Dr. Divya Anand*
Pakistan has a history of nurturing non-state actors to fulfil its own strategic interests vis-a-vis India and Afghanistan, making it a germane ground for hardcore Islamist militants. Mention can be made of hardcore al Qaeda militants, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, who is a Pakistani and according to the 9/11 commission report, is tagged as “the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks.” It is a known fact that following the devastating terrorist attack on the U.S. mainland in September 2001, Pakistan (under the Military rule of Musharraf) despite joining the U.S. led war on terror, did not make any sound and effective reversal in its policy of nurturing and courting militants. It has shown its counter-terror efforts by just capturing top al Qaeda leaders such as Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, murderer of Wall Street Journal Correspondent, Daniel Pearl in 2002; Abu Zubaydah and a few others. Whenever Pakistan acted in the direction of countering terrorism, it has mainly been due the presence of an international pressure. Going back into the history, in the aftermath of the 9/11, in the consecutive months, Pakistan’s sponsored anti-India terrorist groups- Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) carried out brutal terrorist attacks in India including on the Indian Parliament. Henceforth, only under the intense U.S. and Indian pressure to prevent the heated up warlike situation in the South Asian region, Musharraf on January 12, 2002, banned militant organisations including LeT, JeM, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), and Tehreek-e-Jafaria Pakistan (TJP). It was only a tactical move as these militant organisations re-emerged under different names or started working as charity organisations. The anti-India militant groups along with the Taliban and the Haqqani network continue to flourish in Pakistan with not only massive state support but also with an expansive societal reinforcement. It has also been a host to the chief of al Qaeda- Osama bin Laden for years unknown.
Image Source: CSCR
Read Full Article at: https://www.iacspsea.org/v1/page.php?id=30&k=DIVYA%20ANAND
*Dr. Divya Anand teaches at Amity Institute of International Studies, Amity University, Noida.
