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Terrorism, Why Pakistan is facing?

Definitions of Terrorism

Terrorism is the illegal use of force against innocent people in order to achieve politicalobjectives. (Laquer 1997).

Terrorist is the term often used interchangeably with the term guerilla.

United Nations

A first attempt to arrive at an internationally acceptable definition was made under the

League of Nations, but the convention drafted in 1937 never came into existence. The

UN Member States still have no agreed-upon definition. Terminology consensus would,

however, be necessary for a single comprehensive convention on terrorism, which

some countries favor in place of the present 12 piecemeal conventions and protocols.

The lack of agreement on a definition of terrorism has been a major obstacle to

meaningful international countermeasures. Cynics have often commented that "one

man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" Proposed definitions include:

1. League of Nations Convention (1937): "All criminal acts directed against aState and intended or calculated to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons or a group of persons or the general public".

 2. UN Resolution language (1999):"1. Strongly condemns all acts, methods and

practices of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomsoever committed; 2. Reiterates that criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke astate of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever theconsiderations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them". (GA Res. 51/210 Measures toeliminate international terrorism)

3. Short legal definition proposed by Alex P. Schmid to United Nations CrimeBranch (1992): Act of Terrorism = Peacetime Equivalent of War Crime

4. Academic Consensus Definition: "Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby - in contrastto assassination - the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. Theimmediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a targetpopulation, and serve as message generators. Threat- and violence-basedcommunication processes between terrorist (organization), (imperiled) victims,and main targets are used to manipulate the main target (audience(s)), turning it

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into a target of terror, a target of demands, or a target of attention, depending onwhether intimidation, coercion, or propaganda is primarily sought" (Schmid,1988) 

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 discusses terrorism and is a primary

UN authority for terrorism because it was issued under Chapter VII UN authority.

Resolution 1566 refers to it as:

criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate apopulation or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstainfrom doing any act.

UN Security Council Resolution 1566

On  March 17, 2005, a UN panel described terrorism as any act "intended to causedeath or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization todo or abstain from doing any act."

The General Assembly resolution 49/60, titled "Measures to Eliminate InternationalTerrorism," adopted on December 9, 1994, contains a provision describing terrorism:

Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, agroup of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstanceunjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial,ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them.

European Union

The European Union employs a definition of terrorism for legal/official purposes which isset out n Art. 1 of the Framework Decision on Combating Terrorism (2002). Thisprovides that terrorist offences are certain criminal offences set out in a list comprisedlargely of serious offences against persons and property which;

given their nature or context, may seriously damage a country or an international

organization where committed with the aim of: seriously intimidating a population; or unduly compelling a Government or international organization to perform or abstainfrom performing any act; or seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamentalpolitical, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an internationalorganization."

 

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United States

United States has defined terrorism under the Federal Criminal Code. Chapter 113B of Part I of Title 18 of the United States Code defines terrorism and lists the crimesassociated with terrorism. In Section 2331 of Chapter 113b, terrorism is defined as:

…activities that involve violent… or life-threatening acts… that are a violation of thecriminal laws of the United States or of any State and… appear to be intended (I) tointimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government byintimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by massdestruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and… (C) Occur primarily within the territorial

  jurisdiction of the United States… [Or]… (C) Occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States

Scholars and other Individuals

Tamar Meisels (2008): advocates a consistent and strict definition of 

terrorism, which she defines as "the intentional random murder of defenseless non-combatants, with the intent of instilling fear of mortal danger amidst a civilianpopulation as a strategy designed to advance political ends."

Carsten Bockstette (2008): "Terrorism is defined as political violence

in an asymmetrical conflict that is designed to induce terror and psychic fear 

(sometimes indiscriminate) through the violent victimization and destruction of noncombatant targets (sometimes iconic symbols). Such acts are meant to send amessage from an illicit clandestine organization. The purpose of terrorism is toexploit the media in order to achieve maximum attainable publicity as an amplifyingforce multiplier in order to influence the targeted audience(s) in order to reach short-and midterm political goals and/or desired long-term end states."

Schmid and Jongman (1988): "Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring

method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-)clandestine individual, group,or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal, or political reasons, whereby—in contrastto assassination—the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The

immediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a targetpopulation, and serve as message generators. Threat- and violence-basedcommunication processes between terrorist (organization), (imperiled) victims, andmain targets are use to manipulate the main target (audience(s), turning it into atarget of terror, a target of demands, or a target of attention, depending on whether intimidation, coercion, or propaganda is primarily sought".

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L. Ali Khan: "Terrorism sprouts from the existence of aggrieved groups."

David Rodin (Oxford Philosopher): "Terrorism is the deliberate,

negligent, or reckless use of force against noncombatants, by state or no state

actors for ideological ends and in the absence of a substantively just legal process."

Boaz Ganor : "Terrorism is the deliberate use of violence aimed against

civilians in order to achieve political ends"

James M. Poland: "Terrorism is the premeditated, deliberate, systematic

murder, mayhem, and threatening of the innocent to create fear and intimidation inorder to gain a political or tactical advantage, usually to influence an audience".

Darul Uloom Deoband Anti-Terrorism Conference (2008): Any action

that targets innocents, whether by an individual or by any government and itsagencies or by a private organization anywhere in the world constitutes, according toIslam, an act of terrorism.

