Pakistan in the war on terror

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Pakistan's role in the War on Terror is a widely discussed topic among policy-makers of various countries, political analysts and international delegates around the world. Pakistan has simultaneously received allegations of harbouring and aiding terrorists [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] and commendation for its anti-terror efforts. [6] [7] [8] Since 2001, the country has also hosted millions of Afghan refugees who fled the war in Afghanistan. [9] [10]

Contents

Major developments

The Saudi born Zayn al-Abidn Muhammed Hasayn Abu Zubaydah, was arrested by Pakistani officials during a series of joint U.S. and Pakistan raids during the week of 23 March 2002. During the raid, the suspect was shot three times while trying to escape capture by military personnel. Zubaydah is said to be a high-ranking al-Qaeda official with the title of operations chief and in charge of running al-Qaeda training camps. [11]

Later that year on 11 September 2002, Ramzi bin al-Shibh was arrested in Pakistan after a three-hour gunfight with police forces. Bin al-Shibh is known to have shared a room with Mohamed Atta in Hamburg, Germany and to be a financial backer of al-Qaeda operations.

It is said Ramzi bin al-Shibh was supposed to be another hijacker in September 11 attacks, however the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rejected his visa application three times, leaving him to the role of financier. The trail of money transferred by bin al-Shibh from Germany to the United States links both Mohammad Atta and Zacarias Moussaoui. [12]

On 1 March 2003, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested during CIA-led raids on the suburb of Rawalpindi, nine miles outside of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Mohammed at the time of his capture was the third highest-ranking official in al-Qaeda and had been directly in charge of the planning for the 11 September attacks. [13] [14] Other events Mohammed has been linked to include: ordering the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, the USS Cole bombing, Richard Reid's attempt to blow up a civilian airliner with a shoe bomb, and the terrorist attack at the El Ghriba synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has described himself as the head of the al-Qaeda military committee. [15]

Amidst all this, in 2006, Pakistan was accused by NATO commanding officers of aiding and abetting the Taliban in Afghanistan; [16] but NATO later admitted that there was no known evidence against the Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) or Pakistani government of sponsoring terrorism. [17]

The Afghan government also accuses the ISI of providing help to militants, including protection to the Mullah Dadullah, Taliban's senior military commander killed in 2007, a charge denied by the Pakistani government. [18] India, meanwhile continues to accuse Pakistan's ISI of planning several terrorist attacks in Kashmir and elsewhere in the Indian republic, including the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, which Pakistan alleges is due to "homegrown" insurgencies. [19] Many other countries like Afghanistan and the UK have also accused Pakistan of State-sponsored terrorism and financing terrorism.

The upswing in American military activity in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan corresponded with a great increase in American military aid to the Pakistan government. In the three years before the attacks of 11 September, Pakistan received approximately $9 million in American military aid.

In the three years after, the number increased to $4.2 billion, making it the country with the maximum funding post 9/11. Such a huge inflow of funds has raised concerns that these funds were given without any accountability, as the end uses not being documented, and that large portions were used to suppress civilians' human rights and to purchase weapons to contain domestic problems like the Balochistan unrest. [20] [21]

In December 2016, The Spectator reported that Pakistan is winning its war on terror. [22] The article reported the major steps taken by the Nawaz Sharif, during his third term as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, which has resulted in an overall drop in violence. [22]

The Guardian reported that in 2016, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India referred to Pakistan as the "mothership of terrorism", as part of a reprised campaign to increase international pressure on Pakistan for allegedly harboring and supporting militant groups. [23]

In August 2017, The Guardian reported that as part of a new US strategy in Afghanistan by the Trump administration, more pressure was to be put on Pakistan over alleged support for insurgent groups, with President Trump saying in a televised statement that "we can no longer be silent about Pakistan's safe havens for terrorist organisations, the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond." The new strategy was supported by Afghan government officials, a spokesman for the Afghan president said that "this is the first time the US government is coming with a very clear-cut message to Pakistan to either stop what you're doing or face the negative consequences." Pakistani security officials rejected the statements, stating, "They are shifting blame to Pakistan" and "Pakistan itself is the victim of terrorism. We are fighting militants and have conducted many ground and aerial operations and destroyed their sanctuaries. We want to eradicate them physically and ideologically.". As part of a regional approach, Trump said he would encourage India to play more of a role (whom are already providing economic and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan), former officials and analysts have pointed out that the fear of a greater Indian presence in Afghanistan was the justification used by Pakistan's military and intelligence leaders to maintain backing for Afghan militants, as a buffer against Indian influence. [23]

