Chapter 1

Introduction
The World in the post-Cold War period and particularly since the turn of the 21st Century has

been experiencing peculiar multidimensional problems that have seriously threatened human and

state security. Of these problems religious extremism and terrorism specifically after the

September 9, 2001 attacks in the United States (US) have profoundly endangered international

peace, security and stability. The twin phenomena of extremism-terrorism have not only actually

and potentially endangered international and regional security in the South Asian and

Afghanistan-Pakistan region but have also imperiled the solidarity and survivability of many

states. Extremism-terrorism are as old as history but their manifestations in the 21st Century

particularly after the watershed events of 9/11 in the US are unique in many respects. The US

blamed the 9/11 incidents on global terrorist network Al- Qaeda which got corroborated when

the Al Qaeda founder, Osama bin Laden and other leaders accepted responsibility for the attack.

The subsequent arrest of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11

attacks and other Al Qaeda leaders and their admission for carrying out the attacks, reaffirmed

the group’s involvement. As the Al-Qaeda leadership including Osama and Khalid Sheikh were

residing in Taliban militia-ruled Afghanistan, whose territory was also used for planning the

attacks, Washington demanded of Kabul to handover the Al Qaeda leadership. Mullah Omar-led

Taliban refused unless the US provided solid ‘evidence’ of Al Qaeda’s involvement. In

retaliation the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) spearheading an international

coalition force (ISAF) invaded and occupied Afghanistan by overthrowing the Taliban regime.
 On the other hand the Taliban started a guerrilla war to liberate Afghanistan from foreign

occupation but in the meanwhile Al Qaeda leadership after losing its centuries Afghanistan

shifted to Pakistan. Pakistan ally of U.S during cold war. During the 1990s, three sets of

sanctions were placed on Pakistan. The first came in 1990 under the provisions of the Pressler

Amendment; the second came in 1998 after Pakistan conducted a series of nuclear tests; and the

third came in 1999 after the military takeover of the country. Enacted in 1985, the Pressler

Amendment stipulated that most military and economic assistance to Pakistan could only be

authorized after an annual certification by the U.S. president that Pakistan did not possess a

nuclear device. Certification was not offered in 1990, and the resulting punitive measures did the

most damage to U.S.-Pakistan relations of all the 1990s sanctions. After the 9/11 incident.

The US government approached Pakistan and presented stark choices. It had to either

make common cause with Washington in its war against terrorism suspected terrorist bin Laden

and his Al-Qaeda network based in Afghanistan with the support of Taliban regime or the second

option was to persist with its pro-Taliban Afghan policy and live with international

condemnation and isolation from rest of the world. Washington gave Pakistan twenty four hours

to decide, whether it would be on America’s side or not ,and according to a news report the next

day “on September 13, President General Pervaiz Musharraf gave green signal to the state

department that Pakistan would extend its “unstinted cooperation” to the international coalition

against terrorism.”1

1
Rehana Saeed Hashmi, WAR on Terrorism: Impact on Pakistan’s Economy ;
http://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/pols/Currentissue-pdf/REHANA.pdf (accessed on 16/3/2013)
 Musharraf in a public address to the nation on 19 September, 2001 proffered five reasons for

choosing to offer unstinted co-operation to the US in its war against terrorism. The five reasons

for choosing this course of action were:

1. Secure Pakistan‘s strategic assets,

2. Safeguard the cause of Kashmir,

3. Prevent Pakistan from being declared a terrorist state,

4. Prevent an anti-Pakistani government from coming to power in Kabul, 5. Have Pakistan re-

emerge politically as a responsible and dignified Nation.2

The key inference here is, Islamabad‘s U-turn versus Taliban regime in Kabul was not an

institutional and consensual based decision, rather it was essentially a personal and individual,

decision of a military General in command, by this decision the sanctions had been reduced .

