Curses of Smuggling and Terrorism & its Effects on Security in Asian Countries
in the cover image the jihadist terrorists Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
by retired Pakistani Brig. Gen. Asif Haroon Raja *
All links to previous Gospa News articles have been added in the aftermath by Editorial Staff
It has been revealed by the sources of the ruling govt that Pakistan suffers an annual loss of one billion dollars annually on account of smuggling of petroleum products. About ten million litres of POL products are smuggled through land and sea routes daily, which accounts for 20% of Pakistan’s annual consumption and causes a heavy loss of one billion dollars.
This bitter reality was revealed by the Advisory Council of Oil Companies in the form of a letter addressed to the Chairman of OGRA last Friday, cautioning him that the smuggling, which has further increased, will inflict an unbearable harm to the oil industry.
The letter stated that it will endanger the genuine sale of high diesel and MS motor spirit and the govt’s tax recoveries. The complaint is genuine when seen in the context of govt’s frenetic efforts to widen the tax net and increase revenue generation in order to meet the surging expenses.
Smuggling of petroleum products, gas and goods from Iran has been going on unchecked for decades. In the past, the people were kept in the dark about the existence and implications of this shady and undesirable racket. For the first time, we are being informed about the scale of smuggling which takes place in broad daylight.
Is smuggling at such a large scale possible without the connivance of the custom officials posted on the land and coastal belt crossing points, the law enforcement agencies deployed along the Iran- Pakistan border and the Mekran coast to check crimes, the security forces deployed to prevent illegal incursions and terrorism?
The answer is a big NO!They would have closed their eyes only if they were receiving their share, and also collecting the share for the provincial govt and the officials.
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One can imagine the amount pocketed by them over a period of at least 50 years if not more. It flourished during the 20 years of war on terror during which the quantum of paramilitary forces increased significantly in the 92% category B area of Baluchistan. Who has been the lord of the B Zone? It is heartbreaking to calculate the loss incurred to the national exchequer.
This lucrative business in which the ill-gotten money goes into the pockets of the individuals could be one reason for the lack of interest in the Iran- Pakistan gas pipeline pending since 2009. The official stance of course is the threat of the US sanctions. Pakistan will now have to pay a heavy penalty of 18 billion dollars if it fails to honor the agreement by next month.
The Organized Cross Border of Terrorism
Apart from smuggling, eastern Baluchistan in Iran has been the den of BLA and BNA. The Indian Consulates in Iran were used as front offices of RAW agents to organise cross border terrorism in order to use the paid proxies to hit Pakistan from two directions. In last February, Pakistan had to undertake an aerial strike against the BLA hideout in Sarawan. Several missing Baloch rebels were killed.
The story of our western border with Afghanistan is equally depressing. Small-scale smuggling of foreign products from Afghanistan to Pakistan had remained a routine chore after 1947. The cross border movement was easy due to the ruggedness and porous nature of the Durand Line stretched to 2600 km, and Pakistan’s policy of softness.
The other upsetting phenomenon was provision of refuge to the Baloch rebels and supporting their cause by successive Afghan regimes, whenever they triggered insurgency in Baluchistan. The 1973 insurgency was supported by KGB, KHAD and RAW.
In the Afghan Jihad in the 1980s, India was on the side of Afghanistan and it supported terrorism stoked by Al Zulfiqar. The war introduced two alien cultures of arms smuggling and drugs peddling in Pakistan at a big scale. Pakistan faced ethnic and sectarian challenges in the 1990s.
The Taliban regime under Mullah Omar banned poppy growing and eliminated this evil practice, but Pakistan couldn’t get rid of this menace, or the Kalashnikov culture, due to disinterest and lack of will of the two regimes of PPP and PML N.
For Pakistan, a downhill journey began in the 1990s. Human values, morals and ethics decayed. Nepotism, favouritism and corruption were promoted. Economics came in the grip of the IMF.
In the war on terror in which Pakistan became an ally of the US -NATO, CIA, MI6, Mossad, BND, RAW and NDS banded together to destabilise and denuclearize Pakistan. The military regime kept pandering to the ill- motivated demands of the US and kept doing more to bleed the Pakistanis. Pakistan considered the TTA as friends, and TTP, Al Qaeda and the Baloch insurgents as enemies. Pakistan faced both rural and urban terrorism, and the conflict zones were FATA, Baluchistan and Karachi.
Poppy growing in Afghanistan became a lucrative trade and Afghanistan became the world’s largest narcotic producing country, counting for more than 90% of poppy growing.
Its huge profits were earned by CIA, NATO, the US contractors, Afghan drug lords, ANSF, TTA and India. Helmand became the hub of narcotics production and smuggling. President Hamid Karzai and his brother were also involved in this racket.
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Pakistan: Transit Ground for Drug Trafficking
After synthesising the poppies through chemicals, the finished products were sent to the world markets through Pakistan, which became a transit ground for drug trafficking.
Gradually, the drugs that had already affected a segment, found their way into the universities, colleges and schools in Pakistan. Drug barons and their carriers spread this addiction in society and a large segment got addicted to drugs. Arms smuggling was renewed at a bigger scale.
Although the Taliban regime under Mullah Akhund Haibatullah has once again banned poppy growing and achieved 95% progress; 5% poppy is still grown along both sides of the border with Pakistan.
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On our side, certain parts in Waziristan and Baluchistan grow poppy. Near Qila Saifullah, a synthesising machine has been installed. The drug business through Pakistan is still going on and some MPAs in Baluchistan and KP Govts are involved.