Northwest Pakistan

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the Pakistani Army captured or killed numerous al-Qaeda operatives such as Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. [24] Pakistani authorities have noticed a relatively greater presence of IS influence in Balochistan, confronts growing threat from Khorasan Province group. [25]

Training ground for European militants

In 2009, a politically unstable Pakistan emerged as a new global hub for anti-West militancy, but, because of the constant threat of US attacks, recruits were reportedly more likely to spend their time under instruction and in training than carrying out assertive action. In his report on the matter, focusing on an alarming influx of European extremists, Reuters security correspondent William Maclean wrote,

Long a favored destination of British militants of Pakistani descent, Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas are now attracting Arabs and Europeans of Arab ancestry who three years ago would probably have gone to Iraq to fight U.S. forces.

With the Iraq war apparently winding down, security sources say, the lure for these young men is to fight U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan or to gain the skills to carry out attacks back home in the Middle East, Africa or the West.

One consequence: Western armies in Afghanistan increasingly face the possibility of having to fight their own compatriots. [26]

He added that the matter was likely to surface in a meeting on 6 May 2009 between United States President Barack Obama, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the first-mentioned looking to bring an end to the employment of Pakistan's tribal zones as a launching pad for al Qaeda activity around the world. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda</span> Pan-Islamic Sunni Jihadist organization (established 1988)

Al-Qaeda is a pan-Islamist militant organization led by Sunni jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic caliphate. Its membership is mostly composed of Arabs but also includes people from other ethnic groups. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian, economic and military targets of the U.S. and its allies; such as the 1998 US embassy bombings, the USS Cole bombing, and the September 11 attacks. The organization is designated as a terrorist group by NATO, the UN Security Council, the European Union, and various countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osama bin Laden</span> Militant leader (1957–2011)

Osama bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian-born Islamist dissident and militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, he participated in the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union and supported the activities of the Bosnian mujahideen during the Yugoslav Wars. After issuing his declaration of war against the Americans in 1996, Bin Laden began advocating attacks targeting U.S. assets in several countries, and supervised al-Qaeda's execution of the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Enduring Freedom</span> Official name for the USs war on terror

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced that airstrikes against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had begun in Afghanistan. Beyond the military actions in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom was also affiliated with counterterrorism operations in other countries, such as OEF-Philippines and OEF-Trans Sahara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khalid Sheikh Mohammed</span> Pakistani member of al-Qaeda (born 1965)

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, often known by his initials KSM, is a Pakistani terrorist, mechanical engineer and the former Head of Propaganda for the pan-Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. He is currently held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-related charges. He was named as "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks" in the 2004 9/11 Commission Report.

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Operation Infinite Reach was the codename for American cruise missile strikes on al-Qaeda bases that were launched concurrently across two continents on 20 August 1998. Launched by the U.S. Navy, the strikes hit the al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum, Sudan, and a camp in Khost Province, Afghanistan, in retaliation for al-Qaeda's August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people and injured over 4,000 others. Operation Infinite Reach was the first time the United States acknowledged a preemptive strike against a violent non-state actor.

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Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistan-based Deobandi jihadist terrorist group active in Kashmir. The group's primary motive is to separate Kashmir from India and merge it into Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter-Services Intelligence</span> Military intelligence service of Pakistan

The Inter-Services Intelligence is the largest and best-known component of the Pakistani intelligence community. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant to Pakistan's national security. The ISI reports to its director-general and is primarily focused on providing intelligence to the Pakistani government.

Osama bin Laden, the founder and former leader of al-Qaeda, went into hiding following the start of the War in Afghanistan in order to avoid capture by the United States for his role in the September 11 attacks, and having been on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list since 1999. After evading capture at the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001, his whereabouts became unclear, and various rumours about his health, continued role in al-Qaeda, and location were circulated. Bin Laden also released several video and audio recordings during this time.

