Is Pakistan a Terrorist State?

By:
Marlon Novie Akay
008200900047
Accounting 2009 (MONDAY MORNING CLASS)
 Is Pakistan a Terrorist State?

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror as a means of coercion. Terrorism refers to violent acts
that intended to terror or create fear in order to commit the political, organizational or religious
goal. However, the acts of terrorism are disregarding the safety of civilians. There are several
types of terrorism, which are civil disorder, political terrorism, non-political terrorism, and
official or state terrorism.(1) In the other words, the perpetrators of terrorism acts can be
individuals, groups or states. The term of official or state terrorism means that terrorist acts are
carried out by the government or state to pursuit the political objective; including foreign
policy. The state provides critical support to the terrorist group such as donations, guns,
materials and a safety place to plan and do the operations. (12) According to Secretary of State;
arranged by United States, there are some countries that currently on the list of terrorist state,
which are Syria, Cuban, Iran and Sudan. Then, there are also countries that have been removed
from the list, such as Iraq, Libya, and North Korea.(2) One of the removal countries from the
terrorist state list is Pakistan. Pakistan is a South Asia country and bordered by India,
Afghanistan, Iran and China. It is the sixth largest population in world with approximately
184,404,791 people and as the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. (3)
Since 1993, Pakistan has included the list of countries that support terrorism. Pakistan has
removed from the list because Pakistani became the key ally to support war on terror. (4)
Recently, Pakistan has been discussed of in International world, whether Pakistan is a terrorist
state or not. Pakistan is not a terrorist state because Pakistan became the ally of war on terror,
the involvement of the state in terrorist attacks, and Pakistan is the victims of terrorist attacks.

It is not the best consideration if said that Pakistan is a terrorist state. The reasons of why
Pakistan is considered as a terrorist state are because the involvement in terrorist attacks and
the existence of training and leaders camp inside the state. Pakistan has been accused by some
countries, such as India, Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, United States, United Kingdom and
other nations because of having role in terrorist attacks; including attack to United State on
September 11, 2001 and insurgency in Kashmir. Besides, Pakistan also has been accused having
links and giving aids for terrorist groups, like Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Omar, Lashkar-e-

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Is Pakistan a Terrorist State?
Toiba, and Sipah-e-Sahaba.(4) In the past, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had diplomatic ties with
Taliban (1996-2001).(6) However, after 9/11 attacks, Pakistan has committed to fight terrorism.
This commitment made the security forces in Pakistan; army and the police becomes the target
for militant groups. In October 2009, the militant groups attacked the Pakistan’s army
headquarter and hostaged around forty civilian. (15) The Inter-Service Intelligence –Pakistan
Military Intelligence Agency– and Pakistan have worked effectively to chase the followers of the
militant groups. Pakistani has arrested some Al-Qaeda people, including Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. (20) Pakistan also has arrested some of
suspects of Mumbai Terror.(12) With all of that, the trend of accusation to Pakistan seems meet
the end, since Pakistan’s security forces continue the military operations against Taliban and
other militant groups in Pakistan territory.

One of the reasons of why Pakistan is not considered as the terrorist state is because Pakistan
has become the ally of war on terrorism. The attacks on New York and Washington in 2001 and
the action of United States to lead the war on terrorism as President George W. Bush said,
"Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us or with the
terrorists.”(5) The recent condition at that time made the Military President of Pakistan Perves
Musharraf decided to join the coalition against terrorism and stated that Pakistan became the
front-line state.(4) The commitment is included the improvement of relationship between
domestic political organizations and United States; a fully access to Pakistan’s airfields as
President Musharraf gave the access of the use of three airbases to do military operation and a
promise to wholly independently support the United States coalition. (6) Then, under the Kerry-
Lugar Act of October 2009, Pakistan is required to stop the support of Pakistani army or the
intelligence agency to terrorist group that has organized attacks to United States and also
preventing the operation of militant forces within Pakistan’s territory, (7) like Lashkar-e-Tayyiba
and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Pakistan has arrested the largest number of Al-Qaeda terrorist from
its territory. Since September 2001 to 2003, Pakistan captured more than 600 members of Al-
Qaeda and its allies.(6) In coordination with the United States army, there are 200 troops of the
U.S military Special Forces that operate on the ground of Pakistan. (9) The Pakistani military has
approved the United States special operations soldiers to join with Pakistani troops in North

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Is Pakistan a Terrorist State?
and South Waziristan to help the military hunted down the Islamic militant groups. The United
States also provides the military assistance, like spare parts and equipment to increase the
Pakistan’s capacity in struggling of strive against the terrorist groups. Besides, the United States
forces used the unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to support the Pakistani forces; to
attack the Taliban or other insurgent forces or to strike the terrorist leaders and training camps
inside tribal areas of Waziristan. (10) In 2004, the Pakistani Army has established a military
operation with 80,000 troops in the (FATA) Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan’s
Waziristan region to remove Al-Qaeda and Taliban in the region. (5) Therefore, the support of
Pakistan in Global War on Terrorism makes Pakistan is not considered as the terrorist state.

