Terrorism, Why Pakistan is facing? Definitions of Terrorism Terrorism is the illegal use of force against innocent people in order to achieve political objectives. (Laquer 1997). Terrorist is the term often used interchangeably with the term guerilla. United Nations A first attempt to arrive at an internationally acceptable definition was made under the League of Nations, but the convention drafted in 1937 never came into existence. The UN Member States still have no agreed-upon definition. Terminology consensus would, however, be necessary for a single comprehensive convention on terrorism, which some countries favor in place of the present 12 piecemeal convent ions and protoco ls . The lack of agreement on a definition of terrorism has been a major obstacle to meaningful international countermeasures. Cynics have often commented that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" Proposed definitions include: 1. League of Nations Convention (1937): "All criminal acts directed against a State and intended or calculated to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons or a group of persons or the general public". 2. UN Resolution language (1999):"1. Strongl y condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomsoevercommitted; 2. Reiterates that criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons forpolitical purpos es ar e in any circumstance unjust if iable, whatever th e considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious orother nature that may be invoked to justify them". (GA Res. 51/210 Measures to eliminate international terrorism) 3. Short legal definition proposed by Alex P. Schmid to United Nations Crime Branch (1992): Act of Terrorism = Peacetime Equivalent of War Crime 4. Academic Consensus Definition: "Terrorism is an anxiet y-inspir ing method ofrepeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group orstate actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby - in contrast to assassination - the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The immediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets ofopportu nit y) or sel ect ive ly (rep resentative or symbolic tar get s) from a tar get population, and serve as mes sage generat ors. Threat- and vio lenc e-based communication processes between terrorist (organization), (imperiled) victims, and main targets are used to manipulate the main target (audience(s)), turning it 1
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Terrorism is the illegal use of force against innocent people in order to achieve politicalobjectives. (Laquer 1997).
Terrorist is the term often used interchangeably with the term guerilla.
United Nations
A first attempt to arrive at an internationally acceptable definition was made under the
League of Nations, but the convention drafted in 1937 never came into existence. The
UN Member States still have no agreed-upon definition. Terminology consensus would,
however, be necessary for a single comprehensive convention on terrorism, which
some countries favor in place of the present 12 piecemeal conventions and protocols.
The lack of agreement on a definition of terrorism has been a major obstacle to
meaningful international countermeasures. Cynics have often commented that "one
man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" Proposed definitions include:
1. League of Nations Convention (1937): "All criminal acts directed against aState and intended or calculated to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons or a group of persons or the general public".
2. UN Resolution language (1999):"1. Strongly condemns all acts, methods and
practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomsoever committed; 2. Reiterates that criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke astate of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever theconsiderations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them". (GA Res. 51/210 Measures toeliminate international terrorism)
3. Short legal definition proposed by Alex P. Schmid to United Nations CrimeBranch (1992): Act of Terrorism = Peacetime Equivalent of War Crime
4. Academic Consensus Definition: "Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby - in contrastto assassination - the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. Theimmediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a targetpopulation, and serve as message generators. Threat- and violence-basedcommunication processes between terrorist (organization), (imperiled) victims,and main targets are used to manipulate the main target (audience(s)), turning it
into a target of terror, a target of demands, or a target of attention, depending onwhether intimidation, coercion, or propaganda is primarily sought" (Schmid,1988)
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 discusses terrorism and is a primary
UN authority for terrorism because it was issued under Chapter VII UN authority.
Resolution 1566 refers to it as:
criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate apopulation or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstainfrom doing any act.
UN Security Council Resolution 1566
On March 17, 2005, a UN panel described terrorism as any act "intended to causedeath or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization todo or abstain from doing any act."
The General Assembly resolution 49/60, titled "Measures to Eliminate InternationalTerrorism," adopted on December 9, 1994, contains a provision describing terrorism:
Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, agroup of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstanceunjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial,ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them.
European Union
The European Union employs a definition of terrorism for legal/official purposes which isset out n Art. 1 of the Framework Decision on Combating Terrorism (2002). Thisprovides that terrorist offences are certain criminal offences set out in a list comprisedlargely of serious offences against persons and property which;
given their nature or context, may seriously damage a country or an international
organization where committed with the aim of: seriously intimidating a population; or unduly compelling a Government or international organization to perform or abstainfrom performing any act; or seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamentalpolitical, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an internationalorganization."
United States has defined terrorism under the Federal Criminal Code. Chapter 113B of Part I of Title 18 of the United States Code defines terrorism and lists the crimesassociated with terrorism. In Section 2331 of Chapter 113b, terrorism is defined as:
…activities that involve violent… or life-threatening acts… that are a violation of thecriminal laws of the United States or of any State and… appear to be intended (I) tointimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government byintimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by massdestruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and… (C) Occur primarily within the territorial
jurisdiction of the United States… [Or]… (C) Occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States
Scholars and other Individuals
Tamar Meisels (2008): advocates a consistent and strict definition of
terrorism, which she defines as "the intentional random murder of defenseless non-combatants, with the intent of instilling fear of mortal danger amidst a civilianpopulation as a strategy designed to advance political ends."
