Allegations of state terrorism committed by Pakistan
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Pakistan has been accused by India, Afghanistan, and other nations (including the United States,[1][2] the United Kingdom[3] and China[4]) of its involvement in the Terrorism in Kashmir, Afghanistan,[5] and China.[6] Satellite imagery from the FBI which shows the existence of terror camps[7] and data produced by India's Research and Analysis Wing clearly suggest the existence of many terrorist camps in Pakistan with at least one militant admitting the help given by Pakistan in training them. Another terrorist outfit, the JKLF has openly admitted that more than 3,000 militants from various nationalities were still being trained.[8] Other nonpartisan resources also concur stating that Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) both include personnel who sympathize with and help Islamic terrorists adding that "ISI has provided covert but well-documented support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including the al-Qaeda affiliate Jaish-e-Mohammed"[9] Pakistan has denied any involvement in the terrorist activities in Kashmir, arguing that it only provides political and moral support to the secessionist groups. Many Kashmir terrorist groups also maintain their headquarters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which is cited as further proof by the Indian Government. Many of the terrorist organisations are banned by the UN, but continue to operate under different names. Even the normally reticent UNO has also publicly increased pressure on Pakistan on its inability to control its Afghanistan border and not restricting the activities of Taliban leaders who have been declared by the UN as terrorists.[10][11] Both the Federal and State governments in India continue to accuse Pakistan of helping several banned terrorist organizations like ULFA in Assam.[12] Experts believe that the ISI has also been involved in training and supplying Chechnyan militants.[13]
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[edit] Background
Until Pakistan became a key ally in the War on Terrorism, the US Secretary of State included Pakistan on the 1993 list of countries which repeatedly provide support for acts of international terrorism.[1] The recent 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot is also blamed by various sections in the media as being a handiwork of elements in the Pakistani administration. (See Pakistan's role in the plot) Press editorials from around the world have consistently and strongly condemned Pakistan's "terror exports"[14] In fact, many consider that Pakistan has been playing both sides in the fight against terror, on the one hand helping to curtail it while secretly stoking terrorism.[15][16] Even the noted Pakistani journalist, Ahmed Rashid has accused Pakistan's ISI of providing help to the Taliban,[17] a statement echoed by many, including author Ted Galen Carpenter, who states that Pakistan has "assisted rebel forces in Kashmir even though those groups have committed terrorist acts against civilians"[18] Author Gordon Thomas states that whilst aiding in the capture of Al Qaeda members, Pakistan "still sponsored terrorist groups in the disputed state of Kashmir, funding, training and arming them in their war on attrition against India."</ref> Journalist Stephen Schwartz notes that several terrorist and criminal groups are "backed by senior officers in the Pakistani army, the country's ISI intelligence establishment and other armed bodies of the state."[19] According to one author, Daniel Byman, "Pakistan is probably today's most active sponsor of terrorism."[20] Gordon Brown recently stated that seventy five percent terror plots in UK had links to Pakistan.[21] Writing in The Australian Foreign editor Greg Sheridan commented 'following the terror massacres in Mumbai, Pakistan may now be the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism, beyond even Iran. Yet it has never been listed by the US State Department as a state sponsor ofterrorism.'[22]
[edit] Allegations against Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence
Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, has often been accused of playing a role in major terrorist attacks across the world including the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States,[23][24][25] terrorism in Kashmir,[26][27][28] Mumbai Train Bombings,[29] London Bombings,[30] Indian Parliament Attack,[31] Varnasi bombings,[32] Hyderabad bombings[33][34] and Mumbai terror attacks[35][36].The ISI is also accused of supporting Taliban forces[37] and recruiting and training mujahideen[37][38] to fight in Afganistan[39][40] and Kashmir[40]. Based on communication intercepts US intelligence agencies concluded Pakistan's ISI was behind the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008, a charge that the governments of India and Afghanistan had laid previously.[41] The Afghan President Hamid Karzai who has constantly reiterated allegations that militants operating training camps in Pakistan have used it as a launch platform to attack targets in Afghanistan urged western military allies to target extremist hideouts in neighbouring Pakistan.[42] In response to the growing extremism from Pakistani border, the US has started bombing selected terrorist hideouts within Pakistan, as well as raiding villages in Pakistan to capture and kill suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban members hiding in Pakistan.[43]
[edit] Links to Islamic terrorist groups
