BRICS names names

Terrorism, its control, containment and defeat is at the top of the agenda for many states. The meeting of the Brics’ (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) heads of state in the Chinese city of Xiamen on Monday certainly took notice. Although there has been recent criticism of Brics and concerns about the latent conflict between China and India, the group still has a powerful relevance. Specifically the group called for an end to the violence in Afghanistan and voiced its concern over regional security. In that context a range of groups were named — the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, TTP and Hizbut Tahrir; with four of them being closely linked or allegedly operational within Pakistan. The moot highlighted the need for the development of a genuinely broad international counter-terrorism coalition in order to combat militancy as well as a need for internal reforms at the UN if any of this agenda was to be achieved.

In many ways this is old news, particularly in respect of the groups named as having links to Pakistan. At least two of them were banned as long ago as 2002 though they continue to raise funds in Pakistan and draw considerable support from sections of the population. Why this matters is because of the optics. The BRICS group may have its problems but it has the biggest of players in its ranks — Russia and China — and both have internal concerns about terrorism within their borders. The Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as an operational Islamic State in both countries, are an undeniable reality. For Pakistan on the outside of BRICS looking in it is another occasion when it is, however obtusely and obliquely, identified by a bloc of states as being a focus for international terrorism.

The organisations named all have historic links here going back decades. They have been battled it is true — but on a highly selective basis. For the BRICS states this was the equivalent of a repeat of the American ‘must do more’ mantra. Perceptions like that tend to stick.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2017.

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