Indian Defence Review

According to the U.S. intelligence agencies, the ISI was involved in organising the attacks on the Indian embassy and the Kabul Serena Hotel in 2008 in Kabul. Various intelligence reports indicate that these attacks were carried out by the Jalaluddin Haqqani group and that the ISI operatives who coordinated these attacks with the Haqqani group were not rogues but working under the orders of their superiors in Pakistan.

Pakistan is not only a base of Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed but also a training ground for the Afghan Taliban. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, the Pakistan army is assisting Taliban operations in Afghanistan by providing help in enlisting manpower for combat, planning and directing operations and providing direct combat support and logistic backup on several occasions.3

Presently, about 43 terrorist camps are reported to be running in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir under the supervision of the Pakistan army. According to confirmed reports, more than 3,000 militants from various nationalities are being trained in these camps. Although it is well documented that the Pakistan army and the ISI provide covert support to terrorist groups that are active in Kashmir, Pakistan maintains that it only provides political and moral support to the “secessionist” groups in Kashmir.4

State of Affairs in Pakistan

The pseudo-Islamist policies introduced by President Zia-ul-Haq threw up various jihadi groups that spread rigid religious dogmas leading to sectarian violence in all parts of the country. The Pakistan army later continued to support selected jihadi groups, mainly for targeting India, because of some ill-perceived strategic notions. The sectarian divide and religion-driven violence by fanatic groups responsible for uncontrolled terrorist violence and turmoil are a direct result of the Islamic policies introduced by General Zia-ul-Haq. This policy has led the country into uncontrolled terrorist violence and turmoil, creating a terrible mess that has made it a target of massive terrorist attacks that are being launched like clockwork by jihadi groups on security forces and government establishments. Pakistan army action against Islamic militant groups in the North-West Frontier area soon developed into a mini war in Waziristan and led to large numbers of casualties in the army and terrorist attacks all over the country.

Based on various statistics released by Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS) and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) from time to time, it can be stated that militants and sectarian groups carried out a total of 1,577 terrorist attacks across Pakistan in 2012, claiming the lives of 2,050 people and injuring 3,822. The reports reflect that about 3,169 people were killed in 2,488 terrorist attacks. In a written reply to a question in the Upper House of the Parliament, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that “1,579 people were killed in 2008-09 while another 1,590 lost their lives in 2009-10.” He further stated that “there were 1,157 acts of terrorism during 2008-09 and 1,331 incidents of terror during 2009-10. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province bore the brunt of suicide attacks, which killed 1,524 people in the region. Punjab recorded 605 deaths, Sindh 134, Islamabad 125 and Azad Kashmir [Pakistan-occupied Kashmir] 11.”

According to data released by ISPR from 9/11 till now, 30,452 people have been killed or injured. These include 21,672 civilians and 8,785 military personnel. The ISPR said 78 Pakistani military officers and 2,273 soldiers were killed while 6,512 were injured.

The figures of terrorist-related violence by various agencies and the facts given out by Mr. Rehman clearly show that fanatics and terrorists are ruling the roost, creating chaotic conditions in the country and playing havoc with the stability and economic well-being of Pakistan.

It is amazing that the Pakistan army and the ISI still continue to nurture terrorist organisations with the aim of countering an invasion by the Indian army that is unlikely to come in the foreseeable future. The army brass is yet to realise that the poison these organisations are spreading is directly responsible for the growing chaos in Pakistan. The Pakistan army brass is supporting and nurturing those militants who are likely to turn against them like some other militant groups have done in the last few years.