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Pakistan’s
crucial role in the death of Tamil Tigers
By Amir Mir
It was the Pakistani defence cooperation with Sri Lanka as one of
the largest suppliers of high-tech military equipment that has
played a major role in the ultimate defeat of the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the hands of the Lankan army.
The three decade long quest of the
LTTE to carve out a separate state for Tamils, as well as the myth
that the Tamil Tigers are militarily invincible, has effectively
been laid to rest, along with its supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran,
and the entire LTTE top brass. According to well placed sources in
the Pakistani establishment, defence cooperation between Sri Lanka
and Pakistan had grown significantly in recent years as Islamabad,
unlike New Delhi, had no problems supplying the Lankan army
state-of-the-art weaponry to accelerate its counter-insurgency
operations against the LTTE which has finally ended with the killing
of the most wanted Tamil guerilla fighter Vellupillai Prabhakaran.
The sources say it was exactly a year ago in the first week of May
2008 that Sri Lankan Army Chief Lt-Gen Fonseka came to Pakistan and
held detailed talks with his Pakistani counterpart Chief of Army
Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to finalise the purchase of high
tech arms for the Lankan armed forces, which were embroiled in an
intense battle with the LTTE forces even at that time.
During his talks with Pakistani
military authorities, Lt-Gen Fonseka had finalised a deal as per
which Pakistan sold 22 Al-Khalid tanks to Sri Lanka in a deal worth
over US$100 million. General Fonseka also gave a shopping list of
weaponry worth about US$65 million to the Pakistani military
authorities. While the Sri Lankan army chief’s shopping list for the
army was pegged at $25 million, the inventory for the Lankan Air
Force was worth $40 million. He had further sought 250,000 rounds of
60mm, 81mm, 120mm and 130mm mortar ammunition worth US$ 25 million
and 1, 50,000 hand grenades for immediate delivery to the Lankan
army within a month. Pakistan also accepted the visiting General’s
request to send one shipload of the wherewithal every 10 days to
bolster the Lankan military efforts to take over Kilinochchi, the
headquarters of the LTTE.
On Jan 19, 2009, in a meeting between
Pakistani Defence Secretary Lt-Gen (retd) Syed Athar Ali and his
visiting Lankan counterpart Gotabhaya Rajapakse in Rawalpindi, the
two countries had agreed to enhance cooperation in military
training, exercises and intelligence sharing regarding terrorism.
The agreement came amidst Sri Lankan media reports that the Pakistan
Air Force (PAF) pilots had participated in several successful air
strikes against several military bases of the LTTE in August 2008.
These reports further claimed that a highly trained group of the
Pakistani armed forces officers is stationed in Colombo to guide the
Sri Lankan security forces in their counter-insurgency operations
against the LTTE.
However, it was not the first time
that the Pakistan army was helping Sri Lanka militarily in its
prolonged fight against the LTTE guerrilla fighters. Back in 2000,
when LTTE offensive code-named Operation Ceaseless Waves overran Sri
Lankan military positions in the north and captured the Elephant
Pass Base and entered Jaffna, and was being feared that LTTE would
run down thousands of Sri Lankan troops stationed in Jaffna, the Sri
Lankans had sought Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher System (MBRLS) and
other high tech weaponry from Pakistan on urgent basis.
Subsequently, MBRLS and weapons and
ammunition, including artillery shells and multi-barrel rocket
launchers, were airlifted in an emergency operation from Karachi to
Colombo in May 2000. Later, in 2006, the Sri Lankan authorities had
again sought Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher System (MBRLS) and other
advanced weapons from Pakistan when Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa visited Pakistan in March 2006 along with an 80-member
delegation that included some high ranking military officials.
During his talks with the Pakistani leaders, the Sri Lankan
President had sought military help from Islamabad to effectively put
an end to the LTTE separatist movement.
That the Lankan and the Pakistani
armed forces had been working together in militarily stamping out
the LTTE insurgency has already been confirmed by the Sri Lanka Army
Spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakara, in a statement he had made on
April 28, 2009, saying Pakistan and India had been training the Sri
Lankan troops to deal with the LTTE forces. Separately but
consistently, he said, the two countries had trained and equipped
the Sri Lankan army to prepare and fight the LTTE. He said Lankan
forces have been procuring the latest technology from both
countries.
“We had been sending our military
officers regularly to India and Pakistan for specialised training. I
myself did four courses in India and three in Pakistan. We know they
are rivals but we have nothing to do with that and we are benefited
from both India and Pakistan,” said the Sri Lankan military
spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakara.
The News:
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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