{PAKISTAN

STUDIES}
{ASSIGNMENT 4}

SUBMITTED BY MUHAMMAD NOUMAN

REG# SP22-BSE-120

SUBMITTED TO HUMAIRA KHITAB

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‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬

ASSIGNMENT # 03
QUESTION:
WRITE THE ROLE OF PAKISTAN AGAINST WAR ON TERRORISTS?

ROLE OF PAKISTAN
Pakistan's role in the war against terrorism is a widely debated topic among politicians of various
countries political analysts and international delegates around the world. Pakistan has
simultaneously received accusations of harboring and aiding terrorists [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] and
praise for its counterterrorism efforts. [6] [7] [8] .Since 2001, the country has also hosted
millions of Afghan refugees who fled the war in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's relationship to the "War on Terror" is highly ambivalent. On the one hand, Pakistan
played a key role in facilitating the US-led intervention in Afghanistan from shortly after 9/11 to
the present. It allowed the transit of material through Pakistani territory to US forces in
Afghanistan. Pakistan has also tolerated US missile attacks launched from Afghanistan against
Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan's border region with that country.

On the other hand, Pakistan has provided a safe haven not only to radical Islamist movements
targeting its rival India, but also to the Afghan Taliban. Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and
Ayman Al-Zawahiri, among others, are believed to be hiding in Pakistan. Whether and to what
extent they are protected within the Pakistani government is unclear, but Pakistan certainly did
not help the United States find and capture them. There have also been press reports that
Pakistan has blocked efforts by some Taliban leaders to seek peace with the US-backed Karzai
government in Kabul. US-Pakistani relations are increasingly strained over how to prosecute the
"war on terror", but cooperation between the two also continues.

The explanation for this ambivalence is that while the United States and Pakistan share some
common goals, their priorities differ significantly. The US was primarily concerned with the
Soviet threat during the Cold War, and since 9/11 has focused on the threat posed by al-Qaeda
and its Taliban allies. In contrast, Pakistan has been primarily concerned with its struggle with
India since the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947. The fate of Kashmir, a
Muslim-majority region that was divided during the first India-Pakistan war, was a major
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concern for Pakistan. It also has many others, including which of the two rivals will have the
predominant influence in Afghanistan.

Pakistan also has a vital interest in preserving its territorial integrity. The country is an
agglomeration of ethnicities that have little in common except allegiance to Islam. In the early
1970s, the conflict between the then two parts of the country - West and East Pakistan - was
essentially about which ethnicity would prevail. Indian intervention in this war allowed East
Pakistan to secede and become Bangladesh. Since then, Pakistan's military and security services
have increasingly emphasized Pakistan's Islamic identity to keep the remaining disparate ethnic
groups together. But one group has dominated Pakistan's military and security services, and thus
the government, since independence: the Punjabis.

Kashmir provides a rallying point for all Pakistanis who believe that Muslims there should also
be able to live in a predominantly Muslim Pakistan. However, Kashmir also poses a problem for
the Pakistani government and military. Pakistan was unable to seize it from India or convince
India to give it up. But while it has no real hope of getting Indian-held Kashmir, no Pakistani
government can afford to recognize it or give up Pakistan's claim. It would not only be very
unpopular in Pakistan; it could also encourage other ethnicities (Pashtuns, Sindi and Baloch’s) to
push for secession from the Punjab-dominated state.

During the period of their Cold War alliance, divergent American and Pakistani priorities were
evident: the United States sought Pakistan as an ally against the USSR, while Pakistan sought the
United States as an ally against India. The height of Pakistan-US cooperation came during the
Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, when the United States, Pakistan and many others supported
the Afghan Mujahedeen who were resisting the Soviets. Even then, however, Pakistan favored
the Islamist groups of the Afghan Mujahedeen over the more nationalist ones. Islamabad seemed
to think it would have more influence on the former.