Musharraf also hoped that cooperation with the United States would result in more active

U.S. efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute.9 Pakistan also seeks to acquire military platforms and

training that will enhance its capabilities against India. An examination of Pakistani purchases of

U.S. military equipment either with U.S. funds, Pakistani funds, or a mix of both demonstrates a

persistent focus on procuring weapons designed to counter conventional threats. Pakistan has

purchased; “a) eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and spares b) six C-130E transport

aircraft and spares c) up to 60 mid-life update kits for F-16A/B combat aircraft d)eighteen new F-

16C/D Block 50/52 combat aircraft, with an option for 18 more d) F-16 armaments, including 500

Advanced Medium-Range Air to Air- Missiles.”3

2
Ibid p,2.
3
Ibid p,3.
 The Musharraf regime‘s decision was the product of multiple stresses and strains that

Islamabad faced in the aftermath of the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) incident. These ranged

from the threatening posture of the United States to the possibility of India assuming a lead role in

Afghanistan and changing the geo-politics of the region. This line of reasoning fused well with

General Musharraf‘s pre -9/11 reformist agenda based on the realization that Pakistan had been a

victim, target, recruiting zone, safe-haven and transit-zone for the terrorists‘ groupings within and

beyond the national frontiers. Musharraf wanted to change Pakistan position. The development

comes till 2005.

United States demands to General Musharraf and he readily agreed, The US gave Pakistan a list

of the following ‗non-negotiable‘demands.

Stop Al-Qaeda operatives coming from Afghanistan to Pakistan, intercept arms

Shipments through Pakistan, and end all logistical support for Osama bin Laden;

2. Give blanket over-flight and landing rights to U.S. aircraft;

3. Give the US access to Pakistani naval and air bases and to the border areas

Between Pakistan and Afghanistan;

4. Turn over all intelligence and immigration information

5. Condemn the September 11 attacks and curb all domestic expressions of

Support for terrorism;

6. Cut off all shipments of fuel to the Taliban, and stop Pakistani volunteers from

Going into Afghanistan to join the Taliban;

7. Note that, should the evidence strongly implicate Osama bin Laden and the AL Qaeda network

in Afghanistan, and should the Taliban continue to harbor him and his accomplices, Pakistan will

break diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime, end support for the Taliban, and assist the

U.S. in the aforementioned ways to destroy Osama and his network.4

Pakistan was the best option due to its geographical location, ethnic affiliation and the role it had

played during the Afghan Jihad 1979 against the former USSR. Thus Pakistan was selected as the

front line collaborator of the US in the war.

Immediately after 9/11, Pakistan used its good offices to persuade the Taliban to hand over

Osama bin Laden to the US …General Musharraf sent the ISI chief with his personal letter to

Mullah Umar for the extradition of Osama. It was an effort that failed to persuade the top hard-

core Taliban leadership to consider the consequence “.Pakistan provided full support to the US

operations in Afghanistan. It provided air space; logistic support at Dabandi, Pasni, Zhob,

Jacobabad, Shamsi and Khot; naval support and intelligence support as well. In addition Pakistani

armed forces actively guarded the border with Afghanistan.”5 Now Pakistan armed forces are

operating in FATA. Pakistani armed forces started chasing transnational terrorists after the 9/11 in

FATA. Therefore, to elaborate this part and also discuss the major military operations in FATA,

Pakistan has been pressurized to curb the religious organizations in the country along with

Madrassa reforms (Madrassas are the religious schools).

In the wake of the US led military campaign in Afghanistan, Afghan refugees entered

Pakistan. In the cloak of Afghan refugees many Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters also sneaked in to

4
Ibid p,7.

Shabana fiyaz, Pakistan response towards terrorism ;A case study of Musharraf regime;
https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/3451/
Pakistan .The process is further facilitated by the porous border between the two countries.

FATA, particularly North and South Waziristan became the safe haven for the Al-Qaeda, Taliban

and foreign terrorists from Central Asia, Caucasus, Middle East and Africa. The situation was

fully exploited by India when it moved its forces on the eastern borders of Pakistan in 2002 ,the

question to be seriously answered is would Pakistan be in a position to go for any terrorist

adventure in India? Hence opening a new security front on its eastern border also, when it’s

already facing a security threat on its western border. Pakistan has to keep an eye on two fronts-

east and west. Not only is it a security threat but also a huge burden on the exchequer of Pakistan.

Pakistan government moved its army in FATA for the first time in its history because u.s

give information that terrorist group move on FATA. This is resented by the locals. To remove

the terrorists from these areas, a military operation was launched in the Pakistan’s tribal areas in

2002. Rahe Haq, Rahe Rast and Rahe Nijat are the military operations launched by the Pakistan

army in the tribal areas of Pakistan with the aim to catch the terrorists, local and foreigners from

the area. These operations proved to be a double edged sword for Pakistan .Pakistan lost the infra-

structure as well as face the economic loss.

