatest significance was the deterioration of its ties with
the US, mostly because of a daring American commando operation to
kill the world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden, and a
US-led air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
From the assassinations of two top politicians to cricketers being
found guilty of match-fixing, Pakistan witnessed some of the worst
events ever.
A bid to reform the country's blasphemy law, and support for a
Christian woman sentenced to death, led to the deaths of two
prominent politicians -- Punjab governor Salman Taseer by his own
bodyguard, and minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti.
One of the most important events that put Pakistan in the dock in
front of the whole world was the May 2 killing of bin Laden. The
Al Qaeda founder was gunned down in a unilateral operation by US
commandos at his hideout at Abbottabad.
While Pakistan claimed it had no idea about the whereabouts of the
terrorist, Washington said it did not inform Islamabad about the
raid because it did not want to "jeopardize" the mission.
The Taliban struck back.
Twin suicide bombers attacked Pakistani paramilitary personnel as
they were about to leave a training centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At least 73 troops and 17 civilians were killed.
Then, there was the Raymond Davis episode. A CIA contractor,
suspected to be an undercover agent, he shot dead two people in
Lahore. Davis allegedly had links with the Pakistani Taliban.
For the media too, the scenario was bleak. At least seven
journalists were killed while reporting from the field. The most
prominent among them was Saleem Shahzad.
In May, Shahzad, who was Southeast Asia bureau chief for Asia
Times Online and also worked for Italian news agency Adnkroknos
International, disappeared from Islamabad. His body was recovered
two days later 150 km from the capital. The killing occurred just
days after Shahzad published an article alleging links between Al
Qaeda and Pakistani Navy officers.
Another bone of contention between Pakistan and the US was drone
strikes.
Pakistani officials reportedly told top CIA authorities that the
raids have become a "major source of embarrassment" for the
government as it was blamed for failing to stop a foreign power
from killing its own citizens. Since June 2004, when the strikes
began, more than 2,500 people have been killed in around 250 such
incidents.
However, the worst infraction was yet to come for Pakistan.
A US-led NATO and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
air strike from across the Afghan border against two Pakistani
army border check-posts killed 24 soldiers Nov 26.
Though NATO said Pakistan had given the go-ahead, Islamabad
insists US army authorities gave them the wrong coordinates,
saying the check-posts were Taliban hideouts.
Pakistan retaliated by shutting down NATO supply routes to
Afghanistan through its territory, boycotting an international
conference on the future of Afghanistan and ordering the US to
vacate the key Shamsi air base in Balochistan.
Ties with the US further suffered with Pakistan's ambassador to
the US Husain Haqqani quitting in November over a secret memo to
Washington that said President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military
coup after Osama's killing.
Pakistani American businessman Mansoor Ijaz alleged that a "senior
Pakistani diplomat" asked for help in getting a message from
Zardari to the then chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Admiral Mike Mullen.
Zardari added fuel to fire when he abruptly left the country for
Dubai Dec 6, and underwent treatment for a heart condition, giving
rise to speculation that he feared a coup.
Even in sports, Pakistan had a bad year. Former cricket captain
Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir were
jailed for their involvement in spot-fixing during a Test match
against England.
On the economic front too, Pakistan suffered.
The Pakistan Economic Survey 2010-11 said the country suffered
losses of up to $67.93 billion due its role as a frontline state
in operations against terrorists since 2001.
An annual report published in the Foreign Policy magazine titled
"The Failed States Index 2011" ranked Pakistan at number 12. From
refugee flows to poverty, public services to security threats, the
list gathered together a country's performance to reflect its
stability.
|
Comments
|
Quick links