Pakistan is also said to be a haven for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda,[44] Lashkar-e-Omar, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Sipah-e-Sahaba. Pakistan is accused of sheltering and training the Taliban in operations "which include soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban's virtual emissaries abroad, arranging training for Taliban fighters, recruiting skilled and unskilled manpower to serve in Taliban armies, planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and on several occasions apparently directly providing combat support," as quoted by the Human Rights Watch.[45] In fact, the US has stated that the next attack on US could originate in Pakistan.[46]Another militant outfit, the JKLF has openly admitted that more than 3,000 militants from various nationalities were still being trained.[47] Other resources also concur stating that Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) both include personnel who sympathize with and help Islamic militants adding that "ISI has provided covert but well-documented support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including Jaish-e-Mohammed"[48] Pakistan has denied any involvement in the terrorist activities in Kashmir, arguing that it only provides political and moral support to the secessionist groups. Many Kashmiri groups also maintain their headquarters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which is cited as further proof by the Indian Government. The normally reticent UNO has also publicly increased pressure on Pakistan on its inability to control its Afghanistan border and not restricting the activities of Taliban leaders who have been declared by the UN as terrorists.[49][50]
Pakistan is accused of sheltering and training the Taliban in operations "which include soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban's virtual emissaries abroad, arranging training for Taliban fighters, recruiting skilled and unskilled manpower to serve in Taliban armies, planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and on several occasions apparently directly providing combat support," as quoted by the Human Rights Watch.[51] In fact, the US has stated that the next attack on US could originate in Pakistan.[52] But this trend seems to have come to a halt as the Pakistan Army continues to mount massive military operations against Taliban & other militants in the country's Tribal Areas. This has resulted in the Taliban regularly attacking Pakistan Army convoys, encampments, even killing civilians that help Pakistan Army. In what was seen as a reversal of trends & failure of NATO forces in Afghanistan, 600 Taliban fighters crossed the border from Afghanistan in to Pakistan on January 11, 2009 but were made to retreat by the Pakistan Army contingent.[53] The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been branded frequently as a 'Haven for Terrorism', supporting Islamic terrorist organizations and is considered amongst the most dangerous nations in the world. [54][55]. The country, with the second largest muslim population in the world, harbours some of the most dangerous islamic terrorist organizations in the world, The Lashkar-e-Toiba, The Jaish-e-Mohammed, The Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and The Hizbul Mujahideen [56][57]. The Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) is believed to be aiding these organizations in eradicating the existing of perceived enemies or those opposed to their cause, including India, Russia, China, Israel, US, UK and other NATO nations [58][59][60][61].
[edit] Terrorism in Afghanistan
U.S. intelligence officials claim that Pakistan's ISI sponsored the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul.[62] They say that the ISI officers who aided the attack had not been renegades, indicating that their actions might have been authorized by superiors. The attack was carried out by Jalaluddin Haqqani, who runs a network that Western intelligence services say is responsible for a campaign of violence throughout Afghanistan, including the Indian Embassy bombing and the 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack.[62]
[edit] Terrorism in India
The Pakistani government has come under fire for the alleged involvements of terrorist organizations operating from their soil in numerous bombings in India killing thousands over the last decade alone. Pakistan denies all allegations, stating that these acts are commited by non-state actors[63][64]. The country has had a history of instability and military coups with General Pervez Musharraf coming to power after overthrowing Nawaf Sharif in 1999 and with Asif Zardari coming to power with the assasination of his wife Benazir Bhutto, allegedly by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, in 2008.[65][66] The country also blames the US and India for inciting terrorism on their soil [67] and supports the cause for Al Qaeda.[68]
Current issues include the recent Mumbai Fidayeen attacts which sources say originate from Pakistan leading to the UN ban on one such organisation, the Jamaat Ud Dawa(which the Pakistani government has yet to enforce)[69] [70], the lack of governance in the North-Western Frontier Provinces of Pakistan [71][72], past history of civil unrest and under world pressure to clamp down on terrorism within its borders believed to be sponsored by state-run elements such as the Pakistani military and the ISI.[73]
Barack Obama in a recently televised campaign mentioned that the majority of the funds being given to Pakistan to fight terrorism is being used to fund terror camps to launch pan-Islamic jihadi attack on Indian soil [74]. Pakistan has also suffered many civilian deaths on its soil. country is under severe international diplomatic pressure to deal with the terror camps virtually in every nook and corner of the country. The civilian government led by Asif Ali Zardari is said to have virtually no control over Pakistani Armed forces and ISI[75].
