M Ziauddin
Defining terrorism is not a straightforward matter. There is no single internationally accepted definition of what constitutes terrorism, and the terrorism literature abounds with competing definitions and typologies. Still, in order to give a perspective to this bloody global phenomenon and to measure its impact let us glean from the relevant data sifting the latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2019 compiled by the Australia-based Institute For Economic& Peace.
The GTI report has been produced using data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and other sources. Data for the GTD has been collected and collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland.
Thanks to our valiant Armed forces and highly competent intelligence agencies plus the unanimous public support for the National Action Plan, the good news for Pakistan as per the GTI is, the impact of terrorism has fallen for the fifth consecutive year in Pakistan in 2018, with the number of deaths falling 37 per cent to 537, and the number of incidents falling 36 per cent to 366.
The ISIL-affiliated Khorasan Chapter of the Islamic State was the deadliest terrorist group in Pakistan in 2018, with 251 deaths or 36 per cent of total fatalities, most of which occurred in Balochistan. The next deadliest group in 2018, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was responsible for 151 deaths.
The year 2018 saw a historically low level of activity from Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ), with the third major terrorist group committing only two attacks, which killed six people. The most impacted regions in 2018 remained Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which merged with the previously highly impacted Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in May 2018, and Balochistan collectively accounted for 77 per cent of attacks and 84 per cent of deaths.
The deadliest attack was a suicide attack at an election rally for candidate Nawabzada Siraj Raisani of the Balochistan Awami Party in Darengarh, Balochistan. The attack killed 150 people, making it the second deadliest since 1970 after the 2014 attack on a school in Peshawar that killed 151.
However, the bad news is, despite the relative improvement in 2018, terrorism remains a major threat in Pakistan as the country still ranks 5th on the GTI with a score of 7.889 366. Afghanistan ranks 1st on GIT with a score of 9.60. India is placed on 7thwith the score of 7.50. The US is ranked 22nd with the score of 5.6; UK 28th with 5.4; Saudi Arabia 30th with a score of 5.23; BD 31st, with 5.20; Iran 39th with 4.7; Israel ranked 40th with 4.5; UAE 130th with 0.043 scores.
What is not such good news, neighbouring Afghanistan is the most affected country in the world by terrorism. The rise in terrorist activity in Afghanistan, coupled with the winding down of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, meant that the Taliban overtook ISIL as the world’s deadliest terrorist group in 2018.
Seeking to strengthen its position in future peace negotiations, the Taliban have embarked on a deadly campaign to seize more territory in 2018. It is estimated that approximately half the population of Afghanistan resides in areas that are either controlled by the Taliban or where the Taliban are active and regularly conduct attacks.
Compared to 2017, the Taliban has expanded beyond their traditional battlefield in Afghanistan’s southern region and now operate across provinces in the north, east and west. But what is even more of a serious threat to our country is, the Khorasan Chapter of the Islamic State, an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has become highly active in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Khorasan Chapter seeks to establish a caliphate in the Khorasan region, covering parts of Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Emerging in 2014, the Khorasan Chapter comprises local militants including members of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and estranged members of Lashkar-i-Islam. The group seeks to inspire attacks both locally and globally. Increasing terrorist activity by the group in Afghanistan threatens to disrupt peace talks between the Taliban and the US.
It remains the second-deadliest terror group in South Asia for the third consecutive year. In Pakistan, the group’s operations have had a substantial impact on lethality. As of 2018, the group has come under intense military pressure from Afghan security forces and the US-led coalition. However, it retains a presence in eastern and northern Afghanistan, with sleeper cells in Kabul, Herat and Jalalabad. The majority of terrorist activity attributed to this group occurs in Nangarhar in eastern Afghanistan where the group is strongest. Like ISIL, the group engages in sectarian violence with civilian attacks deliberately targeting Shia Muslims.
There were 748 terrorist attacks and 350 deaths from terrorism in India in 2018. Compared to other countries India faces a wider range of terrorist groups, with Islamist, communist, and separatist groups. While India ranked ninth in the countries suffering the most deaths from terrorism in 2018, it ranked third in the countries with the greatest number of terrorist attacks.
These threats refer to the ongoing territorial disputes in Kashmir, a Sikh separatist movement in the northern state of Punjab, and a secessionist movement in the north-eastern state of Assam. Meanwhile, a violent Maoist inspired left-wing insurgency has re-emerged across central India in what has been dubbed the “red corridor”, following the realignment of various Naxalite factions under the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 2004, after the movement’s near-total government defeat in the 1970s.
The second most impacted region was Chhattisgarh, in the centre of the red corridor. Most active terror groups in India remained Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-i-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT).
The last few years have also seen growing concern over the threat posed by far-right extremism and terrorism, particularly in the West. In New Zealand, a lone gunman inspired by global white racist movement attacked two mosques in Christchurch, killing 51 people and injuring 49.
In recent years, white supremacy groups (WSG) are on the rise in Europe and the US posing a transnational challenge. These groups will likely persist and grow, driven by ongoing conflicts, the racist and Islamophobic rhetoric of populist politicians worldwide and growing migration.
— The writer is a veteran journalist and a former editor based in Islamabad.
