The Terror Speaks: Inside Pakistan's Terrorism Discourse and National Action Plan

ABSTRACT

This article, employing a poststructuralist Critical Discourse Analysis, reveals cracks, discrepancies, and inconsistencies in Pakistan's discourse on terrorism and practice. I argue that Pakistan continuously constructs a “monstrous enemy” and magnifies it in a way that conceals alternative representations of reality that could show that the state, by presenting itself as a victim of terrorism, is using phenomena of political violence to serve its political objectives inside and outside the boundaries of the state. The article argues that after a militant attack on a school in northwest Pakistan, critical, liberal, and dissenting narratives mingled with the dominant state discourse in a fashion that strengthen illiberal practices in the country, thus undermining the ideals of democracy.

Funding

I gratefully acknowledge financial support by the Internal Grant Agency of the University of Economics Prague, research project no. F2/9/2016, titled: Crises in MENA and Southwest Asia: Democratisation, Militancy and Security.

Notes

1. Both the United States and Afghanistan were pressuring Islamabad for years to take action against various militant groups (e.g., Al Qaeda, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan [IMU], and Haqqani Network), who are blamed for many deadly attacks in Afghanistan.

2. FATA are, constitutionally, territories of Pakistan. FATA is governed by the president who may delegate his authority and/or direct the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to perform certain duties and/or to govern FATA districts through administrators called political agents and assistant political agents. Constitutionally, FATA are composed of seven districts (called agencies) plus six regions (called Frontier Regions [FRs]). An FR means a district that is located between or connects a settled district or area of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and FATA. The seven agencies/districts of FATA are Bajaur, Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, North Waziristan, Orakzai, and South Waziristan. The six FRs are named after districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa adjoining a Tribal agency. They are FR Bannu (connecting Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with North Waziristan), FR Dera Ismail Khan, FR Kohat, FR Lakki Marwat, FR Peshawar, and FR Tank. Two articles in Pakistan's constitution (article 246 and 247) are concerned with administration and governing of FATA. Two points in those articles are significant. One, the laws passed by Pakistani parliament, cannot be extended to FATA unless the president orders so. Two, the Supreme Court or any High Court in Pakistan have no jurisdiction over FATA; it means that orders, verdicts or rulings by the higher courts or district courts cannot be extended to FATA and the people of FATA also cannot appeal to the High Courts or Supreme Courts in case of any dispute or issue with agency administration. There is a regulation, however, called Frontier Crimes Regulation, which was imposed on FATA by the British Rulers of India in 1901 that is still in force, albeit with some amendments. See: National Assembly of Pakistan, The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (6th ed.) (Islamabad: National Assembly of Pakistan, 2012), pp. 143–147.

3. In Arabic, zarb means to strike and azb means cutting or sharp. Zarb e Azb thus means a sharp and cutting strike. Also, Azb was the name of one of the swords that Islam's Prophet Muhammad owned.

4. Ismail Khan, “All-Out Military Operation Launched in North Waziristan,” Dawn 16 June, 2014. Available at http://www.dawn.com/news/1112949 (accessed 29 April 2016).

5. Dawn, “School massacre Pakistan's 9/11: Sartaj,” Dawn 20 December 2014. Available at http://www.dawn.com/news/1152041 (accessed 29 February 2016).

6. Ever since 2001, when the government decided to be part of the U.S.-led War on Terror, a polemical debate has existed in Pakistan. The nationalists, secular and liberal politicians, writers, analysts, and intellectuals accused religious political parties and forces to be pro-Taliban. The religious politicians and analysts, who had remained close to the military establishment, in turn labelled their opponents as pro-United States, slaves, and against the ideological foundations of Pakistan. It was only after the APS attack that religious political parties condemned terrorism and distanced themselves from the Taliban discourse and worldview.

7. Dawn, “26 Killed in Suicide Attack Near Nadra Office in Mardan,” Dawn 29 December, 2015. Available at http://www.dawn.com/news/1229406 (accessed 21 January 2016).

