On October 6, 2003, US Deputy Secretary of state Richard Armitage huddled with Pervez Musharraf at the
presidential palace on the highly guarded Constitution Avenue in Islamabad. As he was heaping praise on Musharraf and Pakistan’s military brass for their efforts to dismantle the terror infrastructure in the country, a few kilometres away a car was stopped by a few armed men. Within seconds, the passenger’s body was riddled with bullets, and he fell in a pool of blood. The assailants fled, without leaving any trace.
The victim was Azam Tariq, head of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, who was on his way to Islamabad from Jhang. And he was just one of the dozens of extremists eliminated by unknown killers in Pakistan in a few months.
Those were not ordinary times. Stung by the 9/11 terror attacks, the US had forced Islamabad to take action against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, and masked men battering targets beyond recognition had become the new normal on Pakistani streets. Riaz Basra, founder of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was killed in May 2002 in Mailsi in Punjab. Asif Ramzi, a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi operative wanted in 87 cases, was killed in December 2002. He was said to have links to the kidnappers of American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was later killed by suspected Al Qaeda operatives.
Many theories emerged on the killings—the war on terror, internecine clashes, harbouring hordes of extremists becoming untenable for the Pak spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence—but the perpetrators were never caught. Terrorism, however, bounced back. On the run, many militants joined hands with terror groups sitting across in Jammu and Kashmir where outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen used their skills to multiply their cadre.
This story is from the December 24, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 24, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A SHOT OF ARCHER
An excerpt from the prologue of An Eye for an Eye
MASTER OF MAKE-BELIEVE
50 years. after his first book, Jeffrey*Archer refuses to put down his'felt-tip Pilot pen
Smart and sassy Passi
Pop culture works according to its own unpredictable, crazy logic. An unlikely, overnight celebrity has become the talk of India. Everyone, especially on social media, is discussing, dissing, hissing and mimicking just one person—Shalini Passi.
Energy transition and AI are reshaping shipping
PORTS AND ALLIED infrastructure development are at the heart of India's ambitions to become a maritime heavyweight.
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
Trump’s preferred transactional approach to foreign policy meshes well with Modi’s bent towards strategic autonomy
DOOM AND GLOOM
Democrats’ message came across as vague, preachy and hopelessly removed from reality. And voters believed Trump’s depiction of illegal immigrants as a source of their economic woes
WOES TO WOWS
The fundamental reason behind Trump’s success was his ability to convert average Americans’ feelings of grievance into votes for him
POWER HOUSE
Trump International Hotel was the only place outside the White House where Trump ever dined during his four years as president
DON 2.0
Trump returns to presidency stronger than before, but just as unpredictable
THE SECOND COMING
Trump 1.0 was not an aberration, but a logical sign of shifting political realities and cultures. Simply following the playbook of the first term may not be enough to do business with DONALD TRUMP in his second term