After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988-89, American interest in that country and
South Asia in general diminished. However, Pakistan remained focused on its rivalry with India.
During the 1990s, Pakistan supported the rise of the Taliban for several reasons: to restore order
in a country that had become chaotic, to support an Islamist ally that would sympathize with
Pakistan over Kashmir and thus counter Indian influence, to create and secure a road network
across Afghanistan, to connect Pakistan with newly independent Central Asia (which benefited
Pakistan's politically powerful cargo industry),
And even extended Pakistani influence through Afghanistan into Central Asia. The Pakistani
military and security services also believed that having an ally in Afghanistan would give
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Pakistan "strategic depth" in any future confrontation with India (although exactly what that
meant and how it would work was ill-defined and ill-thought-out).

With the help of Pakistan, the Taliban managed to take control of most of Afghanistan in 1996.
However, the Taliban proved an extremely difficult ally for Pakistan, harboring several radical
Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda. After al-Qaeda launched the 9/11 attacks and it became
clear that the United States would intervene militarily in Afghanistan in retaliation, the Bush
administration forced Pakistan to choose between the United States and the Taliban.
Pakistan formally decided to side with the United States, not because of any real change in
attitude towards the Taliban,
but because of the fear that Washington would side with India against Pakistan if it did not, and
in the hope that it would side (or emerges the United States against the Taliban would strengthen
Pakistan vis-à-vis India Anticipating that the United States would not remain in Afghanistan and
that the Taliban and possibly al-Qaeda might later prove useful to Pakistan vis-à-vis India,
Pakistan tolerated and even encouraged their presence on its soil in the region adjacent to
Afghanistan.

It would be difficult for Pakistan to do otherwise. Pakistan has long supported radical Islamist
groups that deal primarily with Kashmir and India. How could he differentiate between these
"good" Muslim radicals on the one hand and the "bad" Taliban radicals on the other—especially
when Pakistani public opinion views both favorably?
At the same time, however, the Pakistani government did not want to alienate the United States
either (at least not too much). So Pakistan's policy since 9/11 has been a confusing mix of
supporting, harboring and tolerating the Taliban and al-Qaeda to some extent, but also
supporting US actions against them.
No wonder the US government is increasingly frustrated with Pakistan; its support for the
Taliban has hampered US military efforts in Afghanistan.

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS:

Zayn al-Abidn, born in Saudi Arabia, Zayn al-Abidn Mohammed Husain Abu Zubaydah, was
arrested by Pakistani officials during a series of joint US-Pakistani raids in the week of March
23, 2002. During the raid, the suspect was shot three times as he tried to escape captivity.
Military personnel.

Zubaydah is said to be a high-ranking al-Qaeda official with the title of chief of operations and
tasked with running al-Qaeda training camps.[11]Later that year, on September 11, 2002, Ramzi
bin al-Shibh was arrested in Pakistan after a three-hour shootout with police forces. Bin al-Shibh
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is known to have shared a room with Mohammed Atta in Hamburg, Germany, and to have
financially supported al-Qaeda operations.

Ramzi bin al-Shibh is said to have been the next hijacker in the 9/11 attacks, but US Citizenship
and Immigration Services denied his visa application three times, leaving him in the role of
financier. A trail of money transferred by bin al-Shibh from Germany to the United States links
Mohammad Atta and Zacarias Moussaoui. [12]

On March 1, 2003, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested during CIA-led raids on the outskirts
of Rawalpindi, nine miles from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. At the time of his capture,
Mohammed was the third-highest-ranking official in al-Qaeda and was directly in charge of
planning the 9/11 attacks. [13] [14] Other events associated with Mohammed include: ordering
the assassination of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, the bombing of the USS Cole,
Richard Reid's attempt to blow up a civilian airliner with a shoe bomb, and the terrorist attack at
the El Ghriba synagogue in Djerba. , Tunisia. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed described himself as
the head of al-Qaeda's military committee. [15]

In the midst of all this, in 2006 Pakistan was accused by NATO commanding officers of aiding
the Taliban in Afghanistan;[16] but NATO later admitted that there was no known evidence
against Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) or the Pakistani government. Sponsoring
terrorism. [17]

The Afghan government also accuses the ISI of providing aid to militants, including protecting
Mullah Dadullah, a senior Taliban military commander killed in 2007, which the Pakistani
government has denied.[18] Meanwhile, India continues to accuse Pakistan's ISI of planning
several terrorist attacks in Kashmir and elsewhere in the Republic of India, including the July 11,
2006 Mumbai train bombings, which Pakistan blames on "homegrown" insurgencies.[19] Many
other countries such as Afghanistan and the United Kingdom have also accused Pakistan of state-
sponsored terrorism and terrorist financing.

