Int’l help needed to fight terrorism

Mohammad A. Suhail

President Pervez Musharraf has reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fight terrorism and extremism to the best of its abilities. At the same time he called upon the international community to help and assist Pakistan to combat this menace that have caused problems for the country after the defeat of Soviet forces in Afghanistan. He was addressing the Oxford Union Debating Society of the Oxford University.

Dilating on the history of terrorism in the region, he said “Mujahideen, who were brought, trained and financed by the West to fight Soviet troops, joined together to form Al Qaeda after the withdrawal of the invading troops.”  What is more, “the Taliban from religious schools were also recruited, financed and armed by the United States and the West, and supported by Pakistan against the Soviet forces.”

It is a well known fact that after the Soviet defeat the West hurriedly packed its baggage and left Afghanistan. Pakistan was in a helpless situation. It had to deal with 30,000 Mujahideen and over four million Afghan refugees. In this background it is becomes quite evident that terrorism is not a “Pakistani phenomenon but an import to the country. Therefore the entire international community is to blame for this global menace that has threatened international peace and security.

He flayed attempts by those who criticize Pakistan as an extremist country. While vast majority of people of Pakistan are moderate and tolerant, there are handful of people that are involved in terrorist and militant activities. Pakistan has adopted a holistic strategy to fight terrorism and extremism, as it firmly believes that military action alone is not the answer and will not wipe out terrorism. The fight against terrorism cannot meet with success unless the problem of extremism is adequately addressed. For this reason it is giving enough attention to the other equally important ‘aspects of addressing the underlying causes’ of this phenomenon.” While going after the terrorists on its own soil and extending full cooperation in international efforts to combat terror, Pakistan is doing something which is clearly in its own interest.

Thus “Pakistan is fighting terrorism in its own national interest. It also happens to be in the interest of the global community and so, therefore, we are collaborating with the United States and the West.  Pakistan is perhaps the only country which has fully understood the environment that had undergone a change with focus shifting from al-Qaeda to Taliban and introduction of new phenomenon of Talibanisation” which can be described a state of mind.

However unlike other countries, Pakistan is pursuing a comprehensive approach in dealing with the terrorist threat understanding the actual environments prevailing in the country. Although it has deployed 75000 troops on its western borders to check the activities of al-Qaeda and Taliban activists as well as other extremists in the country, it recognizes the fact that “military action is not an end in itself, as it does not and cannot provide an enduring solution to extremism.”

While military force may be applied against terrorists as a short term measure, but long term measures are necessary against extremism, which is clearly a ‘thought process’ and cannot be handled through military means only. “Other instruments must also be used to tackle the issue of terrorism and extremism in its entirety. “Military (intervention) only buys you time for using other instruments to get to the core of the problems.” It is therefore important to adopt a long-term approach of addressing political disputes, removing grievances and addressing the socio-economic issues.

Clearly, war on terrorism has to be a continuing process. As a short term measure military operations are required to frustrate terrorists’ designs, but in the long-term some kind of mechanism should be devised paying due attention to the causes that provide the “terrorists the peg to exploit the sentiments of ordinary people regarding genuine grievances.” International community must realize that global war on terrorism cannot be won without “focusing on the long-festering political disputes, perceived or real humiliation, sense of alienation and deprivation, under-development, poverty and other socio-economic issues facing the Muslim world.”

It is in this context that Pakistan has been calling upon the international community especially the United States and the West to help and assist Pakistan in fighting this menace. It is also urging them to help facilitate “just solutions to longstanding disputes like Palestine and Kashmir to eliminate the root causes that have been a major source of generating extremism in Muslim societies. At the same time,  “It is important to help Afghanistan and Iraq move towards stability, security and peace, as the conditions prevailing in the two war-torn countries ‘were causing deep anxiety among Muslims everywhere in the world.”

It is a matter of record that Pakistan’s armed forces have arrested over 700 al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives. No other country in the world has done what Pakistan has done. In this regard President Musharraf pointed out:  "We’ve taken over their sanctuaries. Where they were in the hundreds, now they are only in the dozens around in the mountains and we are chasing them…Which country in the world has arrested 700 al-Qaeda people, all the important ones?”

But, it needs to be emphasized that Pakistan has done it for its own sake, as disorder and havoc caused by acts of terror is not in country’s best interests. “Pakistan would seek to promote economic growth and respect for the rule of law while undercutting militant and extremists. Such a renaissance would enable Pakistanis to understand the true peace-loving nature of Islam. It is quite evident that peace is a precondition in order for the country to stay on the path of economic progress.