A discussion on Twitter the other day brought up a dusty old Ghairat Brigade talking point – there was no terrorism in Pakistan before 2001. Actually, I find that even among my friends and family it’s widely believed that terrorism was brought by the Americans as part of their ‘War on Terror’, and it will leave with the Americans. If it wasn’t for ‘America’s war’, Pakistan would still be as peaceful and tolerant as it was before. This is a great talking point that provides an easy solution to one of the most grave problems facing the nation. Too bad it’s utter non sense.
1986: Pan Am Flight 73 highjacked in Karachi, innocent passengers killed
1987: Bombs kill 72 and wound 250 in Pakistani city.
The bombs exploded half an hour apart amid crowds of rush-hour shoppers in the heart of Karachi, the country’s biggest city.
1995: 2 Americans shot to death in Pakistan.
Gunmen shot and killed two United States diplomats and wounded a third this morning as they were driven to work in Karachi, a sprawling port city that has long been ravaged by violence…
More than 1,000 people have been killed in Karachi since January 1994 in a wave of ethnic, sectarian and factional violence. Of these, more than 275 have been killed this year, including 13 Shiite Muslim men and boys who died last week in a massacre in a Karachi mosque. The victims, who had gone to the mosque for prayers celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, were lined up against a wall in the mosque and gunned down.
1995: Widespread damage: 40 die in Peshawar car-bomb blast.
PESHAWAR, Dec. 21: At least 40 people were killed and nearly 120 injured when a powerful explosion rocked the central part of the city, blowing up a number of shops and setting others on fire. The blast was said to have been caused by a car bomb.
1995: Suicide bomber attacks Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, kills 15 and wounds 59.
A suicide bomber rammed a pickup truck packed with explosives into the gate of the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad today, killing 15 people and wounding 59 others. Islamic militants claimed responsibility.
Most of the dead were Pakistani security guards and people applying for visas. One Egyptian diplomat was also killed, hospital officials said.
1997: Retribution?
The four Americans were killed this morning when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their station wagon. The vehicle’s Pakistani driver was also killed in what police described as a deliberate attack. According to police reports the car carrying the Americans was forced off a road in Central Karachi, then riddled with bullets at close range. The driver and the four passengers died instantly, according to the police. The four Americans worked for the Union Texas Petroleum Company–the largest international oil firm in Pakistan. Today, at Union Texas headquarters in Houston, John Whitmire, the company’s CEO, said he and his colleagues were stunned…
Pakistan was a long-time Cold War ally of the United States and a partner in the decade-long fight to oust the Russians from Afghanistan in the 1980’s. In recent years the country has suffered from political turmoil, ethnic violence, and economic stagnation. So far, no one has taken responsibility for today’s attack. But both Pakistani and U.S. officials speculated that it could be linked to the case of Mir Aimal Kasi–a Pakistani national charged with the murders of two men, both CIA employees.
1999: Explosions rock Islamabad
Several explosions hit Pakistan’s capital today. Rockets struck near the US Embassy, the UN office, an American cultural center and other buildings, rocking Islamabad with at least seven explosions, officials and witnesses said.
These are just a few examples of terrorist incidents that occurred before 2001, putting to rest the false claim that we can sit and do nothing and the problem of terrorism will magically disappear when American troops leave Afghanistan. Also, do you notice how many incidents involved the killing of Americans? These incidents also disprove the false claim that anti-Americanism is a result of drone strikes or American troops in Afghanistan. The fact is that authoritarian tyrants have used the bogey of America to exploit sentiments and manipulate the people for decades. It’s nothing new, and we should stop being fooled by the same old tricks.
These are just a few examples that I was able to easily find news articles about doing some basic research, but it’s just a drop in the bucket. Terrorism in Pakistan was not imported by Americans, and it’s not going to leave when they go home in 2014. We will never be free of this menace until we face the uncomfortable truth that we are allowing the problem to grow as poisonous ideologies fueled by hatred and violence are allowed to spread unchecked. Until we are willing to face the internal threat head on, we are going to continue to suffer. That’s not a talking point, that’s reality.