Carsten Bockstette (2008): "Terrorism is defined as political violence
in an asymmetrical conflict that is designed to induce terror and psychic fear
(sometimes indiscriminate) through the violent victimization and destruction of noncombatant targets (sometimes iconic symbols). Such acts are meant to send amessage from an illicit clandestine organization. The purpose of terrorism is toexploit the media in order to achieve maximum attainable publicity as an amplifyingforce multiplier in order to influence the targeted audience(s) in order to reach short-and midterm political goals and/or desired long-term end states."
Schmid and Jongman (1988): "Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring
method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-)clandestine individual, group,or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal, or political reasons, whereby—in contrastto assassination—the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The
immediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a targetpopulation, and serve as message generators. Threat- and violence-basedcommunication processes between terrorist (organization), (imperiled) victims, andmain targets are use to manipulate the main target (audience(s), turning it into atarget of terror, a target of demands, or a target of attention, depending on whether intimidation, coercion, or propaganda is primarily sought".
L. Ali Khan: "Terrorism sprouts from the existence of aggrieved groups."
David Rodin (Oxford Philosopher): "Terrorism is the deliberate,
negligent, or reckless use of force against noncombatants, by state or no state
actors for ideological ends and in the absence of a substantively just legal process."
Boaz Ganor : "Terrorism is the deliberate use of violence aimed against
civilians in order to achieve political ends"
James M. Poland: "Terrorism is the premeditated, deliberate, systematic
murder, mayhem, and threatening of the innocent to create fear and intimidation inorder to gain a political or tactical advantage, usually to influence an audience".
Darul Uloom Deoband Anti-Terrorism Conference (2008): Any action
that targets innocents, whether by an individual or by any government and itsagencies or by a private organization anywhere in the world constitutes, according toIslam, an act of terrorism.
.
Forms of terrorism.
Revolutionary Terrorist. Who use violence as a tool to invoke fear in those in power and in those who support authority with a view to ultimately replace the incumbentgovernment with the one that supports their ideology?
State Sponsored Terrorism. It occurs when a repressive government regime forces itscitizens into obedience and gives birth to political dissent (Gurr 1998).
Political Terrorism. It is directed at people or groups who oppose the terrorists politicalideology also called outsiders, who must be destroyed.
Nationalistic Terrorism. It is designed to promote the interest of a minority, ethnic or
religious groups, who have suffered under majority rule.
Religionist Fanaticism to thrust the self – sect ideals and promote by super-imposedsectarianism challenging government authority.
Terrorist groups use various tactics to maximize fear and publicity. Terrorist
organizations usually methodically plan attacks in advance, and may train participants,
plant "undercover" agents, and raise money from supporters or through organized crime. Communication may occur through modern telecommunications, or through old-
fashioned methods such as couriers.
Bioterrorism. Bioterrorism refers to the intentional release of toxic biological agents to
harm and terrorize civilians, in the name of a political or other cause.The U.S. Center for
Disease Control has classified the viruses, bacteria and toxins that could be used in an
attack. Category A Biological Diseases are those most likely to do the most damage.
Narco-terrorism has had several meanings since its coining in 1983. It once denotedviolence used by drug traffickers to influence governments or prevent government
efforts to stop the drug trade. In the last several years, narco-terrorism has been used to
indicate situations in which terrorist groups use drug trafficking to fund their other
operations.
Methods of attack
While terrorists act according to different motivations and goals, all such groups have
one tactic in common: intimidation or coercion of the public or the government in order
to affect social or political change. Terrorism uses violence, or threat of violence,
against one portion of a society to compel the greater body of that society or their
leaders to make a change out of fear. Terrorism often exploits propaganda techniques
to ensure the public receives the intended message. In the media, terrorist violence is
most commonly portrayed as being carried out via an improvised explosive device,
although chemical weapons have been used on occasion. Vehicles from pick-up trucksto planes, like in the September 11, 2001 attacks, have been used as guided incendiary
device.
Terrorist groups may arrange for secondary devices to detonate at a slightly later time in
order to kill emergency-response personnel attempting to attend to the dead and
wounded. Repeated or suspected use of secondary devices can also delay emergency
response out of concern that such devices may exist
Training
There are and have been training camps for terrorists. The range of training depends
greatly on the level of support the terrorist organization receives from various
organizations and states. In nearly every case the training incorporates the philosophy
and agenda of the groups leadership as justification for the training as well as the
potential acts of terrorism which may be committed
Pakistan has suffered from the killing of noncombatants by both state and non-state
actors with the latter group often based both inside and outside the present-day country.
