Author: Sridhar Krishnaswami
Publication: The Hindu
Date: May 1, 2003
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/05/01/stories/2003050100801200.htm
While maintaining that Pakistan
"remained a key ally" in the anti-terrorism efforts, the United States
has said that extremist violence in Kashmir, which is fuelled by infiltration
from Pakistan across the Line of Control had threatened to become a flashpoint
for a wider India-Pakistan conflict for much of 2002.
The State Department's Patterns
of Global Terrorism Report for 2002 has said that: "Like the United States,
India faces a significant terrorist threat. Its primary source is the activity
of militants opposed to continued Indian rule over the disputed province
of Kashmir."
The annual ritual on Patterns of
Global Terrorism is mandated by legislation and the report notes that India
with the exception of the month of February last year had seen one or several
"significant terrorist incidents".
"Pakistan remained a key ally in
the anti-terrorism effort, offering support to U.S. operations in Afghanistan,
implementing close law enforcement cooperation and cracking down on domestic
extremists. In the very same breath, the State Department talks about infiltration
across the LoC and extremist violence in Kashmir.
"Extremist violence in Kashmir,
meanwhile, fuelled by infiltration from Pakistan across the Line of Control,
threatened to become a flashpoint for a wider India- Pakistan conflict
during most of the year", the State Department notes.
The 2002 Report lists at least three
terror outfits active or operating in Jammu and Kashmir, including the
Hizb-ul- Mujahidin, but maintains that the specific sources of external
aid are "unknown".
In 2002, South Asia remained a central
battleground in the global war on terrorism", the Report for 2002 says,
going on to briefly describe the liberation of Afghanistan from the Taliban
and the elimination of the Al-Qaeda and in the process making the point
that "fleeing terrorists also caused trouble in Pakistan and other states
through which they transited".
In the section on India, the State
Department's Annual Report takes note of New Delhi's continued support
for the global coalition against terrorism in 2002, "while engaging in
its own efforts to address the internal and external threats".
It also takes note of the enactment
of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, an anti-money laundering bill, passed
by the Indian Parliament and the launching of the Indo-U.S. Cyber Security
Forum last May to safeguard critical infrastructures from attacks.
This apart, the annual report also
lists mechanically the various high-profile terrorist attacks that have
taken place, especially in Kashmir, making the point in the process that
Washington has designated the Lakshar-e-Toiba as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.
Expectedly, Pakistan has been hailed
a "vital partner" in the ongoing war against terrorism, especially as it
pertains to Afghanistan.
"In 2002 Pakistan remained a vital
partner in the global coalition against terrorism playing a key role in
the diplomatic, law enforcement and military to eliminate al Qaeda. Pakistan...consulted
extensively with the United States and the United Nations on ways to combat
terrorist financing and drafted anti-money laundering legislation", the
State Department has said.
"The evil of terrorism continued
to plague the world throughout 2002 from Bali to Grozny to Mombasa. At
the same time the global war against the terrorist threat was waged intensively
in all regions with encouraging results", remarks Ambassador Cofer Black,
the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism.
In 2002, international terrorists
conducted 199 attacks a significant drop by 44 per cent from the 355 attacks
recorded in 2001.
A total of 725 persons were killed
in 2002 as compared to 3295, who died in 2001, which included the fatalities
of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon
in Washington and Pennsylvania.
