As Delivered:
The Pakistan Perspective
Lieutenant General (Retd) Athar Ali Syed, Secretary of Defence, Pakistan
Dr Chipman, all the panellists, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed an honour for me to present Pakistan's perspective on wining counterinsurgency campaigns, with particular reference to the global war on terrorism which is going on in Afghanistan and in the adjoining border belt of Pakistan.
Ladies and gentlemen, international terrorism in its most devilish manifestation found expression on 11 September 2001. Following the events of 9/11, the war on terrorism assumed a focus greater than all other aspects of global security. Pakistan, which fell victim to terrorism even before 9/11, joined the international coalition against terrorism, exhibiting its full commitment to root out terrorism and extremism from its soil. Ever since, Pakistan has proactively combated the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and Pakistan's contribution as a frontline state in the war against terror has been phenomenal. Our fight against terrorism continues until the objectives are completely achieved. Ladies and gentlemen, this is our national resolve.
Today, terrorism and extremism both pose a serious threat to international, regional and domestic peace and need to be eliminated. However, the two are not synonymous, and addressing them needs totally different strategies. While terrorism is to be confronted with all the military force at every level – globally, regionally and domestically – by all stakeholders, on the other hand, extremism, being a state of mind, needs a totally different strategy.
A close look at the causes of extremism and radicalisation indicates that the phenomenon basically takes its roots from political alienation and deprivation, leading to pessimism. Long, questioned disputes like Palestine, Kashmir instability and Iraq and Afghanistan are the flashpoints for both extremism and terrorism. Talking particularly of our region, Pakistan's geostrategic location further compounds the international security dilemma for us. The war on terror has posed peculiar challenges for Pakistan in security matters, the economic field and internal harmony. There is also a misperception that Pakistan, and not Afghanistan, is the source of the problem. Actually, turbulence in Afghanistan trickled out to Pakistan in the aftermath of 9/11, creating unrest and internal instability in Pakistan. The quandary lies in Afghanistan, and therefore solutions have to be sought in Afghanistan itself. Whereas Pakistan has played a lead role in the global campaign against terror, and paid a very heavy price, the lack of success in creating stability in Afghanistan by the coalition forces has impeded our efforts at stabilising our Western border region, bordering Afghanistan.
Where do we stand today? Careful analysis of some of the fundamental questions will determine the future of the interminable war against terror. Some of these questions are: have we been able to define terrorism? Have we been able to address the causes at a strategic level that breed terrorism amongst Muslim youth? Have we addressed, even partially, the phenomenon of al-Qaeda? Is terrorism turning into global insurgency? What is the level of trust amongst the coalition partners in the global war on terror? Are we winning in Iraq and Afghanistan? What are the problems in Afghanistan and what is the way forward in Afghanistan? How can US and the internal community help Pakistan in eliminating terrorists from its border regions in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) area? Lastly, how can Pakistan contribute to the overall success?
Ladies and gentlemen, due to paucity of time, I will not be able to address all these issues. However, I would like to talk about Pakistan's role in some of the operations and government policies and then the problems in Afghanistan and the way forward in Afghanistan.
I will just enumerate a few observations which reflect the contours of Pakistan's overarching policy against terrorism, as set out by the parliament of Pakistan in October 2008. This resolution encompassed that the challenge of militancy must be met through consensus and dialogue with all genuine stakeholders. The nation stands united to combat this growing menace. Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity shall be safeguarded at all costs. Pakistan's territory shall not be allowed to be used for attacks on other countries and states. All foreign fighters shall be expelled from our soil, and the state shall establish its [inaudible] in the troubled zones as early as possible. You might have followed the news items since April. Internal security shall be improved by containing the [spill-over effects?] of terrorism, throughout the country.
Ladies and gentlemen, some of the initiatives to curb terrorism and to reform society that have been undertaken include, first of all, the arms-control campaign to de-weaponise the society; the enactment of anti-terrorism laws, including the establishment of anti-terrorist courts for speedy disposal of cases relating to terrorism; the reorganisation of the police in view of the ever-increasing challenges posed by terrorism. The quality of manpower that is being inducted, trained and equipped is on modern lines. The second-line forces that include the frontier corps and the frontier constabulary have been revamped with equipment, training and increasing their extent and number.
Madrasah reform – that is, the Islamic educational institutions – is the top priority of the Government and a lot of initiatives have been undertaken to stem the culture of hatred and the literature of hatred from these Madrasahs, and to bring them into the mainstream and teach the students modern subjects like mathematics, science etc.
