Fool Rejoicing in Someone Else's Marriage/Fight: Parai ki LaRai/Shadi mai Abdulla Deewana

This post details how Pakistan had been entangled in someone else's war in anticipation of some crumbs falling to Pakistan as a largess in US Wars. In all these cases the results have been disastrous for Pakistan. This post is motivated by Pakistan's another venture to join the new US' Middle East War that portends huge costs for Pakistan vis-a-vis its neighbors especially Iran because the US Alliance of Arab Countries which is dominated by despots and royals is primarily against Iran, and Pakistan desperately needs a friendly neighbor on the West because its influence in Afghanistan has now been eclipsed by India [1].

To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions: Pakistan History 101

Becoming a Pawn in US-USSR Cold War

Pakistan joined SEATO and CENTO which were setup in 1954-55 as alliances to defend against communism threat. It was thrown some crumbs like some disease or cholera centers established in Dacca (East Pakistan) [2,3]. In return Pakistan provided the Badaber Base from which U2 espionage planes used to fly to take pictures of USSR facilities. It was also the staging post for sending of CIA agents to USSR. The most famous incident in which Pakistan found itself entangled was the U2 plane  which was shot down in Soviet Airspace and the pilot Garry Powers was captured [4]. This became a big mess for Pakistan as USSR, in turn, cultivated and promoted communists in Pakistan.

Pakistan took on USSR on behalf of USA and was in return ditched by USA when the crunch time came for Pakistan; for example during the East Pakistan war or during the 1965 war.

Becoming a Pawn in US's Afghanistan Jehad War against Soviet Occupation: 1980-88

CIA established training facilities for the manufacture and supply of Jehadis from Pakistan. Impact of this supply chain established in the 1980s is being felt even today in the form of the culture of terrorism, intolerance, extremism, drugs, arms and violence. To finance the Afghan War, the arms trade, drugs trade and smuggling was encouraged and was facilitated through NLC and other carriers [5]. This had a disastrous impact on safety and security of Pakistani cities. There was mass migration from Afghanistan of about 2-3 million refugees whose feeding and support is being done by Pakistan till today. There is no accounting of any of the USAID that came to Pakistan was ever utilized for an positive purposes in Pakistan. Most of it was siphoned off and created a rentier class that thrived on corruption and nepotism.

• See Also: At What Cost! Fazle Hasan of IBA and our Computation of Economic Costs

Becoming a Pawn in US' War on Terror: 

See other posts on this subject in this blog

• Get Pakistan out of this quagmire: Economic Cost of War on Terror for Pakistan
• Whither Writ of the State? Costs of Breakdown of Law and Constitution in Pakistan

Becoming a Pawn in US's Middle East War and Alliance Against Iran

Pakistan can not afford to join this insane US' alliance for promoting terrorism and pumping of arms in the Middle East to "Make America Great Again" for Trump who has just signed over 300 Billion USD deal with Saudi Arabia for this purpose [6]. Iraq, Syria and Yemen are already in flame and going through tragic costs of lives and infrastructure. Over 2 million Iraqis have died over the last two decades. Over half Million Syrians have died over the last five years. Over 100,000 Yemenis have died [7]. US plan is to involve Pakistan also in this so that the CPEC project can be thwarted through the military intervention in this region. This Pakistan can not afford at all. 

References: 

[1] New Middle East War

[2] SEATO and CENTO:
[3] SECURITY GAME: SEATO and CENTO as Instrument of Economic and Military Assistance to Encircle Pakistan MUSSARAT JABEEN and MUHAMMAD SALEEM MAZHAR, Pakistan Economic and Social Review Volume 49, No. 1 (Summer 2011), pp. 109-132 

[3] Shooting Down of U2 in Soviet Airspace, Capture of Gary Powers and its Fallout for Pakistan

[4] Afghan Jehad Factory Established in Pakistan and its Fallout for Pakistan

[5] Trump's US Middle East Policy to Make America Great Again 

[6] 

See Also:

• Why Dictatorships are Weaker in Accountability than Constitutional Governments
• At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions
• Who has Greater Will and Resolve in controlling Karachi Disturbances: Dictators vs Civilian Governments
• Traitor/Foreign Agent Production Factory of Pakistan
• Cyber Control and Cyber Crime: From Panopticon of 18th Century to Imprisonment in Technology Age
• Field Marshals of Pakistan: Costs of Sycophancy and Political Expediency
• Costs of Justice Munir's Doctrine of Necessity: 4 Martial Laws and 35 years of dictatorships
• Costs of Military Dictatorships of Pakistan
• Costs of General Musharraf's Dictatorship
• Costs of General Ayub's Dicatatorship
• Blaming the Founding Fathers for Our Mistakes: Case of Pakistan
• Why Pakistani Democracies are a Sham? Costs of Controlling a Democracy from Outside
• Costs of General Zia's Dictatorship in Pakistan
• Costs of Sham Democracratic Governments in Pakistan
• Are Generals Qualified to Make Long Term Strategy: Costs of Strategic Failures of Military Dictators