.

Forms of terrorism.

Revolutionary Terrorist. Who use violence as a tool to invoke fear in those in power and in those who support authority with a view to ultimately replace the incumbentgovernment with the one that supports their ideology?

State Sponsored Terrorism. It occurs when a repressive government regime forces itscitizens into obedience and gives birth to political dissent (Gurr 1998).

Political Terrorism. It is directed at people or groups who oppose the terrorists politicalideology also called outsiders, who must be destroyed.

Nationalistic Terrorism. It is designed to promote the interest of a minority, ethnic or 

religious groups, who have suffered under majority rule.

Religionist Fanaticism to thrust the self – sect ideals and promote by super-imposedsectarianism challenging government authority.

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Tactics of terrorism

Terrorist groups use various tactics to maximize fear and publicity. Terrorist

organizations usually methodically plan attacks in advance, and may train participants,

plant "undercover" agents, and raise money from supporters or through organized crime. Communication may occur through modern telecommunications, or through old-

fashioned methods such as couriers. 

Bioterrorism. Bioterrorism refers to the intentional release of toxic biological agents to

harm and terrorize civilians, in the name of a political or other cause.The U.S. Center for 

Disease Control has classified the viruses, bacteria and toxins that could be used in an

attack. Category A Biological Diseases are those most likely to do the most damage.

They include:

• Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)• Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin)

• The Plague (Yesinia pestis)

• Smallpox (Variola major)

• Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)

• Hemorrhagic fever, due to Ebola Virus or Marburg Virus

Cyber terrorismCyber terrorists use information technology to attack civilians and draw attention to

their cause. This may mean that they use information technology, such as computer 

systems or telecommunications, as a tool to orchestrate a traditional attack. More

often, cyber terrorism refers to an attack on information technology itself in a way

that would radically disrupt networked services. For example, cyber terrorists could

disable networked emergency systems or hack into networks housing critical

financial information. There is wide disagreement over the extent of the existing

threat by cyber terrorists.

Nuclear terrorism

."Nuclear terrorism" refers to a number of different ways nuclear materials might be

exploited as a terrorist tactic. These include attacking nuclear facilities, purchasing

nuclear weapons, or building nuclear weapons or otherwise finding ways to disperse

radioactive materials.

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Narco-terrorism

Narco-terrorism has had several meanings since its coining in 1983. It once denotedviolence used by drug traffickers to influence governments or prevent government

efforts to stop the drug trade. In the last several years, narco-terrorism has been used to

indicate situations in which terrorist groups use drug trafficking to fund their other 

operations.

Methods of attack

While terrorists act according to different motivations and goals, all such groups have

one tactic in common: intimidation or coercion of the public or the government in order 

to affect social or political change. Terrorism uses violence, or threat of violence,

against one portion of a society to compel the greater body of that society or their 

leaders to make a change out of fear. Terrorism often exploits propaganda techniques

to ensure the public receives the intended message. In the media, terrorist violence is

most commonly portrayed as being carried out via an improvised explosive device,

although chemical weapons have been used on occasion. Vehicles from pick-up trucksto planes, like in the September 11, 2001 attacks, have been used as guided incendiary 

device.

Terrorist groups may arrange for secondary devices to detonate at a slightly later time in

order to kill emergency-response personnel attempting to attend to the dead and

wounded. Repeated or suspected use of secondary devices can also delay emergency

response out of concern that such devices may exist

Training

There are and have been training camps for terrorists. The range of training depends

greatly on the level of support the terrorist organization receives from various

organizations and states. In nearly every case the training incorporates the philosophy

and agenda of the groups leadership as justification for the training as well as the

potential acts of terrorism which may be committed

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Preparation

Preparation of a major attack such as the September 11, 2001 attacks may take years,

whereas a simpler attack, depending on the availability of arms, may be almost

spontaneous

Cover 

Where terrorism occurs in the context of open warfare or insurgency, its perpetrators

may shelter behind a section of the local population

 Funding

Funding can be raised in both legal and illegal ways. Some of the most common ways

to raise funds are through front groups, charitable organizations, or NGOs with similar 

ideologies. In the absence of state funding, terrorists may rely on organized crime to

fund their activities. This has included kidnapping, drug trafficking, or  robbery. Some

terrorist cells have relied on identity theft and fraud to raise funds. In one method, the

cell members tape record phone conversations with a potentials victim. Then they cut

and edit the tape for use in calls to the victim's friends, family, and associates. This way,

they can give orders to an ever expanding net of victims who think they are following

requests from a trusted source. Additionally, terrorists have also found many moresources of revenue.

Communication

Even though old-school communication methods like radio are still used, the revolution

in communication technology over the past 10-15 years has dramatically changed how

terrorist organizations communicate. E-mails, fax transmissions, websites, cell phones,

and satellite telephones have made it possible for organizations to contemplate a global

strategy. However, too great a reliance on this new technology leaves organizations

vulnerable to sophisticated monitoring of communication and triangulation of its source.

When Osama bin Laden found out that his satellite phone conversations were being

intercepted, he ceased using this method to communicate.

