Resurgent Taliban Poses Greater Security Challenges for Pakistan

Pakistan has been struggling to cope with a multitude of predicaments ranging from political instability to sectarian intolerance which often prompts the international community to tag this South Asian nation as a failing state. The homegrown neo-Talibanism in the tribal areas adjoining Afghanistan and Jihadi proxies in areas bordering India continues to pose myriad security challenges for Pakistan’s internal security as well as physical integrity.

 

ANIMESH ROUL

Radicalization, Terrorism and Community Engagement in India-I

The arrest of the suspects of terror activities in Bangalore, Nanded, and Hyderabad and the low-intensity bomb explosions in Pune on 1 August 2012 are pointing fingers at the involvement of some Indian Muslims. Earlier also, many of the terrorist attacks against cities in India had been conceptualized and planned by Indian Muslims who sought to attack their own country. Despite these events, India has not taken any comprehensive community engagement programme (CEP) to engage the Muslim community to check radicalization, which is a solid tool for controlling homegrown terrorism.

DR. R. BHANU KRISHNA KIRAN

Fears of a Militant Resurgence Loom in Kashmir as Territorial Dispute is Revived at UN Forum

The security situation in the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) state of India has reached a new low in the past few months as militant organizations backed by Islamabad have stepped up a campaign of politically-motivated violence by targeting vital infrastructure in the region and attacking civil society members. The region’s status remains disputed by Pakistan, which refers to J&K as “Indian-occupied Kashmir.” In what seems to be a shift in terrorist tactics, the militants have begun focusing on soft targets such as workers, engineers and village-level political representatives.

INTERVIEW: Animesh Roul's interview with “Rediff.com

September 18, 2012

Animesh Roul, a counterterrorism analyst and executive director, Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict, New Delhi says that in the aftermath of the US declaring the Haqqani network as a terrorist organisation there could be retributive strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, even though Haqqani's firepower is dwindling.

In this interview with rediff.com Vicky Nanjappa, Roul discusses the Haqqani network and the growing threat of the Indian Mujahideen. The question, however, is whether the network poses a threat to India or not?

Resurgent Taliban poses greater security challenges for Pakistan

To make things worse for the already stressed Islamabad administration, the hardcore Taliban factions under the banner of Tehrik-e-Talban Pakistan (TTP) reemerged from a brief period of quiescence, initiating a series of violent acts against security forces with the ultimate aim to dislodge the democratically elected government and establish a Taliban style Islamic Emirate in Pakistan. Presently, the TTP’s anger is largely directed towards the Pro-NATO/US policy of Pakistan’s government.