Pakistan responsible for three times the terror risk to humanity than Syria : Report

Pakistan, which remains the breeding ground and supporter of global terrorism, is responsible for three times the terror risk to humanity that Syria poses, says a study — `Humanity at Risk – Global Terror Threat Indicant (GTTI) — by Oxford University and Strategic Foresight Group (SFG). As per the GTTI, while the Afghan Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba (LeT) pose the maximum threat to international security in future, Pakistan is placed on top of the list of countries with the highest number of terrorist bases and safe havens.

“If we look at the most dangerous terrorist groups, based on hard facts and statistics, we find that Pakistan hosts or aids the majority of them. Also, there are a significant number of groups based in Afghanistan, which operate with the support of Pakistan,” the report says.

The over 80-page report, which has been prepared to discuss the challenges in the next decade, presents an analytical framework and tool to enable policymakers to look into the future.

“The rise of competitive extremism of all shades, misuse of weapons of mass destruction and economic disruptions can undermine human progress or even survival in the period from now until 2030. They are all interlinked with terrorism”, the report reveals.

Strategic Foresight Group had analysed almost 200 groups actively involved in committing acts of terror in the first half decade of the twenty-first century. During that period, the groups motivated by their own interpretation of Jihadi ideology accounted for only a fourth of almost 200 groups around the world.

Among these groups, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/Daesh has attracted much of media space in the last five years. But with swift rise and fall of ISIL/Daesh, the Al-Qaida remains the most resilient network. Until 2011, it was led by Osama bin Laden but now his son, Hamza bin Osama bin Laden has emerged, as what sections of the media describe, as the “new crown prince of terror”.

The most significant factor influencing the future of Jihadi groups would be the support they get from states, intelligence agencies and criminal networks.

“The birth of Al-Qaida was in Pakistan and then Pakistan influenced Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden had a safe haven in a huge compound near the Pakistani military establishment in Abbottabad. The compound was much larger than the surrounding houses of retired Pakistani military officers. The occupants of the compound often bought expensive goods from a neighbourhood shop that most people in the vicinity could not afford. The presence of an important family in the compound was nothing but conspicuous,” the report reveals.

The report has also given a comprehensive detail about the global terror outfits operating from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and many other countries who have linkages with each other.

In Pakistan, the terror groups are based in FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Quetta and Kalat (Balochistan), Punjab and Sindh. Enjoying patronage of the law enforcement agencies, they easily plan and plot major attacks and raise funds for their activities.

On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger planes operated by two major US air carriers and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York. The attack killed 2,996 people and injured more than 6,000.

On Friday, Afghanistan’s deputy Defence Minister, Hilaluddin Helal, said at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on defence, that more than 50,000 militants from 21 terrorist organisations are currently operating in Afghanistan and out of these 70 per cent are Pakistanis.

Source: MSN News