Due to this war many other issues create in Pakistan, it show the American’s influence on

Pakistan. It deeply effects on Pakistan’s sovereignty like abbottabad incident and Roymand

Davis violation and day by day Pakistan is going in loss .Although us criticism could not stop on

Pakistan.

Pakistan is a developing country with multifarious internal problems and external threats. This has

severely affected the desired performance of the economic sector of the country – political

instability, rising poverty, unemployment, inflation, corruption, and minimum foreign investment,

balance of payment problem, ailing agricultural and industrial sectors, with no option for Pakistan
but to get hold of loans from IMF, WB, and other monetary institutions on strict and austere terms

and conditions.

The situation for Pakistan became worst when it decided to join GWOT. The GWOT has

hit Pakistan very hard. The News reported on March 24, 2010 that “during the period from 2002

to mid-March 2010, a total of 7,739 terrorist incidents had occurred in Pakistan which had

resulted in 8,875 deaths of both security personnel and civilians. Some three million people had

been displaced because of the fighting inside Pakistan.”6 Pakistan served almost 19 years in

GWOT but still could not get any reward, but Pakistan face the criticism.

In the present day world, one cannot solve problems by force, one has to go for other

options as well and the best option is negotiations. This is what is now realized by the US

government i.e. they cannot win the war. Now the US is also contemplating negotiations with the

Taliban. Although Pakistan is paying a high cost for its alliance in GWOT in every field, only

security dimension is mentioned in this research work.

1.1 significance of the study

The terrorism problem is one of the most extreme threat for international community .Pakistan

is a country that contributed in the war against terrorism .Pakistan’s relationship and being very

to the nurseries of the terrorism ,its actions and policies are very important to understand.

Turmoil and instability in Pakistan caused by the war not only has a significant impact on the

country itself but also on the rest of the world.

The major impact of war in Pakistan that this study explains the major steps taken by

Pakistan in the war against terror, the military operations of Pakistan in different eras, the effect

6
https://www.globalpolicy.org/war-on-terrorism.html,(Accessed on 14/3/2019)
of war against terror on economy of Pakistan, the violation of state sovereignty, security threats

for Pakistan on international and domestic level, and relations effect between Pakistan and U.S.

The goal of the thesis is to evaluate Pakistan as a country fighting against terrorism and

Pakistan’s struggle against terror possibly will influence the future international outcome of the

war on terror.

1.2 Objective of the Study

The objective of the thesis is to explain the contributions of Pakistan in war against terror led by

the U.S. The event of 9/11 brought a new lifeline for the Pakistan Foreign relations due to its

geographic importance in the war on terror .Pakistan became the frontline ally of the unites

states and facilitator of the international community in the war on terror and fully participated

in it to secure its national interests. In this thesis, I aimed to disclose the participation of Pakistan

and the cost Pakistan had been paying since almost two decades. The goal of this master thesis is

to evaluate Pakistan as a country fighting against terrorism .In this regard, the light is shaded to

the effects of this war on Pakistan’s economy, security and sovereignty.

1.3 Methodology

The method of this study is qualitative analysis .The overall data sources were documentary

material .Major part of the study has been extracted from past research articles, journals,

related books newspapers reports and internet. Documentary material have already collected

data and some statistical reports, this made the thesis easy and give an overview to

understand new ideas.

1.4 Research Questions

 1- Is Pakistan’s involvement in Afghan war a correct decision?

2- Can Pakistan reduce the terrorism in future?

3- Has Pakistan economy damaged due to American war?

4- Has terrorism increased the defense budget of Pakistan?

5- Has Pakistan’s sovereignty affect by this war?

6- Has tourism and infrastructure affected due to terrorism?

7- Did the exports decline due to terrorism in Pakistan

8- Are all the military operations successful against war on terror?

1.5 Organization of the Study

This study is a systematic manner to obtain the require research goal, chapter have been

arranged in such a way that each chapter has connected with the preceding one, in chapter

one introduction, significance and objective. Chapter second is based on the explanation of

Pakistan’s initiatives towards the war against terror, in third chapter, Pakistan military

operations in different eras has been discussed. Chapter four is based on the effect on

Pakistan in war against terrorism. And the last chapter is the conclusion of the thesis.