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Terrorism and Pakistan

Pakistan has suffered from the killing of noncombatants by both state and non-state 

actors with the latter group often based both inside and outside the present-day country.

There was massive loss of non-combatant life during partition of  British India andcreation of Pakistan. Strife between Shia and Sunni Muslims and persecution of  

Ahmediyyas occurred as early as the 1950

Causes:

There are the many causal factors contributing to terrorism in Pakistan such as

sectarian/religious violence, the active support of the Pakistani state in nurturing terrorist

proxies for perceived strategic. ends, After imposition of Martial Law in 1956 Pakistan's

political situation suddenly changed and entered into dictator type of national behavior 

at different levels either civil servants, Army (the most involved people), political forces

and British Indian Land Lords they never considered Pakistan as a independent state

they are still thinking like a slaves of Britishers. And mistrust of the Musharraf -Bush 

coalition in the War on Terrorism. Other causes, such as political rivalry and business

disputes, also take their toll. It is estimated that more than 4,000 people have died in

Pakistan in the past 25 years due to sectarian strife.

War on Terror and Pakistan

The post-9/11 War on Terrorism in Pakistan has had two principal elements: thegovernment's battle with jihad groups banned after 9/11, and the U.S. pursuit of Al-Qaeda with help of Pakistani forces.

The Destabilization of Pakistan

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has created conditions which contribute to the

ongoing destabilization and fragmentation of Pakistan as a Nation.

The process of US sponsored "regime change", which normally consists in the re-

formation of a fresh proxy government under new leaders, has been broken. There areindications that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was anticipated by US officials:

"It has been known for months that the Bush-Cheney administration and its allies have

been maneuvering to strengthen their political control of Pakistan, paving the way for 

the expansion and deepening of the “war on terrorism” across the region.

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Various American destabilization plans, known for months by officials and analysts,

proposed the toppling of Pakistan's military...

The assassination of Bhutto appears to have been anticipated. There were even reports

of “chatter” among US officials about the possible assassinations of either Pervez

Musharraf or Benazir Bhutto, well before the actual attempts took place. (Larry Chin, Global Research, 29 December 2007)

The Balkanization of Pakistan

Already in 2005, a report by the US National Intelligence Council and the CIA forecast a

"Yugoslav-like fate" for Pakistan "in a decade with the country raven by civil war,

bloodshed and inter-provincial rivalries, as seen recently in Balochistan." (Energy

Compass, 2 March 2005). According to the NIC-CIA, Pakistan is slated to become a

"failed state" by 2015, "as it would be affected by civil war, complete Talibanisation andstruggle for control of its nuclear weapons". (Quoted by former Pakistan High

Commissioner to UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Times of India, 13 February 2005):

"Nascent democratic reforms will produce little change in the face of opposition from an

entrenched political elite and radical Islamic parties. In a climate of continuing domestic

turmoil, the Central government's control probably will be reduced to the Punjabi

heartland and the economic hub of Karachi," the former diplomat quoted the NIC-CIA

report as saying.

Expressing apprehension, Hasan asked, "Are our military rulers working on a similar agenda or something that has been laid out for them in the various assessment reports

over the years by the National Intelligence Council in joint collaboration with CIA?" (Ibid)

Continuity, characterized by the dominant role of the Pakistani military and intelligence

has been scrapped in favor of political breakup and balkanization.

According to the NIC-CIA scenario, which Washington intends to carry out: "Pakistan

will not recover easily from decades of political and economic mismanagement, divisive

policies, lawlessness, corruption and ethnic friction," (Ibid).

The US course consists in fomenting social, ethnic and factional divisions and political

fragmentation, including the territorial breakup of Pakistan. This course of action is also

dictated by US war plans in relation to both Afghanistan and Iran.

This US agenda for Pakistan is similar to that applied throughout the broader Middle

East Central Asian region. US strategy, supported by covert intelligence operations,

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consists in triggering ethnic and religious strife, abetting and financing secessionist

movements while also weakening the institutions of the central government.

The broader objective is to fracture the Nation State and redraw the borders of Iraq,

Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Reserves

Pakistan's extensive oil and gas reserves, largely located in Balochistan province, as

well as its pipeline corridors are considered strategic by the Anglo-American alliance,

requiring the concurrent militarization of Pakistani territory.

Balochistan comprises more than 40 percent of Pakistan's land mass, possessesimportant reserves of oil and natural gas as well as extensive mineral resources.

The Iran-India pipeline corridor is slated to transit through Balochistan. Balochistan also

possesses a deep sea port largely financed by China located at Gwadar, on the Arabian

Sea, not far from the Straits of Hormuz where 30 % of the world's daily oil supply moves

by ship or pipeline. (Asia News.it, 29 December 2007)

Pakistan has an estimated 25.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven gas reserves of which

19 trillion are located in Balochistan. Among foreign oil and gas contractors in

Balochistan are BP, Italy's ENI, Austria's OMV, and Australia's BHP. It is worth notingthat Pakistan's State oil and gas companies, including PPL which has the largest stake

in the Sui oil fields of Balochistan are up for privatization under IMF-World Bank

supervision.

According to the Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), Pakistan had proven oil reserves of 300

million barrels, most of which are located in Balochistan. Other estimates place

Balochistan oil reserves at an estimated six trillion barrels of oil reserves both on-shore

and off-shore (Environment News Service, 27 October 2006).

