Pakistan and Terrorism

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 - the day that changed the future of this world - the Pakistan government did what was unthinkable - to advertise its support for the fight against terrorism. This incident is humorous for two reasons - the first reason being that no country has ever (in my knowledge) advertised its efforts for a holy cause, and the second and the most obvious reason is that it is the country which is the breeding site of most of the terrorist activities that are taking place today.

I would not blame today’s Pakistan government wholly for the situation there. Much what is there today is the result of the policies and practices of previous governments. The chief cause of the presence of terrorists on the soil of Pakistan is that it has been through many wars. The war of East Pakistan that lead to the formation of Bangladesh, three wars with India, and the Soviet-Afghan war. All these wars have led to the nurturing of so-called independent fighting groups by the government for achieving strategic goals. These groups are used for proxy wars and they are ideology driven self-sustained groups.

Pakistan has been long since obsessed with Kashmir. It occupies much of it illegally and considers it as its own part. No leader of Pakistan has considered Kashmir part of Indian territory. There have been numerous terrorist groups trained for the sole purpose of liberating Kashmir from India. General Pervez Musharraf had confessed that Pakistan Army used to train militant groups for fighting Indian fighters in Kashmir. The benefit of having such militant groups instead of the the Army is the deniability. If these militants are caught or killed, they cannot be associated with either with the government or the Army. Thus Pakistan gets a clean chit and the fight can continue.

The war of Afghanistan in 1991 also brought many religious extremists from all over the world to South Asia. Many of them have settled in Pakistan and have been operating since then. This has led to a mixture of terrorist groups, some home grown, some imported from Taliban in Afghanistan. And after 9/11, al-Qaeda leaders have also settled in Pakistan after US started war with Afghanistan.  

Another reason for the violence in Pakistan is the sectarian and religious conflict, mainly between Shia and Sunni supporters. Few Islamist policies enacted by the previous governments have added fuel to the fire of religious conflicts. The result is the birth of highly influential religious leaders who can bend the crowd to their willing.

The violence in Pakistan today is the mixture of the home grown terrorist groups and religious leaders. There are instances when these two merge and give rise to a single terrorist group. The Pakistan intelligence group Inter Services Intelligence, or famously known as the ISI, still gives intelligence and arms support to terrorists who share a common ideology. The Pakistani government still recognizes some terrorist groups as religious bodies. And the idea of tackling terrorism is limited to having talks with these groups.

The lesson which the Pakistani government should now learn is that terrorism and violence have no demarcations. You cannot recognize one terrorist group and hope to dismantle the other. Terrorism has to be viewed from a single agenda. It has lost much in achieving its national goals via the road of terrorism. It is true that Pakistan has lost more people in terrorist attacks than any country ever. It is true that numerous political figures have become victim of this terrorism. It is true that Pakistan is fighting Al Qaeda terrorists since US has put pressure on it. But what is also true is that substantial amount of US aid for fighting terrorists has gone in nurturing those terrorist groups which it recognizes for fighting personal wars. No amount of justification can justify the use of training militants and using violence to achieve what they consider national goals.

The advertisement in Wall Street Journal dates 9/11 has drawn much flak in the US. The people have ridiculed Pakistan’s efforts of fighting terrorism. Any common man would ask only one question - how can a country that is sponsoring terrorism, fight terrorism? The answer is not so simple. The problem that Pakistan faces today is not easy to tackle. Even if Pakistan government stops sponsoring terrorist groups today, it has a long way in fighting terrorists.

If Pakistan stops giving support to the terrorist groups and starts fighting these militants, there is hope after all. It can not only save its own Security Forces and civilians, but it can send a blow to these terrorists and save many people of the world. Pakistan is currently not fighting for the safety of 7 billion people, but it can bring peace to these people if it wants. Yes, its true, only Pakistan can do it.