By DN Verma

India has been going hoarse by regular re-iteration of the fact that Pakistan is constantly, intentionally and dubiously playing a double game in the war on terror. The so-called close ally of the United States, is a ‘master state' in deceiving its ‘money and military master' and keeps getting massive aid from the Americans all the while defending the militant Taliban both in Afghanistan and inside Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan keeps harping on the imagined threat from India taking it to the level of a permanent danger.

The American President, Barack Obama, last week, was compelled to denounce Pakistani ISI's links with the ultra militant Taliban and issue a warning. Obama virtually accused Pakistan's all-powerful military of "consorting with terrorists, manufacturing threats from India and creating an environment that threatened the whole region, including the people of Pakistan." No wonder the perception of Pakistani military is that it's a big group of "terrorists in uniform."

[At a short-notice White House press conference, Obama prefaced his stinging critique of Pakistan's regional policy by acknowledging the country's importance and some cooperation it has provided so far. But he did not mince words in speaking about the country's two-faced military.]

"There is no doubt that there's some connections the Pakistani military and intelligence services have with certain individuals that we find troubling," Obama said, endorsing the view of just-retired Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen. "I think they (Pakistan) have hedged their bets in terms of what Afghanistan would look like and part of hedging their bets is having interactions with some of the unsavory characters who they think might end up regaining power in Afghanistan after coalition forces have left," he added.

Pakistan has variously denied, and sometimes acknowledged and justified, ties with terrorist groups, which they believe further the country's strategic interest in Afghanistan in the event of U.S pull out. Pakistani analysts also believe the military is doing this to prevent India from wielding any influence in Afghanistan, where a broad-based dispensation excluding the Taliban is more inclined towards New Delhi.

But Obama appeared to rubbish the idea, suggesting Pakistan was ill-served by this policy. Pakistan, he said, saw its "security interest threatened by an independent Afghanistan, in part because they think it will ally itself to India and Pakistan still considers India their mortal enemy,"' and "Part of what we want to do is actually get Pakistan to realize that a peaceful approach towards India would be in everybody's interests."

This is a good sign that wisdom is slowly dawning on the American government and also on the Karzai government in Afghanistan. The US leadership, both military and civil, have on more than one occasion, clearly exposed Pakistan's role in this reprehensible double game. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the other day, bluntly said the same thing.

Karzai condemned Pakistan's "double game" on terrorism in Afghanistan. Many Afghans continue to be suspicious of Pakistan's connections to the Taliban-led insurgency in their country. No wonder, as Pakistan is the ‘mother-and-father' of the Taliban and that dreaded militant organization has been functioning both inside Afghanistan and also Pakistan. Despite the terror threat to Pakistan itself, the Islamabad government and the all-powerful Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) is closely connected to the Taliban and often warns it of impending action and frequently defends it.

The agencies reported that Hamid Karzai had declared that he planned to hold a traditional assembly, or loya jirga, to decide the country's peace strategy after the killing of peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani. [The killing was suspected to have been carried out by the notorious Haqqani group that enjoyed the patronage and shield from the Pakistani military. ]

Karzai made the comments in a televised address to the nation broadcast on state television after his spokesman said the President was reviewing his strategy for negotiations with the Taliban following Rabbani's death.

"In a traditional loya jirga which will be held soon, the representatives of Afghanistan will be asked (about the situation) and we will do according to their wishes," Karzai said.

"After all the destruction and misery, the double game towards Afghanistan and the use of terrorism as an excuse still continues. Pakistan has not supported our efforts to bring peace and security to Afghanistan, which is very unfortunate," said Karzai.

But despite this condemnation, Karzai, nonetheless, restated the view that negotiations had to go through Pakistan in order to get to the Taliban.

Karzai, for all his apprehension from Pakistan-Taliban links is still not prepared to entirely antagonize Pakistan, its more powerful neighbor. While Karzai values his country's close relations with India, he also realizes that he cannot strain his ties with Pakistan unless the Americans continue their military presence and keep Afghanistan safe from Pakistan's designs in a positive and effective way. The American government's plans of withdrawal of their forces (and also NATO forces) by this year-end don't make Karzai safe.

However, the perception is definitely changing and the Pakistani double game is becoming apparent. Despite the Chinese support to Pakistan, it's inconceivable that Islamabad can do away with US support and would run the risk of openly antagonizing the Americans. But the double game has to end, or at least change.