There was massive loss of non-combatant life during partition of British India andcreation of Pakistan. Strife between Shia and Sunni Muslims and persecution of
Ahmediyyas occurred as early as the 1950
Causes:
There are the many causal factors contributing to terrorism in Pakistan such as
sectarian/religious violence, the active support of the Pakistani state in nurturing terrorist
proxies for perceived strategic. ends, After imposition of Martial Law in 1956 Pakistan's
political situation suddenly changed and entered into dictator type of national behavior
at different levels either civil servants, Army (the most involved people), political forces
and British Indian Land Lords they never considered Pakistan as a independent state
they are still thinking like a slaves of Britishers. And mistrust of the Musharraf -Bush
coalition in the War on Terrorism. Other causes, such as political rivalry and business
disputes, also take their toll. It is estimated that more than 4,000 people have died in
Pakistan in the past 25 years due to sectarian strife.
War on Terror and Pakistan
The post-9/11 War on Terrorism in Pakistan has had two principal elements: thegovernment's battle with jihad groups banned after 9/11, and the U.S. pursuit of Al-Qaeda with help of Pakistani forces.
The Destabilization of Pakistan
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has created conditions which contribute to the
ongoing destabilization and fragmentation of Pakistan as a Nation.
The process of US sponsored "regime change", which normally consists in the re-
formation of a fresh proxy government under new leaders, has been broken. There areindications that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was anticipated by US officials:
"It has been known for months that the Bush-Cheney administration and its allies have
been maneuvering to strengthen their political control of Pakistan, paving the way for
the expansion and deepening of the “war on terrorism” across the region.
Various American destabilization plans, known for months by officials and analysts,
proposed the toppling of Pakistan's military...
The assassination of Bhutto appears to have been anticipated. There were even reports
of “chatter” among US officials about the possible assassinations of either Pervez
Musharraf or Benazir Bhutto, well before the actual attempts took place. (Larry Chin, Global Research, 29 December 2007)
The Balkanization of Pakistan
Already in 2005, a report by the US National Intelligence Council and the CIA forecast a
"Yugoslav-like fate" for Pakistan "in a decade with the country raven by civil war,
bloodshed and inter-provincial rivalries, as seen recently in Balochistan." (Energy
Compass, 2 March 2005). According to the NIC-CIA, Pakistan is slated to become a
"failed state" by 2015, "as it would be affected by civil war, complete Talibanisation andstruggle for control of its nuclear weapons". (Quoted by former Pakistan High
Commissioner to UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Times of India, 13 February 2005):
"Nascent democratic reforms will produce little change in the face of opposition from an
entrenched political elite and radical Islamic parties. In a climate of continuing domestic
turmoil, the Central government's control probably will be reduced to the Punjabi
heartland and the economic hub of Karachi," the former diplomat quoted the NIC-CIA
report as saying.
Expressing apprehension, Hasan asked, "Are our military rulers working on a similar agenda or something that has been laid out for them in the various assessment reports
over the years by the National Intelligence Council in joint collaboration with CIA?" (Ibid)
Continuity, characterized by the dominant role of the Pakistani military and intelligence
has been scrapped in favor of political breakup and balkanization.
According to the NIC-CIA scenario, which Washington intends to carry out: "Pakistan
will not recover easily from decades of political and economic mismanagement, divisive
policies, lawlessness, corruption and ethnic friction," (Ibid).
The US course consists in fomenting social, ethnic and factional divisions and political
fragmentation, including the territorial breakup of Pakistan. This course of action is also
dictated by US war plans in relation to both Afghanistan and Iran.
This US agenda for Pakistan is similar to that applied throughout the broader Middle
East Central Asian region. US strategy, supported by covert intelligence operations,
consists in triggering ethnic and religious strife, abetting and financing secessionist
movements while also weakening the institutions of the central government.
The broader objective is to fracture the Nation State and redraw the borders of Iraq,
Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Reserves
Pakistan's extensive oil and gas reserves, largely located in Balochistan province, as
well as its pipeline corridors are considered strategic by the Anglo-American alliance,
requiring the concurrent militarization of Pakistani territory.
Balochistan comprises more than 40 percent of Pakistan's land mass, possessesimportant reserves of oil and natural gas as well as extensive mineral resources.
The Iran-India pipeline corridor is slated to transit through Balochistan. Balochistan also
possesses a deep sea port largely financed by China located at Gwadar, on the Arabian
Sea, not far from the Straits of Hormuz where 30 % of the world's daily oil supply moves
by ship or pipeline. (Asia News.it, 29 December 2007)
Pakistan has an estimated 25.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven gas reserves of which
19 trillion are located in Balochistan. Among foreign oil and gas contractors in
Balochistan are BP, Italy's ENI, Austria's OMV, and Australia's BHP. It is worth notingthat Pakistan's State oil and gas companies, including PPL which has the largest stake
in the Sui oil fields of Balochistan are up for privatization under IMF-World Bank
supervision.