Some of immigration control measures have been implemented to prevent the free movement of terrorists from one place to another, and biometric systems have even been installed on the Pakistan border in order to register and list the border-crossers, although we have yet to receive an equal response from across the border.
Sectarian and militant organisations have been banned, because in the 1980s there was a culture of Jihadist movements, and it gained currency due to the ongoing operations of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Later on, when the Pakistan government realised that these Jihadi organisations had evil designs, and they were not focusing on what they were being trained or equipped for, so in 2002 the government took a decision to proscribe and ban all these Jihadi organisations.
Ladies and gentlemen, I will not briefly touch upon the operational aspects of Pakistan's armed forces undertaking operations in the FATA area – that is, the border belt with Afghanistan. I would first like to explain briefly the border region, which is known as FATA. This area has been fiercely independent historically and, despite the right of the government in that area, they used to operate and conduct and manage their affairs themselves through general system and through their own legal system. Therefore, the military and the police of the federal government had never been in that area until 9/11. After 9/11, pressure came in this area and a lot of foreign militants and terrorists from Afghanistan poured into this safe haven. Traditionally, this has been used as a training place for Jihad against the Soviet Union at the time of the invasion of Afghanistan, so this area found relevance to those who shifted under the pressure of the American and the coalition forces from Afghanistan to this border belt. This border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is 2,650 kilometres long, with inaccessible and inhospitable terrain, and mountains ranging from 6,00-15,000 feet. Out of this, 1,360km of the border is with the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), whereas 1,200 km is with the Baluchistan province of Pakistan.
Families are divided on either side of the border, and they keep visiting each other, and this phenomenon cannot be stopped. A large number of people cross the borders for family affairs, to earn their living and for social events. Just to give you a figure, in this 2,560km of border belt, there are 360 crossing places, out of which, two are formal – that is Torham and Chaman. There are about 40, which are frequented and the remaining are unfrequented. When the terrorists or militants want to go across, they will definitely use the unfrequented border crossing places.
Just to give you an idea as to the magnitude of the crossings over the border every day, there are almost 13,300 vehicles which cross the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan every day, and there are about 38,000-40,000 border crossers as individuals every day. Since there are almost three million Afghan refugees on this side of the border in Pakistan, their coming and going is so frequent, and it is very difficult to be certain as to how many of them are actual refugees and how many come in the garb of terrorists or militants. These are some of the predicaments which the national community must understand when they are talking about the FATA area, the border belt between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Some of the strategy contours which are being followed are that we are engaging at the political area to secure desired objectives. The development of civic infrastructure is of course on the cards, selective application of military and paramilitary forces to destroy the hardcore elements, and revitalisation of civil administration to improve the government. Within this, the objectives of military operations are to create conditions which are sustainable for the civil administration and the other prongs of the strategy to take place and be effective, so within this the military objectives are to re-establish the right of the state against militant attempts to establish Taliban-style rule after taking over certain areas. Secondly, to limit movement of militants across the Pakistan border. Thirdly, selective application of force to eliminate hardcore militants with minimum collateral damage, maintain our military presence to deter militants and provide security to the civil administration which is the most important element, after the operation is over, and then retain the support of the civilian population and continue to cooperate and coordinate with the Afghanistan national army and the coalition forces across the border.
So far, just to give you an idea as to what price Pakistan has paid, of course this is our war and we are fighting it for our survival and for peace in the world at large. The civilian casualties so far have been around 6,000. Military casualties, both dead and wounded, have been again around 5,600-6,000. In Swat operations, which started in the second-last week of April, the casualty figure for the military is raging between 400-500, including dead and wounded, and terrorists killed, wounded and apprehended are 4,000, 2,000 and 4,050 respectively.
However, the human aspect of this, which is the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who were forced to move out from Swat and adjoining areas, is almost touching a staggering figure of three million, and so far the Pakistan government is managing on its own these IDPs, along with almost three million foreign refugees, which have been there for the last 25 years.
Ladies and gentlemen, Pakistan's contribution in the campaign against terror has been significant. The major component of our effort has been around the Pakistan border, where Pakistan has deployed almost 120,000 troops and established 821 posts, as against just about 120 posts established by the Afghan army, NATO and the ISF combined. Numerous operations are being executed against the militants, besides many operations in hand. Operations in Swat, Buneir and adjoining areas have almost met complete success. Only 5-10% of the job remains, and hopefully within the next two to three days these pockets of resistance will be cleared, and thereafter the reconstruction work will start in order to enable the IDPs to go back to their own areas. After that, again, the military's job will remain to provide security to the civil administration and the second-line forces until they become robust enough to take care of this aspect themselves against the terrorists.
