Yet another US report released late last week acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism but at the same time accused the country of aiding and abetting selective militant groups.
Earlier, a Congressional Research Services report had blamed Pakistani security agencies for making distinctions between “good” and “bad” Islamist extremist groups, and maintaining supportive relations with Afghan insurgents and anti-India militant groups. The CRS report has had no legal value and was also termed as biased and out-dated by various Pakistan experts.
The latest country terrorism report for the year 2014, however, is an official document released by the US Department of State. It said that South Asia remained at the front line in the battle against terrorism. The report focused on Al Qaeda and its presence to ISIS and its influence.
Although the Al Qaeda’s core in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been seriously degraded, its global leadership continued to operate from remote locations in the region that the group has historically exploited for a safe haven, it stated.
“Al Qaeda’s presence in the region continued to face pressure from international, Afghan and Pakistani forces and Pakistan’s ongoing offensive in North Waziristan Agency launched in June 2014 further degraded the group’s freedom to operate,” the report said.
It was obvious that the report mainly focused on the presence and activities of the groups that the West calls its enemies. Hence, it specifically mentioned that pressures on Al Qaeda traditional safe haven has constrained the its capability to communicate effectively with affiliate groups outside of South Asia.
The report summarized that Pakistan continued to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks. It also highlighted that the Pakistani military undertook operations against groups that conducted attacks within Pakistan such as Tehrik-e-Taliban, but “did not take action against other groups such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, which continued to operate, train, rally, propagandize, and fundraise in Pakistan,” the report said.
It further alleged that the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network leadership also continued to find safe haven in Pakistan, and “although Pakistan military operations disrupted the actions of these groups, it did not directly target them.”
The report maintained that while the number of terrorist attacks rose around the world by a third in 2014 compared with the previous year, Pakistan has achieved significant success in war against terrorism in the country because of the operation Zarb-e-Azb.
“Indian authorities continued to blame Pakistan for supporting terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir. On September 3, Al Qaeda announced the establishment of a new branch in the Indian subcontinent,” the report said.
It also acknowledged Pakistan as a critical counter terrorism partner of the US and noted that cooperation between the two countries have been ‘mixed.’ “Pakistan continued to deny visas for trainers focused on law enforcement and civilian counter terrorism assistance,” it said.
“Pakistan also confronted terrorist groups that attacked Paksitani civilians, law enforcement agencies, and military and paramilitary troops,” it said while mentioning the APS attack which it said was claimed by the TTP.
The two countries have had a long cooperation deals to cut off resources used by the terrorists. The report, hence, mentioned that last year, terrorists used remote controlled improvised explosive devices in different carriers like motorcycles, grenades and rickshaws to attack schools, markets, mosques, and other places of worships.
It particularly mentioned Karachi saying that the city still suffered political and ethnic violence by different groups including militant organizations, fundamental religious groups and the militants wings of political parties. “In February, Pakistan promulgated a National Internal Security Plan aimed at combating terrorism,” it said adding that most of the policies laid out in the NISP had not been implemented.”
The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), which was to be the centerpiece of the plan focused on coordinating counterterrorism efforts across he government, remained ineffectual due to lack of a budget and bureaucratic disputes over personnel and chain of command.
The State Department thinks that Pakistan’s law enforcement and national security structure needs improvement. “Although the various security agencies attempt to detect, deter and respond to terrorist incidents, the government’s institutional framework is not conducive to interagency cooperation and coordination.” It also believes that jurisdictional divisions among and between military and civilian security agencies continue to hamper effective investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases. It said that intimidation and threats from terrorists against police and prosecutors end up in a high acquittal rate.
Cooperation between the US and Pakistan on information sharing and law enforcement requires improvement, according to the report. It suggested that cooperation exists however, practical implementation lacks when it comes to assist in the apprehension of US citizen fugitives in Pakistan.
Earlier, a Congressional Research Services report had blamed Pakistani security agencies for making distinctions between “good” and “bad” Islamist extremist groups, and maintaining supportive relations with Afghan insurgents and anti-India militant groups. The CRS report has had no legal value and was also termed as biased and out-dated by various Pakistan experts.
The latest country terrorism report for the year 2014, however, is an official document released by the US Department of State. It said that South Asia remained at the front line in the battle against terrorism. The report focused on Al Qaeda and its presence to ISIS and its influence.
Although the Al Qaeda’s core in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been seriously degraded, its global leadership continued to operate from remote locations in the region that the group has historically exploited for a safe haven, it stated.
“Al Qaeda’s presence in the region continued to face pressure from international, Afghan and Pakistani forces and Pakistan’s ongoing offensive in North Waziristan Agency launched in June 2014 further degraded the group’s freedom to operate,” the report said.
It was obvious that the report mainly focused on the presence and activities of the groups that the West calls its enemies. Hence, it specifically mentioned that pressures on Al Qaeda traditional safe haven has constrained the its capability to communicate effectively with affiliate groups outside of South Asia.
"Pakistan continued to deny visas to trainers"
The report summarized that Pakistan continued to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks. It also highlighted that the Pakistani military undertook operations against groups that conducted attacks within Pakistan such as Tehrik-e-Taliban, but “did not take action against other groups such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, which continued to operate, train, rally, propagandize, and fundraise in Pakistan,” the report said.
It further alleged that the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network leadership also continued to find safe haven in Pakistan, and “although Pakistan military operations disrupted the actions of these groups, it did not directly target them.”
The report maintained that while the number of terrorist attacks rose around the world by a third in 2014 compared with the previous year, Pakistan has achieved significant success in war against terrorism in the country because of the operation Zarb-e-Azb.
“Indian authorities continued to blame Pakistan for supporting terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir. On September 3, Al Qaeda announced the establishment of a new branch in the Indian subcontinent,” the report said.
It also acknowledged Pakistan as a critical counter terrorism partner of the US and noted that cooperation between the two countries have been ‘mixed.’ “Pakistan continued to deny visas for trainers focused on law enforcement and civilian counter terrorism assistance,” it said.
“Pakistan also confronted terrorist groups that attacked Paksitani civilians, law enforcement agencies, and military and paramilitary troops,” it said while mentioning the APS attack which it said was claimed by the TTP.
The two countries have had a long cooperation deals to cut off resources used by the terrorists. The report, hence, mentioned that last year, terrorists used remote controlled improvised explosive devices in different carriers like motorcycles, grenades and rickshaws to attack schools, markets, mosques, and other places of worships.
It particularly mentioned Karachi saying that the city still suffered political and ethnic violence by different groups including militant organizations, fundamental religious groups and the militants wings of political parties. “In February, Pakistan promulgated a National Internal Security Plan aimed at combating terrorism,” it said adding that most of the policies laid out in the NISP had not been implemented.”
The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), which was to be the centerpiece of the plan focused on coordinating counterterrorism efforts across he government, remained ineffectual due to lack of a budget and bureaucratic disputes over personnel and chain of command.
The State Department thinks that Pakistan’s law enforcement and national security structure needs improvement. “Although the various security agencies attempt to detect, deter and respond to terrorist incidents, the government’s institutional framework is not conducive to interagency cooperation and coordination.” It also believes that jurisdictional divisions among and between military and civilian security agencies continue to hamper effective investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases. It said that intimidation and threats from terrorists against police and prosecutors end up in a high acquittal rate.
Cooperation between the US and Pakistan on information sharing and law enforcement requires improvement, according to the report. It suggested that cooperation exists however, practical implementation lacks when it comes to assist in the apprehension of US citizen fugitives in Pakistan.