According to the Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), Pakistan had proven oil reserves of 300
million barrels, most of which are located in Balochistan. Other estimates place
Balochistan oil reserves at an estimated six trillion barrels of oil reserves both on-shore
and off-shore (Environment News Service, 27 October 2006).
Covert Support to Balochistan Separatists
Balochistan's strategic energy reserves has a bearing on the separatist agenda.
Following a familiar pattern, there are indications that the Baloch insurgency is being
Supported and abetted by Britain and the US.
The Baloch national resistance movement dates back to the late 1940s, when
Balochistan was invaded by Pakistan. In the current geopolitical context, the separatist
movement is in the process of being hijacked by foreign powers.
British intelligence is allegedly providing covert support to Balochistan separatists
(which from the outset have been repressed by Pakistan's military). In June 2006,
Pakistan's Senate Committee on Defense accused British intelligence of "abetting theinsurgency in the province bordering Iran" [Balochistan]. (Press Trust of India, 9 August
2006). Ten British MPs were involved in a closed door session of the Senate Committee
on Defence regarding the alleged support of Britain's Secret Service to Baloch
separatists (Ibid). Also of relevance are reports of CIA and Mossad support to Baloch
rebels in Iran and Southern Afghanistan.
It would appear that Britain and the US are supporting both sides. The US is providing
American F-16 jets to the Pakistani military, which are being used to bomb Baloch
villages in Balochistan. Meanwhile, British alleged covert support to the separatistmovement (according to the Pakistani Senate Committee) contributes to weakening the
central Government.
The stated purpose of US counter-terrorism is to provide covert support as well as
training to "Liberation Armies" ultimately with a view to destabilizing sovereign
governments. In Kosovo, the training of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the 1990s
had been entrusted to a private mercenary company, Military Professional Resources
Inc (MPRI), on contract to the Pentagon.
The BLA bears a canny resemblance to Kosovo's KLA, which was financed by the drugtrade and supported by the CIA and Germany's Bundes Nachrichten Dienst (BND).
The BLA emerged shortly after the 1999 military coup. It has no tangible links to the
Baloch resistance movement, which developed since the late 1940s. An aura of mystery
surrounds the leadership of the BLA.
Washington favors the creation of a "Greater Balochistan" which would integrate the
Baloch areas of Pakistan with those of Iran and possibly the Southern tip of Afghanistan
thereby leading to a process of political fracturing in both Iran and Pakistan.
"The US is using Balochi nationalism for staging an insurgency inside Iran's Sistan-
Balochistan province. The 'war on terror' in Afghanistan gives a useful political backdrop
for the ascendancy of Balochi militancy" (See Global Research, 6 March 2007).
Military scholar Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters writing in the June 2006 issue of The
Armed Forces Journal, suggests, in no uncertain terms that Pakistan should be broken
up, leading to the formation of a separate country: "Greater Balochistan" or "Free
Balochistan". The latter would incorporate the Pakistani and Iranian Baloch provinces
into a single political entity.
In turn, according to Peters, Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) should be
incorporated into Afghanistan "because of its linguistic and ethnic affinity". Thisproposed fragmentation, which broadly reflects US foreign policy, would reduce
Pakistani territory to approximately 50 percent of its present land area. Pakistan would
also loose a large part of its coastline on the Arabian Sea. (Mahdi D. Nazemroaya,
Global Research, 18 November 2006)
"Lieutenant-Colonel Peters was last posted, before he retired to the Office of the Deputy
Chief of Staff for Intelligence, within the U.S. Defense Department, and has been one of
the Pentagon’s foremost authors with numerous essays on strategy for military journals
and U.S. foreign policy." (Ibid)
Strong Economic Medicine": Weakening Pakistan's
Central Government
Pakistan has a federal structure based on federal provincial transfers. Under a federal
fiscal structure, the central government transfers financial resources to the provinces,
with a view to supporting provincial based programs. When these transfers are frozen
as occurred in Yugoslavia in January 1990, on orders of the IMF, the federal fiscal
structure collapses:
"State revenues that should have gone as transfer payments to the republics [of the
Yugoslav federation] went instead to service Belgrade's debt .... The republics were
largely left to their own devices. ... The budget cuts requiring the redirection of federal
revenues towards debt servicing, were conducive to the suspension of transfer
payments by Belgrade to the governments of the Republics and Autonomous
Provinces.
In one fell swoop, the reformers had engineered the final collapse of Yugoslavia's
federal fiscal structure and mortally wounded its federal political institutions. By cuttingthe financial arteries between Belgrade and the republics, the reforms fueled
secessionist tendencies that fed on economic factors as well as ethnic divisions,
virtually ensuring the de facto secession of the republics. (Michel Chossudovsky, the
Globalization of Poverty and the New World Order, Second Edition, Global Research,
It is by no means accidental that the 2005 National Intelligence Council- CIA report had
predicted a "Yugoslav-like fate" for Pakistan pointing to the impacts of "economic
mismanagement" as one of the causes of political break-up and balkanization.