8. At the time of attack, a poetry recital, revolving around the theme of “peace,” was about to begin to commemorate the twenty-eighth death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan, widely known as Bacha Khan—a prominent Pashtun figure who, along with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), led a nonviolent political struggle against British colonialist rulers of the Indian subcontinent in the twentieth century. See: Jon Boone, and Jason Burke, “Pakistan Attacks: At Least 30 Dead in Terror Raid at Bacha Khan University,” The Guardian 20 January 2016. Available at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/20/bacha-khan-university-explosions-heard-as-gunmen-attack-pakistan (accessed 21 January 2016).

9. BBC News, “Pakistan Explosion Leaves Many Dead at Lahore Park,” BBC News 27 March 2016. Available at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35908512 (accessed 16 June 2016).

10. Even after those attacks, the military spokesman General Asim Bajwa claimed that the “terrorists were defeated,” which is why they were after “soft targets” like educational institutions, which are a “sign of progressive Pakistan.” See: Talk Shows Central, “DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa Press Briefing | Bacha Khan University Attack,” YouTube. 20 January 2016. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhz3KRwR4QE (accessed 22 January 2016). The press conference was in Urdu language that I translated into English.

11. Afrasiab Khattak, “Return of the Terror,” The Nation 23 January 2016. Available at http://nation.com.pk/columns/23-Jan-2016/return-of-the-terror. Also see, Gul Bukhari, “Which Part, Dear Establishment?” The Nation 24 January 2016. Available at http://nation.com.pk/columns/24-Jan-2016/which-part-dear-establishment. Also, Mohammed Hanif, “Pakistan's Unnecessary Martyrs,” The New York Times 22 January 2016. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/opinion/pakistans-unnecessary-martyrs.html?_r=0. See, Declan Walsh, Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, and Ismail Khan, “Taliban Attack at Bacha Khan University in Pakistan Renews Fears,” The New York Times 20 January 2016. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/world/asia/bacha-khan-university-attack-charsadda.html?_r=0. And Hasan Askari Rizvi, “Pakistan's Tryst with Counter-Terrorism,” The Express Tribune 24 January 2016. All, accessed 15 May 2016. The Senate of Pakistan questioned the NAP's implementation, saying, “if the government had followed the anti-terror plan in letter and spirit” the Bacha Khan University attack could have been prevented. For details, see: Mateen Haider, “Senate Questions NAP Implementation after Varsity Attack,” Dawn 20 January 2016. Available at http://www.dawn.com/news/1234226/senate-questions-nap-implementation-after-varsity-attack (accessed 30 May 2016).

12. Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), “Bacha Khan University Attack Failure of NAP: Farooq Sattar,” Muttahida Quami Movement 21 January 2016. Available at http://www.mqm.org/englishnews/35004/bacha-khan-university-attack-failure-of-nap-farooq-sattar. Also, Kiran Nazish, “Pakistan University Attack: Before the Recital, After the Bullets,” The Diplomat 26 January 2016. Available at http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/pakistan-university-attack-before-the-recital-after-the-bullets/. Both accessed 3 June 2016. Some analysts argued that the NAP is the right strategy; however, it has “lost its teeth” because the government “neglected” its execution. Please see: Sana Ali, “Charsadda and the Neglected National Action Plan,” South Asian Voices 3 February 2016. Available at http://southasianvoices.org/charsadda-and-the-neglected-national-action-plan/ (accessed 5 June 2016). Some others claimed that the “counterterrorism” policy in Pakistan has remained faulty and paradoxical for years. See: Farah Jan, “School Attacks Expose Widening Cracks in Pakistani Counterterrorism,” IPI Global Observatory 3 February 2016. Available at https://theglobalobservatory.org/2016/02/pakistan-counterterrorism-bacha-khan-taliban/ (accessed 7 June 2016).

13. Lalit K Jha, “Pakistan ‘Can and Must’ Dismantle All Terror Networks: Obama,” Press Trust of India. 24 January 2016. Available at http://www.ptinews.com/news/7013841_Pakistan-can-and-must-dismantle-all-terror-networks-Obama.html (accessed 24 January 2016).

14. Robert W. Cox, “Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory,” Millenniu—Journal of International Studies 10(2) (1981), pp. 126–155.

15. Judith Renner, “The Local Roots of the Global Politics of Reconciliation: The Articulation of ‘Reconciliation’ as an Empty Universal in the South African Transition to Democracy,” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 42(2) (2014), pp. 263–285.

16. Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics (2nd ed.) (London: Verso, 2001), p. 108.

17. Bobby Sayyid and Lilian Zac, “Political Analysis in a World without Foundations,” in Elinor Scarbrough and Eric Tanenbaum, eds., Research Strategies in the Social Sciences: A Guide to New Approaches (New York: Oxford University Press, [1998], 2007), pp. 249–267.

18. Lene Hansen, Security as Practice: Discourse analysis and the Bosnian War (Abingdon: Routledge, 2006), p. 16.

19. Sayyid and Zac, “Political Analysis in a World without Foundations,” p. 250.

20. Saul Newman, Power and Politics in Poststructuralist Thought: New Theories of the Political (Abingdon: Routledge, 2005), pp. 6–7.

21. Please see: Isabela Fairclough and Norman Fairclough, Political Discourse Analysis (Abingdon: Routledge, 2012); Norman Fairclough, “Critical Discourse Analysis as a Method in Social Scientific Research,” in Ruth Wodak and Michael Meyer, eds., Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (London: SAGE, 2001), pp. 121–138 and Norman Fairclough, Discourse and Social Change (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992).

22. Ruth Wodak, “What CDA is About—A Summary of Its History, Important Concepts and Its Developments,” in Ruth Wodak and Michael Meyer, eds., Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (London: SAGE, 2001), pp. 1–13.

23. Teun A. van Dijk, “Multidisciplinary CDA: A Plea for Diversity,” in Ruth Wodak and Michael Meyer, eds., Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (London: SAGE, 2001), p. 96 (emphasis added); pp. 95–120.

24. Michael Meyer, “Between Theory, Method, and Politics: Positioning of the Approaches to CDA,” in Ruth Wodak and Michael Meyer, eds., Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (London: SAGE, 2001), p. 15.

25. Lesley Treleaven, “A Knowledge-Sharing Approach to Organizational Change: A Critical Discourse Analysis,” in Haridimos Tsoukas and Nikolaos Mylonopoulos, eds., Organizations as Knowledge Systems: Knowledge, Learning and Dynamic, Capabilities (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), pp. 154–180; also see: Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan (London: Penguin, 1991) and Norman Fairclough, Discourse and Social Change (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992).

26. Meyer, “Between Theory, Method, and Politics,” p. 16.

27. For a good example of a poststructuralist content analysis, please refer to: Anastassia Tsoukala, “Defining the Terrorist Threat in the Post-September 11 Era,” in Didier Bigo and Anastassia Tsoukala, eds., Terror, Insecurity and Liberty: Illiberal Practices of Liberal Regimes after 9/11 (Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2008), pp. 49–99.

28. Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge (Oxon, UK: Routledge, [1972] 2002).

29. For details, see: Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish and Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. Vol. 1 (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978).

30. Ondrej Ditrych. Tracing the Discourses of Terrorism: Identity, Genealogy and State. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014); Fairclough, Discourse and Social Change.

31. Iver B. Neumann, “Discourse Analysis,” in Audie Klotz and Deepa Prakash, eds., Qualitative Methods in International Relations: A Pluralist Guide (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), pp. 63–65.

32. Meyer, “Between Theory, Method, and Politics,” p. 14.

33. BBC News, “Haqqanis: Growth of a Militant Network,” BBC News 14 September 2011. Available at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-14912957 (accessed 19 November 2015).

34. Model 1 deals with the analysis of the official discourse while Model 3, that is subdivided into 3A and 3B, covers what Hansen calls “marginal discourses.”

35. Hansen, Security as Practice, pp. 53–57.

36. In Pakistan, the civil/military imbalance in decision making and controlling affairs is evident since its emergence as a state in 1947. On three different occasions—1958, 1977, and 1999—the army ousted elected governments and has ruled the country for more than three decades in sum. During other times, the army has stayed in power indirectly by taking control of the security and foreign policy.

37. National Assembly of Pakistan, The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, pp. 41–51.

38. C. Christine Fair, Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014); for the Pakistani military's role in FATA and its support for local and foreign militant groups see Farhat Taj, Taliban and Anti-Taliban (Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011).