Covert Support to Balochistan Separatists

Balochistan's strategic energy reserves has a bearing on the separatist agenda.

Following a familiar pattern, there are indications that the Baloch insurgency is being

Supported and abetted by Britain and the US.

The Baloch national resistance movement dates back to the late 1940s, when

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Balochistan was invaded by Pakistan. In the current geopolitical context, the separatist

movement is in the process of being hijacked by foreign powers.

British intelligence is allegedly providing covert support to Balochistan separatists

(which from the outset have been repressed by Pakistan's military). In June 2006,

Pakistan's Senate Committee on Defense accused British intelligence of "abetting theinsurgency in the province bordering Iran" [Balochistan]. (Press Trust of India, 9 August

2006). Ten British MPs were involved in a closed door session of the Senate Committee

on Defence regarding the alleged support of Britain's Secret Service to Baloch

separatists (Ibid). Also of relevance are reports of CIA and Mossad support to Baloch

rebels in Iran and Southern Afghanistan.

It would appear that Britain and the US are supporting both sides. The US is providing

American F-16 jets to the Pakistani military, which are being used to bomb Baloch

villages in Balochistan. Meanwhile, British alleged covert support to the separatistmovement (according to the Pakistani Senate Committee) contributes to weakening the

central Government.

The stated purpose of US counter-terrorism is to provide covert support as well as

training to "Liberation Armies" ultimately with a view to destabilizing sovereign

governments. In Kosovo, the training of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the 1990s

had been entrusted to a private mercenary company, Military Professional Resources

Inc (MPRI), on contract to the Pentagon.

The BLA bears a canny resemblance to Kosovo's KLA, which was financed by the drugtrade and supported by the CIA and Germany's Bundes Nachrichten Dienst (BND).

The BLA emerged shortly after the 1999 military coup. It has no tangible links to the

Baloch resistance movement, which developed since the late 1940s. An aura of mystery

surrounds the leadership of the BLA.

Washington favors the creation of a "Greater Balochistan" which would integrate the

Baloch areas of Pakistan with those of Iran and possibly the Southern tip of Afghanistan

thereby leading to a process of political fracturing in both Iran and Pakistan.

"The US is using Balochi nationalism for staging an insurgency inside Iran's Sistan-

Balochistan province. The 'war on terror' in Afghanistan gives a useful political backdrop

for the ascendancy of Balochi militancy" (See Global Research, 6 March 2007). 

Military scholar Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters writing in the June 2006 issue of The

Armed Forces Journal, suggests, in no uncertain terms that Pakistan should be broken

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up, leading to the formation of a separate country: "Greater Balochistan" or "Free

Balochistan". The latter would incorporate the Pakistani and Iranian Baloch provinces

into a single political entity.

In turn, according to Peters, Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) should be

incorporated into Afghanistan "because of its linguistic and ethnic affinity". Thisproposed fragmentation, which broadly reflects US foreign policy, would reduce

Pakistani territory to approximately 50 percent of its present land area. Pakistan would

also loose a large part of its coastline on the Arabian Sea. (Mahdi D. Nazemroaya, 

Global Research, 18 November 2006)

"Lieutenant-Colonel Peters was last posted, before he retired to the Office of the Deputy

Chief of Staff for Intelligence, within the U.S. Defense Department, and has been one of 

the Pentagon’s foremost authors with numerous essays on strategy for military journals

and U.S. foreign policy." (Ibid)

Strong Economic Medicine": Weakening Pakistan's

Central Government

Pakistan has a federal structure based on federal provincial transfers. Under a federal

fiscal structure, the central government transfers financial resources to the provinces,

with a view to supporting provincial based programs. When these transfers are frozen

as occurred in Yugoslavia in January 1990, on orders of the IMF, the federal fiscal

structure collapses:

"State revenues that should have gone as transfer payments to the republics [of the

Yugoslav federation] went instead to service Belgrade's debt .... The republics were

largely left to their own devices. ... The budget cuts requiring the redirection of federal

revenues towards debt servicing, were conducive to the suspension of transfer 

payments by Belgrade to the governments of the Republics and Autonomous

Provinces.

In one fell swoop, the reformers had engineered the final collapse of Yugoslavia's

federal fiscal structure and mortally wounded its federal political institutions. By cuttingthe financial arteries between Belgrade and the republics, the reforms fueled

secessionist tendencies that fed on economic factors as well as ethnic divisions,

virtually ensuring the de facto secession of the republics. (Michel Chossudovsky, the

Globalization of Poverty and the New World Order, Second Edition, Global Research,

Montreal, 2003, Chapter 17.)

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It is by no means accidental that the 2005 National Intelligence Council- CIA report had

predicted a "Yugoslav-like fate" for Pakistan pointing to the impacts of "economic

mismanagement" as one of the causes of political break-up and balkanization.

"Economic mismanagement" is a term used by the Washington based international

financial institutions to describe the chaos which results from not fully abiding by the

IMF's Structural Adjustment Program. In actual fact, the "economic mismanagement"

and chaos is the outcome of IMF-World Bank prescriptions, which invariably trigger 

hyperinflation and precipitate indebted countries into extreme poverty.