"Economic mismanagement" is a term used by the Washington based international
financial institutions to describe the chaos which results from not fully abiding by the
IMF's Structural Adjustment Program. In actual fact, the "economic mismanagement"
and chaos is the outcome of IMF-World Bank prescriptions, which invariably trigger
hyperinflation and precipitate indebted countries into extreme poverty.
Pakistan has been subjected to the same deadly IMF "economic medicine" as
Yugoslavia: In 1999, in the immediate wake of the coup d'Etat which brought General
Pervez Musharaf to the helm of the military government, an IMF economic package,
which included currency devaluation and drastic austerity measures, was imposed on
Pakistan. Pakistan's external debt is of the order of US$40 billion. The IMF's "debtreduction" under the package was conditional upon the sell-off to foreign capital of the
most profitable State owned enterprises (including the oil and gas facilities in
Balochistan) at rock bottom prices .
Musharaf's Finance Minister was chosen by Wall Street, which is not an unusual
practice. The military rulers appointed at Wall Street's behest, a vice-president of
Citigroup, Shaukat Aziz, who at the time was head of CitiGroup's Global Private
Banking. ( WSWS.org, 30 October 1999). CitiGroup is among the largest commercial
foreign banking institutions in Pakistan.
There are obvious similarities in the nature of US covert intelligence operations applied
in country after country in different parts of the so-called "developing World". These
covert operations, including the organization of military coups, are often synchronized
with the imposition of IMF-World Bank macro-economic reforms. In this regard,
Yugoslavia's federal fiscal structure collapsed in 1990 leading to mass poverty and
heightened ethnic and social divisions. The US and NATO sponsored "civil war"
launched in mid-1991 consisted in coveting Islamic groups as well as channeling covert
support to separatist paramilitary armies in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia.
A similar "civil war" scenario has been envisaged for Pakistan by the NationalIntelligence Council and the CIA: From the point of view of US intelligence, which has a
longstanding experience in abetting separatist "liberation armies", "Greater Albania" is
to Kosovo what "Greater Balochistan" is to Pakistan's Southeastern Balochistan
province. Similarly, the KLA is Washington's chosen model, to be replicated in
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Rawalpindi, no ordinary city. Rawalpindi is a
military city host to the headquarters of the Pakistani Armed Forces and Military
Intelligence (ISI). Ironically Bhutto was assassinated in an urban area tightly controlledand guarded by the military police and the country's elite forces. Rawalpindi is swarming
with ISI intelligence officials, which invariably infiltrate political rallies. Her assassination
was not a haphazard event.
Without evidence, quoting Pakistan government sources, the Western media in chorus
has highlighted the role of Al-Qaeda, while also focusing on the possible involvement of
the ISI.
What these interpretations do not mention is that the ISI continues to play a key role in
overseeing Al Qaeda on behalf of US intelligence. The press reports fail to mention twoimportant and well documented facts:
1) The ISI maintains close ties to the CIA. The ISI is virtually an appendage of the CIA.
2) Al Qaeda is a creation of the CIA. The ISI provides covert support to Al Qaeda, acting
on behalf of US intelligence.
The involvement of either Al Qaeda and/or the ISI would suggest that US intelligence
was cognizant and/or implicated in the assassination plot.
The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto must be
understood in a historical context. Since the late 1970s, successive US administrations
have contributed to repealing the Rule of Law, destroying Pakistani institutions of
civilian and secular government and instating military rule.
During the Cold War and its aftermath, the repeal of democracy and the militarization of
the Pakistani State have served US foreign policy objectives. Pakistan is a geopolitical
hub from which US sponsored military and covert intelligence operations have been
launched.
Pakistan is part of South Asia, at a strategic crossroads, bordering onto the Middle East,
Central Asia and the former Soviet republics and within proximity of China's Western
frontier.
Benazir's father, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan's People's
Party (PPP) was deposed in a military coup d'Etat on July 5, 1977, which spearheaded
Pakistan into a process of virtually uninterrupted military rule. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was
subsequently executed, in a judicial assassination, on the orders of the US sponsored
military junta.
Under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a secular postcolonial government had developed. Economic
nationalism was promoted. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government, which hadthe support of a large majority of the electorate, was committed to a broad program of
economic, social an institutional reforms.
From his early days as foreign minister in the 1960s, Bhutto had called for an
independent and non-aligned foreign policy, free of US encroachment as well as the
closing down of US military bases. In the course of the 1970s, a nationalization program
of key industries under the PPP government was carried out, which undermined the
interests of multinational capital.
