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By Irm Haleem
Pakistan is no stranger to military coups, as apparent from its experience in 1958, 1977 and then again in 1999 (the first two leading to military rule spanning a decade or more). The recent volatile combination of events within Pakistan has, I argue, once again brought Pakistan to the brink of a military coup. Area experts such as Ayesha Jalal disagree with the likelihood of this scenario, arguing that the Pakistani military would rather leave the civilians in charge so as to leave them with the political responsibility of the consequences of their military actions in the north of Pakistan. [1] In this article, however, I argue instead that a coup is very likely in Pakistan. I base this assessment on the following events that seem to create a textbook formula for a military coup: the continued unauthorized US military incursions into Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) violating Pakistani sovereignty; the continued alienation of tribal populations in FATA from both the Pakistani military and civilian establishments as well as from the Americans; the unexpectedly aggressive and well organized battle that is on-going between the Pakistani army and the radicalized elements in FATA's Bajaur agency; the increasing incidences of terrorism in Pakistan and then in the country's capital no less; and the embarrassing remarks made by the new Pakistani President Asif Zardari in his recent visit to the US indicating at best his autocratic mentality and at worst his potential incompetence in leading a nuclear state. These events together are likely to increase the saliency of a military coup. A coup in such circumstance would of course be a measure of last resort to restore stability within Pakistan.
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By Shazadi Beg
On a cloudless day in a large field in Aurakzai Tribal Agency, six thousand heavily armed militants gather. Sixty gunmen wearing suicide jackets in case of attack guard the perimeter of the field.[1] The leader of the group is Maulana Hakimullah, a deputy leader of the Terik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TPP) headed by Baituallah Mehsud. The latter is now the most prominent Taliban leader in Pakistan’s tribal belt, and a prime suspect in the murder of Benazir Bhutto. The date is 9 May 2008.
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By Victor D. Comras
The European Court of Justice is now grappling with a serious conundrum. It has to decide whether to uphold the application of UN mandated “sanctions measures” against those designated as terrorists and terrorist financiers by the UN Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee, even when such action does not conform to the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This is the issue presented in Yassin Abdullah Kadi v Council of the European Union and Commission of the European Communities. In this case Yassin Kadi, who was designated as a terrorism financier by the UN Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee in October, 2001, is seeking to void EU directives requiring that his assets be frozen. Kadi maintains that the EU order freezing his assets violates his “right to property,” and his “right to a fair hearing” as guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This follows, he claims, from the failure of the United Nations, and/or the European Union, to provide an adequate forum or procedures for him to be heard, or to allow for judicial review of his designation. And he has won the support of the EU Advocate General, Miguel Poiares Maduro, for this position.
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By Faryal Leghari
The strategic significance of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan stems from its perceived pivotal role in the stabilization of security in neighboring Afghanistan and the war against terrorism. The region is believed to be a “safe haven” used by the al-Qaeda high command for planning future terrorist acts against the US and the rest of the world. In addition, it has been the backyard for the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and a training ground for terrorists, especially suicide bombers. Recently, Michael Chertoff, the US Secretary for Homeland Security, is reported to have categorically stated that “(al-Qaeda) are using their platform in the frontier areas of Pakistan to train operatives.
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By Vera Eccarius-Kelly
Since the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK) unexpectedly abducted three German hikers near Mt. Ararat in Turkey on 8 July 2008, and then released them on 20 July, intelligence sources in Europe have intensified their surveillance of PKK operatives among members of the particularly numerous Kurdish Diaspora in Germany. According to German newspaper reports, the PKK demanded that in exchange for the release of the hikers “Berlin stop its hostile politics towards the Kurds and the PKK in Germany”. While the exact purpose of the abduction requires further analysis, it is clear that it was the armed branch of the PKK, known as the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), that kidnapped the German hikers at their Mt. Ararat encampment at 10,500 feet in the evening hours—only to release them unharmed some two weeks later.
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By Joshua Sinai
The books reviewed in this essay are divided into nine sections, which are not intended to be mutually exclusive: textbooks on terrorism, using the social sciences to study terrorism, terrorism and the Internet, radical Islam, suicide terrorism, 9/11 and its aftermath, Palestinian terrorism, terrorism in the United States, and counterterrorism
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It is our pleasure to introduce “Under-Investigated Topics in Terrorism Research” - a special issue of Perspectives on Terrorism.This issue is the first in a series designed to further the discourse surrounding the state of terrorism research. To open this series, it seems appropriate to explore a set of topics that have been identified by esteemed participants in the Terrorism Research Initiative as in need of specific consideration for future debate and study.
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