After the Islamic revolution in Iran in March 1979, the next big event that took place was the occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet forces in December 1979. In anticipation to the Great Bear taking the next step in search of warm waters, Pakistan’s President Gen Zia-ul-Haq considered it prudent to support the Afghan resistance movement and to fight the war on Afghan soil rather than waiting to fight the future war on Pakistani soil. After standing up to the Soviet challenge alone till June 1981, the US decided to join the war by extending material support to Pakistan and the Mujahedeen were named as holy warriors.
FATA was turned into a forward base of operation and training ground to launch the Mujahids. The CIA brought in thousands of Mujahids from other Muslim countries. While the weapons and intelligence were provided by USA, and funds by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the overall coordinator and executor of covert and overt operations was the ISI. As per Bruce Reidel, the US spent only $4-5 billion, and the rest of funding was done by KSA.
To please the USA, Pak leaders kept doing more, not realizing that the demand of doing more was meant to tire and exhaust security forces and to dishevel the Pak economy.
Pakistan bore the consequences of the Afghan war
Joint efforts of Pakistan and the Mujahedeen forced the Soviet forces to exit from Afghanistan by February 1989. Their humiliating defeat and crashing economy splintered USSR and reduced it to the Russian Federation in 1991, ending bipolarism and the cold war between the two superpowers. The ones, who had elevated the USA to the status of the sole superpower, were left alone by the ungrateful USA to fend for themselves. The US-made India, which was the camp follower of the USSR since its inception, its strategic partner, and Pakistan was put under sanctions and scrutiny.
Pakistan bore the fallout effects of the ten-year war in Afghanistan, which had given rise to religious extremism and sectarianism in the 1990s. But it was by and large a nonviolent country where suicide attacks and explosive-filled vehicle explosions were unheard of. Baluchistan and FATA were peaceful and Pakistan was economically showing signs of progress.
Read more: What future awaits for war-torn Afghanistan?
9/11 sympathy engineered by Zionists
When 9/11 happened, the world was horror-struck over the dastardly aerial Terrorism, which claimed about 3000 Americans, lives. The whole world sympathized with the USA and this sympathy wave has not completely evaporated even now after it was learned that it was an in-house affair engineered by Zionists and neocons to achieve global ambitions. George W. Bush administration itched for revenge and launched a crusade against self-appointed terrorists without any evidence.
Segment of Afghan refugees living in camps and outside play into the hands of foreign agencies and provide refuge and guidance to the terrorists launched from Afghanistan.
The US once again befriended Pakistan to gain short-term benefits, but under the condition that it will unfriend the Taliban regime in Kabul and provide all kinds of military and intelligence support to the US-NATO forces to occupy Afghanistan. Gen Musharraf in search of legitimacy agreed, but instead of giving a helping hand to the 48-country alliance under the umbrella of ISAF to fight Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, he agreed to fight them on Pakistans soil when his arm was twisted in 2002.
Read more: War on terror’ or genocide: Is world ready to acknowledge post 9-11 massacre of Muslims?
Terrorism used as a weapon against Pakistan
General Musharraf’s decision to send regular troops to South Waziristan to fight CIA created Al-Qaeda that had taken part in Afghan Jihad against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan along with the Mujahedeen, triggered a backlash and for the first time the Waziri tribesmen picked up arms against Pak security forces.
The plan envisaged spreading flames of terrorism in FATA to PATA to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and next Punjab. Simultaneously Baluchistan was to be made restive. In this, the US, India, Afghanistan, UK, and Israel were fully involved. Their intelligence agencies sat under one roof at Sehra Neward north of Kabul and hatched conspiracies to destabilize Pakistan with the help of paid proxies and to, later on, denuclearize it. Subsequently, the scuttling of CPEC became an added target.
Read more: India ‘financing, organizing mercenary terrorists’ against CPEC: Pakistan
RAW established 87 training camps and centers (66 in eastern and southern Afghanistan and 21 in India). The Indian Embassy in Kabul acted as master planner and 4 Indian Consulates filled with RAW agents worked as forwarding coordinating centers. Iran was made as an auxiliary base of operation. Cross border terrorism was planned and executed at a massive scale from Afghan soil which was spearheaded by RAW and 14 Indian intelligence agencies, and supported by, CIA, MI-6, Mossad, BND, and NDS. Objectives were to destabilize, denuclearize, secularize and balkanize Pakistan.
