It was nearly a year back when I
drafted a book on Daesh, while it was about to go for publication I held it,
considering that let the nation remain on one page as the then government in
Pakistan was not ready to accept the presence of Daesh/ISIS in the country
openly however, government ministers were privately confessed.
Though it is still
semi-confession of its presence, but I feel that the world must know the
foundational facts about Daesh, how it was created and what was the purpose and
motives behind its creation. Now is the time that I have decided to launch this
book in a couple of weeks, which will explain its evolution and financing. The
group is, in fact, replacing Al-Qaeda.
Daesh has so far claimed the
following acts of terrorism in Pakistan:
• An attack on a bus in Karachi
in May 2015 that killed 46 people, was the first major incident officially
claimed by IS in Pakistan.
• A suicide bomber in Pakistan
killed at least 70 people and wounded more than 100 in August 2016 in an attack
on mourners gathered at a hospital in the southwestern city of Quetta, and
Daesh claimed responsibility of it.
• In October 2016, Three ISIS
terrorists carried out a mass shooting at police cadets at a training center in
Quetta kills 61 cadets and wounded 160. The two of them had bombed themselves
while one was killed during the operation.
• In February 2017, a suicide
bomber killed 100 people at the Sehwan Sharif; a Shrine in Sindh. ISIS claimed
responsibility.
• In May 2017, Daesh targeted the
ex- deputy chairman of Senate Abdul Ghafoor Haideri in a bomb attack in Mastung
District.
• In August 2017, a suicide blast
carried out by ISIS in Quetta killed 15 people including 8 Pakistani soldiers.
• In July 2018, Daesh carried out
the deadliest attack in the history of Pakistan after APS attack in Mastung in
which Siraj Raisani was about to address an election rally when a suicide
bomber, carrying around 16–20 kg of explosive material in his vest, blew
himself up among a crowd of more than 1000 people. Along with Raisani, the
explosion killed 128 people. Two days after the attack, on 15 July 2018, the
number of dead increased to 149, while 186 other people were injured.
• The most recent act of
terrorism in Quetta in a fruit market, which killed over 20 people and around
48 got injured, has also been claimed by Daesh.
It is very clear that Daesh is now fully present in Pakistan and its training camps are in Afghanistan, where the Daesh recruits from all over the world, including Pakistan, China and Russia. Individuals are trained and then launched in the respective countries on preselected targets.
There are strong indicators that
this region will be destabilised through Daesh. The above major incidents are
now a testimony of the presence of Daesh in Pakistan but operating from
Afghanistan.
Let us see what actions are taken
to smash it before it grows into a bigger monster like Al-Qaeda.
Worldwide attacks of Daesh
ISIS claimed 14 attacks alone in
Iraq in 2013, 1 in Pakistan and 7 in Europe in 2014. They claimed 5 in Europe,
3 in Turkey and 1 in Iraq in 2015. In 2016, ISIS held 10 attacks in Europe, 1
in Afghanistan, 2 in Pakistan, 4 in Turkey and 5 in Iraq. In 2017, they carried
out 9 attacks in Europe, 4 in Afghanistan, 3 in Pakistan, 1 in Turkey and 1 in
Iraq. In 2018, Europe has been attacked by ISIS and Afghanistan twice. Pakistan
has recently been attacked this year.
Abu Musab Al Zarqawi with Daesh
Flag
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian
militant was the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and founder of Daesh (ISIS). He
formed the group to conduct terrorist activities against US forces in Iraq in
the aftermath of toppling Saddam Hussain around 2003. Initially, Abu Musab Al
Zarqawi called his group Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
He was killed on June 2006 by an
American airstrike on an isolated safe house in north of Baghdad. Total six
people were killed in that airstrike including Al Zarqawi, his spiritual
adviser and four other people including a woman and a child. The strike had
been accompanied by a ground assault involving American and Iraqi troops.
It was an important killing as Al
Zarqawi had an American bounty of $25 million over his head for being the
most-wanted man in Iraq for his leadership of terrorist groups. His group under
his leadership carried out many of the most brutal attacks, including suicide
bombings, kidnappings and beheadings. In his late 30's, he was titled as
"Prince of Al-Qaeda" in Iraq by Osama bin Laden.
Abu Bakar Al Baghdadi
He is declared the present leader
of ISIS and is based in Syria. Al-Baghdadi was detained in a US-run prison in
southern Iraq for several months and was later released in 2004. After ISIS
declared the creation of the so-called "Islamic State," he started
calling himself as Al-Khalifah Ibrahim.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is
apparently the most wanted target of the US. He was reportedly targeted in Oct
15, but it is not sure if he has been killed yet. He was wounded on 18 March
2015 during a US airstrike on the Al-Baaj District, near the Syrian border. He
had serious wounds so much so that the top ISIS leaders had started discussing
who would replace him if he died. Nobody knows if it was a truth or merely a
disinformation.
Since then, the US State
Department has offered a reward of up to $25 million for information or
intelligence leading to his capture or death, after his further use.
According to the latest reports
he has found his way to Turkey and I can foresee his end like Osama Bin Laden
as he is the custodian of many secrets of his masters and he will prove to be
dangerous for western creators. Hence his end is going to be like Osama Bin
Laden.
His utility in Middle-East has
almost come to end and many of his followers and trained Daesh infected
terrorists have found their way now towards many Muslim countries including
Pakistan. The sub Head Quarter of Daesh is now in Afghanistan and Afghan
Intelligence knows exactly where their training centers are located. These
camps cannot function without the patronage of Afghan government and their
ultimate masters.
Daesh outfit conceived by west
and energised in the Middle East is now being used in Pakistan and is likely to
increase its influence in South Asia soon.
Let us hope that the government takes serious steps against it after Quetta incident and takes all the possible measures to expose this network and smash it. I also propose that Daesh should also be banned in Pakistan and action should be taken to eliminate their members and associates promoting it here.
Let us keep our minds and eyes
open and the government should either prove the claims of Daesh or declare its
presence and take strict action by not allowing it to grow by default.
It is never too late to accept
the reality and the reality is that Daesh is actually hurting us and we should
smash its head before it grows a monster like Al-Qaeda. It is high time for the
government and Parliament to get the National Action Plan revised and
implemented.
The article was published in "The News" on April 20, 2019 and the link to original link is Daesh replaces al-Qaeda in South Asia — Quetta victims calling for justice
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