Terrorism in Pakistan

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Terrorism in Pakistan has been prevalent since the 1980s mostly due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and the subsequent proxy war against the Communists that continued for at least a decade. The war brought numerous fighters from all over the world to South Asia in the name of jihad, often financed by the United States or Saudi Arabia. These fighters, known as mujahideen, created havoc in Pakistan by carrying out terrorist activities inside the country well after the war officially ended.

The sectarian violence plaguing the country presently is also said to originate in the controversial Islamic policies of General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq initiated during his tenure from 1977 to 1988. These policies gave immense power to religious figures in the country, who in turn spread intolerant religious dogmas among the masses.

There have been many secessionists movements within Pakistan, the most significant of which is the Balochistan liberation movement. The movement gained momentum after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, when then-East Pakistan successfully attained independence from Pakistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army is currently active in its efforts to achieve independence by employing guerrilla attacks on both civilian and military targets. The attacks frequently incorporate IEDs, and are often filmed and made available on the internet, apparently for propaganda purposes.[1]

According to one source, in 1987, 90% of all reported terrorist activities worldwide were located in Pakistan. This can be attributed to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan's status as the sixth most populous country in the world, with diverse cultures, languages, traditions and customs. The different cultures in Pakistan are associated with differing ideologies, further encouraging regionalism.

Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, has often been accused of playing a role in major terrorist attacks across the world including the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States,[2][3][4] terrorism in Kashmir,[5][6][7] Mumbai Train Bombings,[8] London Bombings,[9] Indian Parliament Attack,[10] Varnasi bombings,[11] Hyderabad bombings[12][13] The ISI is also accused of supporting Taliban forces[14] and recruiting and training mujahideen[15][16] to fight in Afganistan[17][18] and Kashmir[19]

Pakistan is also said to be a haven for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda,[20] Lashkar-e-Omar, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Sipah-e-Sahaba. Pakistan is accused of sheltering and training the Taliban in operations "which include soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban's virtual emissaries abroad, arranging training for Taliban fighters, recruiting skilled and unskilled manpower to serve in Taliban armies, planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and on several occasions apparently directly providing combat support," as quoted by the Human Rights Watch.[21]

Causes

Three of the main causal factors contributing to terrorism in Pakistan are sectarian/religious violence, mistrust of the Musharraf-Bush coalition in the War on Terrorism, and Pakistan's history of training terrorists and sending them to India. Other causes, such as political rivalry and business disputes, also take their toll. It is estimated that more than 4,000 people have died in Pakistan in the past 25 years due to sectarian strife.[22]

Role of Madrassas

The presence of many unregulated Madrassas throughout Pakistan is believed to contribute significantly to its terrorism problem. Although the madrassas were created to fill the hole left by the state in educating young people free of charge, some became recruiting centers for terrorists, as most of the financing for the institutions came from terrorist groups and not from the government. There was also a great dearth of well-rounded education in these institutions, as their graduates were only good for Mosque services, and not other fields of life. Thus, social and economic factors played a great role in helping to spread intolerance. The word Taliban itself means "students", with "Talib" (singular) meaning a student.

A small number of these madrassas are supposed to provide military training which give inspiration to European extremists of South Asian descent.[23] The 7 July 2005 London bombings was carried out by people who are believed to have visited a Pakistani madrassa at some time in their life, stoking fears that perhaps certain groups in Pakistan were encouraging violent activity. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf initially acknowledged that some madrassas might be involved in extremism and terrorism.[24]. The Pakistani government denied the charges, saying that just because a citizen visits Pakistan once after living and being educated abroad until then, does not mean that the person was encouraged to perform terrorist acts in Pakistan. The government still acted swiftly, requiring all religious schools to register with the government. Also, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's cooperation with the United States' War on Terrorism has led to several assassination attempts on him by those who seek the destruction of Western interests. The president referred to this as terrorism.