Modus Operandi
CIA and FBI established Spider Web network in FATA in which retired commando soldiers from Pakistan and Afghanistan were inducted on high pay scale. Outward modus operandi was to net Al-Qaeda elements, but its task was to create space and areas of influence for Baitullah Masood and Abdullah Masood, and pave the way for establishing Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with tentacles in all seven tribal agencies. Well over 400 to 600 pro-Pakistan elders, Maliks and religious leaders were killed in FATA and civil administration officials terrorized. Intelligence duties of FATA were taken over by CIA from the ISI and the latter tasked to kill or arrest Al-Qaeda operatives.
The ISI and security forces nabbed over 600 Al-Qaeda leaders and operatives and their Pakistani affiliates, who were handed over to the CIA. The flames of terrorism were gradually spread from one tribal agency to another. After making the whole of FATA restive, and next KP, Islamabad and major cities of Punjab were also subjected to suicide attacks and group attacks, particularly after the Lal Masjid episode in July 2007. Likewise, terrorism was enflamed in Baluchistan in 2004 with the help of Bugti, Marri, and Mengal Baloch tribes. CIA to launch drones against anti-American elements in FATA used Shamsi airbase in Baluchistan, and those signing peace deal with the Pak Army. CIA to support Sunni Jundallah against Iran also used this base. Later on, urban Sindh was made turbulent through MQM in 2010-11.
The Blackwater and intelligence network made use of all anti-state elements including TTP and media, and coordinated covert war and hybrid war.
No part of the country remained safe from acts of terror, which included, IED attacks, suicide attacks, explosive-laden vehicle attacks, group attacks, and target killings. Efforts were made to undermine the Pak nuclear program by selling the narrative that it was vulnerable and likely to fall into the wrong hands. The idea of joint control was floated with a view to steal or disable the nukes.
To please the US, Pakistan kept ‘doing more’
The new laws framed on terrorism by the USA helped India, Afghanistan, and Israel to fan terrorism in target countries. Fearing to be declared a terrorist state, Gen Musharraf and his successors adopted a defensive, reactive and apologetic strategy and not only refrained from countering the state terrorism of India and Afghanistan, but also failed to chalk out a counter-narrative of the Indo-Afghan-US narrative that Pakistan abets terrorism and others are victims. To please the USA, Pakistan’s leaders kept doing more, not realizing that the demand of doing more was meant to tire and its exhaust security forces and to dishevel Pakistan’s economy.
Major counter-terrorism operations launched by Pakistan once the TTP reached closer to Margala Hills in Islamabad after capturing Lower Dir and Buner, Operations Rah-e-Rast and Rah-e-Nijaat were launched in 2009 which helped in recovering 17 out of 19 administrative units that had come under the sway of TTP. During these operations, dozens of concealed caves laden with arms of all kinds, ammunition, explosives, IEDs, suicide jackets, and Thora satellite wireless sets were discovered.
Read more: Pakistan presents India terror dossier to UN chief
The suicide training center at Sarogha run by Qazi Hussain and a simulated paradise at Khaisura in South Waziristan were found. Several Hindus disguised as Imam Masjids were arrested. After the terror attack on the Jinnah terminal, Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched in June 2014 that cleared North Waziristan and Khyber Agency. Huge caches of arms were seized, and hidden jails and IED manufacturing factories demolished. Writ of the state in lawless FATA was restored. The TTP and all its affiliates took refuge in Afghanistan. The three operations were at the cost of about 4000 casualties of the brave-hearts.
In Baluchistan, after a military operation in 2006-07, the Frontier Corps was strengthened and given frontline security duties. The separatist agenda assigned to Baloch militant groups BLA, BRA, BLF, and Lashkar Baluchistan led by the absconding rebellious Baloch leaders were busted. In Sindh, Rangers and police were employed in September 2013 to eliminate urban terrorism, which was quashed in 2016 after defanging the militant wing of the MQM. Lights of the port city were restored.
The Indian Embassy in Kabul acted as master planner and 4 Indian Consulates filled with RAW agents worked as forwarding coordinating centers. Iran was made as an auxiliary base of operation.
Refusing to ‘Do more’ Pakistan gets caught up in the FATF web
The MQM militants used to go to India by air via Bangkok to get trained in target killings in 4 training camps in Dera Dun and Harayana. Runaway Javed Langra received them at Delhi airport. One of the sources of arms procurement was NATO containers stolen by Port & Shipping minister Babar Ghori. Funds were delivered by RAW to Altaf Hussain living a lord’s life in exile in a posh area of London since June 1992. Altaf and his absconding companions were given full protection and facilities by the British govt and Mi-6. After a terror attack in Lahore, Operation Radul Fasad was launched in February 2017, which was directed against financiers, facilitators, handlers, and sleeping cells in urban centers all over the country.
