Akbar Jan Marwat
TERRORISM had been subdued to a great extent by our military and security forces, in the wake of successful anti-terrorist operations like Zarb-i-Azab and Rud-ul-Fasad. But due to certain external and internal factors, a new wave of terrorism seems to have struck Pakistan recently again. Except for a couple of terrorist incidents in Karachi, most of these recent terrorist incidents have taken place in Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa; the recently merged tribal districts and Balochistan. The militant groups behind these acts of terror can be broadly divided into two categories: 1) religiously inspired groups; 2, Secular groups with separatist tendencies. It would be educating to shine spotlight on these two kinds of terrorist organizations and some of their recent operations.
Religiously inspired terrorist groups got a fillip when various factions of TTP, merged together again in Afghanistan. This reinvigorated TTP is allegedly behind a spate of terrorist attacks both in the merged tribal districts and Khyber Pakhtoon Khwah. The latest terrorist attack took place in Peshawar on the 27th of October. A bomb exploded at the spin Jumaat mosque complex in Dir colony near the ring road. The bomb was so powerful and effective, that it martyred eight students and injured over 90 people. The explosives along with ball bearing (used for maximum impact) were placed in a school bag allegedly put in the hall of the madrassa. Two days earlier, an improvised explosive device (IED) linked to a motor cycle was detonated in Hazarganji market in Quetta. Three people died and more than seven were injured. Interestingly enough, the blasts in Peshawar and Quetta took place after a threat alert was issued by the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) warning that terrorist groups were planning to carry out attacks against political and religious leaders. The NACTA’s warning specifically mentioned Peshawar and Quetta as the places, were the attacks could possibly take place. The NACTA warning went to the extent of naming TTP as the most likely perpetrator of these attacks. Subsequent events proved (NACTA) to be correct to a great extent.
The TTP was, however, the first group to deny the blasts of Peshawar and Quetta. Militants and terrorist groups generally deny attacks on religious places or when young children are killed. It is, however, mystifying as to why the TTP denied the attack before it was even accused by any government agency. Another significant attack by the TTP took place in Razmak North Waziristan recently in which a military convoy was attacked martyring six soldiers and a captain. It is evident that TTP has been increasing its influence in the ex-tribal agencies for the last few months. The TTP militants who having taken shelter in Afghanistan have regularly carried out operations in both North and South Waziristan. Such attacks have been carried out either by crossing the border themselves or through their operatives in tribal districts.
The Islamic State (IS) is another major religious inspired terrorist group operating in the region, having presence in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, besides some other regional states. Many fighters associated with IS returned to their countries after their so-called caliphate was dismantled in Syria and Iraq. Many of those IS fighters belonged to Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries of the region. Many of these fighters relocated to Afghanistan, exploiting the poor law and order situation of the war-torn country. After the Afghan Taliban agreed to have direct talks with the Americans, the IS troops fell out with the Afghan Taliban and were driven out of their stronghold of Nangrahar province. The IS follow the Salfi doctrine and believe in having a territorial Islamic state.
The Islamic State is also rabidly anti-Shia in its outlook. It has successfully lodged many anti-Shia operations in Kabul, attacking Imambargahs and localities of Shia community killing and maiming large number of innocent people. The IS is particularly vicious in attacking centers of civilian population. Educational institutions hospitals and other civic centers are mostly its targets. The recent attack on Kabul University in which over twenty students were killed was carried out by IS. The Hazarganji bazaar attack because of its sectarian angle, was most probably the handiwork of IS also. In Pakistan also, the IS has been involved in many incidents of sectarian violence over last few years. The Americans in their agreement with Afghan Taliban, have made the Afghan Taliban responsible for the actions of Islamic state. Taliban are required to rein them in from indulging in violent acts.
The remnants of Al-Qaeda also seem to be active in parts of Pakistan and the region. They are, however, a shadow of their former self as for as organization and operational ability is concerned. Most of these religious based terrorist organizations have a symbiotic relation with each other. They cooperate as well as share expertise with each other on an operation-to-operation basis. These terrorist groups are also not averse to fighting with each other if the situation so demands. The Baluch separatist groups generally constitute the secular category of terrorist groups. In the last few months, their operations have become more frequent and audacious. These Baluch groups usually operate in Baluchistan, but in the last year or so, the carried out a couple of Fidayin style attacks in Karachi also. These attacks were carried out against Chinese Consulate and the Stock Exchange building. In Baluchistan, the recently formed BRAS, an alliance of Baloch insurgent groups, targeted a convoy of security forces escorting OGDCL employees from Gwadar to Karachi. Seven FC soldiers and as many civilian security guards were martyred.
One thing common to all these terrorist organizations is, that they are heavily funded by foreign intelligence agencies. The prominent amongst these foreign intelligence agencies are NDS of Afghanistan and RAW of India. The involvement of these foreign actors is beyond doubt, but some time their involvement is played up beyond realistic levels. Such attitudes not only prevent our intelligence and security institutions to take a realistic measure of these terrorist organization to judge their true capabilities, but also provide a false justification to them for not being able to pre-empt the moves of these organizations. It is generally observed that uncertainty of any kind helps these militant organizations to conduct their operations more effectively. In Pakistan, also the recent PDM protest rallies have coincided with explosions in Quetta and Peshawar. Most of the terrorist organizations have presence in more than one country. It is, therefore, imperative that a sincere and calibrated regional or even international effort is made to eradicate this menace of terrorism on a sustainable basis.
—The writer, based in Islamabad, is a former Health Minister of KP.