Pakistan has been subjected to the same deadly IMF "economic medicine" as

Yugoslavia: In 1999, in the immediate wake of the coup d'Etat which brought General

Pervez Musharaf to the helm of the military government, an IMF economic package,

which included currency devaluation and drastic austerity measures, was imposed on

Pakistan. Pakistan's external debt is of the order of US$40 billion. The IMF's "debtreduction" under the package was conditional upon the sell-off to foreign capital of the

most profitable State owned enterprises (including the oil and gas facilities in

Balochistan) at rock bottom prices .

Musharaf's Finance Minister was chosen by Wall Street, which is not an unusual

practice. The military rulers appointed at Wall Street's behest, a vice-president of 

Citigroup, Shaukat Aziz, who at the time was head of CitiGroup's Global Private

Banking. ( WSWS.org, 30 October 1999). CitiGroup is among the largest commercial

foreign banking institutions in Pakistan.

There are obvious similarities in the nature of US covert intelligence operations applied

in country after country in different parts of the so-called "developing World". These

covert operations, including the organization of military coups, are often synchronized

with the imposition of IMF-World Bank macro-economic reforms. In this regard,

Yugoslavia's federal fiscal structure collapsed in 1990 leading to mass poverty and

heightened ethnic and social divisions. The US and NATO sponsored "civil war"

launched in mid-1991 consisted in coveting Islamic groups as well as channeling covert

support to separatist paramilitary armies in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia.

A similar "civil war" scenario has been envisaged for Pakistan by the NationalIntelligence Council and the CIA: From the point of view of US intelligence, which has a

longstanding experience in abetting separatist "liberation armies", "Greater Albania" is

to Kosovo what "Greater Balochistan" is to Pakistan's Southeastern Balochistan

province. Similarly, the KLA is Washington's chosen model, to be replicated in

Balochistan province.

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The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Rawalpindi, no ordinary city. Rawalpindi is a

military city host to the headquarters of the Pakistani Armed Forces and Military

Intelligence (ISI). Ironically Bhutto was assassinated in an urban area tightly controlledand guarded by the military police and the country's elite forces. Rawalpindi is swarming

with ISI intelligence officials, which invariably infiltrate political rallies. Her assassination

was not a haphazard event.

Without evidence, quoting Pakistan government sources, the Western media in chorus

has highlighted the role of Al-Qaeda, while also focusing on the possible involvement of 

the ISI.

What these interpretations do not mention is that the ISI continues to play a key role in

overseeing Al Qaeda on behalf of US intelligence. The press reports fail to mention twoimportant and well documented facts:

1) The ISI maintains close ties to the CIA. The ISI is virtually an appendage of the CIA.

2) Al Qaeda is a creation of the CIA. The ISI provides covert support to Al Qaeda, acting

on behalf of US intelligence.

The involvement of either Al Qaeda and/or the ISI would suggest that US intelligence

was cognizant and/or implicated in the assassination plot.

The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto must be

understood in a historical context. Since the late 1970s, successive US administrations

have contributed to repealing the Rule of Law, destroying Pakistani institutions of 

civilian and secular government and instating military rule.

During the Cold War and its aftermath, the repeal of democracy and the militarization of 

the Pakistani State have served US foreign policy objectives. Pakistan is a geopolitical

hub from which US sponsored military and covert intelligence operations have been

launched.

Pakistan is part of South Asia, at a strategic crossroads, bordering onto the Middle East,

Central Asia and the former Soviet republics and within proximity of China's Western

frontier.

Benazir's father, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan's People's

Party (PPP) was deposed in a military coup d'Etat on July 5, 1977, which spearheaded

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Pakistan into a process of virtually uninterrupted military rule. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was

subsequently executed, in a judicial assassination, on the orders of the US sponsored

military junta.

Under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a secular postcolonial government had developed. Economic

nationalism was promoted. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government, which hadthe support of a large majority of the electorate, was committed to a broad program of 

economic, social an institutional reforms.

From his early days as foreign minister in the 1960s, Bhutto had called for an

independent and non-aligned foreign policy, free of US encroachment as well as the

closing down of US military bases. In the course of the 1970s, a nationalization program

of key industries under the PPP government was carried out, which undermined the

interests of multinational capital.

In the Aftermath of the 1977 Military Coup

Following the 1977 military coup, the structures of democratic government were

dismantled. The Constitution was abolished and martial law was established under the

rule of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who became President in 1978.

The postcolonial political process had been reversed. At the outset of the Zia-ul-Haq

regime, the populist PPP nationalization and agrarian reforms of the Bhutto era were

reversed and undone. In turn, the new military rulers sought, with Washington's support,

to undermine the secular structures of the Pakistani State.

Islamism became embedded in the functioning of the State under military rule. The

tenets of "Islamic fundamentalism" sponsored by US intelligence were adopted by the

military dictatorship of General Zia, with a view to undermining the structures of civilian

government and the Rule of Law.

In 1980, the Parliament was replaced by a bogus consultative assembly, the Majlis-e-

Shoora composed of scholars and professionals, all of whom were appointed by

President Zia. A reign of terror marked by arbitrary arrests and imprisonment was

installed in the name of Islam.

