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Proxy War After the humiliating defeat of 1971 and the creation of Bangladesh Pakistani rulers had understood that they cannot defeat India in the battlefield in the straight confrontation. So they initiated proxy-war against India to destabilize it. The result of it was the origin of terrorists who were imparted religious teachings and thus their minds were washed. During the dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistani military and its secret agency ISI thrusted terrorists into India, especially northern states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Since his rule this process was followed by various Pakistani rulers.

Role of ISI Cold war era indirectly helped the Pakistani policy towards India when thousands of terrorists ware trained in Pakistan with financial and military help of Anglo-American block to fight and defeat the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. US secret agency CIA used Pakistani secret agency ISI to provide training and arms and ammunition to the Islamic Jehadis. At that time these terrorists were considered the heroes of Pakistan and America. Since then Pakistani rulers have used these terrorists to achieve tactical objectives. When Soviet forces left Afghanistan, the Pakistani government played an important role for the establishment of Taliban rule in the war-torn country. America had always supported the Pakistani maneuvers in the region. It used ISI services to its full extent to destabilize the former Soviet states.

Pak-Taliban Relations When some suicide bombers of Al-Quaeda blew up the World Trade Center buildings and US military headquarter in Pentagon, US leaders especially President George Bush realized that the same terrorists have become the biggest threat to the US existence which it had nurtured during the war against Soviets in Afghanistan. Despite their promise to help and participate in the ‘war on terror’ Pakistani leaders kept close relations with Taliban leaders and their sympathizers. This policy was followed for many years but they could not keep the world community in dark for long time.

Results India has suffered most from the Pakistan supported terrorism. Indian leaders had repeatedly warned Pakistani rulers that the same terrorists who are being used by them to destabilize India, will, one day become the biggest threat to the stability and existence of Pakistan and this prediction has proved out to be true. Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhuto was murders by the same terrorists who used to be the heroes of Pakistan in the past. These terrorists have become so courageous that they have started to challenge the Pakistani military. They took over the Swat valley and implemented ‘shariyat’ (Islamic rule) in that region. Girls’ education was barred and hundreds of girl schools were burnt. Women were forced to live inside their homes. It resulted in the form of migration of not only of the civil government but also of the millions of people from the region. Pakistani military had to declare war against the Taliban terrorists in the Swat Valley. The war is still on and has expanded to other Afghanistan bordering parts of the Pakistan. Terrorists are present in every part of Pakistan. They have carried out innumerable bomb blasts almost in every city of Pakistan to make their presence felt. There is no city in Pakistan where innocent people have not lost their lives in the hand of the terrorists.

Post 9/11 These are the harsh realities that have prompted President Asif Ali Zardari to give a statement during an interview to a London based newspaper that who were the heroes of Pakistan post 9/11 have now started to target Pakistan. It was Pakistan that gave birth and nurtured these terrorists for the achievement of some short-term tactical objectives but now they have become so courageous and powerful that they have started to challenge the authority of the elected government. To defeat the Taliban, Pakistani military had to come to the battlefield. Zardari’s statement has its own place but Pakistan can not save itself from the ‘ghost of terrorist’ till then it does not desists from encouraging religious fundamentalism and works honestly to root out the menace.

Statement For the first time Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has admitted that for the achievement of some short-term tactical goals terrorism was created and sponsored by the Pakistani government. Zardari gave this shocking statement during a meeting with former bureaucrats and civil servants in the President residence on Tuesday night. He also said that after 9/11 these terrorists have started to torment Pakistan like ghosts. He said that these terrorists became very strong inside the country and became a national challenge. These terrorist organizations had started to destabilize even the elected governments. This did not happen because the bureaucracy was weak or it had given up the war against terrorist but it had happened because it itself had created terrorism and had nurtured it and it was done for the achievement of some short-term goals. He said that we must speak truth and accept the reality. When the incident of 9/11 happened they started to traumatize Pakistan. He accepted that today’s terrorists were the heroes of past. Zardari said that Pakistan is in the forefront in the war against terrorism and have ‘pledged to eliminate this scourge’.  It must be learnt that a day before this statement Zardari had announced that Pakistani military will aim at those terrorists whom it had helped during the proxy war against India.

Inside Pakistan Presently, Pakistani military is carrying out operations against Taliban in the North-West Swat valley and is planning to start operations against Tehrik-e-Taliban chief Batulah Mehsood in the South Waziristan. He has also said that terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan is the outcome of the cold-war era. Pakistan was used against the Soviet attack of Afghanistan by USA. This war nurtured dictatorship and terrorism in Pakistan. The cold war ended but by then it had created another world problem which became very powerful in the coming years and became a global threat. Terming the present situation very dangerous, Zardari had said that Pakistan can not face any kind of confrontation and for it all the political parties should unite and follow dialogue to solve their matters. Zardari’s statement had created flutters inside Pakistani administration and has also raised eyebrows of some military generals. After it, we will see the damage control process by the Pakistani bureaucrats who will explain his statement in totally different terms.

War against Taliban India has charged Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in India especially in northern states by providing them training and arms and ammunition. But before 9/11 western countries had never accepted that truth or we can say that western countries had always ignored this truth and had even supported Pakistan. But 9/11 has changed their approach towards terrorism. Now they have accepted that terrorism is a global threat though the reasons of its origin in different parts of the world may be different from each other. Zardari’s acknowledgement has vindicated India’s stand that most of the terrorist activities inside its territory were carried out by Pak sponsored terrorists. Indian defense minister released annual report of year 2008-09 according to which India has the clear evidence that Mumbai terrorist attack was planned inside Pakistan and was launched from the Pakistani soil and all the Mumbai attackers were Pakistani citizens. It must be learnt that India had halted dialogue process with Pakistan after this attack. Pakistani President’s statement is the clear sign that what the top Pakistani leadership thinks about terrorist and it is a clear sign of change in its thinking. War and Taliban rule of some months in some border parts of Pakistan have opened the eyes of the Taliban sympathizers. Suicide bomb blasts, killing of innocent people and migration of millions of people from the Swat valley have changed the approach of the Pakistani public towards Taliban. But the fate of the war against the Taliban will be determined by the change in the thinking of the Pakistani military and its generals.