What next to strike after Karachi Airport attack? May be next time something Big in China?
Possible terrorist attacks in northwestern china
By Agha Iqrar Haroon
Spokesman of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Shahidullah Shahid confirmed that Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) provided manpower for attack at Karachi Airport on Sunday night and it was joint action of Taliban and IMU.
TTP and IMU statements confirm that militants living in tribal areas of Pakistan have enough potential to strike anywhere they wish within Pakistan or even abroad because they have links with other militants groups in Central Asia, China and Middle East. The Pakistan-based jihadists of Central Asian origin are of increasing concern to countries including China, Russia and Turkey.
The Chinese in particular are worried about Turkic militants carrying out attacks in western China, which has a large Muslim population. There are fears among security observers in Pakistan that successful attack on Karachi airport has given so much confidence and experience to militants that they can plan to strike any small airport in Northwestern province of Xinjiang where they are trying to establish Islamic rule for Uyghur ethnic group.
In 1995 to 1997, the struggle in Xinjiang reached its peak, with increasingly frequent attacks by militants in Xinjiang. This was the same time when Taliban were ruling Afghanistan. China formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) enlisting Central Asian assistance in cracking down on Uighur militants and many of them fled China and they developed contacts with Central Asian militants with the alleged support of Afghan Taliban leadership that was providing them support for installing Islamic government in Muslims areas of China. Some of them reached to tribal areas of Pakistan. Afghanistan under the Taliban rule became part of global militancy school supported by al Qaeda. So Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) also reached Afghanistan when it was pushed out by Uzbekistan government. Meanwhile popular leader of Uighur militants Hasan Mahsum established ETIM in 1998 in Kabul and began recruiting and training Uighur militants while expanding ties with the emerging Jihad movement in the region, dropping the “East” from its name to reflect these deepening ties.
With the U.S. attack on Afghanistan in October 2001, TIM was routed, and its remnants fled to Central Asia and Pakistan. In 2005, there were mixings of new Uighur Islamist militant group, the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) that established a robust presence on the Internet, posting histories of the Uighur/Turkistan people in western China and Central Asia and inspirational videos featuring Hasan Mahsum. In 2006, a new video surfaced calling for jihad in Xinjiang, and later that year there were reports that remnants of ETIM had begun reforming and moving back into far western Xinjiang from Pakistan after getting training and resources from Pakistani Taliban.
Security observers believe that Chinese militants get support, training and inspiration from TTP and live in tribal area of Pakistan and they have transnational linkages in Turkistan, Uzbekistan, parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Observers claim that Chinese intelligence agencies had credible information in past that Afghan, Middle Eastern and Central Asian migrants and tourists were spotted carrying out surveillance of schools, hotels and government buildings in Beijing and Shanghai that indicates that global Jihad is supporting Jihad against China. The alleged activities seem to fit a pattern within the international jihadist movement of paying more attention to China.
Islamists are now giving special attention to destabilise China with the launch of the SCO that is a body harming their interests in entire Central Asia, expanded Chinese involvement in Africa and its continued support for Pakistan’s government. China has taken issue of presence of anti-China militants in tribal areas of Pakistan with Pakistan government in past but no action was taken to eliminate these militants. United States, European Union and now Russia have been crying that tribal areas of Pakistan are heavens for world top terrorists groups that are directly or indirectly linked with al-Qaeeda. Iran has been claiming that militants are going to Syria, Iraq and Egypt from Pakistan to fight with along with Salafis (Tafrikis) but every government of Pakistan had been denying these allegations. Political observers claim that this denial of all previous and now sitting government of Pakistan was due to intense pressure of religious groups, religo-political parties and civil and military bureaucracy or so-called establishment because these militants have been strategic assets of Pakistani establishment .
Direct confrontation of TTP with Pakistan Army provided a chance to political government to eliminate these militants by taking ground action against them in tribal areas of Pakistan but sitting government of Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif is known for its tilt towards right wing and its close relations with Saudi Arabian Royal family that is allegedly supporting Salafis in Tafrikis in Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan against Shia elements.
Another factor for dropping the option of full fledge ground action against militants in tribal area is political pressure of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) that is second biggest opposition in parliament and ruling the province of Khyber Pakhtun Khawa (KPK)—the province bordering Afghanistan and is the known hub of militants. Political observers claim that TTP helped PTI to win 2013 elections because its Chief Imran Khan is strong supporter of TTP and strong criticiser of western world. Imran Khan virtually stopped NATO supply from Pakistan because he believes that US drone strikes are killing innocent people in tribal areas. Whenever Pakistan Army decided to initiate action against militants in tribal areas, Imran Khan strongly objected and compelled government to drop the idea of action against militants in tribal areas. He believes that militants are sons of soil and they should not be killed rather peace talks should be initiated with them and government should provide them chance to leave militancy and join main stream. He never accepted allegations that Uzbeks, Chechens, Chinese and Arabs are living in and operating from tribal areas with the support of TTP. Peace talks were initiated with TTP on his demand but talks failed to bring results.
Now it looks moral of militants is very high but Pakistan Air force is striking their hideouts and US drones are following them. There are fears that they may move out of tribal areas for avoiding losses and they may move to Xinjiang by crossing Pak-Afghan border or to Tajikistan by crossing through Nooristan/Kunar route as Nooristan is under the virtual control of Chief of TTP Mullah Fazlullah who is living in Kunar Afghanistan. There are fears among security analysts that they can try something Big if they reach Xinjiang because IMU is deadly against China for SCO formation that is stopping it to play havoc in Central Asian Ground—the dream of IMU to establish Turkman Islamic region covering entire Central Asia ending at Indus River in Pakistan.
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terrorist attacks in northwestern china
Террористические атаки поссибле в Северо-Западном Китае
