New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) The Pakistan Army has always treated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as a laboratory where experiments on terrorism are conducted. While the military has nurtured and set up several groups at the factories of Jihad in KP, it has also faced stiff resistance from the people of the region.
Protests are ongoing in KP and other regions following the imposition of both emergency and the Governor’s rule. The PTI which had its government in the region is up in arms against the establishment after this decision that has been condemned widely within Pakistan was taken.
An official said that while undermining and also finishing off the Imran Khan-founded PTI was one reason behind the decision, the other was to gain absolute control over mines and minerals. Pakistan will get international players to work on these mines and minerals, but it also wants foolproof security for the same, the official said.
Groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which were nurtured from the start in the terror factories at KP, have now turned against the Pakistan establishment. The Haqqani Network, which was also raised by the establishment in KP, shares a complex relationship. The Haqqani Network was once viewed as a strategic proxy of the Pakistani army and Intelligence. The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan has changed that equation entirely. Ties between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan have nose-dived badly, and analysts say that there is no sign of a thaw anytime in the near future.
This leaves the Pakistan establishment with no choice but to rely on its three most loyal proxies- Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that there is plenty of activity within the terror factories, especially where the Lashkar-e-Tayiba is concerned. The outfit, along with other groups, has used the KP region for several years as a regrouping ground. These three terror groups, under the close watch of the ISI and the Pakistan Army, have managed to mobilise troops in large numbers in the region.
Initially, they were brought in to fight the TTP, but today, an additional responsibility of guarding the mines and minerals and projects around them has been entrusted to these terror outfits, the official said.
With the Governor rule in force and no elected government in place, the Pakistan army is having a field day in the KP region. The mines and minerals are entirely accessible to the establishment, as was not the case when an elected government was in charge.
Bringing the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul into the picture only adds to the multiple layers of security around the mines and minerals. The Pakistan Army has big plans and wants to set up multiple projects. The accusation of the people is that the resources that are extracted from their region never end up in developmental works or basic amenities being provided. The funds are diverted to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi, where the rich and mighty benefit.
Another official said that the army has set up dedicated units within these three terror outfits to guard the mines, minerals, and also the upcoming projects attached to them. The army and other security forces too are being deployed in large numbers to safeguard these projects. It is the governor who will now decide on the number of troops that would need to be stationed in the KP region, the official said.
These terror groups, which have been mobilising heavily in the region, would add to the second and third layer of the security mechanism. The TTP continues to remain the biggest threat to the establishment. The establishment wants these three terror groups to first fight against the TTP before they can reach the army and security forces.
The army feels that by the time the TTP reaches its soldiers, it would be exhausted and would have faced severe losses. The Pakistan army and security forces, which have so far been directly fighting the TTP, have lost on several fronts, which has in turn left the troops demoralised. It does not want a repeat of the situation and hence decided to rope in its three proxies to provide the additional layer of security cover, an official said.
–IANS
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