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FA 39 Zahid Islamists Pakistan Centre Français de Recherche sur le Renseignement FOREIGN ANALYSIS N°39 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ISLAMIST VIOLENT NON-STATE ACTORS IN PAKISTAN Dr Farhan Zahid Counter-Terrorism and Security Analyst (Pakistan). A plethora of Pakistani Islamist Violent Non-State Actors (VNSAs) joined hands with al-Qaeda around GloBal War on Terror (GWOT) since Al-Qaeda came under attack after the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001. But where had these Pakistani VNSAs come from? To learn that, one has to revisit Pakistan’s history, taking stock of the country’s Brush with Islamism. Origin of Pakistanese islamist violent non-state actors Throughout Pakistan’s history, scholars argue, religion has Been used at the tool for arousing nationalist feelings among the nation’s varied ethnicities. Pakistan, after all, is not homogenous ethnically. Religion appears to Be the country’s only Binding feature. In the country’s wars with India, religious doctrines like jihad have been eagerly propagated to galvanize support and moBilize people to form private militias, the contemporary “non-state actors”. First phase : India-Pakistan wars In the first India-Pakistan conflict, in 1947-48, fought over the disputed territory of Kashmir, thousands of triBesmen, on the Behest of the state, rallied against India.1 The nascent Pakistan and its army were too weak to confront the large and regular Indian armed forces. Six decades later, Pakistani security forces would fight in the triBal areas the Islamist militants, some of whom can Be considered as descendants of the triBesmen who participated in the 1947 Kashmir war. 2 1 They could be considered as first generation Taliban, whereas the second generation were called Mujahedeen of Afghan War, and third generation were TaliBan which emerged after the fall of Afghan- Communist government in mid-1990s 2 For more information see Books on Pakistan Army history such as Crossed Swords by Shuja Nawaz and Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism by Hasan Abbas ___________________________________________________________________________ 21 boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris - France Tél. : 33 1 53 43 92 44 - Fax : 33 1 53 43 92 92 - www.cf2r.org Association régie par la loi du 1er juillet 1901 - SIRET n° 453 441 602 000 19 2 The inherent weakness of Pakistani armed forces persuaded it to go for a similar strategy, in second India-Pakistan conflict, again fought over Kashmir. Fought in 1965, Pakistan used Kashmiri nationalist groups to strike against Indians (Operation Gibraltar and Operation Grand Slam).1 The third war, in 1971, was somewhat different. This time, anti-nationalist forces were moBilized against an insurgency in the country’s eastern wing, East Pakistan. India, in-Between the two Pakistani wings, trained and armed the insurgents, fighting to liberate the eastern wing.2 In what is considered as the first time the military estaBlishment cooperated with Islamist forces, workers of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), an Islamist party, were systematically recruited, trained, armed, and transformed into militias to fight the nationalist insurgents. JI’s armed wings al-Badar and al-Shams took on Mukti Bahini (the Bengali nationalist/separatist group, the militant wing of Awami League) in what turned out to Be Bloody asymmetrical war, which ended after nine months with the defeat of Pakistani forces and their Islamist protégés, and with the creation of new state of Bangladesh out of East Pakistan.3 Second phase : from Bhutto policy to CIA covert operations The second phase of flirting with the Islamists Began under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, prime minister from 1972 to 1977. In several aspects, Bhutto could Be regarded as the initiator of supporting and appeasing Islamist forces nationally and internationally. Apparently he colluded with Muslim dictators to confront the West. Bhutto also started using the term the ‘Islamic Bomb’. Later the AraB oil rich countries slapped the western countries with oil embargo in 1974. At home, despite Bhutto having parliamentary majority, he accepted several demands of Islamists, due to which religious parties with limited appeal turned into strong and vocal pressure groups. 4 5 In early 1970s, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto adopted a security policy aimed at patronizing anti-Afghan regime Islamist groups. Reacting to Afghan President Daud Khan’s support to Pakistani Pashtuns separatists,6 centered mostly in the triBal areas, Premier Bhutto supported Islamist groups of Afghanistan. This well-planned strategy was chalked out By some of his advisors, one of them Being General Naseer ullah BaBar, Commandant, Frontier Corps, a military-recruited paramilitary force.7 (Twenty years later, the same BaBar, as Interior Minister, would embark upon supporting TaliBan in Afghanistan convincing Bhutto’s daughter Benzir Bhutto to support them.8) 1 Major (retired) Humayun Amin, “Grand Slam—A Battle of Lost Opportunities”, Pakistan Defence, available at: http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-history-strategy/58135-operation-grand- slam.html 