Azerbaijan, Baku, May 13 / Trend , D.Ibrahimova/
The Pakistani Army's struggle against the Taliban can be launched for the sake of Washington, and, ultimately, it can lead to escalation of the conflict and civil war in the country, experts believe.
"I fear we have come very close to the end game of Pakistan," British Expert on South Asia Vernon Hewitt told Trend .
On May 7, the Pakistani government decided to launch military actions against the Taliban in the Swat valley. It happened after the extremists took the neighboring areas of the Swat region, despite Islamabad's agreement to support sharia law in the region. Military actions are still lasting in Swat.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than half million people fled the valley of Swat, where the Pakistani troops attack militants' positions.
Pakistani President Asif Zardari signed the bill according to which the Sharia law is imposed in Malakand, which is composed of six north-western districts, including Swat valley.
Talibs were promised application of Sharia law in Feb. 2009 in exchange for halt of military operations in this province. However, the bill was signed in April as western countries that supported Zardari were against the deal.
The Taliban movement is struggling to form the Islamic state in Pakistan and withdraw foreign troops from Afghanistan which are in this country since 2001. The movement organized murderous assault on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in April 2008.
Experts believe Pakistan's actions aim to fulfill Washington's will. The US officials repeatedly stated that the Pakistani government insufficiently struggles against Talibs.
An order to destroy the Pakistani army's extremists was given the day after the meeting of the presidents of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States in Washington. "Their current actions are only designed to win favor in Washington and does not constitute a serious endeavor to tackle the menace that has gripped Pakistan," American Expert on South Asia and Professor of the Illinois University Sumit Ganguly wrote to Trend in an email.
The Pakistani militaries will not act swiftly and decisively unless their is sustained international pressure, Ganguly said.
Pakistani President Zardari noted the "presence of Talibs" in a "huge part" of the country. The bulk of the Taliban based in Pakistan, in a zone of "independent tribal" (FATA) in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Afghanistan.
"Unless the Pakistani military develops a coherent and long-term strategy to crush the Taliban, I fear that the current effort will not bear much fruit," Ganguly said.
According to Russian Political Scientist Natalia Zamaraeva, the current conflict - is almost a civil war being waged by the state against its population in the territory of their own country. "At this time, the Pakistani authorities have decided to dramatically increase the participation of the army in the conflict, by increasing the military contingent with 6 brigades," Russian Expert on South Asia Zamaraeva said, the Web site - www.centrasia.ru reported.
Expert Hewitt said the events in Pakistan can lead to more serious consequences than you can imagine. The expert expressed his concern about the current situation in Pakistan. "I fear we have come very close to the end game of Pakistan," Lecturer of the British Bristol University Hewitt said.
The partition of South Asia was a consequence, not of Muslim aspiration and self determination but of the way in which the British sought to disengage from Empire, Hewitt wrote to Trend in an email. The result was a state constructed and held in position by a particular international and regional system and not by a specific and deep rooted nationalist domestic consensus, he added. "Over the years this has weak domestic consensus has unraveled and the regional system has tipped against the state, both to the point at which Pakistan could well physically collapse," Hewitt said.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at [email protected]