Taliban with Pakistani Nukes … and global aims?

Colonel Dr Anil Athale (retd), a former joint director, war studies, ministry of defence, and co-ordinator of the Pune-based Initiative for Peace and Disarmament, writes in a rediff article about the impending Talibanization of Pakistan.[1] He of course, has not mentioned how Taliban has almost solidified their hold of Karachi.. and now have reached a deal with Dawood Ibrahim. It makes sense for both the sides – Taliban will get access to the money-making machinery of Dawood in Karachi and Mumbai.. while Dawood gets access to the opium from Afghanistan and the ready route out of that area to Europe and beyond for the contraband, which will be blocked from Afghanistan without the patronage of the Taliban.

Another thing he didn’t mention was the ABSOLUTE lack of Government writ in Swat – and all this has happened in just a couple of years – just a few kilometers away from Islamabad. If you want to know how bad it is – read the interview of Geo TV Executive Editor Hamid Mir about the death of Musa Khankhel in Swat and the complete withdrawal of press from that area in view of sheer force of blackmail by Taliban![3]

I A Rehman writing in the Dawn newspaper on February 12 says ‘the Pakistani armed forces were indoctrinated in General Zia-ul Haq’s rule to reserve senior posts for genuine Islamists. The Pakistan army [Images] may have the capacity to kill hordes of people, but it will not — and cannot — do that.’ The army and the State may well disintegrate if it does.
General Ashfaq Kayani, son of a former soldier, is the first non-elite chief of the Pakistani army. Given his socio-economic background, he is more likely to be part of the ‘natural’ constituency of the Taliban.

We have the example of Iran — on February 11, 1979, when the mass upsurge to impose ‘Islamic rule’ reached its zenith, the Iranian army declared its ‘neutrality’ in the ongoing conflict. This sealed the fate of the Shah of Iran. A similar happening in Pakistan is very likely.
Slumdog Jihadis: The Dawn on December 18, 2008, quoted the Pakistan Planning Commission’s Deputy Chairman Sardar Asef Ahmad Ali that poverty had skyrocketed to above 40 per cent in the country, leaving millions helpless. It is these poor/unemployed/uneducated people that are cannon fodder for the jihadis. The interrogation of the lone surviving Mumbai terrorist Ajmal Kasab’s story fits the bill. There are such 48 million Ajmals waiting in Pakistan to be primed against India.

Now, it is obvious that if Bush/Cheney & Co. and the US were worried of Iran getting the Nukes…. well, that is an “IF” Iran gets the Nukes! Here is a scenario where Pakistan has the Nukes and if Taliban goes on the way they are going… they will have them! Maybe its just me (and this guy, Col. Athawle) who are so freaked out about the Pakistani Nukes, but it is a threat for the world!

And if the Nukes going to Taliban does not freak the world out, then the fact that Lashkar-e-Toiba didn’t only have Mumbai in their sites with that Commando-style attack.. but 320 other world cities as well – 20 of them in India![2]

So, guys, the aspirations of this bunch of Jehadis – Al Qaeda, LeT, and Taliban are ….. well.. GLOBAL!! So, if someone has even an ounce of intelligence, then the entire military establishment of the world would be feverishly planning to secure the Pakistani Nukes! Because, with Swat (its around a 100 km from Islamabad) and Karachi gone – ok, with Dawood-Taliban deal it is as good as gone for practical purposes, whatever one wants to pretend – then Islamabad’s power is only a matter of time. I think now it is just a formality. World capitals should start making preparation to handle a TALIBAN WITH NUKES!! I am not sure what plan that would be…. but sending 14,000 soldiers to Afghanistan IS NOT that plan, because the Ground Zero is now somewhere in or around Islamabad.

Reference Links:

1. Barbarians at the gate, are we ready?
2. Mumbai terrorists ‘had 320 targets around world’
3. ‘He saved me, but I could not save him’