KARACHI - Pakistan reversed its policy on Afghanistan by abandoning its support of the Taliban for the sake of its own national interests, which saw it side with the US in the war on terror. However, after the Taliban were routed and al-Qaeda’s network was scattered, it now appears that President General Pervez Musharraf attempted to play the al-Qaeda card - that is, he appeared to crack down on the organization in his country only for personal recognition from the US to ensure his military rule.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minster, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, delivered his first speech at the UN Security Council in New York and surprised many with his statement that most of the recent terror incidents that had occurred in Pakistan were carried out by foreign intelligence agencies (possibly implying the Research and Analysis Wing - India's intelligence agency) and not by al-Qaeda, as originally attested.

Kasuri’s statement was contrary to all Pakistani statements in the past and appears to be a bid to save Pakistan from being declared by the US as a safe sanctuary for terror organizations.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, it was largely with Pakistan’s help that the US was able to play havoc with the Taliban government. Pakistan provided three airbases to the US, provided logistical support, intelligence aid and also provided bases to rebel Afghan warlords to instigate defections in the eastern Pashtun belt. This help enabled the US to effectively subjugate the country and oversee the installation of the pro-Western administration of Hamid Karzai in Kabul.

Analysts agree that had Pakistan not supported the US, the war could have dragged on for many more months, instead of the two months that it took, and with considerably heavier casualties on US and allied forces.

A year later, not all in Pakistan are happy with the rewards that the country has received in return for ditching its erstwhile allies, the Taliban. Pakistan's naval chief, Admiral Shahid Karimullah, on January 14, at a briefing on board the supply ship PNS Nasr, said that despite Pakistan's policy in the post-September 11 period, the acquisition of technology and weapons systems for the defense forces remained affected by sanctions (imposed for Islamabad's earlier nuclear tests) and the country would have to defend itself on its own.

"As far as the military is concerned, the squeeze on us continues, despite the perception to the contrary with regard to sanctions," said Karimullah, spelling out the various alternatives the Pakistan navy was examining in terms of weapons acquisition and strategy to counter Indian "forward posturing".

He said that the sanctions had compelled Pakistan to look for its needs eastward. His comments, and Musharraf's own admission of an impending danger that Pakistan would be the next US target after Iraq, clearly show that the only thing that was traded for Pakistan in return for its cooperation with the US in its war on terror was recognition for Musharraf’s military rule in Pakistan.

After the Taliban and al-Qaeda were booted out of Afghanistan, Pakistan became the victim of terror incidents across the country, whether it was churches, consulates or individual foreign citizens. The Pakistani authorities immediately pointed to the hand of al-Qaeda behind the attacks to capture the maximum US attention. Under the same pretext, there was a hue and cry that Pakistan was being victimized for cooperating with the US. It was implied that the entire al-Qaeda network was holed up in Pakistan. To substantiate the claims, hundreds of Arabs were handed over to the US, but, except for a few, none was al-Qaeda, rather they were fresh volunteers who had initially gone to Afghanistan to fight the US. When the Taliban retreated, these Arab fighters ran helplessly to Pakistan, where they were rounded up by the authorities.

This was designed to create fear in the US mind that al-Qaeda was very much alive and ready to kick at any time. At the same time, the impression was created that Musharraf was indispensable in Pakistan in cooperating with the US.

For instance, take two high-profile cases in Karachi: A bomb blast near the US consulate in which several Pakistanis were killed, and the Sheraton blast in which several French workers were killed. Both incidents occurred last year. And in both cases law-enforcing agencies seized more than 70 persons belonging to about 10 different local gangs with an alleged affiliation to al-Qaeda.

These investigations caused so much confusion for foreign interrogators that they point blank refused to rely on information supplied by Pakistani authorities. The Federal Bureau of Investigation started to direct interrogations and raids. After the killing of the French workers, French counter-intelligence agents also beefed up their presence in Pakistan. Last Thursday, a French team arrived to interrogate suspects rounded up in connection with the Sheraton blast as Pakistan's efforts were not trusted.

Recently, US authorities have insisted on launching big operations in Southern and Northern Waziristan Agency to catch al-Qaeda, Taliban and their Pakistani supporters. Pakistan initially resisted the move, but the US has pressed its case and Pakistan has agreed. Operations are expected in the near future.

Pakistan's policy statements have in the past mostly been generated by Major General Rashid Qureshi, the press secretary to the president and the chief of the Inter-Services Public Relations of the Pakistan Army. Critics have said that Rashid must be the only example in the world where a public relations officer of the army acts as a spokesperson of the country.

Now, though, the US is publicly becoming exasperated with Pakistan and its hollow promises. In the most recent example, the US ambassador to Pakistan, Nancy Powell, said bluntly that Pakistan must stop being a platform for terrorism and honor its commitments to end infiltration by militants across the Line of Control into Jammu and Kashmir.

And what Asif Ali Zardari, the detained spouse of former premier Benazir Bhutto said last week is echoing around the country. He cautioned Musharraf against extending support to the United States, saying that the president himself would be responsible if Washington now pressured Pakistan into change its policies, as ambassador Powell appears to be laying the groundwork to do.