Turkey Pakistan Conflict

Filed under: Asia, Europe, Pakistan, Taliban, Turkey — Michael van der Galien, Editor-in-Chief on March 13, 2008 @ 9:00 pm CET

It seems that Turkey’s Chief of Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt has caused a minor international controversy. He said, in his opening speech at the second Conference on Global Terrorism and International Cooperation Monday, “that full support must be extended to Pakistan to get the country back on its feet, and warned that a Taliban-type regime may grab power otherwise.”

That’s not something to be shocked by, one would think, since this is basically what we’re all saying as well in the West. Heck, the American presidential candidates have said that this concern is one of the reasons they stand by Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf.

Seemingly, however, Pakistan isn’t too happy with the General’s words:

The embassy said declarations “attributed to” Büyükanıt and concerns about nuclear weapons’ safety are “unwarranted” and “irresponsible.”…

“The highest level of institutionalized protection is accorded to Pakistan’s strategic assets to ensure their safety and security. They are under strong multi-layered, institutionalized decision-making, organizational, administrative and command and control structures since 1998,” read the embassy’s statement…

The embassy’s statement argued that a section of the international media has launched a propaganda campaign, unleashing statements and reports intended to see Pakistan destabilized. “Regardless of their motive, we emphatically reject the contention that there is any danger of our strategic assets falling in wrong hands,” the embassy said.

Sadly for Pakistan, however, “Turkey’s former ambassador to Islamabad, İnal Batu, said Büyükanıt’s concerns are legitimate.” “An eventual power grab by the Taliban in a big country like Pakistan, a possessor of nuclear weapons, is a disaster scenario for all secular and democratic countries,” he said. “ometimes even a small minority can push a country into the fire. The Taliban controls hundreds of madrasah that train radical Islamist militants, who frequently clash with the government.”

Furthermore: “Pakistan People’s Party is run by Ali Asif Zardari, sentenced to prison on corruption charges in the past, and by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 20-year-old son of Benazir Bhutto.” “All these contribute to instability in the country. Currently the Pakistan military is maintaining order, although it sometimes regrettably launches military coups,” Batu said.

The two men are, in my opinion, completely right. Pakistan can get upset if it wants to, but instead of becoming upset about something like this, perhaps Musharraf et al. should step up the attacks against Muslim extremists in their own country.

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1 rizwana

March 14, 2008 @ 4:05 pm CET

hi hello how r u plzzz send me some games and news of my pakistan political person ok bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 Nadir

July 15, 2008 @ 9:05 am CEST

Who did this man think he was adressing? Does he think children are in control of the nuclear assests? Isn’t it common sense that something so dangerous would be kept under tight security? What’s more is only 3 people posses the codes to launch the nuclear warheads:
The president, the Prime minister and the chief nuclear scientist. Turks do tend to try to sound like westerners when making ridiculous political speeches. It has been in my opinion (and perhaps always shall be) that Pakistan’s ties to ANY Islamic countries (save for Malaysia) will not benifit in the long run except for a few minor trade relations. Other Muslim countries (particualarly in the middle east) present Pakistan nothing but trouble with their arrogance and lack of consideration.