In the Aftermath of the 1977 Military Coup
Following the 1977 military coup, the structures of democratic government were
dismantled. The Constitution was abolished and martial law was established under the
rule of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who became President in 1978.
The postcolonial political process had been reversed. At the outset of the Zia-ul-Haq
regime, the populist PPP nationalization and agrarian reforms of the Bhutto era were
reversed and undone. In turn, the new military rulers sought, with Washington's support,
to undermine the secular structures of the Pakistani State.
Islamism became embedded in the functioning of the State under military rule. The
tenets of "Islamic fundamentalism" sponsored by US intelligence were adopted by the
military dictatorship of General Zia, with a view to undermining the structures of civilian
government and the Rule of Law.
In 1980, the Parliament was replaced by a bogus consultative assembly, the Majlis-e-
Shoora composed of scholars and professionals, all of whom were appointed by
President Zia. A reign of terror marked by arbitrary arrests and imprisonment was
installed in the name of Islam.
State violence under military rule supported the concurrent implementation of "free
market" reforms under the help of the IMF and the World Bank. IMF sponsored macro-
economic reforms contributed to destroying the fabric of Pakistan's economy. The
external debt spiraled. Poverty became rampant. The commercial banking system was
largely taken over by Western financial institutions.
Since 1977, a military dictatorship has largely prevailed. The short-lived democratically
elected governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif did not, in a meaningful way,
break the continuity of authoritarian military rule. Both Sharif and Benazir Bhutto served
US interests and accepted the economic diktats of the IMF and the World Bank.
Pakistan's Role in the Soviet-Afghan War
The Soviet-Afghan war was part of a CIA covert agenda initiated during the Carter
administration, which consisted in actively supporting and financing the Islamic
brigades, later known as Al Qaeda. The Pakistani military regime played from the outset
in the late 1970s, a key role in US sponsored military and intelligence operations in
Afghanistan. In the post-Cold war era, this central role of Pakistan in US intelligence
operations was extended to the broader Central Asia- Middle East region.
The 1977 military coup in Pakistan, leading to the demise of the PPP government of Zulifqar Ali Bhutto, was a precondition for the launching of the CIA's covert war in
Afghanistan.
In April 1978, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), seized power in
Afghanistan in a popular insurrection directed against the dictatorship of President
Mohammed Daud Khan. The PDPA government instigated a land reform program,
expanded education and health programs and actively supported women’s rights.
Afghanistan's relationship with the Soviet Union was also strengthened.
The CIA's covert operation was intended to undermine and ultimately destroy the PDPAgovernment, while also curtailing the influence of the Soviet Union in Central Asia. CIA
covert support to the Islamic brigades was also instrumental in destroying the
foundations of secular civilian government.
From the outset of the Soviet Afghan war in 1979, Pakistan under military rule actively
supported the Islamic brigades. In close liaison with the CIA, Pakistan's military
intelligence, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), became a powerful organization, a
parallel government, wielding tremendous power and influence.
America's covert war in Afghanistan, using Pakistan as a launch pad, was initiatedduring the Carter administration prior to the Soviet "invasion":
"According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahideen began during
1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the
reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise indeed; it was July 3, 1979
that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-
Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I
explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military
intervention." (Former National Security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, Interview with
Nouvel Observateur, 15-21 January 1998)
In the published memoirs of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who held the positionof deputy CIA Director at the height of the Soviet Afghan war, US intelligence was
directly involved from the outset, prior to the Soviet invasion, in channeling aid to the
Islamic brigades.
With CIA backing and the funneling of massive amounts of U.S. military aid, the
Pakistani ISI had developed into a "parallel structure wielding enormous power over all
aspects of government". (Dipankar Banerjee, "Possible Connection of ISI With Drug
Industry", India Abroad, 2 December 1994). The ISI had a staff composed of military
and intelligence officers, bureaucrats, undercover agents and informers, estimated at
150,000. (Ibid)
Meanwhile, CIA operations had also reinforced the Pakistani military regime led by
General Zia Ul Haq:
Relations between the CIA and the ISI had grown increasingly warm following [General]
Zia’s ouster of Bhutto and the advent of the military regime. … During most of the
Afghan war, Pakistan was more aggressively anti-Soviet than even the United States.
Soon after the Soviet military invaded Afghanistan in 1980, Zia [ul Haq] sent his ISI chief
to destabilize the Soviet Central Asian states. The CIA only agreed to this plan inOctober 1984. (Ibid)
The ISI operating virtually as an affiliate of the CIA played a central role in channeling
support to Islamic paramilitary groups in Afghanistan and subsequently in the Muslim
republics of the former Soviet Union.
Acting on behalf of the CIA, the ISI was also involved in the recruitment and training of
the Mujahideen. In the ten year period from 1982 to 1992, some 35,000 Muslims from
43 Islamic countries were recruited to fight in the Afghan jihad. The madrassas in
Pakistan, financed by Saudi charities, were also set up with US support with a view to"inculcating Islamic values". "The camps became virtual universities for future Islamic
radicalism," (Ahmed Rashid, The Taliban). Guerilla training under CIA-ISI auspices
included targeted assassinations and car bomb attacks.