State violence under military rule supported the concurrent implementation of "free

market" reforms under the help of the IMF and the World Bank. IMF sponsored macro-

economic reforms contributed to destroying the fabric of Pakistan's economy. The

external debt spiraled. Poverty became rampant. The commercial banking system was

largely taken over by Western financial institutions.

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Since 1977, a military dictatorship has largely prevailed. The short-lived democratically

elected governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif did not, in a meaningful way,

break the continuity of authoritarian military rule. Both Sharif and Benazir Bhutto served

US interests and accepted the economic diktats of the IMF and the World Bank.

Pakistan's Role in the Soviet-Afghan War 

The Soviet-Afghan war was part of a CIA covert agenda initiated during the Carter 

administration, which consisted in actively supporting and financing the Islamic

brigades, later known as Al Qaeda. The Pakistani military regime played from the outset

in the late 1970s, a key role in US sponsored military and intelligence operations in

Afghanistan. In the post-Cold war era, this central role of Pakistan in US intelligence

operations was extended to the broader Central Asia- Middle East region.

The 1977 military coup in Pakistan, leading to the demise of the PPP government of Zulifqar Ali Bhutto, was a precondition for the launching of the CIA's covert war in

Afghanistan.

In April 1978, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), seized power in

Afghanistan in a popular insurrection directed against the dictatorship of President

Mohammed Daud Khan. The PDPA government instigated a land reform program,

expanded education and health programs and actively supported women’s rights.

Afghanistan's relationship with the Soviet Union was also strengthened.

The CIA's covert operation was intended to undermine and ultimately destroy the PDPAgovernment, while also curtailing the influence of the Soviet Union in Central Asia. CIA

covert support to the Islamic brigades was also instrumental in destroying the

foundations of secular civilian government.

From the outset of the Soviet Afghan war in 1979, Pakistan under military rule actively

supported the Islamic brigades. In close liaison with the CIA, Pakistan's military

intelligence, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), became a powerful organization, a

parallel government, wielding tremendous power and influence.

America's covert war in Afghanistan, using Pakistan as a launch pad, was initiatedduring the Carter administration prior to the Soviet "invasion":

"According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahideen began during

1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the

reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise indeed; it was July 3, 1979

that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-

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Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I

explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military

intervention." (Former National Security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, Interview with 

Nouvel Observateur, 15-21 January 1998)

In the published memoirs of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who held the positionof deputy CIA Director at the height of the Soviet Afghan war, US intelligence was

directly involved from the outset, prior to the Soviet invasion, in channeling aid to the

Islamic brigades.

With CIA backing and the funneling of massive amounts of U.S. military aid, the

Pakistani ISI had developed into a "parallel structure wielding enormous power over all

aspects of government". (Dipankar Banerjee, "Possible Connection of ISI With Drug

Industry", India Abroad, 2 December 1994). The ISI had a staff composed of military

and intelligence officers, bureaucrats, undercover agents and informers, estimated at

150,000. (Ibid)

Meanwhile, CIA operations had also reinforced the Pakistani military regime led by

General Zia Ul Haq:

Relations between the CIA and the ISI had grown increasingly warm following [General]

Zia’s ouster of Bhutto and the advent of the military regime. … During most of the

Afghan war, Pakistan was more aggressively anti-Soviet than even the United States.

Soon after the Soviet military invaded Afghanistan in 1980, Zia [ul Haq] sent his ISI chief 

to destabilize the Soviet Central Asian states. The CIA only agreed to this plan inOctober 1984. (Ibid)

The ISI operating virtually as an affiliate of the CIA played a central role in channeling

support to Islamic paramilitary groups in Afghanistan and subsequently in the Muslim

republics of the former Soviet Union.

Acting on behalf of the CIA, the ISI was also involved in the recruitment and training of 

the Mujahideen. In the ten year period from 1982 to 1992, some 35,000 Muslims from

43 Islamic countries were recruited to fight in the Afghan jihad. The madrassas in

Pakistan, financed by Saudi charities, were also set up with US support with a view to"inculcating Islamic values". "The camps became virtual universities for future Islamic

radicalism," (Ahmed Rashid, The Taliban). Guerilla training under CIA-ISI auspices

included targeted assassinations and car bomb attacks.

Weapons' shipments "were sent by the Pakistani army and the ISI to rebel camps in the

North West Frontier Province near the Afghanistan border. The governor of the province

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is Lieutenant General Fazle Haq, who [according to Alfred McCoy]. Allowed "hundreds

of heroin refineries to set up in his province." Beginning around 1982, Pakistani army

trucks carrying CIA weapons from Karachi often pick up heroin in Haq’s province and

return loaded with heroin. They are protected from police search by ISI papers. ( 1982-

1989: US Turns Blind Eye to BCCI and Pakistani Government Involvement in Heroin Trade .

Osama Bin Laden

Osama bin Laden, America's bogyman was recruited by the CIA in 1979 at the very

outset of the US sponsored jihad. He was 22 years old and was trained in a CIA

sponsored guerilla training camp.