See also: Pakistani involvement in the War on Terrorism

State-sponsored terrorism

Main article: State-sponsored terrorism § Pakistan

Intelligence agencies around the world have long suspected Pakistan as a source of extremism and terrorism. It has recently been revealed that Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a top scientist involved with Pakistan's nuclear program has been selling nuclear technologies to Iran, North Korea and Libya. Khan was tried within Pakistan. It is unclear whether the state has been involved with his dealings.[25] Pakistan has used Islamist militants to fight its wars in Afghanistan and Kashmir.[26]

The Government of Pakistan is accused by India of having supplied monetary aid to certain terrorist organisations fighting for secession in Kashmir. It has strongly denied the latter.[27] However some statements have claimed the involvement of Pakistan's Federal Minister for Railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, in establishing terrorist training camps in the early stages of the war many years ago.[28] American intelligence sources, mainly the FBI claims that there are "terrorist training camps" in Pakistan and that the terrorists come to Pakistan from all over the globe.[29] In Pakistan, most modernized infrastructure of terrorist training exists, supported by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in terms of money, ideological training, and moral support. Many other nations and nonpartisan sources also state that Pakistan is one of the perpetrators of state-sponsored terrorism by providing help to Kashmiri and other terrorist outfits with connections to Al-Qaeda.[30]

Terrorist groups in Pakistan

Lashkar-e-Omar

Lashkar-e-Omar (The Army of Omar) is a terrorist organisation which is believed to have its members derived from 3 organisations, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The main terrorist activities for which it has been accused are:

  • Attack on a church in Bahawalpur in Punjab on October 28, 2002, resulting in 18 deaths and 9 injuries.
  • The group, was allegedly involved in the March 17, 2002 grenade attack on a church in the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave in Islamabad in which five persons, including a US diplomat's wife and daughter, were killed and 41 others injured.
  • LeO was reportedly involved in the suicide bombing outside the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi on May 8, 2002 and the June 14th attack on the US consulate in Karachi, in which 10 persons, including five women, were killed and 51 others injured.

Lashkar-e-Toiba

Pakistan-based terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Toiba, has survived global sanctions and is poised to move into the political realm thereby strengthening the collective religious extremist groups' move to coalesce as a formidable opposition to the re-emergent civil democratic movement in Pakistan. This coalition of extremist and terrorist elements within Pakistan and the broad trajectory of the Taliban-Al Qaeda relationship in Afghanistan threatens the stability of Pakistan and the region, and risks fueling the export of terrorism across the world. See PSRU Brief 12. Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Pakistan Security Research Unit (PSRU)

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan

Previously known as Anjuman Sipah-e-Sahaba (ASS), this group is thought to be behind most of the attacks on Shiites. It came into prominence following the Iranian Revolution in 1980s. Incidents thought to be caused by this group are as follows:

War on Terrorism in Pakistan

The post-9/11 War on Terrorism in Pakistan has had two principal elements: the government's battle with jihad groups banned after 9/11, and the U.S. pursuit of al Qaeda, usually (but not always) in coordination with Pakistani forces.

In 2004, the Pakistani army launched a pursuit of al Qaeda members in the mountainous area of Waziristan on the Afghan border. Clashes there erupted into a low-level conflict with Islamic militants and local tribesmen, sparking the Waziristan War. A short-lived truce known as the Waziristan accord was brokered in September 2006.

List of terrorist incidents in Pakistan

This is the list of major terrorist incidents in Pakistan. The War on Terrorism had a major impact on Pakistan, when terrorism inside Pakistan increased twofold. The country was already gripped with sectarian violence, but after 9/11, it also had to face violence related to various secessionist movements, and the direct threat of Al-Qaeda and Taliban, which usually targeted high-profile political figures. Terrorists killed 907 people and injured 1,543 others in Pakistan in 2006.[31]

2002

Main article: 2002 Karachi bus bombing
  • June 14 A powerful car bomb exploded near the heavily-guarded US Consulate in Karachi, killing 12 people and wounding over 50 others. A portion of the outer wall of the consulate was blown apart.[34]
Main article: 2002 US consulate bombing in Karachi

2003

  • July 5 At least 47 people were killed and 150 injured in an attack on a Shia mosque in the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta.[35]
  • December 14 President Pervez Musharraf survived an assassination attempt when a powerful bomb went off minutes after his highly-guarded convoy crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi. Musharraf was apparently saved by a jamming device in his limousine that prevented the remote controlled explosives from blowing up the bridge as his convoy passed over it.[36]
  • December 25 Another attempt was carried on the president 11 days later when two suicide bombers tried to assassinate Musharraf, but their car bombs failed to kill the president; 16 others nearby died instead. Musharraf escaped with only a cracked windscreen on his car. Militant Amjad Farooqi was apparently suspected as being the mastermind behind these attempts, and was killed by Pakistani forces in 2004 after an extensive manhunt.[37]