Weapons' shipments "were sent by the Pakistani army and the ISI to rebel camps in the
North West Frontier Province near the Afghanistan border. The governor of the province
is Lieutenant General Fazle Haq, who [according to Alfred McCoy]. Allowed "hundreds
of heroin refineries to set up in his province." Beginning around 1982, Pakistani army
trucks carrying CIA weapons from Karachi often pick up heroin in Haq’s province and
return loaded with heroin. They are protected from police search by ISI papers. ( 1982-
1989: US Turns Blind Eye to BCCI and Pakistani Government Involvement in Heroin Trade .
Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, America's bogyman was recruited by the CIA in 1979 at the very
outset of the US sponsored jihad. He was 22 years old and was trained in a CIA
sponsored guerilla training camp.
During the Reagan administration, Osama, who belonged to the wealthy Saudi Bin
Laden family, was put in charge of raising money for the Islamic brigades. Numerous
charities and foundations were created. The operation was coordinated by Saudiintelligence, headed by Prince Turki al-Faisal, in close liaison with the CIA. The money
derived from the various charities was used to finance the recruitment of Mujahieen
volunteers. Al Qaeda, the base in Arabic was a data bank of volunteers who had
enlisted to fight in the Afghan jihad. That data base was initially held by Osama bin
Laden.
The Reagan Administration supports "Islamic
Fundamentalism"
Pakistan's ISI was used as a "go-between". CIA covert support to the Mujahideen in
Afghanistan operated indirectly through the Pakistani ISI, --i.e. the CIA did not channel
its support directly to the Mujahideen. In other words, for these covert operations to be
"successful", Washington was careful not to reveal the ultimate objective of the "jihad",
which consisted in destroying the Soviet Union.
In December 1984, the Sharia Law (Islamic jurisprudence) was established in Pakistan
following a rigged referendum launched by President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Barely a
few months later, in March 1985, President Ronald Reagan issued National Security
Decision Directive 166 (NSDD 166), which authorized ”stepped-up covert military aid tothe Mujahideen" as well a support to religious indoctrination.
The imposition of The Sharia in Pakistan and the promotion of "radical Islam" was a
deliberate US policy serving American geopolitical interests in South Asia, Central Asia
and the Middle East. Many present-day”Islamic fundamentalist organizations" in the
Middle East and Central Asia, were directly or indirectly the product of US covert
... The United States spent millions of dollars to supply Afghan schoolchildren with
textbooks filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings, part of covert
attempts to spur resistance to the Soviet occupation.
The primers, which were filled with talk of jihad and featured drawings of guns, bullets,
soldiers and mines, have served since then as the Afghan school system's corecurriculum. Even the Taliban used the American-produced books,
The White House defends the religious content, saying that Islamic principles permeate
Afghan culture and that the books "are fully in compliance with U.S. law and policy."
Legal experts, however, question whether the books violate a constitutional ban on
using tax dollars to promote religion.
... AID officials said in interviews that they left the Islamic materials intact because they
feared Afghan educators would reject books lacking a strong dose of Muslim thought.
The agency removed its logo and any mention of the U.S. government from the
religious texts, AID spokeswoman Kathryn Stratos said.
"It's not AID's policy to support religious instruction," Stratos said. "But we went ahead
with this project because the primary purpose . . . is to educate children, which is
predominantly a secular activity."
... Published in the dominant Afghan languages of Dari and Pashtun, the textbooks
were developed in the early 1980s under an AID grant to the University of Nebraska
-Omaha and its Center for Afghanistan Studies. The agency spent $ 51 million on the
university's education programs in Afghanistan from 1984 to 1994." (Washington Post,
23 March 2002)
The Assassination of General Zia Ul-Haq
In August 1988, President Zia was killed in an air crash together with US Ambassador
to Pakistan Arnold Raphel and several of Pakistan's top generals. The circumstances of
the air crash remain shrouded in mystery.
Following Zia's death, parliamentary elections were held and Benazir Bhutto was swornin as Prime Minister in December 1988. She was subsequently removed from office by
Zia's successor, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan on the grounds of alleged corruption. In
1993, she was re-elected and was again removed from office in 1996 on the orders of
Continuity has been maintained throughout. Under the short-lived post-Zia elected
governments of Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, the central role of the military-
intelligence establishment and its links to Washington were never challenged.
Both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif served US foreign policy interests. While in
power, both democratically elected leaders nonetheless supported the continuity of military rule. As prime minister from 1993 to 1996, Benazir Bhutto "advocated a
conciliatory policy toward Islamists, especially the Taliban in Afghanistan" which were
being supported by Pakistan's ISI Benazir Bhutto's successor as Prime Minister, Mian
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) was deposed in 1999
in a US supported coup d'Etat led by General Pervez Musharraf.
