Terrorism in Pakistan

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Terrorism in Pakistan has been prevalent since the 1980s following the breakup of the nation into modern Pakistan and Bangladesh in the Bangladesh Liberation War. In the following years the Balochistan movement gained momentum and though it was suppressed, it is believed to partly contribute to some of the violence that exists today. According to one source, in 1987, 90% of all reported terrorist activities worldwide were located in Pakistan.^[1] This can be attributed to Islamic Republic of Pakistan's status as the fifth most populous country in the world, with diverse cultures, languages, traditions and customs. The different cultures in Pakistan are associated with differing ideologies, further causing regionalism, especially in Kashmir.

Terrorists killed 907 people and injured 1,543 others in Pakistan in 2006.^[1]

Intelligence agencies around the world have long suspected Pakistan as the source of extremism and terrorism. The culture of unregulated madrassas, the proximity to two conflict zones - Afghanistan and Kashmir - have made Pakistan ideally situated to house terrorist training camps that carry out operations in South Asia and around the world.^[2] Pakistan has between 10,000 and 40,000 religious schools or madrassas. A small number of these are supposed to provide military training which give inspiration to European extremists of South Asian descent.^[2] Pakistan has the potential to create a lot of trouble in regional and worldwide. The state is weak due to the army and powerful religious leaders. Unlike other countries, it is a country with nuclear weapons and was recently found selling it to Iran, North Korea and Libya. The person responsible for selling was tried inside the country and was refused access to intelligence agencies of other countries.^[3] Pakistan has used Islamist militants to fight its wars in Afghanistan and Kashmir.^[4]

Contents 1 Causes 1.1 State-sponsored terrorism 2 Terrorist groups 2.1 Lashkar-e-Omar 2.2 Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan 2.3 Other incidents 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Causes

Three of the main reasons believed to be responsible for terrorism in Pakistan are sectarian/religious violence ,the mistrust in the Musharraf-Bush coalition in the war on terror and the pakistans own track record over training terrorists and sending them to India. However, other causes like political rivalry and business disputes too take its toll. It is estimated that more than 4,000 people have died in Pakistan in the past 25 years due to sectarian strife.^[5]

Religious fundamentalism has also believed to have played some role in contributing to the rise of terrorist activity. The 7 July 2005 London bombings was carried out by people who are believed to have visited a Pakistani madrassa at some time in their life (which besides this also was training ground for Taliban and Anti-USSR Harkat-ul-ansar), stoking fears that perhaps certain groups in Pakistan were encouraging violent activity. Pakistan President initially acknowledged that some madrassas might be involved in extremism and terrorism.^[6]. The Pakistani government denied the charges, saying that just because someone visits Pakistan once after living and being educated abroad for all their life, does not mean that they were encouraged to perform terrorist acts in Pakistan. The government still acted swiftly, requiring all religious schools to register with the government. Also, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's cooperation with the United States' War on Terrorism has led to several assassination attempts on him by those who seek the destruction of Western interests. The president referred to this as terrorism.See also: Pakistani involvement in the War on Terror

[edit] State-sponsored terrorism

Main article: State-sponsored terrorism#Pakistan

The Government of Pakistan is accused by India of having supplied monetary aid to certain terrorist organisations fighting for secession in Kashmir. It has strongly denied the latter.^[7] However some statements have claimed the involvement of the now Pakistani information minister in establishing terrorist training camps in the early stages of the war many years ago.^[8] American intelligence sources, mainly the FBI claims that there are "terrorist training camps" in Pakistan and that the terrorists come from all over the globe.^[9] In Pakistan most mordernized infrastructure of terrorist training exist, supported by Pakistan government's Inter Service Intelligence in terms of money,ideological training and moral support. Many other nations and nonpartisan sources also state that Pakistan is one of the perpetrators of State sponsored terrorism by providing help to Kashmiri and other terrorist outfits related to the Al-Qaeda.^[10]

[edit] Terrorist groups

[edit] Lashkar-e-Omar

Lashkar-e-Omar (The Army of Omar) is a terrorist organisation which is believed to have its members derived from 3 organisations, Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HuJI), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The main terrorist activities for which it has been accused are:

• Attack on a church in Bahawalpur in Punjab on October 28, 2002, resulting in 18 deaths and 9 injuries.
• The group, was allegedly involved in the March 17, 2002 grenade attack on a church in the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave in Islamabad in which five persons, including a US diplomat's wife and daughter, were killed and 41 others injured.
• LeO was reportedly involved in the suicide bombing outside the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi on May 8, 2002 and the June 14th attack on the US consulate in Karachi, in which 10 persons, including five women, were killed and 51 others injured.

[edit] Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan

Previously known as Anjuman Sipah-e-Sahaba (ASS), this group is thought to be behind most of the attacks on Shiites. It came into prominence following the Iranian Revolution in 1980s. Incidents thought to be caused by this group are:

• October 7, 2004 bomb blasts in Multan that killed 40 people
• September 21, 2004: Suspected SSP members gunned down at least three members of a Shia family in a sectarian attack in Dera Ismail Khan.
• March 2, 2004 More than 45 people killed and over 100 wounded in an attack on Shi'a Muslims in Quetta.
• It has also been involved in assassinating Iranian diplomats with the most severe being the killing of five Iranian Air Force cadets in Rawalpindi in 1997.

[edit] Other incidents

• 14 June 2002 : In the attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, A bomb exploded outside the building killing 12. The bombing was linked to Al-Qaeda.
• Eight members of the Ahmadiyya faith were killed inside a mosque as worshippers were performing Salah on October 7, 2005. The incident occurred in Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab, Pakistan. (BBC)
• 15 November 2005 : A car bomb exploded outside a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Karachi, Pakistan at around 08:45 (UTC+5). At least three people were killed and eight others wounded. (CNN)
• 5 February 2006 : A bomb explosion killed 13 people on a bus near Quetta. No groups claimed of responsibility for the attack. (CNN)
• 2 March 2006 : Two days before the scheduled visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Pakistan, a car bomb explodes at 09:15 outside a United States consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing at least four people including a US diplomat and his driver, and injuring another fifty.(CNN)
• 10 March 2006 : Twenty-six people, mostly women & children, are killed in Dera Bugti, southwest Pakistan after their bus hit a landmine. Both tribal rebels and security forces planted landmines in the area. (BBC) - Pictures

[edit] See also

• Terrorism in India
• Terrorism in Kashmir
• Lashkar-e-Toiba
• Islamic terrorism
• Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement

[edit] References

1. ↑  Hassan Abbas (2004). Pakistan's Drift Into Extremism: Allah, The Army, And America's War On Terror. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-7656-1497-9.  page 112
2. ↑  Pakistan stands among top 10 ‘failed states’ - Daily Times
3. Tariq Ali (1983). Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State. Penguin Books Ltd. ISBN 0-14-022401-7. 

[edit] External links

• South Asia Intelligence Review on Lashkar-e-Omar
• Jamestown Foundation on Sipah-e-Sahaba
• [3]
• Victims of Terrorism in Balochistan - 28 die and 7 are injured when a terrorist organization mines explosives on a road in Pakistan.
• The Danger that Pakistan is