With Honorable Senator Dr. Javaid Laghari, Pakistan

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Event Summary:

A discussion hosted by the Central Asia Caucasus Institute (CACI) at SAIS on Friday, January 25, 2008, in the Rome Auditorium.

The event featured Senator Dr. Javaid Laghari, member of the policy planning committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Due to the absence of S. Frederick Starr, Chairman of the Institute, Ambassador R. Grant Smith, Senior Fellow at CACI, introduced Senator Laghari to the audience.

Senator Laghari began his talk by emphasizing the very strategic location of Pakistan, which belongs to Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. Numerous rulers, including Alexander the Great, have invaded what was formerly known as Hindustan from the North and the West. After entering through “dry” ports, their armies crossed Pakistan and left the country via its South Asian “wet” ports.
Hence Urdu, the common language of present-day Pakistan, is a potpourri of languages, with very strong influences from Hindi, Turkish and Arabic.

In modern history, Pakistan managed to gain independence from colonial rule. However, Senator Laghari lamented the country’s tradition of military rule, which has hindered the development of democracy. A decisive shift towards extremism in the historically peaceful country occurred after the 1977 coup by General Zia, who established a military dictatorship. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Zia and the US supported the freedom fighters, or Mujahidin, and allowed the inflow of significant Saudi funds. More than 20,000 so-called “political” madrassa were established with external funding. Encouraging militancy and extremism, they became irregular recruitment centers for the Mujahidin in Afghanistan. Since the madrassa offered a free education, including room and board, many poor parents opted to send their children there.

Following the Afghan war, the jihadis became unemployed and looked to other hotspots like Chechnya, Kashmir and Southern China where they could advance their agenda and continue their fight. In Afghanistan, a network of militants and extremists around Kandahar morphed into the Taliban under the leadership of Mullah Omar and the generous financial backing of rich Saudis like Osama Bin Laden. According to Senator Laghari, Benazir Bhutto, who had come to power in 1988 after the death of General Zia, tried to promote democracy and moderation in the region by ordering the shutdown of many “political” madrassa in Pakistan and confining the Taliban to the Kandahar area in neighboring Afghanistan. Bhutto survived a Taliban-inspired vote of no confidence in 1989 as well as an assassination attempt in 1992.

With regard to economic cooperation, Bhutto encouraged the revival of trade along the old Silk Road. Regular flights to Kazakhstan were introduced and plans for oil pipelines connecting Central Asia with Pakistan were made in the early 1990s. Senator Laghari stressed that Bhutto was very keen on helping the landlocked countries gain access to the sea via the Pakistani port of Gwadar.

However, after Bhutto’s second dismissal as prime minister in 1996, extremism was once again on the rise. With the Pakistani government no longer acting as a brake on militancy in the region, the Taliban under Mullah Omar were able to extend their influence all the way to Kabul in neighboring Afghanistan.

Bhutto went into exile in 1998 and later was not allowed to return by General Musharraf. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, changed the face of the world and the region. In the eyes of Senator Laghari, the attacks might not have happened if Bhutto had stayed in power. Under her successors, the hubs of terrorism were untouched and extremists managed to solidify their position in Pakistan.

Senator Laghari underlined that the PPP remains committed to combat militants and extremists. With Bhutto’s return on October 18th, 2007, she personally took the battle against dictatorship and extremism back to Pakistan. She stressed the need to reform the country’s various military and administrative agencies, fight warlordism, abolish the jirga system, overhaul the penal code, change the curricula of the madrassa, stimulate the economy and revive plans for an energy corridor to Central Asia.

In what Senator Laghari called Pakistan’s 9/11, Bhutto was killed on December 27th, 2007. The circumstances of the assassination remain unclear. Among others, Laghari pointed to the disappearance of police cars and a power outage just before the bombing. He indirectly blamed remnant supporters of General Zia for the stunning inactivity of the Pakistani government, despite numerous the complaints filed with the police by Laghari and other PPP members.

Likewise, no action was taken after Bhutto had sent a letter to General Musharraf following the assassination attempt of October 18th, 2007. An investigation of that bombing, which killed 136 people, has not been conducted. With even the Taliban, strong enemies of Mrs. Bhutto, denying responsibility for the bombings, Senator Laghari called for an international investigation. The current probe by Scotland Yard is being conducted under the tight Pakistani control and is only charged with determining the cause of Bhutto’s death and not with finding the perpetrators of the attacks.

Finally, Senator Laghari urged the US to devote its announced aid package of $750 million to the social and economic development of Pakistan instead of providing additional military assistance to his country.

The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute was founded in 1996 and has grown to be the primary institution in the Washington area for the study of the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Caspian Region. The Institute forms part of a Joint Center with the Silk Road Studies Program at the Institute for Security and Development, Stockholm. The Institute sponsors impartial research on the region, acts as a forum for policymakers both in Washington and abroad, shares information concerning the region and provides access for its sponsors in business to relevant expertise on the region. Additional information about the Institute is available at www.silkroadstudies.org.