Trusting Pakistan: Overview : SBS Insight

Overview

Whose side is Pakistan on in the fight against terrorism?

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With the recent capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden just two hours away from Islamabad, attention has again turned to Pakistan and its complex relationship with the West.

Fears of reprisal attacks are high, after heavily armed Taliban gunmen attacked a naval base in the country's biggest city Karachi.

Against that backdrop, we ask: how genuine and effective are Pakistan’s efforts in combating terrorism? How do Pakistan’s leaders juggle cooperation with the West on the one hand and anti-US sentiment among the population on the other? And who has the real power there – the government or the military?

Join Insight as we bring together the Pakistani-Australian community and talk with people with first-hand knowledge of Pakistan's diplomatic and military circles.

Meet the Guests

Tasawar Khan

Tasawar Khan is the Acting High Commissioner for Pakistan in Canberra. He says that accusations that Pakistan is not committed to fighting terrorism are absurd, and that thousands of people - military, police and civilians - have died at the hands of militants. He says the U.S. military operation that killed Osama Bin Laden violated Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Naeem Salik

Brigadier (retired) Naeem Salik served in Pakistan’s military for more than 30 years. Before his retirement in 2005 he served as a Director of Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs at the Strategic Plans Division at Pakistan’s National Command Authority which controls the country’s nuclear weapons. Naeem says that the U.S. covert operations on Pakistan's soil are embarrassing for the military.

Samina Yasmeen

Professor Samina Yasmeen is the Director of the Centre for Muslim States and Societies at the University of Western Australia. Her work specialises in the spread of militant ideology across Pakistan. She says there's a disconnect between the Pakistani government’s stated desire to crack down on militant groups and broad popular sympathy for those groups. She believes Pakistan is not a failed state, but a failing one.