| In
an audacious attack, heavily-armed Taliban terrorists dressed in
fatigues stormed the Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on
October 10. What followed was a 22-hour siege that ended with a
dramatic commando rescue operation. At the end of the day the death
toll stood at 20.
The spokesperson for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan movement said,
"We claim responsibility for the attack on Army GHQ (in Rawalpindi).
It was carried out by our Punjab branch… We have the capability
to strike any place in Pakistan... We can target many more important
places". He was right. Suicide terrorists have struck at
the Federal Investigation Agency headquarters and five other locations,
including important police centres, in Lahore on Thursday, killing
39 and injuring hundreds.
Over the past two years, more than 2,500 people have been killed
in suicide bombings across Pakistan. It was hoped that after Pakistan
was carved out of India in 1947, it would become a model Muslim
state. But today, it is a failed state facing a severe existential
crisis.
The problem is Pakistan's military rulers have tried to present
themselves as the country's last hope. Civilian leaders have been
little better. Instead of thinking in the best interest of the
country, every Pakistani leader has deliberately encouraged the
US to develop a stake in that country's political and military
affairs. Today Pakistan's policies are more attuned to American
interests than its own. In turn, the US supports Pakistan for
every single anti-India step it takes. India is the whipping boy
for everything that goes wrong in Pakistan or Afghanistan.
Pakistan's rationale for fuelling militancy and separatism in
Jammu & Kashmir and terrorism in other parts of India is based
on the premise that it is the sole custodian of Muslim interests
everywhere, even more so in India. Having fought four wars with
us and having been defeated in all of them, it is now fathering
terrorist groups to wage jihad against India.
It is impossible to predict the precise, unintended consequences
of any US or Pakistani action. But the way things are shaping up
it is fast becoming clear that neither the US nor the Pakistani
Government has any control on the Taliban's activities. A weak civilian
Government and a recalcitrant Army and ISI pose a serious threat
to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, a part of which might be seized by
terrorist groups.
While Pakistan has never made a secret of its hostility towards
India, it is a matter of record that the US has been fighting battles
away from its own borders. The theatres of war today are Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Iraq. India, on the other hand, has scrupulously
kept itself away from international controversies in the interest
of its own people.
It is time Pakistan realises that terrorism cannot coexist with
prosperity. Caught in its own web of imprudence, indiscretion and
misdemeanour, Pakistan, over the past year, has witnessed daily
terror strikes. Some are high profile attacks - like the one on
the Sri Lankan cricket team in March - while others are now categorised
as routine.
Over the years, different regimes in Islamabad have proclaimed that
they would not support terrorist groups operating from Pakistan's
soil. But this was no more than subterfuge to lull India into a
false sense of security. Even while promising to act against terrorists,
Pakistan has been aiding terrorist groups and using them to mount
terror strikes on India.
But now the chickens have begun to come home to roost. By obliterating
the difference between its professional Army and the terrorists,
Pakistan is turning some of its soldiers into rogue jihadis.
Meanwhile, angered by the US drone attacks in Pakistan's north-western
tribal areas, the terrorists have promised retribution against
America and its proxies. The policy of encouraging its Army officers
to join or train terrorists like the ones responsible for the
fidayeen strikes on Mumbai last year is coming back to haunt Pakistan.
Indeed, in all major terrorist attacks all over the world, including
those in the West, the signature of Pakistani terrorists is clear.
Of course, this has not been acknowledged either by Pakistan or
the US. Insofar as India is concerned, it is obvious that there
has been no change in Pakistan's policy of using terrorism as a
weapon against India to achieve its objective of forcing a change
in the status quo, which it hopes will lead to its acquisition of
the Muslim majority areas of Jammu & Kashmir, if not the entire
State.
Pakistan's policy of running with the hare and hunting with the
hounds is beginning to backfire. If Pakistanis want domestic harmony
and peace, they must shun the policy of spreading terrorism abroad
and running training centres for jihadis on their soil. The terrorists
have already issued their diktat that Islamabad should stop obeying
Washington, DC, if it wants the terror attacks to stop.
Pakistan claims that it is not only fighting its own war but
also that of the international community against terrorism. But
the truth is that Pakistan still remains a fertile ground for
terrorists to breed. Hopefully, New Delhi will not buy Islamabad's
bogus claim. Pakistan is the victim of a problem of its own creation.
It has to look within for the solution.
Joginder Singh - IPS (Retd.) Former Director, CBI
20th October 09 |