The rise of US military activity in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan corresponded with a
large increase in US military aid to the Pakistani government. In the three years before the 9/11
attacks, Pakistan received approximately $9 million in US military aid.

In the three years since, the number has risen to $4.2 billion, making it the country with the most
funding since 9/11. Such a huge influx of funds raised concerns that these funds were provided
without any accountability, as the end use was not documented, and that large portions were used
to suppress the human rights of civilians and purchase arms to prevent domestic problems such
as unrest in Baluchistan. . [20][21]

In December 2016, The Spectator reported that Pakistan was winning its war on terror.[22] The
article reported on the major steps taken by Nawaz Sharif during his third term as Prime Minister
of Pakistan, resulting in an overall decrease in violence.[22]

The Guardian reported that in 2016, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, referred to
Pakistan as the "motherland of terrorism", as part of a repeated campaign to increase
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international pressure on Pakistan for allegedly harboring and supporting militant groups.[23] In
August 2017, The Guardian reported that as part of the Trump administration's new US strategy
in Afghanistan, more pressure was to be placed on Pakistan over its alleged support for insurgent
groups, with President Trump saying in a televised statement that "we can no longer remain
silent on Pakistan's safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban and other groups that pose
a threat to the region and beyond. The new strategy was supported by Afghan government
officials, with a spokesman for the Afghan president saying "this is the first time the US
government has come out with a very clear message to Pakistan to either stop what you are doing
or face negative consequences." Pakistani security officials rejected the statement, saying: "The
blame is on Pakistan" and "Pakistan itself is a victim of terrorism. We are fighting the militants
and have conducted many ground and air operations and destroyed their sanctuaries. We want to
eradicate them physically. And ideologically." As part of the regional approach, Trump said he
would encourage India to play a bigger role (which already provides economic and humanitarian
aid to Afghanistan), former officials and analysts pointed out that fear of a greater Indian
presence in Afghanistan was a justification used by Pakistan's military and intelligence leaders to
maintain support for Afghan militants as a buffer against Indian influence.

NOTHERN PAKISTAN:

Main article: Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistani military captured or killed numerous al-Qaeda operatives,
such as Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. [24] Pakistani authorities have noted a relatively greater
presence of IS influence in Baluchistan, which faces a growing threat from the group's Khorasan
province.

PAKISTAN UNITED STATES MILITRY RELATIONS:

Military relations between Pakistan and the United States have been present since the two
established diplomatic relations in 1947. United States military relations with Pakistan used to be
close, and it was once occupied as "America's closest ally in Asia"[1]. Shared interests in
security and stability in South Asia, Central Asia as well as regions covering Eastern Europe. [2]

The two countries' militaries have cooperated in taking action against militant groups involved in
the war in Afghanistan and the war in Bosnia, while working together to develop a common
understanding of key security and defense issues. The Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force
regularly participate in joint exercises with their US counterparts, while the Pakistan Navy and
Pakistan Marines are the second most consistent participants in Combined Task Force 150 and
Combined Task Force 151 after the United States Navy. [3]

Since 1956, US military personnel have served in the Pakistan Army as military advisors, and
Pakistani military cadets have consistently attended coveted US military academies and war
colleges.[4][5] US forces' relationship with the Pakistan Army was replaced by the People's
Liberation Army of China.
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WAR ON TERROR:

The War on Terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international
counterterrorism military campaign launched by the United States following the September 11
attacks. [31] The main targets of the campaign are militant Islamist and Salafi-jihadi armed
organizations such as Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and their international affiliates; which lead
military insurgencies to overthrow the governments of various Muslim countries.[32][33]

The "war on terror" uses war as a metaphor to describe various actions that fall outside the
traditional definition of war adopted to eliminate international terrorism. The 43rd President of
the United States, George W. Bush, first used the term "war on terror" on September 16, 2001,
[34] [35] and then the "war on terror" a few days later in a formal address to Congress. [36]
[37] ]Bush identified the enemy of the war on terror as "a radical network of terrorists and any
government that supports them."[37][38] The initial conflict was directed against al-Qaeda, with
the main theater in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A region that would later be referred to as
"AfPak". [39]

The term "war on terror" was immediately criticized by individuals including Richard Myers,
then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and eventually the Bush administration began using
more nuanced terms to define the campaign. [31] While the "war on terror" has never been used
as a formal designation for US operations, [40] the US Armed Forces have issued the Global
War on Terrorism Service Medal.

