Counterterrorism help from Pakistan is insufficient, report finds
| Washington
Pakistan, you say, is mounting a full-court press to defeat the home-grown extremist groups targeting regional governments 鈥� and even the US?
Not so fast.
Three months after US officials showered praise 鈥� and dollars 鈥� on Pakistan鈥檚 government and military for unprecedented offensives against the Taliban and Al Qaeda-aligned subversives, evidence is strong that some official elements in Pakistan are still working with and protecting the extremist networks in its midst, says a new study by the RAND Corp.
Not only is the US failing to get the bang that it should for the billions of dollars in military and civilian development aid it has approved for battling Pakistan鈥檚 Islamist extremists, the report says. But those groups are also extending their reach far beyond , as the failed May Day car bombing in New York鈥檚 Times Square suggests, the report adds.
鈥淭here is enormous danger for the region, for the Pakistanis themselves, and frankly for us if these links aren鈥檛 cut and some of these militant leaders we know are operating with official protection aren鈥檛 dealt with,鈥� says Seth Jones, a RAND expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not going to happen unless there is much stronger pushing on this from the US.鈥�
A key recommendation of the report鈥檚 authors, part of a group that advises the Pentagon on Pakistan policy, is that the US should hold back some of the billions in aid dollars promised to Pakistan until security and intelligence agencies make 鈥渄iscernible progress鈥� in cutting ties to extremist groups.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not advocating a break鈥� with Pakistan, says Mr. Jones, who co-authored the report with Christine Fair of Georgetown University. 鈥淏ut something has to be done about these links that are not just unhelpful but that threaten US interests,鈥� he says.
As an example, Jones cites the US effort in next-door Afghanistan.
鈥淭he US simply can鈥檛 be fully successful in stabilizing Afghanistan with these groups continuing to enjoy the protection and support they get from Pakistani intelligence,鈥� he says. One of the principal irritants the report cites is the Haqqani militant group, which the US military considers the source of numerous attacks on its forces in Afghanistan.
Alleged links between the suspected Times Square bomber and another Pakistani militant group also figure in the RAND report. The indictment of Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American charged with attempting to detonate a car bomb in New York, states that Mr. Shahzad received explosives training in Pakistan from the militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban in December 2009.
Shadowy links between Pakistan鈥檚 powerful intelligence agency and extremist organizations have long been part of Pakistan鈥檚 strategy toward its regional arch rival, India. Some US officials have claimed progress in convincing the Pakistanis that such ties must be cut not only for regional considerations but because the groups are becoming a threat to Pakistan鈥檚 own stability.
When Pakistan鈥檚 foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, visited Washington in March, both Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised Pakistan鈥檚 offensives into several militant strongholds 鈥� and offered the military drives as evidence that Pakistan deserved to see US aid expedited.
But the RAND study claims the Pakistani military has had only limited success in its offensives aimed at breaking the militants鈥� hold on areas such as the Swat Valley and south Waziristan.
The RAND report comes out just as another study, by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, concludes that Pakistani authorities are in danger of losing control over Punjab, Pakistan鈥檚 most populous region.
The study, by AEI research assistant Ahmad Majidyar, says that while militant activity in Pakistan鈥檚 remote tribal areas has been an 鈥渋rritant鈥� to the Pakistani government, extremist-based instability in Punjab 鈥渨ould rock the Pakistani state to its core.鈥�
The study finds evidence that the Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda are increasingly 鈥渢eaming up鈥� with Punjabi militant organizations in an attempt to destabilize the country鈥檚 political and economic heart.
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