The return of the foreign hand

Political expediency has stood in the way of the PML-N government from implementing the NAP

A report by Sindh police maintains that it has broken the network responsible for killing 45 Ismailis near Safoora Goth in Karachi. The group comprises religious extremists who had also targeted well-known social activist Sabeen Mahmud. The group members have been held responsible for grenade attacks on schools, bomb attacks on police vans, also on a naval officer and a Rangers brigadier, and a gun attack on an American educationist. One of the accused, according to police, has been in contact with bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri several times

The simple explanation does not suit some who think there is a foreign hand behind the group. It comes as no surprise that some of those arrested had studied at prestigious mainstream educational institutions like IBA, Karachi University and Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET). The mainstream schools are still following the Zia era guidelines in the preparations of textbooks, inculcating hatred against other religions, sects and even countries. Students of an impressionable age are thus being infected with misconceived notions out of sync with the existing realities. The text books promote an extremist mindset.

The mindset finds expressions in different forms. It might promote religiosity in a person and lead him to join the apparently innocuous Tablighi Jamaat. Others influenced by fiery preachers may choose the terrorists’ path. Some carry the seeds with them to foreign countries where they fall victim to online terrorists recruiting volunteers.

The identity of those involved in the Safoora Goth killings once again underlines the complexity of the terrorist threat. While the Sindh police deserves congratulations for breaking the ring, it must not be forgotten that more terrorists o the sort will take their place if the effort remains confined to dealing with the symptoms alone while the root cause is not removed.

The extremist mindset is nourished by both the mainstream educational institutions and the seminaries. Separate measures are needed to deal with the two

The issue of the RAW’s involvement was raised first while dealing with the insurgency in Balochistan. Many think that the phenomenon in Balochistan, where secular elements took to terrorism after the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, belongs to another category where political engagement needs to be one of the necessary measures to put an end to the insurgency.

As the army turns its attention to urban terrorism, there is a need to realise that the principal source of threat is internal while the external element plays a secondary role. If the distinction is not maintained it may not be possible to bring the situation under control. Notwithstanding the sacrifices that the army has rendered in tribal areas, it was comparatively easier to take out the terrorists because they were located in certain defined areas from where the non-combatants had either been evacuated or had migrated on their own. Air attacks followed by ground action decimated the terrorists and established the writ of the state.

In urban areas the terrorists manage to hide themselves among the population. Neither air attacks nor action by ground forces is possible here. Since the launch of the operation in Karachi in September 2013, thousands of the accused have been arrested and scores killed during encounters. It would be difficult however to claim that the operation is anywhere near achieving its objectives.

While it is of utmost importance to continue hunting out the terrorists, what is even more vital is to eradicate their fountain heads and the nurseries.

The extremist mindset is nourished by both the mainstream educational institutions and the seminaries. Separate measures are needed to deal with the two.

In the case of the mainstream educational institutions new guidelines for textbooks have to be implemented. The guidelines have to emphasise the inculcation of moderation in the student community and respect for other faiths and cultures. Nothing should be there in the books that can in any way promote militancy.

The government gets cold feet whenever it comes to the revision of the curriculum. The religious extremists react sharply to any change calling it an attempt to secularise society. They define secularism as a system opposed to religion which is against facts. Secularism does not stop anyone from religious observances. It only makes religion a personal affair which should have nothing to do with the affairs of the state. Unless the exposure of the children and youth to extremist ideas at an impressionable age is stopped, the colleges and universities will continue to churn out terrorists who can be used as instruments, among others by RAW.

The seminaries have produced the leadership of the terrorist networks as well as the bulk of their foot soldiers. There is therefore a need to implement the points in the National Action Plan (NAP) related to the religious madrassas.

Political expediency has stood in the way of the PML-N government from implementing the NAP. The ruling party’s leadership is mortally afraid of the religious parties and is unwilling to do anything that could invite their ire. The way the government failed to come to the support of its own information minister indicates the level of its subservience to the extremist lobby. Ch Nisar spoke of ten percent seminaries being under the influence of terrorists which many believe was an under-statement. Khawaja Asif has now revised the figure further downwards to three or four percent. Bringing even these seminaries gives the government nightmares.

Are the government and army again returning to RAW being the principle enemy? There can be no doubt that RAW tries to make use of elements that can be helpful to it in destabilising Pakistan much the same way as the ISI does in Indian held Kashmir and elsewhere

The registration and regulation of the seminaries was a part of NAP. There is still no move in the direction. The agencies and the interior minister have frequently talked about a ‘hidden hand’ behind the terrorist attacks.

The implication was that the agencies were not fighting common criminals or run-of-the mill local mafia but highly resourceful terrorists sponsored by unnamed enemy states. The “hidden hand” was generally left undefined to ward off further questions. People were left to draw their own conclusions in the light of their personal inclinations. The enemy states could be India, the US, Russia, Iran or even Dubai.

After the end of military operations in Swat and South Waziristan the former COAS Kayani and ISI chief Pasha were not willing to totally uproot the TTP, which Pasha considered a strategic asset. Both opposed operation in North Waziristan. Stories about the patriotism of some of the TTP leaders like Waliur Rehman were spread to create a soft corner for the TTP.

This suited the supporters of the terrorists in seminaries, religious parties and those bitten by the bug of extremism. It became too common to deny that the religious and sectarian terrorists were responsible for suicide bombings, targeted killings and attacks on mosques. The apologists of the TTP maintained that all these acts were being committed by a hidden hand. The dubious US organisation Blackwater became the favourite whipping boy. It was presented as the principal instrument of the hidden hand in Pakistan.

With the appointment of Gen Raheel Sharif as COAS a strategic shift seemed to have taken place in the thinking of the army leadership. An operation is under way in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency. After the attack on the Army Public School the resolve to destroy the religious and sectarian terrorists seemed to have further strengthened. Many thought that the army and the civilian leadership were in agreement over the religious and sectarian terrorists being the principle enemy of the country and the operations would continue until militancy in the rural areas and urban centres of the country is brought to an end.

The enthusiasm shown while formulating the National Action Plan, however, fizzled out within a month. The NAP remains unimplemented.

Are the government and army again returning to RAW being the principle enemy? There can be no doubt that RAW tries to make use of elements that can be helpful to it in destabilising Pakistan much the same way as the ISI does in Indian held Kashmir and elsewhere. It remains however a minor threat except perhaps in Balochistan where thanks to Musharraf’s mad act of killing Akbar Bugti a whole lot of disgruntled youth is available for anyone to mislead.

The major threat in Pakistan remains from the well-known terrorist networks which have killed out thousands of Pakistanis through suicide attacks, bomb blasts and targeted killings.

There is therefore a need not to deviate from the course decided on December 25 last year when the NAP was announced.