I would like to mention some of the misperceptions created by the media at large in the world, and some of the political leaders through their statements. These misperceptions have been that the Taliban are just 100km away from Islamabad, they are about to invade Islamabad and the nuclear weapons are going to fall into the extremists' hands and Pakistan is weakening and the grip of the government is weakening, and, as mentioned by our host, Dr Chipman, that fracturing spirits around India have to be taken care of. Let me assure you that Pakistan is a vibrant nation of 165 million people who are dynamic and are taking all these challenges with resolve, commitment and capability. The democratic government is in place and is taking all of the decisions in the interests of the nation in particular and the world community at large. All institutions are functioning well, including the security institutions. You have seen the power of the judiciary and other institutions are also in place and, as in the developed world, the judiciary is respected beyond doubt. As far as international obligations are concerned, Pakistan's contribution in the global war against terrorism I have just mentioned. Besides that, our participation in Task Force 150 in the Indian Ocean and having commanded that force three times is a matter of pride for us.
In UN peacekeeping operations we are the biggest contributors across the globe; even now we have 12,000 peacekeepers from the military who are performing their duties in 12 to 13 different peacekeeping operation locations across the globe. After the earthquake of 2005, which was of a huge magnitude, our nation responded bravely, and with a lot of management skills. Of course, we are grateful to the international community who helped us in that, but it had destroyed an area of thousands of square kilometres, and there were about 200,000 casualties all told, but not a single casualty due to sickness, famine, drought or cold weather, which is a remarkable achievement. Three million refugees were managed by Pakistan itself; refugees from Afghanistan are, of course, being aided by the UN, UNHCR and other agencies, but are again being managed essentially by the Pakistan government. The naval exercise in the Indian Ocean had an international dimension, as it was being conducted regularly and was participated in by 25 to 30 countries of the world.
We have offered assistance to Afghanistan in reconstruction, training, provision of arms elimination, studies to civilian students in universities, and to their armed forces personnel, all on a gratis basis and free of cost. Our culture, tradition, language and way of training is similar to Afghans, and we would urge through this forum that the international community must take our offer seriously and allow us to assist Afghans, who are our brothers, so that this process can be expedited and done more professionally. Our support to the NATO forces, let me tell you some of the figures since 2005; over 1000,000 trailers and oil tankers have been transported from our port to the NATO forces in Afghanistan. Even now, up to 110 to 120 containers are being transported every day at [inaudible]. Similarly the barrels of oil are ranging from 100 to 120 per day; their safety, security and transportation is being managed by Pakistani authorities, so our capacity should not be doubted, and we are facing these challenges with a lot of grit, determination and resolve.
In the last part of my talk I would like to turn to Afghanistan, and would like to outline some of the points that need to be understood in Afghanistan. The security situation in Afghanistan is likely to continued deteriorating due to some of the following reasons: weak Afghan government with limited grit; the international community’s inability to finance development projects as promised; and the slow pace of reconstruction efforts; the Afghan government’s failure to improve the social and economic state of the common people; the denial of proportionate representation to various ethnic groups, and the political and government system; convergence of interests of terrorists, warlords and drug barons, and no check on the poppy cultivation, which is now at an alarming percentage at 90 to 95% of the world’s poppy cultivation; use of air strikes and consequent collateral damage, which breeds more resentment and extremism.
Some of the measures that we would suggest for Afghanistan are that Afghanistan must put their own house in order, and the US, NATO and IISS must clearly spell out prime political and military objectives in Afghanistan. The one government must include all ethnic groups in positions of power and authority, including the national army and the police. The world must realise that Afghanistan cannot be stabilised unless the issue of Pashtun alienation is addressed. De facto measures need to be taken to eliminate the narcotics trade, which has been continuously rising, and of which many officials are allegedly a part. Illegal opium farming has also been a source of funding to both warlords and Taliban fighters. NATO and the ISF need to go back to its original mandate of winning the hearts and minds of the masses in Afghanistan. Pakistan needs to be taken on board in all discussions and decision-making about the future of Afghanistan, and the assistance that has been offered must be taken seriously.
The past seven years have clearly reflected that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan; NATO and ISF have to win the support of the Afghan people, by providing them with an environment in which they can exercise their rights freely. The OIC and UN can play an effective role, and last but not least, the Afghan government needs to assume more responsibility as an effective authority and gain the confidence of the masses, who have seen nothing more than turmoil and bloodshed. To this end Afghan security forces need to be equipped and trained at a much faster pace, to take on the responsibilities of security in the country. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all.