Great research. I suppose what people argue with more is the magnitude of terrorist attacks over the past few years. It is understandable, given our bleak situation. However, supporting what you have said, sectarian and ethnic violence have long crippled Pakistan( especially Karachi) before the war on terror, and they are issues that will escalate in the near future. The problem indeed is very internal.
[…] in the past about my disagreements with this Eurocentric and softly racist narrative and have little to add to it. In any case, no one in authority in either the imperialist powers or Pakistan is paying too much […]
[…] in the past about my disagreements with this Eurocentric and softly racist narrative and have little to add to it. In any case, no one in authority in either the imperialist powers or Pakistan is paying too much […]
Terrorists have turned Pakistan into an unstable state. They should be hunted and killed brutally like they kill innocent people with their improvised explosive devices.
I am waiting for the time when all these terrorists would be completely wiped out. There won’t be any terrorists attack powered by improvised explosive devices anymore when there would be no more terrorists
EU will be providing Pakistan with modern robotic technology that would help the security forces in detecting the deadly improvised explosive devices, these terrorists use to spread violence.
Improvised explosive devices have ruined our peace.
[…] these clones was the rise of terror attacks in Pakistan after 9/11. As is well known and accepted, there was no terrorism in Pakistan before 2001, and all Pakistanis were healthy, educated, and upper middle class. 35,000 of innocent Pakistanis […]
Fundamental leaders like Hafiz Sayeed(JUD) and Mallick Ishaq (LEJ) are baffons and beggars of pakistan, they eat only cow dung and sleep. They have no work at all. Sometimes they look in blog as a cartoons. These terrorists only begs in pakistan. These terrorists should be eliminated without any courtesty. They are not an islamists. They are terrorists.pakistan is a unislamic country they preach terrorism instead of islam. The terrorists like beggers-like Mohd Hafeez Saeed and Pakistan taliban leader should be eliminated. They deserves death. Once JuD terrorist was a beggar of north Wazaristan and later he became a small thief and now he is an Terrorists. The US drone attack should be proceeded continuously till these beggars dismantled. I love india. Mere Bharath Mahan. They are so many terrorists in pakistan trained and sent to India. They are trained in madrassas. The preachers of the terrorism is Baffoon Mohd Hafeez Saeed and Pakistan taliban chief.
The pak taliban chief Mullah Fazalullah fate will the same happened for osama bin laden and Hakimullah mehsud. No one tells that the terrorists are Martyrs. These terrorists fight for their behest. The terrorsts are deserved to die with army force. The JuD terrorists Mohd Hafeez Saeed was a beggar of north wazaristan. The pakistan taliban. All these terrorists are beggars of pakistan land. Pakistan is an unislamic country. All the pakistan terrorists are cowards. These terrorists-baffoons dies dogs death only. These terrorists preaches only Terrorism in pakistan land. They have no gutts. These terrorists will die dogs death in pakistan land…..
By;
Vilop K G
+91-080-9986930810
India
Its not a reliable research,Have you mentioned single terrorism incident in KPK??expexct peshawer only one and there is no single attack in Waziristan,fata etc and whrs balochistan??
The islamic jihad has become a dirty things to the pakistan terrorists like JUD/ LET, Taliban, ISI. The terrorists like Mohd Hafiz Saeed, Meshud, etc should be eliminated. Now they are drinking cows dung and urine everyday morning to vanish their sin. since these terrorists are baffoons and beggars of pakistan. These terrorists were stitching damaged slippers before madrasas in pakistan. These terrorists are not true islamists. Vil….+919620504282…
SO you manage to pull together 6 entire incidents before 2001. Are you serious? You actually wrote an article about 6 terrorists incidents in a country’s history??? 2 of which are shootings? Shootings happen everyday in every country. So 60,000 people murdered by terrorist after 2001 compared to 4 incidents before 2001? This is such a silly article. And has actually made me believe that the terrorists have been fueled by the war on terror., which I didnt believe before reading this article. I cant believe you even spent time on this.
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