On May 23, 2013, President Obama announced that the global war on terror was over, [41] [42]
indicating that the US would not wage a war on tactics, but instead target a specific group of
terrorist networks. [43][43] [42] 44] the rise of the Islamic State led to the global Operation
Inherent Resolve and an international campaign to destroy the terrorist organization.

The term "war on terror" has been controversial, with critics arguing that it has been used to
curtail civil liberties and abuse human rights,[45] such as controversial US actions including
surveillance, torture and extraordinary rendition, and drone strikes that have resulted in the
deaths of suspects terrorists, but also civilians.

[46][47][48] Many of the U.S.' actions were supported by other countries, including 54 countries
that were involved in CIA black sites[49] or countries that assisted in drone strikes.[50]

Criticism of the war on terror has focused on its morality, effectiveness, and cost. According to a
2021 study by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, several post-9/11 wars in
which the United States has participated in the War on Terror displaced a conservatively
calculated 38 million people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria , Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines
and Pakistan; 26.7 million people returned home after being displaced.

[51] The study estimated that these wars killed between 897,000 and 929,000 people, including
more than 364,000 civilians, and cost $8 trillion.[52][53] Critics accuse the governments
involved of using the "war on terror" to suppress minorities or sideline domestic opponents[54]
[55] of mainstreaming Islam phobia,[56] and criticize the negative health and environmental
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impacts of the "war on terror".[57 ][58][59] Critics argue that the term "war" is inappropriate in
this context (as is the term "war on drugs") because terror is not an identifiable enemy and it is
unlikely that international terrorism can be ended by military means.

ASSIGNMENT # 04
Write in detail about Geo-strategic Importance of Pakistan.

Geo-Strategic means importance of a country or a region as with respect to its geographical

location. Geopolitical is defined as, stressing the influence of geographic factors on the state
power, international conduct and benefits it derives from its location.
Pakistan is located at a region which has a great economic, political and strategic location.
Pakistan is located in Southern Asia and also work as a bridge between South Asia and West
Asia.  

It has been the hub of great economic and strategic activities for the past twenty years. An
American Political Scientist Stephen Philip Cohen describes this importance in his book The
Idea of Pakistan “While history has been unkind to Pakistan, its geography has been its greatest
benefit. It has a resource-rich area in the north-west, people rich in the northeast.”   Geo-
Strategic importance plays a lot more than we actually think.

Pakistan is a link between South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia, away from resource-efficient
countries to resource deficient countries with respect to trade and other strategic matters. The
world is facing an energy crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and terrorism. Pakistan is a route for
transportation due to Gwadar Port which has great significance regarding CPEC (China Pakistan
Economic Corridor). Moreover, also due to Jinnah International Airport which is located at a
significant location regarding cargo flights. Afghanistan has no sea so it uses the way of Pakistan
for trading through TOREKHAM Border. Pakistan also gives its services for NATO Supply
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

Importance of Pakistan’s Geographical Location

Geo-Strategic Importance & Boundary with Afghanistan

Pakistan is located in southern Asia. It is located between 24 and 36.5 Northern latitudes and
between 61 and 75.5 eastern latitudes. The estimated area of Pakistan is round about 803,940
square kilometers.

Afghanistan lies along the Northwestern part of Pakistan. Pakistan’s boundary with Afghanistan
is about 2,250 kilometers long. The boundary line between Pakistan and Afghanistan is known as
Durand Line which was drawn by Sir Mortimer Durand in 1893 and he was also Foreign
Secretary of British India.
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In the north, it runs along the ridges of the Hindu Kush Mountains and the Pamirs, where a
narrow strip of Afghan territory called the Wakhan Corridor extends between Pakistan and
Tajikistan. This strip is about 16 to 25 kilometers long. There is no doubt when Pakistan came
into being in1947, although its legitimacy was in later years disputed periodically by the Afghan
government as well as by Pashtun tribes.