During the Reagan administration, Osama, who belonged to the wealthy Saudi Bin

Laden family, was put in charge of raising money for the Islamic brigades. Numerous

charities and foundations were created. The operation was coordinated by Saudiintelligence, headed by Prince Turki al-Faisal, in close liaison with the CIA. The money

derived from the various charities was used to finance the recruitment of Mujahieen

volunteers. Al Qaeda, the base in Arabic was a data bank of volunteers who had

enlisted to fight in the Afghan jihad. That data base was initially held by Osama bin

Laden.

The Reagan Administration supports "Islamic

Fundamentalism"

Pakistan's ISI was used as a "go-between". CIA covert support to the Mujahideen in

Afghanistan operated indirectly through the Pakistani ISI, --i.e. the CIA did not channel

its support directly to the Mujahideen. In other words, for these covert operations to be

"successful", Washington was careful not to reveal the ultimate objective of the "jihad",

which consisted in destroying the Soviet Union.

In December 1984, the Sharia Law (Islamic jurisprudence) was established in Pakistan

following a rigged referendum launched by President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Barely a

few months later, in March 1985, President Ronald Reagan issued National Security

Decision Directive 166 (NSDD 166), which authorized ”stepped-up covert military aid tothe Mujahideen" as well a support to religious indoctrination.

The imposition of The Sharia in Pakistan and the promotion of "radical Islam" was a

deliberate US policy serving American geopolitical interests in South Asia, Central Asia

and the Middle East. Many present-day”Islamic fundamentalist organizations" in the

Middle East and Central Asia, were directly or indirectly the product of US covert

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support and financing, often channeled through foundations from Saudi Arabia and the

Gulf States. Missions from the Wahhabi sect of conservative Islam in Saudi Arabia were

put in charge of running the CIA sponsored madrassas in Northern Pakistan. .

Under NSDD 166, a series of covert CIA-ISI operations was launched.

The US supplied weapons to the Islamic brigades through the ISI. CIA and ISI officials

would meet at ISI headquarters in Rawalpindi to coordinate US support to the

Mujahideen. Under NSDD 166, the procurement of US weapons to the Islamic

insurgents increased from 10,000 tons of arms and ammunition in 1983 to 65,000 tons

annually by 1987. "In addition to arms, training, extensive military equipment including

military satellite maps and state-of-the-art communications equipment" (University Wire,

7 May 2002).

With William Casey as director of the CIA, NSDD 166 was described as the largest

covert operation in US history:

The U.S. supplied support package had three essential components-organization and

logistics, military technology, and ideological support for sustaining and encouraging the

Afghan resistance....

U.S. counterinsurgency experts worked closely with the Pakistan's Inter-Services

Intelligence (ISI) in organizing Mujahideen groups and in planning operations inside

Afghanistan.

... But the most important contribution of the U.S. was to ... bring in men and material

from around the Arab world and beyond. The most hardened and ideologically

dedicated men were sought on the logic that they would be the best fighters.

Advertisements, paid for from CIA funds, were placed in newspapers and newsletters

around the world offering inducements and motivations to join the Jihad. (Pervez

Hoodbhoy, Afghanistan and the Genesis of the Global Jihad, Peace Research, 1 May

2005)

Religious Indoctrination

Under NSDD 166, US assistance to the Islamic brigades channeled through Pakistan

was not limited to bona fide military aid. Washington also supported and financed by the

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the process of religious

indoctrination, largely to secure the demise of secular institutions:

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... The United States spent millions of dollars to supply Afghan schoolchildren with

textbooks filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings, part of covert

attempts to spur resistance to the Soviet occupation.

The primers, which were filled with talk of jihad and featured drawings of guns, bullets,

soldiers and mines, have served since then as the Afghan school system's corecurriculum. Even the Taliban used the American-produced books,

The White House defends the religious content, saying that Islamic principles permeate

Afghan culture and that the books "are fully in compliance with U.S. law and policy."

Legal experts, however, question whether the books violate a constitutional ban on

using tax dollars to promote religion.

... AID officials said in interviews that they left the Islamic materials intact because they

feared Afghan educators would reject books lacking a strong dose of Muslim thought.

The agency removed its logo and any mention of the U.S. government from the

religious texts, AID spokeswoman Kathryn Stratos said.

"It's not AID's policy to support religious instruction," Stratos said. "But we went ahead

with this project because the primary purpose . . . is to educate children, which is

predominantly a secular activity."

... Published in the dominant Afghan languages of Dari and Pashtun, the textbooks

were developed in the early 1980s under an AID grant to the University of Nebraska

-Omaha and its Center for Afghanistan Studies. The agency spent $ 51 million on the

university's education programs in Afghanistan from 1984 to 1994." (Washington Post,

23 March 2002)

The Assassination of General Zia Ul-Haq

In August 1988, President Zia was killed in an air crash together with US Ambassador 

to Pakistan Arnold Raphel and several of Pakistan's top generals. The circumstances of 

the air crash remain shrouded in mystery.

Following Zia's death, parliamentary elections were held and Benazir Bhutto was swornin as Prime Minister in December 1988. She was subsequently removed from office by

Zia's successor, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan on the grounds of alleged corruption. In

1993, she was re-elected and was again removed from office in 1996 on the orders of 

President Farooq Leghari.

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Continuity has been maintained throughout. Under the short-lived post-Zia elected

governments of Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, the central role of the military-

intelligence establishment and its links to Washington were never challenged.

