Terrorism in Pakistan
Terrorism in Pakistan according to Ministry of Interior, poses a significant threat to the people of Pakistan. The current wave of terrorism is believed to have started in 2000 and peaked during 2009. Since then it has drastically declined as result of military operations conducted by the Pakistan Army. According to South Asian Terrorism Portal Index (SATP), terrorism in Pakistan has declined by 89% in 2017 since 2009.
Since 2001, Pakistan military has launched series of military offensive against terrorist groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The offensive brought peace in those areas and the rest of the country. Many terrorists belonging to various terrorist groups were killed. However, some militants managed to flee to Afghanistan. From Afghanistan, those militants continue to launch attacks on Pakistan military posts located near the border. In 2017, Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah admitted that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has a foothold in Afghanistan. In 2019, United States Department of Defense claimed that about 3,000 to 5,000 terrorists belonging to TTP are in Afghanistan.
According to report by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, 23,372 Pakistani civilians and 8,832 Pakistani security personnel were killed in the war on terrorism. Moreover, According to the government of Pakistan, the direct and indirect economic costs of terrorism from 2000–2010 total $68 billion. In 2018 Pakistani newspaper, Dawn news, reported that the Pakistani economy suffered a total loss of $126.79 billion due to war on terror since 2001.
Pakistan officials often blame India and Afghanistan for supporting terrorism in Pakistan. India has denied Pakistan’s allegations. However, Afghanistan has admitted providing support to terrorist groups such as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In 2013, United States conducted raid on an Afghan convoy that was taking Latif Mehsud to Kabul. Latif was a senior commander of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Afghan President’s spokesperson, Aimal Faizi, told reporters that the National Directorate of Security (NDS) was working with Latif. Latif was conduit for funding to TTP. Some of the funding for TTP might have come from NDS. Former NDS head, Asadullah Khalid, posted a video belonging to TTP on his Twitter account where he claimed that Badaber Camp attack was tit for tat.
Pakistan and State-Sponsored Terrorism
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, India, and Iran, 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 jure 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 (see The Establishment) 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.
The United States’ State Sponsors of Terrorism designation list describes Pakistan as a “terrorist safe haven” where individual terrorists and terrorist groups are able to organize, plan, raise funds, communicate, recruit, train, transit, and operate in relative security because of inadequate/supportive governance, political will, or both. Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind behind the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs during Operation Neptune Spear at his compound near the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.