Pakistan and India have passed seven-decade in severe enmity and have fought four wars during this time. The failure of both countries to solve their mutual conflicts, especially Kashmir issue, resulted in the provocation of non-state actors who were created during the Afghan jihad. The participation of some of these groups in Indian-held Kashmir increased the tensions between both countries. These actors carried on their activities without any serious attention of international communities till 9/11.
After the 9/11 attacks, a coordinated international action was started against them. In December 2001, an attack on Indian Parliament took place; Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were stated as responsible for that. India claimed that the attack was carried out under the guidance of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. Indian Home Minister Advani said that, Pakistani state was involved in those attacks along with the terrorist group.
Pakistan condemned these attacks and put its border forces on high alert as Indian officials’ statements and military mobilization were showing that India was going to attack Pakistan. It is important to note that this attack by non-state actors brought two nuclear states on the verge of a war.
Pakistan took serious steps and banned several organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Sipa-e-Muhammad, Sipa-e-Saba, Harakat-ul-Majideen and several other sectarian organization. The banned organizations changed their names and kept on with their activities for several years. They developed their social structure and participated in public services in the remote area, that were underdeveloped. This helped them to gain public popularity and strengthen their roots in rural and underdeveloped areas. After gaining popularity, some of them organized themselves politically and are participating in elections as well.
The Mumbai attack in 2008 once again stirred up the political environment of the sub-continent. India blamed Pakistani militant group Jamat-ud-Dawa a decedent group of LeT responsible for sending ten militants via sea route. Here, once again India exploited the situation and blamed Pakistani Intelligence agency for this act. However, it could not provide any concrete evidence to support its claim.
This attack changed the tone of Indian politicians, diplomats and media. Some Pakistani media groups played a complementary role which intensified the situation further. Later, some reports showed that the facts were different.
After Mumbai attacks, India was ready to attack Pakistan. However, the International leaders played their diplomatic role and kept India away from taking actions against Pakistan, because Pakistani forces were too much engaged in the war against terrorism and diversion of their attention could have been hazardous for international collation.
Under international pressure, Pakistan started a trial against the list of people given by India. However, no firm evidence was provided by India to stand any ground in the court of law. Hafiz Saeed and Lakhavi were named as master minds of these attacks. Pakistan acted on Indian allegations by putting Hafiz Saeed under house arrest and detained Lakhavi along with six other people in 2009. The Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad in December 2014 granted him bail and soon he was detained once again under “Maintenance of Public Order” legislation. Finally Lakhavi was released on April 10, 2015 and his lawyer told a foreign news agency that his client was released because of insufficient evidences.
The release of Zaiki-ur- Rehman Lakhvi by a Pakistani court produced a wave of tension in India which was expressed with very harsh words. The Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “This (the decisino) has reinforced the perception that Pakistan has a dual policy on dealing with terrorists.” The reaction by Indian public was of special attention. On social media, Indian citizens expressed their anger and criticized Pakistani Court’s decision.
A US columnist, Tom Rogan, blamed Pakistan Intelligence agency involvement in Lakhavi release. He further wrote, “the ISI’s pro-extremist element is flexing its muscles by releasing him. The problem, however, is that it’s not just Lakhvi on the loose. With an array of terrorist groups under its thumb — elements of the Haqqani network and the Pakistani Taliban, for two — the ISI has a terror portfolio with which to wreak havoc. And as attested by the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, the spy agency has repeatedly proven its support for groups that risk war. Lakhvi’s release is both a physical threat and a possible signal of increasing Pakistani aggression. It illustrates the looming danger in near-term India-Pakistan relations.”
In Pakistan, the judiciary is independent and it can take its decision freely. Pakistan is suffering badly because of violent militant groups. If firm evidences are provided, action against them can be taken but India has failed to provide concrete evidence in this regard. There is no room for extremists in Pakistan army and it can be seen after action taken against a Brigadier Ali’s Court Martial, along with his several junior officers, in May 2011 because of his links with some extremist elements.
It is important to note that India is supporting anti-Pakistan religious element. It was admitted by the US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in 2011, who even said that India is participating in terrorist activities from Afghanistan. Several reports are showing that TTP is getting financial support from India. Indian national security advisor also accepted it by saying Taliban are mercenaries and they can be used against Pakistan by giving them a lot of money and he also said that India will break Pakistan whenever it wanted.
It is clearly showing that there is dominant role of these non-state actors in South Asian politics and they are used as proxies. These actors are very powerful and they can wage a war in South Asia which can result in exchange of nuclear weapons that can destroy South Asia completely. South Asian states should cooperate with each other to handle these non-state actors either at the forum of SAARC or by some other agreement SCO type agreement along with other nations. If the problem of these non-state actors is resolved, it can eliminate a lot of threats to security of these South Asian Nations.