2004

  • March 2 At least 42 persons were killed and more than 100 wounded when a procession of the Shia Muslims was attacked by rival Sunni extremists at Liaquat Bazaar in Quetta.[38]
  • May 7 A suicide bomber attacked a crowded Shia mosque in Karachi, killing at least 15 worshipers. More than 100 people were also injured, 25 of them critically in the attack. One person was killed in the riots that followed the attack.[39]
  • May 26 Two car bombs explode within 20 minutes of each other outside the Pakistan-American Cultural Center and near the US consul general's residence, killing one policemen and injuring more than 10 people, mainly policemen and journalists.[40]
  • May 30 A religious scholar, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, was gunned down in his car while leaving his home.[41]
  • May 31 A suicide bomber blew up the Imam Ali Reza mosque in the middle of evening prayers, killing 21 worshipers. Two people are killed in riots over the mosque attack and Shamzai's assassination.
  • October 1 A suicide bombing left 30 people dead at a Shia mosque in the northeastern city of Sialkot.[44]
  • October 7 A powerful car bomb left 40 people dead and wounded over 100 during a Sunni rally to commemorate Maulana Azam Tariq, assassinated leader of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, in the central city of Multan. This was most probably the retaliation of Sialkot suicide attacks exactly a week ago.[45]

2005

2006

  • February 5 A bomb explosion killed 13 people including three army personnel and injured 18 on a Lahore-bound bus in Kolpur near Quetta. No groups claimed of responsibility for the attack. [49]
  • March 2 A power suicide car bomb attack in the high security zone near the US Consulate, Karachi, killed four people including a US diplomat.[50]
  • March 10 Twenty-six people, mostly women & children, are killed in Dera Bugti, southwest Pakistan after their bus hit a landmine. Both tribal rebels and security forces planted landmines in the area. [51]
  • July 14 Allama Hassan Turabi, a Shiite religious scholar, and his 12-year-old nephew died in a suicide attack near his Abbas Town residence. The suicide bomber was later identified as Abdul Karim, a Bangladeshi-speaking, resident of a shantytown in the central city area of Karachi.[53]

2007

  • January 26 Two people were killed and five injured in a suspected suicide attack in Pakistan. The bomber and a security guard were killed in the blast at the Marriott hotel in the capital Islamabad.[55]
  • May 12 As many as 50 people were killed and hundreds injured when party workers of opposing parties; MQM, ANP and PPP clash in Karachi. The riots started when rival political rallies take the same route amid lawyers protests for restoration of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the Chief Justice of Supreme Court.
Main article: 2007 Karachi riots
  • May 15 A bomb blast at the local hotel in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed 24 people and injured 30.[57]
  • July 8 Unidentified gunmen killed three Chinese workers and wounded another near Peshawar in what Pakistani officials said was a terrorist attack apparently linked to the bloody siege of militants at an Islamabad mosque.[58]
  • July 15 At least 49 are killed and hundreds injured when suicide attack and car bombs explode throughout NWFP in an apparent retaliation for Lal Masjid operation. 11 security personnel and six civilians were killed and 47 others injured in Matta, Swat District, when suicide bombers smashed two cars packed with explosives into an army convoy, and 25 people were killed and 61 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Dera Ismail Khan police recruitment center.[59]
  • July 17 At least 17 people were killed and 50 injured as a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the venue of the district bar council convention in Islamabad killing mostly political workers waiting for the arrival of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was to address a lawyers convention.[60]
  • July 19 More than 40 people were killed in three separate bomb attacks. In the first incident, bomb was detonated in a mosque used by military personnel in the north-western town of Kohat, killing at least 11 people. In the second one, 26 people died in the southern town of Hub, 35km north of Karachi, in an attack apparently targeting Chinese workers. And in the last one, at least seven people were killed and more than 20 injured in a suicide car bombing at a police academy in the north-western town of Hangu.[61]
  • July 27 A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 13 people at Muzaffar hotel in Aabpara, Islamabad Friday after hundreds of stone-throwing protesters clashed with police as the capital's Red Mosque reopened for the first time since a bloody army raid.[62]
  • August 2 The police in Sargodha shot dead a suspected suicide bomber after the man failed to detonate the explosives he was wearing. The man, who entered a police training center, killed a policeman before he was gunned down.[63]
  • September 4 At least 25 people were killed and 66 injured in two suicide bomb blasts in Rawalpindi cantonment’s high security areas during morning rush hour. The first blast took place near Qasim Market where a Defence Ministry bus carrying around 38 civilians and uniformed officials was hit, killing 18 people. Five minutes later, a second blast took place near RA Bazaar, behind General Headquarters. The blast was caused by explosives fixed to a motorcycle, which blew up killing seven people on the spot.[64]
Main article: September 2007 bombings in Rawalpindi
  • September 13 At least 20 off-duty commandos were killed and 11 injured in an apparent suicide blast at an army officers’ mess in Tarbela Ghazi, Haripur near Tarbela Dam. The targeted were the Pakistan Army's special forces unit SSG's Karar Company.[65]
Main article: 2007 Karachi bombing
  • November 1 A suicide bomber rammed his motorcycle into a PAF bus near Sargodha, killing seven officers of the Pakistan Air Force stationed at Mushaf Airbase and three civilians on the Faisalabad Road on Thursday morning. 28 people suffered injuries. It is significant that after this event a state of emergency was imposed on the country.[68]
  • November 24 30 people were killed in two suicide attacks in Rawalpindi. In the first incident, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a 72-seater bus parked in front of Ojhri Camp on Murree Road carrying Inter-Services Intelligence officials to work, killing 28 officials and a bystander. The second incident occurred as a second suicide bomber attempted to enter the General Headquarters (GHQ). Upon being asked for identification at the GHQ’s check post, he blew himself up, resulting in the deaths of one security official and a bystander.[69]
  • December 10 A suicide attack on the school bus carrying children during the morning rush injuring seven of them. It was a PAF employees bus and the attack took place near Minhas Airbase, Kamra. It was a second major attack on the Pakistan Air Force after the Sargodha attack.[70]