39. Foucault suggests that once discourses are established, they disperse in society in the same way like blood circulates in the body in a cycle, which means the discourse in the society, like blood in the body, is continuously, enriched, fed, reinforced, reshaped, and reconstructed according to arising needs. See Carol Grbich, New Approaches in Social Research (London: SAGE Publications, 2004), p. 40.

40. Alketa Peci, Marcelo Vieira, and Stewart Clegg, “Power, Discursive Practices and the Construction of the ‘Real,’” Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management 7(3) (2009), pp. 377–386.

41. ISPR, “Press Releases: Archive,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). From June 2014 to January 2016. Available at https://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.asp?o=t-pr_archive&mon=12&yr=2014&styr=2014 (accessed 21 January 2016).

42. The lower house of the Pakistani bicameral parliament.

43. National Assembly of Pakistan, “National Assembly of Pakistan: Assembly Debates,” Assembly Debates-1 (Islamabad: National Assembly of Pakistan, 2015a), pp. 1–57; National Assembly of Pakistan, “National Assembly of Pakistan: Assembly Debates,” Assembly Debates-2 (Islamabad: National Assembly of Pakistan, 2015b), pp. 1–72; National Assembly of Pakistan, “National Assembly of Pakistan: Assembly Debates,” Assembly Debates-3 (Islamabad: National Assembly of Pakistan, 2015c), pp. 1–6; National Assembly of Pakistan, “National Assembly of Pakistan: Assembly Debates,” Assembly Debates-4 (Islamabad: National Assembly of Pakistan, 2015d), pp. 1–82; National Assembly of Pakistan, “National Assembly of Pakistan: Assembly Debates,” Assembly Debates-5 (Islamabad: National Assembly of Pakistan, 2015e), pp. 1–38 and National Assembly of Pakistan, “Twenty-first Amendment Act, 2015,” Assembly Debates-6 (Islamabad: National Assembly of Pakistan, 2015f), pp. 1–2. The transcripts of the NA debates were in Urdu, which I translated, except two bills that were in English.

44. Prime Minister's Office, “Prime Minister's Speeches,” Prime Minister's Office, Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. From December 2014 to December 2015. Available at http://www.pmo.gov.pk/pm_speeches.php (accessed 11 January 2016).

45. Geo News is the most popular TV channel in the country. See: Geo News (available at https://live.geo.tv/); Dunya News (available at http://dunyanews.tv/newsite/live_stream/new1_live_tv.php); and Express News (available at http://live.express.pk/). The recorded version of news and analysis programs was accessed from Zem TV (available at: http://www.zemtv.com/) and Awaz TV (available at http://www.awaztoday.pk/), all accessed 1 December 2016. The language of all TV channels and portals is Urdu.

46. Both Radio Mashaal and VOA Deewa are U.S. Congress–funded, Pashto-language services targeting FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pashtun-dominated areas of Balochistan, and across the Durand Line. Radio Mashaal is a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL) and Deewa Radio is Voice of America (VOA) entities. Due to poor infrastructure, shortage (and in some cases lack of) electricity and Internet, the first source of information for people living in FATA and other Pashtun-dominated areas is Radio. See: Radio Mashaal (available at http://www.mashaalradio.com/) and Deewa Radio (available at http://www.voadeewaradio.com/), both accessed 1 December 2016. News broadcasts and articles are all in the Pashto language.

47. Daily Jang has the highest publishing rate in Pakistan, simultaneously published from various large cities (available at https://jang.com.pk/); Daily Mashriq is published from Peshawar, northwest Pakistan and is widely read in Pashtun-dominated urban areas (available at http://mashriq.epaper.pk/); also see Daily Express (available at http://express.com.pk/epaper/) all accessed 1 December 2016. All newspapers are published in Urdu.

48. In TV and radio short news is presented by an anchor with or without still pictures and has a maximum time of 40 seconds. It appears in a single column of the newspaper. A long news story often includes sound-bites or sound on tape (SOT) in TV or radio and takes a space of more than one column in the newspaper. A news report includes more than one sound-bite/SOT, often includes a comment or analysis, and is two to three minutes long and often appears as one of the top/lead stories in newspapers. News tickers, however, are short-text news or main points of important or fresh news, running on the bottom or top of the TV screen.

49. This phrase is taken from Claude Lefort, Democracy and Political Theory. Translated by David Macey (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988), p. 69.

50. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan means the Taliban Movement of Pakistan. It is abbreviated as TTP.

51. Prime Minister's Office, “APC Unanimously Resolves Speedy Implementation of 20-Point National Action Plan,” Prime Minister's Office, Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 2 January 2015. Available at http://www.pmo.gov.pk/news_details.php?news_id=300 (accessed 18 November 2015).

52. Awami National Party, “ANP PRNs-2015: Dec-2015,” Awami National Party (ANP) 16 December 2015. Available at http://awaminationalparty.org/main/?page_id=10259 (accessed 29 December 2015). The press releases were in Urdu. Also see, Hasan Askari Rizvi, “Pakistan's Tryst with Counter-Terrorism,” The Express Tribune 24 January 2016. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/1033423/pakistans-tryst-with-counter-terrorism/ (accessed 24 January 2016) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, “Imran Khan Expressed Shock at the Silence of Nawaz Sharif over the Hate-Filled Speech of Altaf Hussain,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) 1 May 2015. Available at http://www.insaf.pk/news/national-news/item/1789846-imran-khan-expressed-shock-at-the-silence-of-nawaz-sharif-over-the-hate-filled-speech-of-altaf-hussain (accessed 21 November 2015).

53. National Assembly of Pakistan, “National Assembly of Pakistan: Assembly Debates,” Assembly Debates-3, pp. 1–6; Also see, National Assembly of Pakistan, “Twenty-first Amendment Act, 2015,” Assembly Debates-6, pp. 1–2.

54. The Express Tribune, “Hand in Hand: Regional Peace is a must for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Says Asfandyar,” The Express Tribune 8 November 2015. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/987060/hand-in-hand-regional-peace-is-a-must-for-pakistan-afghanistan-says-asfandyar/. Also see: The News, “Achakzai Links Peace to Stability in Afghanistan, Amicable Ties with India,” The News 19 January 2016. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/92165-Achakzai-links-peace-to-stability-in-Afghanistan-amicable-ties-with-India and Dawn, “Pakistan Ready to Help Afghanistan in Its Quest for Peace, Says Nawaz,” Dawn 23 November 2015. Available at http://www.dawn.com/news/1221726. All accessed 21 January 2016.

55. The “good Taliban” means militant groups that are targeting Afghanistan and not threatening Pakistan while the “bad Taliban” are those who launch attacks in Pakistan. For example, Quetta Shura or Haqqani Network are good Taliban because they are fighting against the Afghan government and international forces based in Afghanistan. While Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is considered a group of bad militants who are active in Pakistan.

56. Dexter Filkins, “Pakistan's Monster,” The New Yorker 22 January 2016. Available at http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/pakistans-monster (accessed 23 January 2016. The notion of Frakenstein's Monster was first posited in 2009. For details, see, Declan Walsh, “Pakistan: Frankenstein Military at War with Its Own Monster—The Taliban,” The Guardian 12 October 2009. Available at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/12/pakistan-chaos-after-taliban-militancy (accessed 21 January 2016).

57. The Express Tribune, “3,400 militants killed in Operation Zarb-e-Azb: ISPR,” The Express Tribune 23 December 2015. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/1008791/3400-militants-killed-in-operation-zarb-e-azb-ispr/ (accessed 21 January 2016. Also see ISPR, “Press Releases: Archive.”

58. ISPR, “Press Release: No. PR380/2015-ISPR,” ISPR: Inter Services Public Relations 12 December 2015. Available at https://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.asp?o=t-press_release&id=3127 (accessed 21 January 2016).

59. Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977. Edited by Colin Gordon (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980).

60. Ibid., pp. 51–52.

61. Newman, Power and Politics in Poststructuralist Thought, p. 101.

62. Ibid.

63. Ibid., pp. 103–108.

64. Lefort, Demcracy and Political Theory.

65. Ibid., pp. 59–72.

66. Newman, Power and Politics in Poststructuralist Thought, p. 102.

67. National Assembly of Pakistan, “National Assembly of Pakistan: Assembly Debates,” Assembly Debates-1; and 2015b.

68. Pakistan Body Count, “Statistics for Suicide Bombing,” Pakistan Body Count 20 January 2016. Available at http://www.pakistanbodycount.org/suicide_bombing.php (accessed 30 January 2016).

