Pakistan: A State-sponsor of Terrorism?
Came across this news-report yesterday and wondered whether there is now sufficient evidence to declare Pakistan a state-sponsor of terrorism?
…Elements of Pakistan’s ISI and its paramilitaries are actively backing Taliban insurgents and if their sanctuaries in the country are not eliminated, the efforts of the US and its allies to stabilise and rebuild Afghanistan will be in jeopardy, a leading US think-tank has warned.
The study by Rand Corporation, funded by the US Department of Defence, finds that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate and Frontier Corps have failed to root out Afghan insurgent groups…in some cases, individuals from these Pakistani organisations have provided direct assistance to such groups as the Taliban and Haqqani network.
…Pointing to the growing list of terrorist attacks and foiled plots in the US, UK, Germany, Denmark, and Spain, US intelligence agencies have identified terrorist plots stemming from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region as perhaps the single most important threat to America’s security. [ link ]
Not that any of this is new…
I have been harping on this theme for more than two years now but, as they say in French, plus ca change.. 
From an unrelated report, I learn that “…there are at least 200 entities in Pakistan raising funds for terror operations…”
…According to the IB, there are at least 200 entities in Pakistan raising funds for terror operations. The afore-mentioned document suggests that the nexus between Indian gangsters and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence, the ISI, agency is also getting stronger by the day.
…The government document also notes that the ISI has been stoking increased militancy in Punjab and the north-eastern states.
Since 2006 several terror cells set up by the ISI have been neutralised in Kashmir, forcing it to look beyond. The ISI then re-launched its Operation Pin Code and Operation Topac with a view to destabilising the entire country. That is where Punjab and the north-east come in.
…The first stage in Topac and Pin Code involves low-level insurgency through placing operatives in key locations across the country with a view to subverting the police force, communication networks, and financial institutions.
Phase two, which is underway, deals with stepping up terror in the border areas and elsewhere, through the Afghan mujahideen and Bangla militants who will have entered the country to carry out terror strikes.
Knowing the way the UPA government functions, I do not expect to see any action on this or other similar reports…Where does that leave us?
As I mentioned in one of my earliest posts on this subject (”All roads lead to Islamabad…“),
Sadly, the prevalent atmosphere in New Delhi and a government obsessed with “bhai-chara” and “peace process” suggests that the government either does not believe in facts on the ground or is being driven by a different agenda.
Thanks to modern technology though, we, as common citizens, are more empowered today to try and influence behaviours and perceptions than ever before.
Let us put these resources to good use and spread the message – Hopefully a point will be reached when no government will be able to ignore the groundswell of public opinion.
The message that we must forcefully repeat is this:
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Pakistan is a state-sponsor of terrorism
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It is responsible for nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea
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The ISI has been the “god-father” of Al-Qaeda and continues to support and sponsor jihadi activities, including in Kashmir
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Pakistan’s madrassas harbour a growing number of jihadi terrorists and fanatics who will stop at nothing in their quest for total domination*
It is high time that the regime in Pakistan is recognised for what it is – a supra-terrorist organization – and dealt with appropriately.
Related Posts:
Pakistan, Taliban & the “War on Terror”…yawn
All roads lead to Pakistan…(once again) and
For an unusual perspective, read: The “Raja-Mandala” approach to containing Pakistan
*P.S. If you thought I am being dramatic, read how schools in Pakistan are turning into nurseries of bombers
London, May 20 (2008): Al-Qaeda-linked militants have transformed a Government-run school in the restive tribal region of Pakistan into a nursery for suicide bombers, training children as young as nine-year-old.
“It was like factory that had been recruiting nine to 12-year-old boys and turning them into suicide bombers,” Maj Gen Tariq Khan, the commander of the division that captured the area, was quoted in The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday as saying.
The camp was located in a territory in South Waziristan where the notorious Pakistani Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud, operates.
At another location, military investigators found film footage on a DVD that they believed depicts children at the school being trained in suicide bombing.
Maj Gen Athar Abbas, the army’s chief spokesman, said that the school and a hospital had been taken over by militants “to prepare children for suicide attacks and for making improved explosive devices (IEDS)”.