2008

  • January 10 24 people were killed and 73 injured in a suicide attack when the policemen were deliberately targeted outside Lahore High Court before the scheduled lawyer's protest against the government in provincial capital of Lahore. This attack was first of its kind in Lahore since the start of War on Terrorism.[72]
  • January 14 At least 10 people were killed and over 50 wounded when a bomb exploded in Quaidabad. The bomb was planted on a bicycle and it went off during wee hours in a vegetable market in Karachi.[73]
  • January 17 At least 12 people were killed and 25 others injured, three of them critically, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in an imambargah in Peshawar.[74]
  • February 4 At least 10 people were killed and 27 others injured, when a suicide bomber crashed his bike into an armed forces bus carrying students and officials of Army Medical College, near the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.[75]
  • February 9 At least 25 people died and 35 were injured after a powerful explosion hit an opposition election rally in Charsadda in the north-western Pakistan. The attack targeted ANP, a secular party, one of whose leaders, Fazal-ur-Rehman Atakhail, was assassinated February 7 in Karachi triggering widespread protests. Possible conspirators of the latest attack could be the Islamist Taliban-al-Qaeda nexus operating in the northwestern Pakistan.[76]
Main article: 2008 Charsadda bombing

See also

Notes

  1. Hassan Abbas (2004). Pakistan's Drift Into Extremism: Allah, The Army, And America's War On Terror. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-7656-1497-9. page 112
  2. Tariq Ali (1983). Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State. Penguin Books Ltd. ISBN 0-14-022401-7.

