Government remains in a state of denial
Not too long ago, Lal Masjid cleric Maulvi Abdul Aziz’s seminary Jamia Hafsa released a video in which the female burka-clad students of the seminary were seen pleading allegiance to ISIS and inviting the terror group to Pakistan. Surprisingly, no action was taken by the government against Aziz and his students over the video.
Defense analyst Ayesha Siddiqa said that there isn’t a visible threat of ISIS to Pakistan, but the constant presence of militants in the country, especially those friendly with the state creates the threat. Speaking to DNA, she said: “After all, it’s amongst these people that some go to join the ISIS. The ideology matches and is prevalent. Surely the state can protect itself with greater vigilance but radicalism is a major problem.”
The extent of terror organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)’s threat to Pakistan is debatable, but the growing influence of the terror group in the country cannot be ignored. There are groups in Pakistan that have pleaded allegiance to the organisation and ISIS-linked terrorists continue to be arrested from different parts of Pakistan. For a country that is already engaged in a full-fledged operation against militants, the presence of another (bigger?) militant group is definitely worrying.
In 2014, a few months after ISIS announced a global Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Levant, their propaganda literature began appearing in Pakistan. A booklet supporting the terror group, titled ‘Fatah’ was distributed in Peshawar and some areas of FATA. Pro-ISIS graffiti was also spotted in major cities of the country during these months.
In 2015, the provincial government of Balochistan conveyed a confidential report to the federal government and law enforcement agencies warning of increased footprints of ISIS. The ‘secret information report’ stated that ISIS has claimed to have recruited a massive 10 to 12,000 followers from the Hangu and Kurram Agency tribal areas.
“It has been reliably learnt that ISIS has offered some elements of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Ahl-e-Sunnat Wai Jamat (ASWJ) to join hands in Pakistan. It has also formed a ten-member Strategic Planning Wing,” the report from the Home and Tribal Affair Department of Balochistan said.
Last year ISIS established a Khurasan province (ISIS-Khurasan) which included Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2015 an attack took place in Karachi targeting a bus of the Ismaeli minority community of the city in Safoora Goth area. A statement released by ISIS and circulated on its social media accounts claimed responsibility for the shooting.
“Thanks to God 43 apostates were killed and close to 30 others were wounded in an attack by the soldiers of Islamic State (ISIS) on a bus carrying people of the Shia Ismaili sect … in Karachi,” the statement read.
The government is so far tight-lipped on the issue and seems to be in denial mode about ground realities. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar has time and again said that ISIS is not a threat to Pakistan. A few months ago, the minister said that terrorist organisations present in the country operate whilst giving an impression of being ISIS franchises.
Addressing a press conference, Nisar said that he repeatedly clarified that ISIS is a Middle East-based terrorist group that has made its influence reach out to Northern Africa but it has no roots in Pakistan. “The terrorists (in Pakistan) give the idea of working as ISIS franchise. The Islamic State is fighting for a lost cause against the world powers”, he said.
The interior minister was confident that Pakistan is free from ISIS influence, but considering the number of Pakistanis being recruited in the group, this does not seem to be the case. DNA reached out to the interior ministry spokesman for his comment on the issue but he was unavailable.
For any terror group, support works like oxygen. It is the support from common people that strengthens them and legitimacy that keeps them going. We have seen multiple militant groups and individuals in Pakistan openly supporting ISIS. Why is the government not doing anything about it.
Not too long ago, Lal Masjid cleric Maulvi Abdul Aziz’s seminary Jamia Hafsa released a video in which the female burka-clad students of the seminary were seen pleading allegiance to ISIS and inviting the terror group to Pakistan. Surprisingly, no action was taken by the government against Aziz and his students over the video.
Chaudhry Nisar, when asked by lawmakers in the parliament that why the government is not being able to arrest the cleric, replied that there is no case against him. The interior minister was either ill-informed or deliberately misleading the public, because multiple cases against Aziz are registered under charges of terrorism. The government is definitely reluctant to arrest him for reasons unknown.
Pakistan’s former interior minister Rehman Malik in 2014 claimed that he had documentary evidence about the presence of the dreaded terror group in the country. He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should sensitise the world community about the rapid penetration of ISIS into several countries and use the forum of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) for setting up of an international desk for sharing information about the group’s activities.
“I have solid proofs that ISIS has established its contacts with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and it is quite possible that one of the Taliban leaders will soon be named as its chief in Pakistan,” Malik was quoted as saying.
Radicalism a major problem:
Defense analyst Ayesha Siddiqa said that there isn’t a visible threat of ISIS to Pakistan, but the constant presence of militants in the country, especially those friendly with the state creates the threat. Speaking to DNA, she said: “After all, it’s amongst these people that some go to join the ISIS. The ideology matches and is prevalent. Surely the state can protect itself with greater vigilance but radicalism is a major problem.”
Ayesha said that there certainly is the threat of small groups or lone wolfs doing acts that will be owned by ISIS. We must also not forget that Taliban like Muslim Doost have already joined hands with ISIS. To stop ISIS, the state ought to chalk out a de-radicalisation plan, she said.
Competing groups unlikely to let ISIS grow:
Arif Rafiq, a fellow at the Centre for Global Policy in Washington, DC said that ISIS is a low-level threat to Pakistan. Talking to DNA, he said: “The jihadist threat has been significantly reduced overall. In Pakistan, ISIS faces a much more formidable opponent in the Pakistani state, compared to other countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. The jihadist space is also very crowded and competing groups are unlikely to allow ISIS to grow.”
While commenting on the government’s response to ISIS threat in the country, Arif said, “Various elements of the federal and provincial governments have made contradictory statements about ISIS. I do not think they are in denial about the ISIS threat. It seems that they lack the capability to describe ISIS as a low-level, non-existential threat capable of occasional, high-profile deadly attacks.”
He further said that the Syrian war has been going on for some time and the number of Pakistanis who have joined ISIS and other Sunni jihadist groups is minor compared to other countries in the Arab world and Europe. “The Pakistani government and media should continue to highlight ISIS as an evil force engaging in brutality toward Muslims and all human beings. And it must deny public space to extremists who foster hate against other human beings on the basis of religion. An embrace of pluralism is a long-term antidote to the ISIS poison”, he suggested.
There are a number of steps that the government needs to take to ensure that the ISIS mindset does not harm the stability of Pakistan. Extremism in all its forms needs to be dealt with an iron fist. The government should improve governance and ensure social justice so as to win people’s support in war against terrorism and extremism.