Roundup: Pakistan being pressed to act against terrorists on its soil

ISLAMABAD: While Iran was aggressively demanding of Pakistan to pursue Jundallah militants attacking members of the Shia sect in the Persian state’s border regions from its alleged hideouts in Balochistan, the Indian city of Mumbai was gripped by the fear of another across-the-border assault by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commandos.

And only a week ago, the US administration concluded in its yearly review of its war strategy for the region that the epicentre of terror now lies in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt.

As if this was not enough, security agencies in one of the European states this week arrested at least 10 suspects for allegedly plotting terror strikes inside the continent. All are reportedly Pakistani.

Pakistan is being pressurised by world powers as well as war-torn neighbours to reign in some of the world’s deadliest terror groups allegedly operating from its soil.

Though the country has apparently not been able to mount an effective defence in response to these allegations, some analysts believe Pakistan is being bullied by its friends and foes alike to hide their own failures.

They ask why the international community obstinately projects Pakistan as the epicentre of terrorism when militant organisations are active in many regions of the world.

“Jundallah is said to be operating from the Pak-Iran border only on the grounds that al Qaeda and Taliban are active on the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier, while Lashkar-e-Taiba is allegedly engaged on the Pakistan-India border,” they question.

Even China has some reservations concerning insurgents who caused violence in Xinjiang, where authorities have planned to fence the border with Pakistan to prevent terrorists and drug smugglers from infiltrating its territory.

Ex-chairman of the senate standing committee on foreign affairs Akram Zaki was of the view that Pakistan’s economy would take an upturn in the event of the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project.

“Pakistan will not be isolated in the region,” Zaki declared. “Some elements, especially Jundallah allegedly sponsored by the CIA, want to destabilise both Pakistan and Iran.”

Defence analyst Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi is of the view that Iranian and other bordering countries should strengthen their intelligence apparatus to cope with militant organisations.

While the  state is struggling against terrorists in bordering areas, where US allies are fighting against al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan, pressure is mounting on Pakistan through different channels to arrest ‘identified terrorists’.

However, the issue of Jundallah is now at the forefront in the light of an Iranian foreign policy committee recommendation that “If Pakistan cannot act, then Iran should take action against Jundallah militants”.

In this regard, Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed that Jundallah is active on the Pakistan-Iran border and both countries will form a joint strategy against the terror outfit.

Both neighbours have been jockeying for decades to broaden their influence in terror-hit Afghanistan.

The Foreign Office has already expressed concern that Jundallah’s terrorist activities may obstruct the rapidly growing diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Iran.

“The Shia-Sunni factor, if played up, could also prove to be a hurdle between the two nations in resolving the issue,” an official of the Foreign Office said on condition of anonymity.

Tehran last Saturday through its ambassador to Pakistan Mashallah Shakri, delivered a letter to the government requesting assistance for its intelligence agencies investigating various attacks allegedly conducted by the fighters of Jundallah in Iran.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2010.