References

  1. ^ Propaganda videos by Baloch nationalists Baloch Voice
  2. ^ The Pakistan connection The Guardian
  3. ^ Political Deception: The Missing Link behind 9-11 Global Research Canada
  4. ^ Pakistan spy service 'aiding Bin Laden' BBC News
  5. ^ Terrorism Havens: Pakistan Council for Foreign Relations
  6. ^ Indian minister ties ISI to Kashmir
  7. ^ Kashmir Militant Extremists Council on Foreign Relations
  8. ^ Pakistan 'role in Mumbai attacks' BBC News
  9. ^ The Pakistani Connection: The London Bombers and "Al Qaeda's Webmaster" Global Research Canada
  10. ^ Home Minister L. K. Advani's statement on terrorist attack on Parliament House Indian Embassy
  11. ^ ISI now outsources terror to Bangladesh Rediff.com
  12. ^ Hyderabad blasts: The ISI hand Rediff.com
  13. ^ ISI may be behind Hyderabad blasts: Jana Reddy
  14. ^ Pakistan's shadowy secret service BBC News
  15. ^ Pakistan's shadowy secret service BBC News
  16. ^ Nato's top brass accuse Pakistan over Taliban aid Daily Telegraph
  17. ^ At Border, Signs of Pakistani Role in Taliban Surge The New York Times
  18. ^ A NATION CHALLENGED: THE SUSPECTS; Death of Reporter Puts Focus On Pakistan Intelligence Unit The New York Times
  19. ^ A NATION CHALLENGED: THE SUSPECTS; Death of Reporter Puts Focus On Pakistan Intelligence Unit The New York Times
  20. ^ Pakistan has al-Qaeda training camp: US officials Zee News
  21. ^ Pakistan's Support of Taliban Human Rights Watch
  22. ^ Pakistan 'extremist leader' held BBC News
  23. ^ School for terror The Economist
  24. ^ London bombing probe shifts focus to Pakistan Globe and Mail
  25. ^ A. Q. Khan Nuclear Chronology Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  26. ^ Too much for one man to do The Economist
  27. ^ Pakistan dismisses Indian allegations of cross-border terrorism Federation of American Scientists
  28. ^ Sheikh Rashid trained Kashmiri fighters: Yasin Daily Times
  29. ^ New Terror Camp? MSNBC
  30. ^ Does Pakistan’s government support terrorism? Council on Foreign Relations
  31. ^ 2 killed per day in terror attacks in Pakistan last year New Kerala
  32. ^ Khalid Sheikh Muhammad: I beheaded Daniel Pearl CNN
  33. ^ Suspect arrested in attack that killed 11 Frenchmen USA Today
  34. ^ Pakistan searches for blast leads BBC News
  35. ^ Pakistan's militant Islamic groups BBC News
  36. ^ Near miss for Musharraf convoy BBC News
  37. ^ Musharraf survives second assassination attempt in two weeks CBC Canada
  38. ^ Carnage in Pakistan Shia attack BBC News
  39. ^ 'Suicide attack' hits Karachi mosque BBC News
  40. ^ Karachi bombed for second day CBC Canada
  41. ^ Mufti Shamzai killed in ambush Daily Times
  42. ^ Karachi Army Chief Survives Assassination Attempt Voice of America
  43. ^ Pakistan's PM designate survives assassination attempt CBC Canada
  44. ^ Blast hits Pakistan Shia mosque BBC News
  45. ^ Blast at SSP rally kills 40 in Multan Daily Times
  46. ^ Attack on Bari Imam Dawn Newspaper
  47. ^ Eight die in Pakistan sect attack BBC News
  48. ^ Explosion shakes Karachi CNN
  49. ^ 13 killed by bomb blast on Lahore-bound bus Dawn Newspaper
  50. ^ Pakistan bomb kills US diplomat BBC News
  51. ^ Wedding guests die in mine blast BBC News
  52. ^ Karachi bomb attack leaves at least 45 Sunni worshipers dead The Guardian
  53. ^ Allama Hassan Turabi assassinated The News
  54. ^ Bomber kills 42 in Pakistan International Herald Tribune
  55. ^ Suicide bomber attacks hotel in Pakistani capital Dawn Newspaper
  56. ^ Pakistan suicide bomb kills at least 28, injures minister CNN
  57. ^ Pakistani blast kills 24 Reuters
  58. ^ Three Chinese dead in Pakistan "terrorist" attack Boston Globe
  59. ^ At least 49 are killed by suicide bombers in Pakistan International Herald Tribune
  60. ^ Another carnage visits capital: 17 killed in suicide bombing Dawn Newspaper
  61. ^ Scores killed in Pakistan attacks BBC News
  62. ^ Bombing, Mosque Riot Rock Islamabad Washington Post
  63. ^ 'Bomber' killed in Pakistan city BBC News
  64. ^ Bomb blasts kill 25 in Rawalpindi cantonment Daily Times
  65. ^ 15 killed in blast at SSG mess Daily Times
  66. ^ Attack on Bhutto convoy kills 130 BBC News
  67. ^ Suicide attack in top security zone: Seven killed, 31 injured Dawn Newspaper
  68. ^ Seven PAF officers among 11 dead in suicide attack Dawn Newspaper
  69. ^ 30 killed in two suicide attacks in Rawalpindi Daily Times
  70. ^ Suicide bombing hits children’s bus: 7 injured Dawn Newspaper
  71. ^ Pakistan suicide blast kills at least 50 - BBC News, 21 December 2007 BBC News
  72. ^ Suicide attack on police mows down 24 in Lahore Dawn Newspaper
  73. ^ Teenage bomber wreaks havoc in Peshawar: 12 worshipers dead, 25 injured Dawn Newspaper
  74. ^ Ten killed in Karachi blast Daily Times
  75. ^ 10 killed, 27 hurt as bomber strikes army bus Daily Times
  76. ^ 25 killed in suicide attack on ANP rally in Charsadda Daily Times

External links

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