69. South Asia Terrorism Portal, “Suicide Attacks in Pakistan: 2002–2016,” Satp: South Asia Terrorism Portal 20 January 2016. Available at http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/database/Fidayeenattack.htm (accessed 30 January 2016).

70. Ibid.

71. Ibid. But the link is available at http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/database/casualties.htm (accessed 23 January 2016).

72. First Post, “Timeline: Tracing the Deadliest Insurgent Attacks in Afghanistan since 2001,” First Post 24 November 2014. Available at http://www.firstpost.com/world/timeline-tracing-the-deadliest-insurgent-attacks-in-afghanistan-since-2001-1818985.html (accessed 30 January 2016).

73. Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2015/2016: The State of the World's Human Rights. Annual Report (London: Amnesty International, 2016), pp. 280–284. Also see: Amnesty International, Pakistan: Human Rights Abuses in the Search for al-Qa'ida and Taleban in the Tribal Areas. Investigative Report (London: Amnesty International, 2004); and Human Rights Watch, “Pakistan: Upsurge in Killings in Balochistan (Hold Military, Paramilitary Troops Accountable for Abuses),” Human Rights Watch 13 July 2011. Available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/07/13/pakistan-upsurge-killings-balochistan (accessed 29 May 2016).

74. Tiwary, Deeptiman, “Pathankot Attack: NIA Asks Pakistan for Details of JeM Terrorists,” The Indian Express 3 March 2016. Available at http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/pathankot-attack-nia-seeks-details-of-4-jem-terrorists-from-pakistan/ (accessed 30 April 2016).

75. Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Mubasher Bukhari, “Pakistan Court Orders Ruling on Muslim NGO's Illegal Sharia Courts,” Reuters 27 April 2016. Available at http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pakistan-charity-idUKKCN0XO170 (accessed 30 April 2016).

76. The Times of India, “Hafiz Saeed Calls for More Attacks on India,” The Times of India 4 February 2016. Available at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Hafiz-Saeed-calls-for-more-attacks-on-India/articleshow/50846657.cms? (accessed 30 April 2016).

77. Farhat Taj, Taliban and Anti-Taliban. Also see: Cyril Almeida, “Blood and Balochistan,” Dawn 26 April 2015. Available at http://www.dawn.com/news/1178214/blood-and-balochistan. And, Aasim Saleem, “Why Pakistani Army's Anti-Terror Campaign Falls Short,” Deutsche Welle (DW) 28 January 2016. Available at http://www.dw.com/en/why-pakistani-armys-anti-terror-campaign-falls-short/a-19009968. Please refer to Aqil Shah's views in this article. All accessed 30 April 2016.

78. Mateen Haider, “Gen Raheel Visits Kabul, Seeks Handover of Mullah Fazlullah,” Dawn 17 December 2014. Available at http://www.dawn.com/news/1151412 (accessed 20 November 2015).

79. Natalya Zamarayeva, “Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Geopolitical Dimensions,” NEO: New Eastern Outlook 28 May 2015. Available at http://m.journal-neo.org/2015/05/28/pakistan-afghanistan-relations-geopolitical-dimensions/ (accessed 20 November 2015).

80. Prime Minister's Office, “Prime Minister's Address to the Nation,” Text of Prime Minister's Address to the Nation (Islamabad: Prime Minister's Office, Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 25 December 2014). Available at http://www.pmo.gov.pk/pm_speeches.php (accessed 19 November 2015). The address was in Urdu that I translated.

81. Dawn, “MPC Ends with National Consensus on NAP,” Dawn 3 January 2015. Available at http://www.dawn.com/news/1154662 (accessed 19 November 2015).

82. Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister's Address to the Nation. See also: Abdul Manan, “Fight against Terrorism: Defining Moment,” The Express Tribune 25 December 2014. Available at http://tribune.com.pk/story/811947/fight-against-terrorism-defining-moment/ (accessed 19 November 2015).

83. National Assembly of Pakistan, “National Assembly of Pakistan: Assembly Debates,” Assembly Debates-1 (Islamabad: National Assembly of Pakistan, 2015), pp. 1–57; Also: 2015b. 1–72; 2015c. 1–6; 2015d.

84. Ibid. 2015f, 1–2.