Pakistani Writer Examines the Role of Pakistani Mercenaries in the Middle East and America's Place in Saudi-Pakistani Calculations

Kashif Mehmood, a Pakistani national working as a policemen in Bahrain, was lynched to death by protesters (Image courtesy: tribune.com.pk)

In a recent article, Pakistani writer Dr. Mohammad Taqi examined the role of Pakistani mercenaries[1] in the Middle East over the years. The role of Pakistani mercenaries came into newspaper headlines after Pakistani expatriates in Bahrain were recently attacked by the Shi'ite protesters there.

The attacks took place because a number of Pakistani soldiers and policemen working for Bahrain are seen as supporting the Sunni regime there. Over the years, Pakistani security forces have worked in the Middle East, defending the ruling Arab sheikhs.

In the article titled "Mercenaries for the Middle East," Dr. Taqi also reflected on the Saudi anger against U.S. President Barack Obama's support for the protesters, noting also that the Pakistani-Saudi "interests are at odds with the U.S. and are confluent with each other."

Following are excerpts from the article:[2]

Tariq Ali: "10,000 Pakistani Prostitutes had been Dispatched to the Gulf States by the United Bank Limited (UBL), to Strengthen Its Reserves of Foreign Currency"

"'Foreign policy is everywhere and always a continuation of domestic policy, for it is conducted by the same ruling class and pursues the same historic goals.' – The Revolution Betrayed, Leon Trotsky

"In his 1983 masterpiece 'Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State,' Tariq Ali opens the section on Pakistan's foreign policy during the Z. A. Bhutto days with the above quote from Trotsky. After duly recognizing the limitations of generalizing this aphorism, Tariq Ali noted that many third-world capitals pursue a foreign policy closely mirroring their domestic economic and political policies, but perhaps none has done so more grotesquely than Islamabad.

"Tariq Ali wrote: 'One of the commodities exported was labor, and the remittances sent back by migrant workers provided nearly 20 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings. It was also reported that 10,000 Pakistani prostitutes had been dispatched to the Gulf states by the United Bank Limited (UBL), to strengthen its reserves of foreign currency. Soldiers and officers were also leased out as mercenaries to a number of states in that region. In some ways it was a telling indictment of the Pakistani state that it can only survive by selling itself to the oil-rich sheikhs.'

SUPPORT OUR WORK

$500 $250 $100 OTHER CryptoCurrency Apple Pay Paypal Credit Card

"The Pakistani military establishment's cooperation with Arab dictators obviously dates back to the Ayub Khan era and the UK and U.S.-sponsored Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) or Baghdad Pact of 1955. However, the surge in the export of mercenaries that Tariq Ali was alluding to was not because of the Western sponsorship of such legions but because Pakistan, in 1971, had declared a moratorium on repayment of its foreign debt and had to look for financial aid…

"While one cannot confirm the veracity of the claim about the UBL venture, the events of the last several months show that somehow the grotesque mediocrity of the Pakistani establishment keeps repeating its antics, as far as the export of mercenaries goes. "

"The Saudi Plan, Just as in the 1969 Bombing of Yemen by Pakistani Pilots Flying Saudi Planes, is to Use the Trusted Pakistani Troops to Bolster the Defense of… Client States Like Bahrain"

"The Arab spring has created unique geopolitical scenarios where old alliances are falling apart – or at least are no longer trustworthy – while new realities are taking shape much to the discontent of regional autocrats. I have repeatedly stated that [U.S. President] Barack Obama's instinct is to side with the democratic movements in the Middle East and North Africa, without intervening directly, even though cliques within his administration have been able to drag him into the Libyan morass. Obama's handling of Hosni Mubarak's fall did not go well with Saudi king Abdullah and the bitter exchange between the two, during a phone conversation, is rather well known.

"The wily Saudi monarch subsequently concluded that if there were to be an uprising in his courtyard, the Americans would not come to his rescue. And unless a smoking gun can be traced to Tehran, Abdullah is right. With Obama getting [likely] re-elected… in 2012, the Saudis have chosen to exercise other options that they have heavily invested in, for decades, to protect their courtyard and backyard.

"The Saudis know that it is nearly impossible for any political uprising there to physically coalesce, due to the population centers being geographically far apart, to cause direct threat to Riyadh. But they also know that the democratic contagion can spread at the periphery of the Kingdom, with the oil-rich Eastern province slipping out of control quickly or the disquiet at the Yemeni border keeping Riyadh distracted (the latter was tested by both Gamal Nasser and Iran). The Saudi plan, just as in the 1969 bombing of Yemen by Pakistani pilots flying Saudi planes, is to use the trusted Pakistani troops to bolster the defense of not only the Saudi regime but of its client states like Bahrain."

"Pakistani-Saudi Interests are at Odds with the U.S. and are Confluent with Each Other…; The Pakistani Deep State [i.e. the Military] Apparently has Decided to Keep Selling Itself to the Oil-Rich Sheikhs"

"It is not a surprise then that before Saudi Arabia invaded Bahrain on March 13, 2011, the chief of Saudi Land Forces, General Abdul Rahman Murshid visited Pakistan and before that, on March 9, met General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani [chief of Pakistan Army]. Bahrain had already requested and received assurance for military help from Pakistan in late February 2011. In fact, a leading Urdu paper carried an advertisement from the Fauji Foundation Pakistan on February 25 and March 1, seeking men for recruitment to the Bahrain National Guard. The qualifications sought were the following: age 20-25, height of six-feet or taller and military/security service background especially in riot control, which suggest that enrolment was not exactly for the Manama Red Crescent Society.

"After the Saudi army brutally crushed the uprising in Bahrain, the foreign minister of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, met with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the State Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar [in Islamabad]. While the Bahraini media splashed pictures of the handshake between Ms. Khar and Sheikh Khalid, announcing Pakistani support to Bahrain, the actual backing had been pledged by the chief of general staff, General Khalid Shamim Wayne, whom the Bahraini minster met on March 29.

"In her article titled 'Bahrain or Bust?,' [journalist] Miranda Husain writes: '[Noam] Chomsky believes the Pakistani presence in Bahrain can be seen as part of a U.S.-backed alliance to safeguard Western access to the region's oil... The U.S. has counted on Pakistan to help control the Arab world and safeguard Arab rulers from their own populations... Pakistan was one of the 'cops on the beat' that the Nixon administration had in mind when outlining their doctrine for controlling the Arab world.' Ms. Husain and the American Baba-e-Socialism (Father of Socialism), Chomsky, conclude with the hope that Pakistan should not meddle in the Middle East.

"I believe that Chomsky's reading of the situation in the Persian Gulf is dead wrong. It is the divergence – not confluence – of U.S.-Saudi-Pakistani interests that is the trigger for potential Pakistani involvement there. The Pakistani brass' handling of the Raymond Davis affair and now its insistence – through bravado, not subtlety – on redefining the red lines with the U.S. indicates that just like the 1971 situation, an alternative funding source to the IMF has been secured. The Pasha-Panetta meeting has raised more issues than it has solved.[3] Pakistani-Saudi interests are at odds with the U.S. and are confluent with each other.

"From the Kerry-Lugar Bill to the Raymond Davis saga, the mullahs [clerics] have been deployed swiftly to create an impression of public support for the establishment's designs. Last Friday's mobilization of the religious parties in favor of the Saudis is the establishment's standard drill and will be repeated as needed. The Pakistani deep state [i.e. the military] apparently has decided to keep selling itself to the oil-rich sheikhs. The domestic policy of coercion and chaos will be continued in foreign lands too."