Terrorism is a living and vibrant threat to India. The terror attack on Mumbai has opened the possibilities of attacks occurring in any part of the country and against Indian citizens anywhere in the world. Apart from this separatist groups and organisation have been making bomb blast attacks especially in Assam. The extent of the US aid to Pakistan and the implications on the resurgence of cross border terrorism against India is first and foremost on the minds of many Indian. President Obama's assumption of office had given rise to the hope that anew polarisation towards India would mean a whittling down of Pakistan's ability to make cross border infiltrations as well as the US Administration seriously addressing the issue of terrorists operating from Pakistan soil. However it seems that in the absence of any other new initiative towards a regional understanding to combat terrorism, the US Government has to fall back on policies initiated and supported by the Bush Administration in the wake of the so called "War on Terror". It is my feeling that with the formal ending of that war, a new initiative should be taken keeping in mind that any move in the region of the sub-continent has to take in India as an active partner. India has faced the brunt of terrorism during the attacks on Mumbai. Given the interest the US had in the outcome of the last General Elections, the times demand that India's stability and commitment towards fighting terrorism should override other considerations especially where Pakistan is concerned.
Recently, American aid to Pakistan has been tripled by the US Senate to about $1.5 billion a year for the next five years. One of the conditions for this increase is that the Pakistan Government has to contain the Taliban. However the problem not only lies with the resurgence of the Taliban the common enemy of the US but the institutionalisation of terrorism by Pakistan through its Inter Services intelligence (ISI). The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (also Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI) was created as an independent unit in 1948 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. It was formerly in the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which handled intelligence sharing between the different branches of the military as well as external intelligence gathering. Its headquarters was initially located in Rawalpindi but later it was moved to Islamabad. The current director of the organization is Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, who took over in September 2008. Its operations against india have been sustained and strategised towards destablising our democracy Throughout the 1950s The ISI's Covert Action Division was used in assisting the insurgents in the North-East. In the late 1960s the Home Rule Movement of London-based Charan Singh Panchi, which later gave birth to the Khalistan Movement, headed by Jagjit Singh Chauhan in which many other members of the Sikh diaspora joined to demand a separate country of Khalistan. During the Indo Pakistan War of 1965, there was a complete collapse of the operations of all the intelligence agencies. When an Indian armored division was not located due to ISIs'preoccupation with political affairs leading to Pakistan losing that war. The then President Ayub Khan set up a committee headed by General Yahya Khan (who later became President as well) to examine the working of the agencies. By 1969 the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and ISI worked in tandem with the Nixon Administration to proactively assist the pro independence Khalistan movement. However in 1971, the ISI faced its first major failure after its reorganisation during the Bangladesh Liberation War which resulted in the loss of the then East Pakistan and resulted modern Bangladesh came into being. Throughout the period thereafter, during the 1990s and into the new century, the ISI has systematically targeted India. Terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), and the Harakat ul-Mujahedeen (HuM) are allegedly operating with the active support of the Pakistan Military and the ISI . These organisations have been active in Kashmir; Al-Qaeda and its affiliatesled by Osama bin Laden and other non-South Asian terrorists are suspected to have found safe haven in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Other foreign militant groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Islamic Jihad group, the Libyan Islamic Fighters Group and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement are also suspected of being in FATA. Apart from this the Pakistan Taliban has emerged as the biggest threat to stability in Pakistan and the region with its eyes turned towards India.
We face a lot of pressure at home as well. Meghalaya being contiguous to Bangladesh is used as a conduit by many insurgent outfits and the ISI is also suspected to be operating in these areas. The coal belts of the state especially in Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills bear the brunt of influx of outside labourers. With no proper identification procedure and the hurdles in monitoring and verification of the antecedents of immigrants makes it a potentially lethal melting pot. This is also affecting the Export trade where the Border Security Force (BSF) has put a clamp on exports alleging that militants are using the empty returning trucks to bring in arms and cadres. This is a little far fetch but it serves to put brakes on the trade severely affecting the livelihood of the people and the economy of the country.
The implications are therefore not good for India. With the region going into a slow but sustained Nuclear Arms race and with Pakistan augmenting its nuclear arsenal, the rise of terrorism and its institutionalisation does not bode well for stability, peace and democracy. We require informed debate on this matter and consolidated and effective action and cooperation whether in India or the US.
Regards,
Erwin.
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