Fighting terrorism, avoiding war: the Indo-Pakistani situation - JFQ Forum

Joint Force Quarterly, Autumn, 2002 by Peter R. Lavoy

In response Musharraf ordered his forces to mobilize and enacted tough measures against extremism at home. With U.S. officials joining the call for firm action against militant movements, authorities arrested two thousand religious extremists and suspected terrorists, including leaders of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and three other groups. Musharraf also announced steps to control madrassas (religious schools that breed extremism), freeze assets of suspected terrorists, close down Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) offices in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, initiate police reform, improve immigration policies, and draft antiterrorist finance laws.

Even as Musharraf cracked down on domestic Islamic militancy, he insisted in a speech in January 2002 that the nation would continue to support the cause of Kashmir diplomatically and morally, which Pakistanis see as a long-term freedom struggle of Kashmiri Muslims against India. By contrast, most Indians believe that this and other insurgencies in their country are fueled--if not guided--from across the border in Pakistan. Another suicide attack occurred in May 2002 against families of Indian soldiers in Jammu. Officials blamed Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and claimed that Pakistani ISI was involved. According to India, Musharraf was secretly directing militant activities in Kashmir or else the violence was perpetrated by rogue elements in his military and intelligence organizations. In either case, the Indians planned to intensify the military pressure until all manifestations of cross-border terrorism were halted.

Pakistan also has been the site of violent terrorist attacks, raising concerns that Musharraf lacks control over the extremists. An explosion at the American consulate in Karachi in June 2002 killed 12 Pakistanis. FBI investigators blamed the event on Lashkar-e-Omar, a coalition of militant groups banned in January 2002. This and other incidents, including the bombing of a church attended by foreigners in Islamabad, attacks on French naval engineers in Karachi, a missionary school in Murree, and a foreign-supported eye clinic in Taxila, and the murder of a reporter from The Wall Street Journal, are all seen as elements in a plot against the Musharraf government as well as U.S. and foreign interests. These events, and subsequent arrests by Pakistani and American authorities, indicate that remaining Taliban militants and some members of al Qaeda have shifted their locus of operations from Afghanistan to Pakistan.

Given the exodus of terrorists from Afghanistan, Pakistan assumed a more crucial role in Enduring Freedom. By October 2002, Pakistani and coalition forces had conducted 99 raids on suspected al Qaeda positions. In addition, 420 suspects were apprehended and 332 were handed over to the United States for interrogation, including Abu Zubaida and Ramzi bin Al-Shaiba, the latter believed to be involved in planning the 9/11 attacks. Pakistani troops have conducted numerous raids in remote tribal areas in the Northwest Frontier Province, marking the first time outside forces have conducted military operations in this largely self-governing territory.