The orphaned terrorists

International laws and regulations are meant to protect the powerful and the privileged. Just like in a national context, the laws are not applicable on the ruling classes, the rules are not applicable on powerful countries in an international context. The UN charter ordains that the sovereignty of any country, big or small, is to be respected and its violation is a punishable crime. But does that practically happen? Israel attacks Lebanon whenever it wants. It destroyed Iraq’s nuclear installation by attacking them. Libya is under fire day and night. As is Yemen. But they can’t stop those who are violating their sovereignty. The onus falls on the UN that it should question those who are indeed contravening others’ sovereignty. But that is not what happens.

In recent history, terrorists infringed the US’ sovereignty. In retaliation, the US has declared its right to infringe upon any country’s sovereignty by launching attacks against various countries. By this right, it attacked Afghanistan and by this right, it conducted the Abbottabad operation and blew our sovereignty to smithereens. What was our sovereignty reduced to? We couldn’t even take our complaint to the UN because we knew that that would’ve come back to bite us. Because OBL was nabbed in our backyard. But why am I explaining this background….

Pakistan’s jihdist generals and jihadist media personalities are in favour of instrumentalising terrorism and using it as a weapon. Unfortunately, this is also our state policy. We find it right to go into Occupied Kashmir and India and aid and abet terrorists. Similarly, we don’t mind helping out cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan. The jihadis think that if it was okay to wage war against the Soviets, then why not against the Americans? Does this world function according to rules? Or according to the way the facts unfold?

The fact of the matter is that the so-called “jihad” against the Soviets was America’s war. We were merely a rent-a-proxy who did their dirty work for them. Money was given by the US. Weapons too. Even the Muslim warriors who squatted in our territory to carry out terrorist activities in Afghanistan were an America-given bounty. At that time, the world labeled our ‘terrorism’ as ‘jihad’ because that war was being fought as per America’s interests. When the Soviets absconded, so did America. It had got what it wanted and it up and left. But we still continued with the terrorism that we started in the name of Jihad under American patronage. We forgot that the power backing it and declaring it ‘jihad’, as opposed to terrorism, has deserted us.

We propped up a force by the name of the Taliban by our military might and helped it in gaining control of a majority of Afghan territory. Our morale was boosted when they succeeded. Not only was the Afghanistan of the Taliban a hub for our home-grown terrorists, they could now spread their roots globally. Till Afghanistan was the target of our terrorism, nay jihad, America was pleased with us. After these elements started terrorism in India, America kept mum. Because this situation wasn’t doing any harm to it. Although it did prove beneficial because India was a big arms buyer due to the instability engendered by this terrorism.

When America occupied Afghanistan, we turned terrorism into a source of income. Our rulers became allied of the US in the war against terror. We told them we were embroiled with terrorists to milk them of money and weapons. On the other hand, we provided terrorists with sanctuaries; hence strengthening and enabling them to target American soldiers in Afghanistan. Our foolhardy rulers thought that this was their cleverness. They thought that as long as American soldiers were being attacked by terrorist, they would need us and keep giving us money and arms. And this is how we planned to keep the business up and running. But there is a limit to everything. To every good thing, there is an end.

A small country, which has always been a rent-a-proxy, may be able to con a superpower once or even twice but not forever; especially through machinations that are resulting in the death of the soldiers of that very superpower. The US had started saying ages ago that Pakistan is taking money from us and killing our soldiers. Our leaders should have gotten the hint that their ‘cleverness’ had been called out and that the superpower can retaliate at any moment.

Instrumentalising violence and terrorism for their own good is the prerogative of a superpower and the US is now the sole superpower. The terrorism that we conducted was being tolerated only because it was done at the behest of a superpower. Whether it was against the Soviets in Afghanistan or against India, it was beneficial to the US. The former was damaging its foe in Afghanistan while the other was turning India into a lucrative selling place for American arms.

This terrorism had enriched our jihadis which is why they weren’t prepared to stop. They had spread their sphere of influence to Europe, America and Indonesia. They were so confident that the OBL network was not only allowed to spread in Pakistan but actively hosted. These ‘hospitable’ jihadi elements were definitely doing this secretively from their command structure. Now this so-called jihad – which is terrorism in actuality – has become an anathema to the US.

International opinion, which is normally under US influence, was already against the terrorist centre in Pakistan. Thus, when America conducted the Abbottabad operation, nobody spoke up in defense of Pakistani sovereignty. Nobody condemns the drone strikes either. We took their money and took their arms but did not destroy the havens from which terrorists killed their men. Our terrorism, when deprived of American patronage, was left a helpless orphan. Our jihadi generals and our jihadi media persons live in a times long past. They think we can continue with the business of terrorism. They don’t know that terrorism is the preserve of the powerful.

The ‘terrorism’ backed by the US is the one that profits its participants. The one who undertakes terrorism that is against the US is in for it. The operations that the US is conducting on our territory in the name of defeating terrorists will not be condemned by anyone anywhere in the world. Because the terrorist imported from here go not only to the US but to China, India, Russia, Britain, Germany, Spain, Indonesia and to almost all corners of the world. In case of American attacks, no voice will be raised in defence of terrorists.

The writer is one of Pakistan’s most widely read columnists.