Erroneously, the jihadist bloodshed in Pakistan is being seen by Indian analysts as Pakistan’s problem...Though led by Arab militants, Al-Qaeda was created and nurtured in Pakistan, spread to the Middle East from Pakistan and its central leadership remains protected by Pakistan. The AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent) is advancing the ISI’s post-2014 strategy. It has declared its objective to establish an Islamic caliphate from Afghanistan to Bangladesh and beyond by erasing international borders created by the British. So, the Wagah border has become a new jihadist target. It is a template borrowed from Pakistani intellectual traditions. From their early days through the 1980s, Pakistani leaders thought of establishing a sphere of Islamic influence from Pakistan through Afghanistan to Central Asia. The ISI is implanting this template eastward. The Wagah attack connects with Burdwan, where young Muslim women and men were being given arms training till October 2 when accidental blasts exposed everything. Tufail Ahmad is Director of South Asia Studies Project at the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Washington DC. His areas of interests include Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, jihadist movements and global Islamism, multiculturalism and Islamic reformation.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 03:32:17 +0000
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