The 1999 coup was instigated by General Pervez Musharaf, with the support of the
Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmad, who was subsequently
appointed to the key position of head of military intelligence (ISI).
From the outset of the Bush administration in 2001, General Ahmad developed close
ties not only with his US counterpart CIA director George Tenet, but also with key
members of the US government including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy
Secretary of State Richard Armitage, not to mention Porter Goss, who at the time was
Chairman of the House Committee on Intelligence. Ironically, Mahmud Ahmad is also
known, according to a September 2001 FBI report, for his suspected role in supporting
and financing the alleged 9/11 terrorists as well as his links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban
Concluding Remarks
These various "terrorist" organizations were created as a result of CIA support. They
are not the product of religion. The project to establish "a pan-Islamic Caliphate" is part
of a carefully devised intelligence operation.
CIA support to Al Qaeda was not in any way curtailed at the end of the Cold War. In fact
quite the opposite. The earlier pattern of covert support not only extended, it took on aglobal thrust and became increasingly sophisticated.
The "Global War on Terrorism" is a complex and intricate intelligence construct. The
covert support provided to "Islamic extremist groups" is part of an imperial agenda. It
purports to weaken and eventually destroy secular and civilian governmental
institutions, while also contributing to vilifying Islam. It is an instrument of colonization
which seeks to undermine sovereign nation-states and transform countries into
territories.
For the intelligence operation to be successful, however, the various Islamic
organizations created and trained by the CIA must remain unaware of the role they are
performing on geopolitical chessboard, on behalf of Washington.
Over the years, these organizations have indeed acquired a certain degree of autonomy
and independence, in relation to their US-Pakistani sponsors. That appearance of
"independence", however, is crucial; it is an integral part of the covert intelligence
operation. According to former CIA agent Milton Beardman the Mujahideen were
invariably unaware of the role they were performing on behalf of Washington. In the
words of bin Laden (quoted by Beardman): "neither I, nor my brothers saw evidence of
American help". (Weekend Sunday (NPR); Eric Weiner, Ted Clark; 16 August 1998).
"Motivated by nationalism and religious fervor, the Islamic warriors were unaware that
they were fighting the Soviet Army on behalf of Uncle Sam. While there were contacts
at the upper levels of the intelligence hierarchy, Islamic rebel leaders in theatre had no
contacts with Washington or the CIA." (Michel Chossudovsky, America's War on
Terrorism, Chapter 2).
The fabrication of "terrorism" --including covert support to terrorists-- is required to
provide legitimacy to the "war on terrorism".
The various fundamentalist and paramilitary groups involved in US sponsored "terrorist"
activities are "intelligence assets". In the wake of 9/11, their designated function as
"intelligence assets" is to perform their role as credible "enemies of America".
Under the Bush administration, the CIA continues to support (via Pakistan's ISI) several
Pakistani based Islamic groups. The ISI is known to support Jamaat a-Islami, which is
also present in South East Asia, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jehad a-Kashmiri, Hizbul-
Mujahidin and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
The Islamic groups created by the CIA are also intended to rally public support in
Muslim countries. The underlying objective is to create divisions within national societiesthroughout the Middle East and Central Asia, while also triggering sectarian strife within
Islam, ultimately with a view to curbing the development of a broad based secular mass
resistance, which would challenge US imperial ambitions.
This function of an outside enemy is also an essential part of war propaganda required
to galvanize Western public opinion. Without an enemy, a war cannot be fought. US
foreign policy needs to fabricate an enemy, to justify its various military interventions in
the Middle East and Central Asia. An enemy is required to justify a military agenda,
which consists in “going after Al Qaeda". The fabrication and vilification of the enemy
are required to justify military action.
The existence of an outside enemy sustains the illusion that the "war on terrorism" isreal. It justifies and presents military intervention as a humanitarian operation based on
the right to self-defense. It upholds the illusion of a "conflict of civilizations". The
underlying purpose ultimately is to conceal the real economic and strategic objectives
behind the broader Middle East Central Asian war.
Historically, Pakistan has played a central role in "war on terrorism". Pakistan
constitutes from Washington's standpoint a geopolitical hub. It borders onto Afghanistan
and Iran. It has played a crucial role in the conduct of US and allied military operations
in Afghanistan as well as in the context of the Pentagon's war plans in relation to Iran.
Pakistan remains a training ground for the US sponsored Islamic brigades in the Middle
East, Africa, Central Asia, South and South East Asia. President Pervez Musharraf, is
described by the Western media as "a U.S. ally in its battle against terrorism" Realities
are turned upside down. The Pakistani military regime has consistently, since the late
1970s, abetted and financed "Islamic terrorist organizations" on Washington's behalf.