Another reason is the recent condition of Pakistan that does not involve in the terrorist attacks.
In the past; Soviet-Afghan War (1980s), Pakistan did help and support the extremist groups in
militant operation to achieve state’s agenda in Kashmir. Then, after the Afghan War, between
1990 and 1996, Pakistani continued to support and organizes the Mujahedeen groups. (8)
However, the 9/11 attacks brought Pakistan joined the war on terrorism and abandoned the
militant group operations. On January 12, 2002, President Musharraf addressed a campaign
against Islamic extremism and a commitment to fight the extremist groups that promote
militancy.(5) There are several militant and radical Islamic groups that banned in Pakistan, which
are the Islamic Sunni Sipah-e-Sahaba, the Shia Tehrik-e-Jafria, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Afghan
Taliban, and the Harakat ul-Mujahadeen, Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Jaish-e-Muhammad, Al-Qaeda
and Pakistani Taliban.(19) The Afghan Taliban used the drug trade profit as the sources to finance
the militant operations. Besides, Pakistani Taliban made North Waziristan as the haven under
the protection of the Afghan Taliban leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani which had network with
thousands of fighters.(11) Then, in case of terrorist attacks; under Haqqani group that backed by
Al-Qaeda and allied with Taliban has made insurgencies inside Pakistan and Afghanistan. The
sectarian groups; Sunni Sipah-e-Sahaba and Shia Tehrik-e-Jafria are engaged in violence inside
of Pakistan. In November 2008, a strained situation between Pakistan and India occurred after
the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and the attacks were linked to the Pakistani militant
groups, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-u-Dawa.(11) However, in October 2009, Pakistani military
has arrested seven of the suspects of Mumbai terror. (12) The involvement of Pakistan to fight the

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Is Pakistan a Terrorist State?
extremist group, which means that Pakistan does not involve of any terrorist attack brought a
consideration that Pakistan is not a terrorist state.

Pakistan is becoming the victims of terrorism. Since the summer of 2007 to 2009, thousands
people were killed in suicide and other attacks. (8) In recent years, Pakistan has become the
victims of terrorist attacks as much as Afghanistan and Iraq. Terror has pervaded the whole
nation because the militant groups have targeted the state. The Federal government in every
province in the country –Balochistan, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Punjab and Sindh–
and also the Federal Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA), Gilgit Baltistan and ‘Azad Jammu and
Kashmir’ has faced a serious challenge by the militants. According to SATP (South Asia
Terrorism Portal) –a terrorism database– there were around 1,600 civilians killed from 2003 to
2006, it was highly increased in the next following years, which almost 6,715 people were killed
in terrorist violence in 2008. (13) In 2009, Pakistan was experienced at least 11,585 fatalities and
made that year become the bloodiest year in Pakistan. Besides, there were only two suicide
attacks in 2002 compared to eighty in 2009 with 1,018 persons were killed. Unsurprisingly, in
Tribal Areas, there were at least 5,238 persons were killed in a 3,836 attacks in 2009. (13) One of
the incidents happened in Pakistan is on December 27, 2007; a bomb detonated at a campaign
rally was killed Nawas Sharif or Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani Prime Minister. (11) Pakistan
is currently fell victim of the militant groups with experienced a lot of incidents in its territory.
Pakistan is not considered as the terrorist state since the state has become the target of
terrorism attacks.

Terrorism is a global issue and a threat to world peace. Country that freely employs people for
terrorism or giving aids and support to the terrorist groups to do terror in another country as
the part of foreign policy is classified as state-sponsorship terrorism or terrorist state. However,
the term of state-sponsored terrorism is different with domestic state terrorism, which means
the implication of attacks is internal to the country. After the 9/11 attacks to United States and
Washington, Pakistan became one of the key allies of war on terrorism. The military operation
against extremists inside of Pakistan is necessary in order to abandon the Taliban and other
militant groups’ operation. Pakistan government has committed to fight against the jihad

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Is Pakistan a Terrorist State?
organizations and the group that promote extremism. Any terrorist attacks inside Pakistan or
the neighborhood country were done by the militant groups without involvement of the state,
for instance, the case of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. However, in fact, Pakistani military
has cooperated with the United States Special Forces to defeat the global terror in Pakistan.
Besides, there were a lot of incidents happened in Pakistan especially in tribal areas. Many
Pakistan’s civilian has become the victim of many terrorist attacks like suicide from the militant
groups. Therefore, these reasons have brought to a conclusion that Pakistan is not a terrorist
state.

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 Bibliography

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism

2. http://www.keia.org/SPOTGuide.pdf
3. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_and_state_terrorism
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror_in_Pakistan

6. http://terrorism.about.com/od/globalwaronterror/tp/Pakistan---Terror-War-
Timeline.htm
7. http://www.sassi.org/pdfs/KLB-Brief.pdf
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_Pakistan

9. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/us-says-200-troops-on-the-ground-in-
pakistan/
10. http://www.militaryglobal.com/discussion/5/is-pakistan-an-ally-in-the-war-on-terror/p1
11. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/pakistan/ind

ex.html
12. http://www.ishtiaqahmad.com/downloads/State_Sponsored_Terrorism.pdf

13. http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/
14. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11886512

15. http://www.cfr.org/publication/15422/pakistans_new_generation_of_terrorists.html
16. http://www.globalization101.org/news1/Terrorism_Afghanistan_Pakistan
17. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3453.htm
18. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_North-West_Pakistan

19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3170970.stm
20. http://www.cfr.org/publication/11644/isi_and_terrorism.html

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