Tens of hundreds of intelligence-based operations were launched and pleasing results were achieved, but all have not been netted/destroyed. This is evident from the recurrence of acts of terror and in recent weeks the frequency has increased. Once Gen Qamar Bajwa refused to ‘Do More’, and started constructing a fence along the western border and improved border management, the displeased US cut off Close Support Fund (CSF), and put Pakistan in the web of FATF. After placing it on the grey list, the US is now threatening to blacklist it.
Read more: FATF and the politics behind ‘terrorism’
Crime-politics-financial terrorism nexus
One reason behind not achieving 100% results is the nexus between crime-Politics and financial terrorism about which former army chief Gen Raheel had stated in 2016 that without breaking this nexus, terrorism cannot be eliminated. In this, Mafias, some political parties, religious groups, proscribed groups, NGOs, human rights activists, some think tanks, and media persons on the payroll of foreign intelligence agencies promote foreign agenda.
The current regime of PTI led by Imran Khan is trying to break the nexus of financial terrorism, stop money laundering, end corruption, and eliminate the power of Mafias. So far, little progress has been made since the Mafias are too powerful and an alliance of 11 political parties under the umbrella of PDM has been formed, which is espousing the Indian narrative to disrepute the army, judiciary, and the ruling government.
Pak media expansionism played into US interests
After stoking terrorism, the US helped Pakistan in expanding and modernizing electronic media with a hidden objective of using it as its own mouthpiece to win battle of minds. Not only George Bush dished out millions of dollars to Pak media, out of $7.5 billion Kerry Lugar Bill aid package given to Pakistan in 2009 by Obama-Joe Biden administration, $ 1.5 billion was for Pak media. The aid package was given under the condition that the released amounts would be distributed for the projects by the US appointed contractors and none else. The diplomatic embassies and consulates acted as safe havens as was seen in Raymond David case.
Afghan refugees
Segment of Afghan refugees living in camps and outside play into the hands of foreign agencies and provide refuge and guidance to the terrorists launched from Afghanistan. The porous western border across which 40,000 people crossed daily from both sides and weak border management were other reasons for easy infiltration of non-state actors.
The Blackwater was helped by Pakistan’s own
CIA-FBI outposts initially established in FATA, secretly brought in RAW-NDS-Mossad-MI-6 agents to form a network. In 2008, thanks to Hussain Haqqani and Rahman Malik, Blackwater made its way. Its operatives rented residential houses in major cities of Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta, and Karachi, established a training center at Sihala in a rented house to train security guards, set up an arms shop and purchased tinted glassed luxury cars. FBI took over immigration departments at airports and seaports.
The Blackwater and intelligence network made use of all anti-state elements including TTP and media, and coordinated covert war and hybrid war. They indulged in target killings, abductions, created divisiveness in the society, Polarized politics spoilt civil-military relations, fanned ethnicity, sectarianism, religious extremism, terrorism, and spread gloom and doom.
After standing up to the Soviet challenge alone till June 1981, the US decided to join the war by extending material support to Pakistan and the Mujahedeen were named as holy warriors.
Over a period of time, foreign intelligence agencies have gained contacts with the entire proscribed group and penetrated each and every government and semi-government department. This network helped in executing the US Navy Seals night attack in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011. This attack couldn’t have been materialized without the blessing of the PPP regime and Hussain Haqqani posted as ambassador in Washington. He also drafted the infamous Memo gate in October 2011, which was aimed at defanging the military, and the ISI and putting the nuclear assets under IAEA control.
Although DG ISI Lt Gen Shuja Pasha made huge efforts to roll back the influence of foreign agencies and push out Blackwater and achieved considerable success, however, the PML-N regime also pursued pro-US and pro-India policies and developed family relations with Modi and business relations with Indian businessman Indian.
Special cell in Delhi
After China-Pakistan signed the CPEC project in April 2014, a special cell was established at New Delhi under the direct supervision of NSA Ajit Doval, which was heavily funded and was connected with Kalbushan Yadhav at Chahbahar. The sole aim of this cell was to subvert CPEC through proxy war. This cell has now come under the direct supervision of Modi and so far Rs. 80 billion have been allocated. A militia of 700 specially trained men has been formed and granted $ 60 million to sabotage CPEC. The CPEC has become a major eyesore for India, the USA, and Israel since it has the capacity to block the global ambitions of imperialist powers. Pakistan has deployed two security divisions to protect the CPEC.
To be continued. This the first part of a larger piece.
Read more: Indian PM Modi directly running anti-CPEC terror cell
Asif Haroon Raja is a retired Brig, war veteran, defense analyst, columnist, author of five books, Vice Chairman of the Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Centre, member CWC and Think Tank, Pakistan ex-Servicemen Society, and member Council Tehreek Jawanan Pakistan. asifharoonraja@gmail.com. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.