An Arab Islamic American Summit was held in Riyadh on May 21, 2017 attended by US President Donald Trump, leaders and representatives of 55 Arab and Muslim-dominated countries focusing on unity in the fight against terrorism. Donald Trump met with some of the leaders from Muslim-majority countries gathered in Riyadh for the summit, including Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Bahrain's King Hamad and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on countering financing of terrorism.
Pakistan has started now to pay the price of its duplicity on terrorism.
In his keynote address, President Donald Trump said that “the nations of Europe have also endured unspeakable horror. So too have the nations of Africa and even South America. India, Russia, China and Australia have been victims”, skipping the name of Pakistan. What actually left the Pakistani delegation aghast was the fact the Donald Trump termed India a victim of terrorism in his keynote address. It was too much for the only Islamic Nuclear State to bear to see it has no standing even within the Islamic countries.
Pakistani delegation headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Arab-Islamic-American summit was accorded a ‘Royal Humiliation’ as some of the Pakistani newspapers have written. Pakistan was expecting that a mention will also be made about its ‘efforts’ in war against terrorism. There was no mention of Islamabad’s role against global terrorism but also the prime minister of the ‘frontline state’ was denied the opportunity to put forth its point of view. This was the back to back diplomatic catastrophe immediately after the loss at International Court of Justice at the hands of India.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, earlier on his special flight had reportedly spent nearly two and a half hours preparing and finalising his speech that he thought he would deliver at the Summit. Why the prime minister was denied the opportunity to speak to the participants of the summit, for which a Saudi minister had visited Islamabad and extended the invitation to Nawaz Sharif ? The reasons are obvious. Pakistan has started now to pay the price of its duplicity on terrorism. While the country continues to claim that it is fighting a war against terrorism on its own territory, the ISI and military support terrorists and sponsor them so they can carry out objectives abroad in the name of Islam.
Pakistan does not have the moral authority to speak against terrorism. It is still providing sanctuary to terrorists and allows the terrorist organization to operate from its soil.
The civilian government fearing a coup is allowing their security services to continue with its agenda. The American establishment has not forgotten that its biggest nemesis Osama bin Laden was hosted and given safe house to stay in Pakistan. Even Saudi Arabia remembers that its arch enemy Osama was enjoying the hospitability in Pakistan.
Pakistan does not have the moral authority to speak against terrorism. It is still providing sanctuary to terrorists and allows the terrorist organization to operate from its soil. The following paras will illustrate this.
There is a concept of “good Taliban” and “bad Taliban” in Pakistan. The so-called “good Taliban” are groups that advance Pakistan’s foreign policy goals and do not threaten them. “Good Taliban” and other groups acceptable by the Pakistani establishment include the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network, the Mullah Nazir Group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. These groups are directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and civilians. “Bad Taliban” are any jihadist faction that challenges the primacy of the Pakistani State. These groups include the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, the Turkistan Islamic Party, and the weakened Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The Pakistani military has pursued these groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with some success. However, when targeting these groups, the military has avoided pursuing groups such as the Haqqani Network, which provided shelter and support for the “bad Taliban.”
In the contemporary modern world, countries invite foreign investment and allow the big companies to set up their industry in their land. Pakistan is the only country in the world that invites terrorist network to their country...
The Taliban’s Quetta Shura, or supreme decision making council, is based in the Pakistani city of Quetta. The Taliban’s four regional military commands all are named after Pakistani cities (Quetta, Peshawar, Miramshah, Gerdi Jangal). The Taliban’s top leadership reside inside Pakistan, with the knowledge and approval of the military and ISI. The Taliban’s first two heads died while in Pakistan. Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s founder and first emir, died in a Pakistani hospital near Quetta in April 2013. His successor, Mullah Mansour, was killed by the US in a drone strike in Baluchistan.
The Haqqani Network (HQN) is listed by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization for its support of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. In Pakistan, the HQN is based in North Waziristan and has a presence in other Pakistani tribal agencies, such as Kurram, The Haqqanis run the notorious Manba Ulom madrassa in Miramshah, North Waziristan.
The Mullah Nazir Group is a Pakistani Taliban faction that operates in South Waziristan. The US Government listed it as a specially designated global terrorist entity in 2013 and said it “has run training camps, dispatched suicide bombers, provided safe haven for al Qaeda fighters, and conducted cross-border operations in Afghanistan against the United States and its allies.” Its current leader, Bahawal Khan, and his deputy, sub-commander Malang, are also listed by the US as specially designated global terrorists.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is listed by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, it was founded by its leader, Hafiz Saeed, along with Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam. LeT operates openly inside Pakistan and has offices throughout the country. Its headquarters Markaz-e-Taiba is located in Muridke near Lahore.
Today every investigation of a terrorist attack anywhere in the world would find some link with Pakistan. This may be a great honour for them, but the world is watching.
Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) is yet another Pakistan-based jihadist group that has been listed by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Its head, Fazle-ur-Rahman Khalil, is also named by the US as a specially designated global terrorist. In an update to the US designation of HuM in 2014, the US noted that it “operates in Pakistan, and engages in terrorist activity in Kashmir, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan” and “also operates terrorist training camps in eastern Afghanistan.” These camps are thought to be in existence to this day. The Associated Press had reported in 2011 that Khalil has “dispatched fighters to India, Afghanistan, Somalia, Chechnya and Bosnia. He was was a confidante of bin Laden and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Pakistani authorities are clearly aware of Khalil’s whereabouts”.
The US government has listed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as a Foreign Terrorist organization and its leader, Massod Azhar, as a specially designated global terrorist for their ties to al Qaeda and other jihadist groups. Pakistan’s intransigence towards jihadist groups has not escaped the attention of the US government. In its Country Reports on Terrorism 2015, the State Department issued a scathing rebuke of Pakistan’s failure to police jihadist groups in the region. “Pakistan did not take substantial action against the Afghan Taliban or HQN, or substantially limit their ability to threaten US interests in Afghanistan,” the report noted. “Pakistan has also not taken sufficient action against other externally-focused groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which continued to operate, train, organize, and fundraise in Pakistan,” The report noted that groups continue to fundraise without consequence and Hafiz Saeed “was able to make frequent public appearances in support of the organization’s objectives,” without Pakistan making any effort to stop him.
In the contemporary modern world, countries invite foreign investment and allow the big companies to set up their industry in their land. Pakistan is the only country in the world that invites terrorist network to their country, provide them State support which would invariably lead to more production of terrorists. No doubt Pakistan is the biggest exporter of terrorism worldwide. They are doing this because they believe this is what religion mandates, after all the country came into existence on the ground of religion.
Today every investigation of a terrorist attack anywhere in the world would find some link with Pakistan. This may be a great honour for them, but the world is watching. Today Pakistan is not allowed to speak in an anti terrorism summit, tomorrow the world might even declare them a terrorist and pariah State. Time is running out and the writing on the wall is clear for Pakistan, get your acts together or perish.