Round The World

New Delhi, 20 October 2009

Pakistan Under Attack

2^ND CHAPTER OF MILITANCY

By Monish Tourangbam

(Research Scholar, School of International Studies, JNU)

A string of bold and daring attacks in the Pakistani heartland have raised serious questions over Islamabad’s preparedness to counter terrorism. Three coordinated attacks rocked some of the most fortified and strategic locations in the city of Lahore-- two police training centres and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Building. No doubt a swift and a successful response saved the day but the very fact that these Islamic militant groups could penetrate such high profile targets in a major city is a cause of worry for the Pakistani officials.

The Islamic militants probably intended to discourage the Pakistani State from going ahead with the military offensive in South Waziristan. If such was the aim, the attacks caused the opposite reaction as the operation is already underway. But, reverses suffered during encounters with the military in the mountainous region might be avenged through suicide and other forms of attacks in major cities.

The attacks in Lahore seemed to be part of a series of high profile attacks that began with the suicide bombing at the United Nations World Food Programme Office in Islamabad earlier this month followed by a 20-hour siege at one of the highly-fortified army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Though it was eventually foiled, the attack at the headquarters of a nuclear-armed Pakistan reveals the height of vulnerability. The Taliban-linked Amjad Farooqi group has claimed responsibility for the siege in Rawalpindi as well as the attacks in Lahore. This relatively little known group owes its name to a Punjabi terrorist who developed links with Al-Qaeda through two militant groups from Southern Punjab in Pakistan.

The barrage of these recent attacks drives home the point that the militant network has the wherewithal to choose its site of attack and storm at will, rendering the security officials to reactive forces. According to analysts, the style itself shows the close ties between the Taliban and the Al Qaeda and what are known as jihadi groups, which operate out of southern Punjab, the country’s largest province. The lethal combination widens the extremist threat to the Pakistani State and the people.

Today, the threat from these groups is not confined to the North-Western Frontier and the tribal areas but is well-entrenched in the heartland of Pakistan, posing a threat to its stability and sustainability. While attention was focused on the Lahore attacks, assaults were carried out elsewhere as well. A suicide car bomb exploded near a police station in the northwest's Kohat city, killing three police officers and eight civilians. Another car bomb exploded in Peshawar, killing a six-year-old boy and wounded nine others, mainly women and children.

Cementing the threat that the Punjab nexus poses, Salima Hashmi, an artist, professor of art, and life-long Lahori said, “We can no longer say that it's just the northwest part of Pakistan. This is now also about Punjab, one surmises. A second chapter in the development of militancy in Pakistan has opened.” This is not something that we can blame on other forces. It has been fostered by our internal politics and strategy, he added. 

Often the political circles in Pakistan are found wanting in their conviction that militancy and religious extremism in Southern Punjab could be of serious consequences. Punjab officials as well as the Army have opined that the Punjab connection is hyped and that there is no serious entrenchment of extremist elements in the region. But many experts and analysts contradicted the opinion saying the sheer nature of the attacks in Lahore could not have been carried out without the help of militants in Punjab.

As usual, Pakistan seems intent on finding an Indian link to the attacks. Within hours of the three terrorist attacks in Lahore on October 15, its Commissioner talked of involvement of the India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in the attacks, although he did not offer any evidence to substantiate his claim. Pakistan’s tolerance for the Punjabi militant groups like Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi might be explained by the fact that their actions hitherto have been primarily anti-India.

They have found support among many Pakistanis on the pretext of “just causes”, including fighting India, the US and Shiite Muslims. But, the recent attacks have given credence to the point that they have found common cause with the Taliban and the Al Qaeda and are out to give a tough time to the Pakistani State. It is hard for the Pakistani officials to dirty their linen in public and accept that state-nurtured groups have come back to haunt the creator itself.

So far, the militant groups in Southern Punjab have not been branded as enemies of the state and a certain myth has developed to garner public support. But, the situation now demands a change in perspective and as such, there have been some high-level acknowledgements regarding the intent of these groups. “These are all Punjabi groups with a link to South Waziristan,” Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, a former interior minister, said, explaining the recent attacks. Pledging a more effective counterstrategy, his colleague, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that a “syndicate” of militant groups wanted to see “Pakistan as a failed state,” and that “the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are operating jointly in Pakistan.”

Besides trying to shake the nation’s psyche and pressurise the government to rethink its operation in South Waziristan, the attacks could also be seen as a message to Islamabad to sever ties with the US. The extremists groups have often accused the Government of fighting America’s war, killing its own people in the process. The attacks came at a time when talks were being finalized for a $7.5-billion civilian aid package over the next five years. The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, also known as the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill was signed into law on 15 October by President Obama amidst controversies. Influential Pakistani sections raise Sovereignty issues over the demands of the aid, such as greater civilian oversight of the military and ceasing state support for militant groups. Further implications of this bill regarding responses from the militant groups are yet to be seen.

The attacks also show that the Taliban has got over the death of its leader Beitullah Mehsud and is as determined and vicious under the leadership of the young Hakimullah Mehsud. He has been outspoken in his threats to the Pakistani state for aligning with the US and has promised to avenge the death of his predecessor Beitullah killed in a US drone attack. Reports that Hakimullah is a cousin of Qari Hussain, known as the Ustad-e-Fidayeen, or teacher of the suicide bombers gives more reason to worry. The army offensive in the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan code named Rah-e-Nijat (Path of Deliverance) has already commenced and as obvious, both the sides will make their own claims of successes. But, only time will tell as to how far the long-awaited operation would deliver. -- INFA

(Copyright India News and Feature Alliance)