Azaad Jammu Kashmir and Northern Areas

In the northeastern part of the country, Former princely state Azad Jammu and Kashmir located
Pakistan which has area round about 84,159 square kilometers. This area, consisting of Azad
Kashmir (11,639 square kilometers) and most of the Northern Areas (72,520 square kilometers),
which includes Gilgit and Baltistan.

It is the most visually stunning of Pakistan. The northern areas have five highest mountains of
the world including K-2(GODWIN AUSTEN) second highest mountain in the world with a
height of 8611 meters. It also has such extensive glaciers including Biafo, Baltoro, Haispar and
Siachin etc. that it has sometimes been called the “third pole.”

Boundary and Relations with China

A boundary of about 438 kilometres runs generally southeast between China and Pakistan,
ending near the Karakoram Pass. This line was determined from 1961 to 1965 in a series of
agreements between China and Pakistan. Karakoram Highway also known as Silk Highway
exists constructed by both China and Pakistan regarding trade.

The game-changer project CPEC which is constructed by both countries is also near to
completion. Pakistan and China are also very cooperative in Defence. Both the countries
manufactured a famous fighter Jet Jf17. The intimate friendship between China and Pakistan is
famous all over the world.

Pakistan’s Relations with Muslim World

Pakistan has always maintained friendly relation with all Muslim countries and has supported
the Muslim cause at all international forums, which is obligatory for Pakistan as per her
Constitution. Pakistan’s closest relations amongst the Muslim world have been with Saudi
Arabia, who has always supported Pakistan on the Kashmir Issue. During the Afghan war, Saudi
Arabia in collaboration with US, provided all out military and other support to Pakistan.
Moreover, Pakistan has always had a very warm and close relationship with Turkey which was
probably the only country in the world to support Turkey on its military invasion in northern
Cyprus. Pakistan, for its part, has received steadfast Turkish support on Kashmir issue and some
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degree of military assistance during the two wars with India. Pakistan also enjoys equally good
relations with all Gulf States. Besides, Pakistan’s relations with Indonesia and Malaysia have
always been very friendly.

Boundary with India

The India-Pakistan Border, known locally as the International Border (IB), is the international
boundary between India and Pakistan that demarcates the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan and
Gujarat from provinces of Punjab and Sindh. Pakistan borders India in the East. The border
resulted from the Partition of India in 1947.

This border also a border between India and Pakistan which is known as Radcliff Line. The
Radcliff LINE was the boundary demarcation line between the Indian and Pakistani portion of
the Punjab and Bengal provinces of British India. It was drawn by Sir Cyril Radcliff who was the
joint Chairman of two boundary commission.

The Line of Control (L.O.C) separates The Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan
administered Azad Kashmir The length of LOC is 700 kilometres. Wagah, the ceremonial point
of crossing between India and Pakistan lies along this border between the Indian city of Amritsar
and the Pakistani city of Lahore. It is within close distance of both cities’ urban sprawl.

Total length of Pakistan’s border with India is 3133 kilometers. LOC includes 700 km, Working
Boundary includes 193 km and International Border is 2240 km. Geo-Strategic Importance of
Pakistan is all about the rich minerals and trade routes across the globe.

Geo-Strategic Importance & Boundary with Iran

The boundary with Iran, some 909 kilometres in length, was first delimited by a British
commission in 1893, separating Iran from what was then British Indian Balochistan. In 1957
Pakistan signed a frontier agreement with Iran. Since then the border between the two countries
has not been a subject of serious dispute. Pakistan deployed FC (Frontier Core) while Iran
deployed IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops) on the border.

Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean

To the South of Pakistan, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean are located. The coastal belt of Pakistan
is about 1050 kilometers. Pakistan significance is enhanced as it located near the Persian Gulf
from where 65% oil of the world is produced. Geo-Strategic location of Pakistan enables it to
extend high level of trading facilities throughout the region.
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