[edit] References
- ^ a b International Terrorism: Threats and Responses: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary By United States Congress House Committee on the Judiciary, ISBN 0-16-052230-7, 1996, pp482
- ^ Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism April 30, 2001 U.S. State Department
- ^ Daily Times Story
- ^ China turns table on Pakistan, accuses it of training terrorists The Times of India, 19 Apr, 2007
- ^ Pakistan's link to Afghan terrorism
- ^ Uzbek leader blames Pakistan for terrorist outburst
- ^ FBI identifies terror camp in Pakistan through satellite pictures
- ^ 'Pak feared exposure of militant camps' - Rediff October 16, 2005
- ^ Terrorism Havens: Pakistan - Council on Foreign Relations
- ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/09/news/afghan.php Pakistan should crack down on Taliban, UN official says]
- ^ BBC Story
- ^ Assam accuses Pakistan High Commission of helping ULFA
- ^ Who Is Osama Bin Laden? by Michel Chossudovsky Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa hosted on Centre for Research on Globalisation
- ^ Editorial: Terror exports made in Pakistan- The Australian
- ^ Pakistan said to play both sides on terror war October 02, 2006, Christian Science Monitor
- ^ Dangerous game of state-sponsored terror that threatens nuclear conflict May 25, 2002, Guardian Unlimited
- ^ Die Zeit - Kosmoblog » Mustread: Rashid über Afghanistan
- ^ Terrorist Sponsors: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China by Ted Galen Carpenter November 16, 2001 Cato Institute
- ^ Stephen Schwartz (19 August 2006). "A threat to the world". The Spectator. http://www.spectator.co.uk/archive/features/24639/a-threat-to-the-world.thtml. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
- ^ Deadly Connections: States That Sponsor Terrorism By Daniel Byman, ISBN 0-521-83973-4, 2005, Cambridge University Press, pp 155
- ^ Brown: Pakistan linked to most UK terror plots, CNN, 2008-12-14
- ^ Asia's Islamism engine, The Australian, 2008-12-04
- ^ Michael Meacher: The Pakistan connection | World news | The Guardian
- ^ Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG)
- ^ BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Pakistan spy service 'aiding Bin Laden'
- ^ Terrorism Havens: Pakistan - Council on Foreign Relations
- ^ Indian minister ties ISI to Kashmir
- ^ Kashmir Militant Extremists - Council on Foreign Relations
- ^ BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan 'role in Mumbai attacks'
- ^ The Pakistani Connection: The London Bombers and "Al Qaeda's Webmaster"
- ^ Terrorist Attack on the Parliament of India - December 13, 2001
- ^ ISI now outsources terror to Bangladesh
- ^ Hyderabad blasts: The ISI hand
- ^ ISI may be behind Hyderabad blasts: Jana Reddy
- ^ U.S. official: Indian attack has Pakistani ties
- ^ Rice tells Pakistan to act ‘or US will’
- ^ a b BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan's shadowy secret service
- ^ Nato's top brass accuse Pakistan over Taliban aid - Telegraph
- ^ At Border, Signs of Pakistani Role in Taliban Surge - New York Times
- ^ a b A NATION CHALLENGED: THE SUSPECTS; Death of Reporter Puts Focus On Pakistan Intelligence Unit - New York Times
- ^ Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials say
- ^ Karzai wants action by allied forces in Pakistan August 11, 2008 Dawn, Pakistan
- ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/12/asia/pakistan.php
- ^ Zee News - Pakistan has al-Qaeda training camp: US officials
- ^ Crisis of Impunity - Pakistan's Support Of The Taliban
- ^ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C09%5C12%5Cstory_12-9-2008_pg7_51
- ^ 'Pak feared exposure of militant camps' - Rediff October 16, 2005
- ^ Terrorism Havens: Pakistan - Council on Foreign Relations
- ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/09/news/afghan.php Pakistan should crack down on Taliban, UN official says]
- ^ BBC Story
- ^ Crisis of Impunity - Pakistan's Support Of The Taliban
- ^ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C09%5C12%5Cstory_12-9-2008_pg7_51
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7822722.stm
- ^ http://www.cfr.org/publication/9514/
- ^ http://www.newsweek.com/id/57485
- ^ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011217/main1.htm
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ISI_still_helping_terror_groups_against_India_Narayanan/articleshow/2902592.cms
- ^ http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba.htm
- ^ http://www.cfr.org/publication/17882/
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3181925.stm
- ^ http://www.harkatulmujahideen.org/
- ^ a b Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials Say, Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmidt, New York Times, 2008-08-01
- ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/news/2008/11/sec-081128-irna02.htm
- ^ http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080076673&type=News
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22416009/
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4797762.stm
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3330186.cms
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/11/al.qaeda.report/index.html
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pakistan_not_to_ban_Jamaat-ud-Dawa/articleshow/3838907.cms
- ^ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/3823910.cms
- ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/26-killed-in-pakistan-blasts-nwfp-tense/394762/
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1954236.cms
- ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/04/india.pakistan.rice/index.html?eref=rss_world
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pak_misusing_US_aid_against_India/articleshow/3449772.cms
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1783698.cms
[edit] See also
- State terrorism
- State sponsored terrorism
- Allegations of Iranian state terrorism
- Allegations of state terrorism by Russia
- Allegations of State terrorism by Sri Lanka
- Allegations of state terrorism by the United States
- Atomic bombings of Japan as a form of state terrorism
- Monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force
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