Pakistan and terrorism

The POST, Sun, April,22, 2007.

Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the lingering civil war in Afghan war had severe repercussions for Pakistani state and society. Pakistan had to face a massive influx of nearly 4 million Afghan refugees — the largest in the world. Unlike Iran, which kept its refugees under tight surveillance by restricting them to border areas, Pakistan acted in a characteristic Islamic spirit of magnanimity by letting the uprooted Afghan Muslim brethren free to stay and move as they liked — often detrimental to its national interests. Today, after nearly 27 years of Soviet military intervention, Afghanistan remains a troubled and violent country. Although many refugees have left after 9/11, a sizable 2.6 million are still staying on in Pakistan.

When Afghan refugees streamed across the borders into Pakistan, they created a number of problems for the host country e.g., there were incidents of  encroachment over lands and property, overgrazing of fields of local population, large scale deforestation, land erosion, illegal shanty towns, massive increase in rent ceilings, introduction of drug and Kalashnikov culture, intensification of sectarianism, increased competition for transport and construction businesses, housing and jobs and incidents of violence etc. This had put a heavy strain on social services of an already underdeveloped NWFP province. More importantly, law and order problems increased due to beggary, crime and immorality. This was followed by a spate of terrorist bomb explosions throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The Taliban period provided some respite as it was able to control law and order in Afghanistan to a considerable extent.

After 9/11 and more specifically following US military strikes against the Taliban regime fell and in consequence many defeated Talibans crossed over the Pak-Afghan border and took refuge in the tribal regions of Pakistan. Incidentally, these regions, comprising of seven tribal agencies have close ethnic and family ties with each other. With varied interpretations of the Durand Line and the tribal areas traditionally enjoying a semi-autonomous status, it was not too difficult to mingle with the local people. Cognizant of the incumbent situation in tribal areas, they were able to carry out terrorist activities within Pakistan and against the Karazai government as well.

The presence of foreign militants in some parts of Pakistan and more specifically in FATA   pose challenges to Pakistani society as violent acts increased when they along with Taliban elements and their mentors, Al-Qaeda, moved into the major cities.  Afghan refugees in big cities are also infiltrated with these elements. Now the government is trying to register these refugees and make plans to repatriate them. But economic and security conditions in Afghanistan are so forbidding that they are reluctant to return to their war- shattered country. Some Afghan refugees who went back to Afghanistan after their long stay in Pakistan have also come back to Pakistan primarily because of extremely difficult situation in most parts of Afghanistan. Cognizant of extremely unattractive situation if Afghanistan and being fully aware of incumbent Afghan government’s inability to secure even some semblance of law and order, many refugees have categorically refused to go back to Afghanistan.

After 9/11, some of Al-Qaeda leaders and Taliban have been using these areas as havens to escape detection and launch incursions on both sides of the border. Pakistan government has captured nearly 700 Al-Qaeda leaders, including Khalid Omer, Abu Zubaida and Libby from different areas. However military operations in troubled South Waziristan had forced them to move to other cities and places.

In many ways, it is mainly Pakistan that has borne the major brunt of the Soviet invasion, the adverse effects of Afghan civil war and the consequences of the post 9/11 war on terrorism. This has posed major dilemmas for policy makers in Pakistan. One, it has affected major development projects in these regions; secondly, it has forced the state to station many divisions of army for law and order. Not only nearly 90,000 troops have been stationed in FATA and more than 1000 posts have also been established but the government is relying heavily upon the local elders to check the activities of the militants. A three pronged approach consisting of political, economic and military approaches has been adopted which is paying the expected dividends.

In terms of damage to economy i.e., the loss of foreign direct investment and tourism the losses are indeed substantial. Moreover the image of the country has taken a massive battering which for the Pakistanis was an extremely unkind blow. Visa and job opportunities for Pakistanis from these areas to the Middle East are being increasingly curtailed. The strict checking at the entry point amounted to insults initially but later the situation began to improve.  

Paradoxically, it was the Pakistani diasporas that actively contributed to national economic development of many countries in the Gulf, the ME and Europe (UK, Denmark, Germany and Norway) 1960s and 1970s. With trained professional armed forces, a responsible nuclear power and geopolitical salience, Pakistan is considered as a stabilizing force in a volatile ME and looked up to as a leading country to combat international terrorism since 9/11.

Another negative fallout has been the radicalization of some sections of its own society and the boost that it has given to religious political parties in the country that either rule or form coalition partners in the two bordering provinces. One manifestation of this is the introduction of a bill deemed to be a parallel legal mechanism to control check “vice and immorality.”  

Pakistan was and is a major victim of terrorism, and this has been frequently acknowledged by notable US policy makers.  On allegations that it was not “doing enough” in the war against terrorism, it needs to be mentioned that Pakistan had undertaken “extensive operations” against terrorists sometimes at the loss of considerable lives of its troops which nearly amounts to 400-500.  Incidentally, this was also conceded and acknowledged even by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

It is little realized how harsh ground realities of the area make this task quite problematic and difficult for Pakistan. Part of the Pak-Afghan border consists of the rugged terrain of nearly 1,500 km (out of the total 2600 km) at the height of 10,000 to 15,000 feet with no communication infrastructure, which has enabled the foreign elements to fully exploit the geographical situation. Yet the Pakistanis have dealt with this menace with patience and courage despite the fact that no other country has paid so much as has been done by the Pakistanis. One major reason for such a resolve is that almost all Pakistanis view terrorism as a curse of the current phase of international world order and in order to eliminate this menace at home and abroad, they feel that they will have to carry their fight as long as it takes even if they have fight alone.

The writer works for Islamabad Policy research Institute.