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Tackling terrorism: a new approach

Spearhead Research

What comes to light in the wake of the Mumbai attacks is that like the sundry other criminal mafias operating in nearly every corner of the world, the organizations sponsoring terror are structured -- and dangerously on the verge of becoming institutionalized.

With the intelligence sharing procedures that are today slowly but inexorably being adopted, a previously skeptical Pakistan admitted to the possibility of Pakistan-based terrorist groups being complicit in the Mumbai killings and arrested several members of one such association.

As a consequence, the Jammat-ud-Dawa, which had rendered meritorious service in the wake of the calamitous Kashmir earthquake, but nevertheless alleged to be closely linked to the outlawed Lashkar-e-Tayabia (LeT), has had its offices sealed and two of its widely circulated publications banned.

The US's Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice applauded the action, while Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte urged India to act with restraint, even as the India’s Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, bitterly labeled Pakistan "the epicentre of terrorism".

Some of India’s political pundits took up the refrain, defining the moment as India's 9/11 and signaled they would not be in any way averse to air strikes against suspected militant havens on Pakistan territory, doubting Pakistan’s sincerity despite the actions it had taken.

They had overseas sympathizers. Rand Corporation’s Christine Fair, for one, was reported by The Wall Street Journal as assessing that the links between Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and the docked organistation were so strong that she could easily see LeT as a ‘state actor’.

Another “independent security analyst”, Ayesha Siddiqa, of research compilation ‘Military Inc’ fame, too, doubted the commitment of Pakistan’s military to engage in a blanket crack-down on militancy. She indicated that elements in the army may be in cahoots with “radical right” groups.

But then Ms Siddiqa has long been an indirect proponent of civilian governance in the absolute sense, notwithstanding no civilian institution has been seen to provide a semblance of stability, security, or sustainable democratic profile, without repeatedly calling on Pakistan’s military to right perceived wrongs.

More pithily put, there have been no individuals or political parties to date who have not had skeletons in their closets and, while this may not entirely absolve the armed forces for having overplayed their hand, the fact remains it is the only institution that remains intact, resilient and structured.

And, the Pakistani street is only too aware of this, for when two Indian aircraft were seen to intrude into Pakistani airspace recently, there was a general rallying around flag with Pakistani warplanes taking to the air to warn them off - pertinently and responsibly, without engaging the fully armed Indian fighter jets.

With emotions running high on the incursion, Pakistan’s Information Minister, Sherry Rehman, quickly moved to defuse the ticking time-bomb by announcing, "We have spoken to the Indian Air Force and they have said it was inadvertent (and) we do not expect this to escalate".

Moreover, upon receiving the official UNSC communication to restrict the movement of the outfits accused by India of masterminding the Mumbai massacre, Ms Rehman reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to root out terrorism -- but not under “rhetorical pressure from another country”.

The leader of the opposition party Pakistan Muslim League (N), Nawaz Sharif stood staunchly by the side of the Pakistan People’s Party led coalition on the need for terrorism to be combated, but bother Shabaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province Punjab, had a lateral observation to make.

In his address the media after an All-Parties Conference, Sharif the younger referred to the Samjohta Express train blast which involved a serving Indian army officer, and was blunt on the matter of “foreign hands” being behind the restiveness in Balochistan, to present a common view prevalent in Pakistan.

The US Secretary of State, meantime, ruled out war between India and Pakistan and reaffirmed Washington’s role to ease of tensions in urging Islamabad to act more forcefully, as it was now being openly held that ‘non-state actors’ had launched the Mumbai attacks from Pakistan’s soil.

Meanwhile, India’s Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, while persisting with the buildup of Pakistan being the “epicentre” of the attacks and the need for Pakistan to hand over 40 suspects identified by the Indian intelligence as the principal culprits, wisely held back on the declaration of war as a realistic option.

But there were others who were less accommodating. Former CIA operative and now Barak Obama adviser, Bruce Riedel, repeated the tired tirade of “Pakistan being the most dangerous country in the world” in the German weekly Spiegel, although he did concede some doubt on Pakistan’s ISI having control over today’s militants.

William Pfaff, writing in the December 2 edition of the International Herald Tribune took an entirely different direction. In an article titled ‘What was the message?’ the author put a whole new spin on terrorism in the South Asian region to conclude that Kashmir had less to do with Mumbai than observers imagined.

By his reckoning it seemed more “like a Middle Eastern message having to do with Iraq and Palestine”, than Kashmir, with the primary targets being areas frequented by Western visitors -- and the Lubavitch Hasidic Center, a Jewish outpost, to provide food for thought for the incoming US administration.

As matters stand, a US troop surge of around 20,000 for Afghanistan is on the cards, even as a drawdown in Iraq is up for consideration. But America does appear seriously inclined towards “formulating a comprehensive approach for the entire region” with the Mumbai attack adding to the urgency, reads a recent BBC report.

This new approach envisages bringing Russia, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan and India, under the tent to tackle the terrorist threat collectively. Or, so advises former Pakistan analyst at the US State Department Marvin Weinbaum. Should, however, that seemingly mission impossible be realized, it would mark an extraordinary break with the past -- and more to the point, conceivably turn the brutal terrorist tide permanently away from the international theatre.