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Hamza bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian-born key member of al-Qaeda. He was a son of Osama bin Laden. On 25 July 2019, it was claimed by the American media that he was killed by a U.S. airstrike on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In 2024, unconfirmed media reports claimed that he was still alive and a senior leader of al-Qaeda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War on terror</span> Military campaign following 9/11 attacks

The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is a global military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks of 2001, and is the most recent global conflict spanning multiple wars. Some researchers and political scientists have argued that it replaced the Cold War.

Osama bin Laden, a militant Islamist and co-founder of al-Qaeda, in conjunction with several other Islamic militant leaders, issued two fatawa – in 1996 and then again in 1998—that military personnel from the United States and allied countries until they withdraw support for Israel and withdraw military forces from Islamic countries. He was indicted in United States federal court for his alleged involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, and was on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list until his death.

Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism refers to the involvement of Pakistan in terrorism through the backing of various designated terrorist organizations. Pakistan has been frequently accused by various countries, including its neighbours Afghanistan, Iran, and India, as well as by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, of involvement in a variety of terrorist activities in both its local region of South Asia and beyond. Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border have been described as an effective safe haven for terrorists by Western media and the United States Secretary of Defense, while India has accused Pakistan of perpetuating the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir by providing financial support and armaments to militant groups, as well as by sending state-trained terrorists across the Line of Control and de facto India–Pakistan border to launch attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir and India proper, respectively. According to an analysis published by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in 2008, Pakistan was reportedly, with the possible exception of Iran, perhaps the world's most active sponsor of terrorist groups; aiding these groups that pose a direct threat to the United States. Pakistan's active participation has caused thousands of deaths in the region; all these years Pakistan has been supportive to several terrorist groups despite several stern warnings from the international community. Daniel Byman, a professor and senior analyst of terrorism and security at the Center For Middle East Policy, also wrote that Pakistan is probably 2008's most active sponsor of terrorism. In 2018, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, suggested that the Pakistani government played a role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group. In July 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, on an official visit to the United States, acknowledged the presence of some 30,000–40,000 armed terrorists operating on Pakistani soil. He further stated that previous administrations were hiding this truth, particularly from the United States, for the last 15 years during the War on Terror.

At around 9:30 pm on September 11, 2001, George Tenet, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), told President George W. Bush and U.S. senior officials that the CIA's Counterterrorism Center had determined that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were responsible for the September 11 attacks. Two weeks after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation connected the hijackers to al-Qaeda, a militant Salafist Islamist multi-national organization. In a number of video, audio, interview and printed statements, senior members of al-Qaeda have also asserted responsibility for organizing the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alleged Pakistani support for Osama bin Laden</span> Relationship between the state of Pakistan and Osama bin Laden

Pakistan was alleged to have provided support for Osama bin Laden. These claims have been made both before and after Osama was found living in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan and was killed by a team of United States Navy SEALs on 2 May 2011. The compound itself was located just half a mile from Pakistan's premier military training academy Kakul Military Academy (PMA) in Abbottabad. In the aftermath of bin Laden's death, American president Barack Obama asked Pakistan to investigate the network that sustained bin Laden. "We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan", Obama said in a 60 Minutes interview with CBS News. He also added that the United States was not sure "who or what that support network was." In addition to this, in an interview with Time magazine, CIA Director Leon Panetta stated that US-officials did not alert Pakistani counterparts to the raid because they feared the terrorist leader would be warned. However, the documents recovered from bin Laden's compound 'contained nothing to support the idea that bin Laden was protected or supported by the Pakistani officials'. Instead, the documents contained criticism of Pakistani military and future plans for attack against the Pakistani military installations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Afghanistan</span> Pakistani covert action in Afghanistan

Pakistan's principal intelligence and covert action agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has historically conducted a number of clandestine operations in its western neighbor, Afghanistan. ISI's covert support to militant jihadist insurgent groups in Afghanistan, the Pashtun-dominated former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and Kashmir has earned it a wide reputation as the primary progenitor of many active South Asian jihadist groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammed Atef</span> Egyptian al-Qaeda member (1944–2001)

Mohammed Atef was an Egyptian militant and prominent military chief of al-Qaeda, and a deputy of Osama bin Laden, although Atef's role in the organization was not well known by intelligence agencies for years. He was killed in a US airstrike in November 2001.