2 Mashuqur Rehman, “The Demons of 1971”, Rediff Special, rediff.com, January 4, 2007 3 Nadeem F Paracha, “Violent Ghosts”, Dawn, March 13, 2011, available at: http://dawn.com/2011/03/13/smokers-corner-violent-ghosts/ 4 PPP, “156/200 seats in 1977 elections General Elections 1970“, availaBle at: http://www.ecp.gov.pk/GE/1970/NAWestPakistan.aspx 5 Idem 6 Rizwan Hussain, Pakistan and the Emergence of Islamic Militancy in Afghanistan, Ashgate PuBlishing Ltd, New York, 2005, p.75 7 Frontier Corps is a paramilitary wing of Pakistan Army to man the western borders of Pakistan: Afghanistan and Iran 8 Peter Bergen, Holy War Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden, The Free Press, 2001, p.145 3 Bhutto initiated contacts with renegade leaders of Islamist parties in Afghanistan. Professor Burhan uddin RaBBani and Ahmad Shah Massoud of Jamiat-e-Islami, GulBaden Hekmatyar and Mohammad Younus Khalis of HizB-e-Islami, and Abdul RaB Rasool Sayal of Itihad-e-Islami and several others were provided sanctuaries in Pakistan. These leaders, the founders of modern-day Islamic fundamentalism in Afghanistan, also stoked inspiration aBout Pakistani Islamist parties. To put it Bluntly, Bhutto can Be regarded as architect of violent Islamic extremism in Pakistan and Afghanistan and also founder of Islamist VNSAs during his era. His policies outlived his life.1 Bhutto, ousted By the military regime in 1977 that later executed him, left Behind many legacies, including Afghan policy and appeasement of Islamists. In 1979, Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan, developing American interest in the region. Soon, the military-ruled Pakistan and its ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq, were out of pariah. General Zia did not introduce any new policy; he carried on with the policies of his predecessor. The only difference was the newly-developed U.S. interest in Afghanistan. Carter administration, in collusion with Zia regime, had started Backing Afghan Islamists. A new chapter of history had Begun from there. In early 1980s Began Islamist extremism in VNSA-styled manner. Pakistani military regime and intelligence agencies, drawing international support, adopted a Broad system of Backing seven Islamist parties of Afghanistan known as “Peshawar Seven”.2 These were the same Islamist parties cultivated By Bhutto administration prior to the Soviet invasion. Now, they were reinvigorated – to fight off the Soviets. CIA launched its largest ever covert operation, Operation Cyclone3, in collaboration with Pakistani ISI and Saudi GID.4 A plethora of other intelligence agencies such as UK’s MI-6, Israeli’s Mossad, and Egyptian Al-Mukhabarat were also involved.5 Foot soldiers were recruited from Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan, imparted with guerilla warfare training at camps estaBlished By CIA-ISI. In the course of time, they were provided with all the weapons to fight a successful insurgency. The Islamist insurgency in Afghanistan finally ended with the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989. The period 1979-89 could Be regarded as first phase of Islamist insurgency. After Soviet forces left Afghanistan, the country witnessed Islamists converting into militias, warlords, or hardened criminals. Fresh wars erupted there Between these newly converts.6 In Pakistan, a ready-made stock of trained and well-indoctrinated Islamist militants was also availaBle in aBundance. To the military estaBlishment, these veteran jihadists could Be used in sparking Islamist insurgency in Indian-held disputed territory of Kashmir, mainly to respond to India’s support of insurgents against Pakistan in 1971. The new movement in Indian-held Kashmir Began on Islamist lines (though initially it was started By nationalist Kashmiri groups), capitalizing on availaBle 1 Discussions with Human Rights activists in IslamaBad 2 Peshawar Seven Parties were: HizB-e-Islami (Hekmatyar), HizB-e-Islami (Khalis), Islamic Unity of Afghanistan, Jamiat-e-Islami, Islamic Union for the LiBeration of Afghanistan, National Islamic Front for Afghanistan, Afghanistan National Liberation Front and Revolutionary Islamic Movement 3 Cf. Dr Farhan Zahid, Research Paper n°12, Operation Cyclone and its consequences, August 2014 (http://www.cf2r.org/fr/rapports-du-cf2r/operation-cyclone-and-its-consequences.php). 4 RoBert D Billard, Jr, “Operation Cyclone: How the United States Defeated the Soviet Union”, Undergraduate Research Journal at UCCS Volume 3.2, OctoBer 2010 5 For details see, George Crile, Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times, Grove Press, New York, 2007 6 Bergen, op. cit. pp.64-69 4 strengths of Afghan veterans. The Pakistani Islamist within already existing Afghan- jihadist organizations then rechristened into Kashmiri. Thousands of Pakistani youth from all the provinces were recruited from rural and urBan areas. Offices of jihadi organizations started opening across Pakistan and training camps were estaBlished. Large number of Kashmir youth, from Pakistani and Indian side, disgruntled with Indian highhandedness in Kashmir, also joined in. This was the new theatre of asymmetric warfare.
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