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Terrorism

Is the Pakistani government helping or hindering the fight against terrorism?

Results so far:

Helping
28% 49 votes Total: 174 votes
Hindering
72% 125 votes

Yes, the Pakistani government is hindering the fight against terrorism because Pakistan is a haven for terrorists. From the information I gathered from an article by the Council on Foreign Relations Pakistan's government does support terrorism because experts say that Pakistan's military and Interservice Intelligence (ISI) both include personnel who sympathize with-or even assist-Islamist militants. ISI has provided covert but well-documented support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including the al Qaeda affiliate Jeish-e-Mohammed, which investigators linked to the December 1991 attack on the Indian parliament amd the February 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, President Pervez Musharraf made promises to stop Kashmiri militants from crossing into the Indian-held sector of Kashmir, but India insists Musharraf has yet to stop the terrorists' movements such as the most recent murder of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Pakistan, which had backed al-Qaeda's Taliban hosts before September 11, abruptly reversed course and threw its lot in with the U.S.-led antiterrorist coalition. Under heavy U.S. pressure, Musharraf condemned the attacks and pledged Pakistan's "unstinted cooperation" two days later. Pakistan has since become a key U.S. partner in its campaign against al-Qaeda, even as the perpetually turbulent, nuclear armed Muslim country has teetered on the brink of war with India over the disputed province of Kashmir. Experts say Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 coup, is under enormous strain; America is demanding that he crack down on
Islamist militants; Pakistan's religious extremists and some intelligence officials are furious at him for abandoning Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and softening his line on Kashmir; and Pakistan's main political parties are shunning him because he's resisting the restoration of democracy.

Pakistan does not support the 'war on terroism' because despite its government's cooperation with the U. S., Pakistan is home to many Islamist extremists, some with links to al-Qaeda and other terrorists groups. Militants have conducted several terrorists attacks on Americans and other Westerners in Pakistan since September 11, including the abduction and murder of Daniel Pearl and the June 2002 car bombing of the U.S. consulate in Karachi, which killed twelve Pakistanis. Thanks to shared Islamist sympathies and ethnic ties, some Pakistanis have also helped Taiban and al-Qaeda fighters fleeing from Afghanistan take refuge throughout Pakistan. U.S. officials are concerned al-Qaeda could regenerate itself in urban areas and in the Northwest Frontier province, a lawless tribal region on the Afghan border inhabited by Pashtuns, the Taliban's dominant ethnic group.

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Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Is the Pakistani government helping or hindering the fight against terrorism?

Hindering
  • 1 of 6

    by Abigail Adams

    With Afghanistan, and Iran to its east, and an indigenous nuclear weapons program, Pakistan's cooperation with the Un...read more

  • 2 of 6

    by Aldo Bonincontro

    Pakistan is one of the main allied of the U.S., among the Islamic Countries, in their international fight against ter...read more

Helping
  • 1 of 7

    by Steve Lussing

    The Pakistani Government like any other is an avowed opponent of civil unrest and social instability and accordingly ...read more

  • 2 of 7

    by Aparna Guru

    Pakistan's stance against terrorism has been dubious all the time. There is a duality exist in this country everywher...read more

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