The interim regime in Kabul did not impose any restrictions on illegal dollars smuggling from Pakistan. It overcame its acute foreign currency shortages caused by 8 billion dollars freeze by the US & European banks, by filling its banks with dollars smuggled from Pakistan. It caused the dollar crisis in Pakistan and jumped up the value of a dollar to Rs. 350.
The other thing which has impacted Pak-Afghan relations is the issue of cross border terrorism by TTP, headquartered in five to six safe havens in Eastern Afghanistan and in Kandahar.
Kabul initially offered mediation to settle issues with the banned TTP, and when the negotiations failed, the Afghan Govt stated that it was the internal matter of Pakistan and it couldn’t do much about it.
In spite of Pakistan providing concrete evidence and location of each hideout of TTP in Afghanistan, the IEA has made a volta face and has now taken a stance that no TTP elements exist in their country.
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The IEA has restored relations with India, the US and with all its neighbours less Pakistan, since it refuses to cooperate on the issue of cross border terrorism by TTP. The reasons could be its weak control over the border districts, its internal security issues and divisions.
The US-NATO weapons and equipment worth 7.5 billion dollars that were in the use of 3,42000 ANSF, were abandoned by the fleeing soldiers and policemen, and they melted away in Aug 2021 in the face of multi pronged offensives by the Taliban.
Those weapons have so far not been taken over and documented by the ruling regime, due to which those sophisticated weapons, equipment, satellite phone sets and explosives are on sale to all the ostracised militant groups in Afghanistan which include the TTP, IS-K, BLA and even the Dacoits in Sindh.
Strengthened with sophisticated weapons and backup support of the patrons and foreign agencies, the TTP and BLA stepped up terrorism in the two conflict zones in a big way from the end of 2001 onwards. So far, they haven’t relented despite continuous intelligence based counter actions by the security forces.
The Latest Terrorist Attack in Baluchistan
The latest high profile attacks were carried out by BLA in Baluchistan on 26 Aug in which many targets were attacked and the rail and road communications severed.
There are several reasons behind these dastardly attacks in which 23 innocent civilians travelling in passenger buses were brutally killed on ethnic basis. The purpose of the master planners was to provoke the Punjabis and Punjab dominated Army to retaliate and to start Baloch – Punjabi ethnic war.
The main reasons were: Anniversary of Nawab Akbar Bugti, visit of China’s PLA Chief to Pakistan, opening ceremony of Gawadar seaport, coming SCO Summit in Isbd, start of CPEC phase 2, and lastly, to bolster Mahrang Baloch missing persons movement which has begun to wane. The latter is the political face of BLA.
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The govt has decided to crush the foreign backed terrorist groups and also to speed up development works to win the people. Already the security forces have sent 54 Khawarijs to hell in Baluchistan (17) and Tirah (37) since Aug 20.
Operation Azm e Estehkam, for which funds have been approved by the govt, is being fine tuned. Unlike the previous army operations, this will not be solely military oriented and not confined to a specific region but will be all encompassing and countrywide. It will cover all other aspects connected with upping extremism and terrorism.
To this end, it will ensure completion of the 20 points of the National Action Plan (NAP), approved by all the stakeholders in Jan 2015. The change of regime in Aug 2018 sidelined NAP, and efforts were made to win over the irreconcilable terrorists.
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NACTA, dealing specifically with counter terrorism, which was supposed to house all the 23 intelligence agencies under one roof for better planning and coordination of intelligence matters, was closed.
Other points that have not been implemented are reforms of Madrassas, judiciary, building capacity of the police to deal with enhanced threat, and above all, to pacify the combat zones through education, awareness, socioeconomic uplift of the backward provinces, and by winning the hearts and minds of the people.
Last but not the least is, how to tackle the dangerous threats of digital terrorism, disinformation and cultism. These are supplementing proxy war.
There are no two opinions about the hard reality that the economics cannot be refurbished and improved without political stability, security and homogeneity. One of the political parties nursing political grievances, is bent upon failing the country by stoking chaos and anarchy. Never before was Pakistan faced with so many internal crises in one time.
All the stakeholders will have to shun their differences, rifts and personal ambitions, join hands to make Pakistan strong and prosperous. No external conspiracy can succeed against a united and cohesive home front. United we stand, divided we fall.
by retired Pakistani Brig. Gen. Asif Haroon Raja *
ALL ARTICLES BY ASIF HAARON RAJA ON GOSPA NEWS
* Asif Haroon Raja, retired Brig Gen of Pakistan Army, the largest army of the Muslim world. War veteran, took part in epic battle of Hilli in the 1971 War with India, defence & security analyst, international columnist,, author of five books, his sixth book under publication, Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Centre, Member CWC PESS & Think Tank.
He is a defense analyst, columnist and writes articles on security, defense, political matters. He served as Defense Attaché Egypt and Sudan and Dean of Corps of Military Attaches in Cairo. He commanded infantry brigade in Kashmir, served as Director Psychological Operations, commanded North Zone NLC and National Guards Sector.
All links to Gospa News articles have been added aftermath, in relation to the topics highlighted
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DISCLAIMER – The opinions of the columnist do not necessarily correspond to those of Gospa News and the director who decline any responsibility for the contents and have decided to publish this contribution in a pluralist information logic and in compliance with the laws on the rights of free expression