The following is an outline of the series of events that led up the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).

Al-Qaeda has five distinct phases in its development: its beginnings in the late 1980s, a "wilderness" period in 1990–1996, its "heyday" in 1996–2001, a network period from 2001 to 2005, and a period of fragmentation from 2005 to 2009.

References

  1. ↑ Entous, Adam; Barnes, Julian E.; Rosenberg, Matthew (4 May 2011). "Signs Point to Pakistan Link to bin Laden". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  2. ↑ Antaleva, Natalia (9 May 2011). "Obama presses Pakistan over Bin Laden's support network". BBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. ↑ Watt, Nicholas (3 May 2011). "Osama bin Laden must have had support network in Pakistan – Cameron". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "CIA Chief: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized Operation", Time, 3 May 2011, archived from the original on 4 May 2011, retrieved 5 May 2011
  5. ↑ Caldwell, Dan; Williams, Robert (2011). Seeking Security in an Insecure World (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. pp.  103–104. ISBN   978-1442208032.
  6. ↑ "Pakistan's anti terror efforts lauded. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Pakistan's anti-terror efforts lauded | Pakistan". DAWN. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "Pakistan's Role in War Against Terror Lauded". Arab News. 22 March 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  9. ↑ Dilawar, Ismail; Mangi, Faseeh (28 August 2017). "Trump Afghan Strategy Poised to Fail, Pakistan Premier Says". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), Independent Think Tank in Pakistan, but in reality Pakistan is the one who made Taliban and Al-Qaida". PAK Initiative. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "Officials: Captured man says he's al Qaeda brass". CNN. 1 April 2002. Archived from the original on 16 December 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  12. ↑ "Financier of 9/11 attacks arrested". English.pravda.ru. 15 April 2002. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  13. ↑ Warren Richey (5 May 2011). "Did harsh interrogation tactics help US find Osama bin Laden?". CSMonitor.com. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  14. ↑ "Pakistan's role in the War on Terror « Pakpasban". Pakpasban.com. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "Top al Qaeda operative caught in Pakistan". CNN. 1 March 2003. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  16. ↑ "NATO faces defeat in Afghanistan". Asiantribune.com. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  17. ↑ "No evidence against Pakistan: NATO". The Hindu . India. 11 October 2006. Archived from the original on 3 November 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2007.
  18. ↑ Taliban military leader killed by Nato forces Belfast Telegraph, 14 May 2007
  19. ↑ "Pakistan spy agency behind Mumbai bombings". CNN. 30 September 2006. Retrieved 30 September 2006.
  20. ↑ Billions in Aid, With No Accountability Center for Public Integrity Posted: 31 May 2007
  21. ↑ An alliance of convenience By Burhanuddin Hasan The News International, Pakistan Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  22. 1 2 "Pakistan is winning its war on terror". The Spectator. 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  23. 1 2 "Trump's Afghan shift praised in Kabul but leaves Pakistan wary". The Guardian. 22 August 2017.
  24. ↑ "Top al Qaeda operative caught in Pakistan". CNN. 1 March 2003.
  25. ↑ "Pakistan aims to curb ISIS-K influence as terrorists attempt to recruit educated youth". Pakistan Forward.
  26. ↑ Maclean 2009. Dennis Blair, US national intelligence director, declared in February that the main threat posed by Europe-based extremists was members of al Qaeda and its affiliates who "returned from training in Pakistan to conduct attacks in the West", a prominent concern since mid-2006. Official Western estimates put at several hundred the number of non-Afghan militants receiving training in tribal areas. Little was known about the details of the training and whether or not numbers had increased or held steady in recent months. Many assumed, though, that increased activity in Pakistan was in large part a result of American success in Iraq (Maclean 2009).
  27. ↑ Maclean 2009.
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