Introduction
It all started with religious extremism and sectarian terrorism, but now Pakistani militant groups join the network of international terrorist groups such as the Al-Qaeda. A rising number of suicide attacks targeted major cities of Pakistan. New terrorists groups rise into Pakistan, more violent to inflict harm to many civilians in the country. These terrorists groups helped one another in doing unlawful crimes. This problem concerns the country’s security, affecting tourism and investments. Pakistan joined the United States against the fight on terrorism after the New York 9/11 attack that claimed many lives of innocent Americans. Elements of al-Qaeda and Afghan Taliban seek refuge to Pakistan’s soil and work closely to Pakistani militant groups. The Pakistani government cannot control the number of terrorist attacks in the country because they lack capabilities in doing so.
Roots of Pakistani Terror
The rise of religious extremists began with the decision to launch a jihad (holy war) in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union. Several groups were armed to fight against the Soviets and pro Soviet Afghan forces. Seven of these factions were supported by Pakistan. After that, Pakistan used these forces to fight in Kashmir. After the war is over, these militant groups became independent and earned a number of supporters. These groups invited Al Qaeda to Afghanistan, engaged in cruelties and violence. Madrasas were set up with foreign funding to prepare fighters for the jihad but the talibanisation of Pakistan began in when the Taliban seized control of Kabul.
Sufi Mohammad launched his Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi in Swat, which was financed by criminals who had cases against them in courts of law.
Terrorist Groups
It is hard to determine the number of terrorist groups operating in Pakistan, but according to Ashley J. Tellis, a senior associate Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, terrorist groups in Pakistan can be part of the five distinct categories of terrorists in Pakistan namely:
§ Sectarian: Sunni Sipah-e-Sahaba and the Shia Tehrik-e-Jafria groups, which is responsible to the violence within Pakistan;
§ Anti-Indian: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), and the Harakat ul-Mujahadeen (HuM). It is believed that the Pakistani military together with the intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) support these groups. These groups are active in Kashmir;
§ Afghan Taliban: The original Taliban movement and especially its Kandahari leadership centered around Mullah Mohammad Omar, believed to be now living in Quetta;
Al-Qaeda and its affiliates: The organization led by Osama bin Laden and other non-South Asian terrorists believed to be ensconced in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
§ The Pakistani Taliban: Groups consisting of extremist outfits in the FATA, led by individuals such as Hakimullah Mehsud, of the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan, Maulana Faqir Muhammad of Bajaur, and Maulana Qazi Fazlullah of the Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM).
Others
There are some militant groups that do not fit into any of the above categories like the secessionist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army in the southwest province of Balochistan. BLA was declared a terrorist organization by Pakistan in 2006. Also, a new militant network, often labeled the Punjabi Taliban, has gained prominence after the major 2008 and 2009 attacks in the Punjabi cities of Lahore, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi.
The new picture of Terrorism
Violence in Pakistan has been on the rise as more militant groups target the state. 2,155 civilians were killed in terrorist violence in 2008 and nearly 1800 civilians have been killed in the first ten months of 2009 as compared to around 1600 civilian deaths from 2003 to 2006. This new tactic of terrorist focus on suicide attacks. There are sixty sucide attacks in Pakistan in 2009 as compared to only two in 2002. It was believed that Osama bin Laden’s group is training most of the terrorist groups in FATA and introduced the practice of suicide bombings to both Pakistani and Afghan Taliban. The Al- Qaeda network is also promoting cooperation among militant groups making their forces stronger. This cooperation makes it hard for counter terrorist organization in eliminating such violent groups.
International Counterterrorism
Pakistan’s security forces are struggling to confront these domestic militants. Efforts are underway to reform the forces but challenges remain both in terms of willingness to fight some of these militant groups as well as capabilities. The army and the police have increasingly become the target for the militant groups. In October 2009, militants attacked the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and held around forty people hostage for over 20 hours. Most analysts believe that even though the Pakistani army and the ISI are now more willing to go after militant groups, they continue some form of alliance with groups they want to use as a strategic hedge against India and Afghanistan. But Pakistan’s security establishment denies these charges.
References
1. Council on Foreign Relation, Jayshree Bajoria (2009), Pakistan’s New Generation of Terrorist, [Online], Available at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/15422/ [Accessed 18 Feb 2010]
2. Strengthening Participatory Oraganization, Terrorism in Pakistan, [Online] Available at: http://www.spopk.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98:terrorism-in-pakistan&catid=49:news-and-media&Itemid=92 [Accessed 18 Feb 2010]
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