Pakistan has been accused of sheltering terrorists for years in its territory and its occupied region as reports suggest that more than 20 terrorist training camps are operating in the country and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Roland Jacquard writes in Global Watch Analysis that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) continues to support the proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir by aiding and abetting terrorism through terrorist outfits including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).
As per reports, the infrastructure to recruit, train and infiltrate militants into J&K remains intact in Pakistan, the author noted in the article, adding that there are more than 20 terrorist training camps operating in Pakistan and PoK.
Roland Jacquard further stated in Global Watch Analysis that inputs indicate that around 140-145 terrorists are present in these launching pads, awaiting the right opportunity to infiltrate.
As the international community grapples with the war in Ukraine, rising tensions in the Taiwan strait and civil war in the Central African Republic, it is even more important to ensure that this part of the world does not witness a full-blown conflict.
Roland Jacquard wrote that it is important to maintain pressure on the Pakistan Army and its government to carry out a course correction in their policy of support to terror groups, in order to prevent sustained stability.
He also urged various international organisations, including United Nations, the European Union and the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) to actively contribute to the effort.
Meanwhile, in order to target youths and channelling finance for Pakistan-backed terror activities, Islamabad is using narco-terrorism as a new weapon in its proxy war against India in the Kashmir valley.
Ayjaz Wani, writing in Observer Research Foundation (ORF) reported that Kashmir has witnessed an alarming rise in narco-terrorism and the apathy shown by religious leaders has only added to the problem due to their silence over the issue.
Kashmir Valley has seen a 2,000 per cent rise in heroin abuse in the last five years. Pakistan has now resorted to infiltrating large amounts of narcotics in Kashmir with the help of drones. Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh dubbed the narco-terrorism from Pakistan as “the biggest challenge”.
For the last 30 years, Pakistan has succeeded in breaking down the traditional informal control system by introducing contesting religious ideologies such as Jamat-i-Islami, Salafism, and Tableeg. These contesting ideologies have silenced the sane voices within society, making traditional social mores and identities irrelevant.
Of late, Pakistan has used a dual strategy of sending drugs as well as weapons to keep the conflict alive and tear the core of the valley’s social fabric. Heroin smuggled from Pakistan is the most widely used opioid all over Kashmir. The cross-border smuggling of narcotics provides oxygen to terrorism via finances and, if not curbed soon, could ruin the lives of the region’s youth.