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Terror and the Pakistan connection

It is a matter of great relief that the British security services have foiled the plans of a clearly `Islamicist' terrorist ring to blow up several aircraft over the Atlantic and cause unimaginable loss of life. The terrorist threat is alive and kicking even with the greatly increased security levels across the globe. Along with the relief arises concern over major powers turning a blind eye to intelligence that stares them in the face. Barely a week before authorities in the United Kingdom detained the 24 suspects, several of them reportedly of Pakistani origin, in connection with the planned mid-air bombing of the trans-Atlantic flights, United States Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher claimed that "no country has done more than Pakistan in the ongoing fight against terrorism." Britain has named, and frozen the bank assets of, 19 of these suspects. In Pakistan meanwhile, seven people, including two British citizens, have been arrested in connection with the plot. It is clear from preliminary accounts of the modus of the plot that the best technological defences can be penetrated. Carnage in the name of religion will remain a threat as long as terrorists have access to the infrastructure needed to assemble large-scale operations. It follows that security services should look not so much at the intention of individuals to execute violent acts as at the capabilities available to them.

Dismissing New Delhi's concerns over the Pakistan nexus with terrorism might be expedient. Islamabad's cooperation with western counter-terrorism operations, demonstrated by its apparently crucial and indeed commendable role in foiling the trans-Atlantic bombing plot, will continue to win it applause from American and European quarters. It is, however, of little material value if resourceful elements within the Pakistani military and political establishments sponsor the material and ideological infrastructure of terror. In fact, evidence of this has grown with the publication of an investigation by a credible Karachi-based magazine, The Herald. It finds that jihadi organisations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad continue to receive between Rs. 2 million and Rs. 3 million a month from the Inter Services Intelligence, along with communications equipment, weapons, and logistical support. According to The Herald, about 1,000 trained terrorists are housed in three camps in the Hazara region of the North West Frontier Province alone, while thousands are stationed elsewhere. These independent media findings are in dissonance with Mr. Boucher's touching belief "that the Government of Pakistan is not involved at all in supporting terrorist acts in India." American and British investigators will be working to discover precisely which jihadi camps trained and motivated at least some of the suspects in the latest terror plot. It is quite likely that their mission will be facilitated by officers of the ISI Directorates.

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