Both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif served US foreign policy interests. While in

power, both democratically elected leaders nonetheless supported the continuity of military rule. As prime minister from 1993 to 1996, Benazir Bhutto "advocated a

conciliatory policy toward Islamists, especially the Taliban in Afghanistan" which were

being supported by Pakistan's ISI Benazir Bhutto's successor as Prime Minister, Mian

Muhammad Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) was deposed in 1999

in a US supported coup d'Etat led by General Pervez Musharraf.

The 1999 coup was instigated by General Pervez Musharaf, with the support of the

Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmad, who was subsequently

appointed to the key position of head of military intelligence (ISI).

From the outset of the Bush administration in 2001, General Ahmad developed close

ties not only with his US counterpart CIA director George Tenet, but also with key

members of the US government including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy

Secretary of State Richard Armitage, not to mention Porter Goss, who at the time was

Chairman of the House Committee on Intelligence. Ironically, Mahmud Ahmad is also

known, according to a September 2001 FBI report, for his suspected role in supporting

and financing the alleged 9/11 terrorists as well as his links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban

Concluding Remarks

These various "terrorist" organizations were created as a result of CIA support. They

are not the product of religion. The project to establish "a pan-Islamic Caliphate" is part

of a carefully devised intelligence operation.

CIA support to Al Qaeda was not in any way curtailed at the end of the Cold War. In fact

quite the opposite. The earlier pattern of covert support not only extended, it took on aglobal thrust and became increasingly sophisticated.

The "Global War on Terrorism" is a complex and intricate intelligence construct. The

covert support provided to "Islamic extremist groups" is part of an imperial agenda. It

purports to weaken and eventually destroy secular and civilian governmental

institutions, while also contributing to vilifying Islam. It is an instrument of colonization

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which seeks to undermine sovereign nation-states and transform countries into

territories.

For the intelligence operation to be successful, however, the various Islamic

organizations created and trained by the CIA must remain unaware of the role they are

performing on geopolitical chessboard, on behalf of Washington.

Over the years, these organizations have indeed acquired a certain degree of autonomy

and independence, in relation to their US-Pakistani sponsors. That appearance of 

"independence", however, is crucial; it is an integral part of the covert intelligence

operation. According to former CIA agent Milton Beardman the Mujahideen were

invariably unaware of the role they were performing on behalf of Washington. In the

words of bin Laden (quoted by Beardman): "neither I, nor my brothers saw evidence of 

American help". (Weekend Sunday (NPR); Eric Weiner, Ted Clark; 16 August 1998).

"Motivated by nationalism and religious fervor, the Islamic warriors were unaware that

they were fighting the Soviet Army on behalf of Uncle Sam. While there were contacts

at the upper levels of the intelligence hierarchy, Islamic rebel leaders in theatre had no

contacts with Washington or the CIA." (Michel Chossudovsky, America's War on 

Terrorism, Chapter 2).

The fabrication of "terrorism" --including covert support to terrorists-- is required to

provide legitimacy to the "war on terrorism".

The various fundamentalist and paramilitary groups involved in US sponsored "terrorist"

activities are "intelligence assets". In the wake of 9/11, their designated function as

"intelligence assets" is to perform their role as credible "enemies of America".

Under the Bush administration, the CIA continues to support (via Pakistan's ISI) several

Pakistani based Islamic groups. The ISI is known to support Jamaat a-Islami, which is

also present in South East Asia, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jehad a-Kashmiri, Hizbul-

Mujahidin and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The Islamic groups created by the CIA are also intended to rally public support in

Muslim countries. The underlying objective is to create divisions within national societiesthroughout the Middle East and Central Asia, while also triggering sectarian strife within

Islam, ultimately with a view to curbing the development of a broad based secular mass

resistance, which would challenge US imperial ambitions.

This function of an outside enemy is also an essential part of war propaganda required

to galvanize Western public opinion. Without an enemy, a war cannot be fought. US

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foreign policy needs to fabricate an enemy, to justify its various military interventions in

the Middle East and Central Asia. An enemy is required to justify a military agenda,

which consists in “going after Al Qaeda". The fabrication and vilification of the enemy

are required to justify military action.

The existence of an outside enemy sustains the illusion that the "war on terrorism" isreal. It justifies and presents military intervention as a humanitarian operation based on

the right to self-defense. It upholds the illusion of a "conflict of civilizations". The

underlying purpose ultimately is to conceal the real economic and strategic objectives

behind the broader Middle East Central Asian war.

Historically, Pakistan has played a central role in "war on terrorism". Pakistan

constitutes from Washington's standpoint a geopolitical hub. It borders onto Afghanistan

and Iran. It has played a crucial role in the conduct of US and allied military operations

in Afghanistan as well as in the context of the Pentagon's war plans in relation to Iran.

Pakistan remains a training ground for the US sponsored Islamic brigades in the Middle

East, Africa, Central Asia, South and South East Asia. President Pervez Musharraf, is

described by the Western media as "a U.S. ally in its battle against terrorism" Realities

are turned upside down. The Pakistani military regime has consistently, since the late

1970s, abetted and financed "Islamic terrorist organizations" on Washington's behalf.

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