Islamabad, May 8 (IANS) Pakistan’s role in fostering terrorism has, for decades, fuelled instability in the wider South Asian region. At the same time, preserving regional stability remains essential for US strategic interests given South Asia’s proximity to Afghanistan and China, a report has stated.
Writing for American media outlet PJ Media, Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut said that the fight against terrorism by the United States and India should also be supported by policies aimed at restoring religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of South Asia, which she said has been severely damaged by Islamisation through force and violence.
Marking the first anniversary of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which witnessed Pakistan-backed terrorists gunning down 26 innocent tourists after identifying their religion, Bulut cited US Congressman Brad Sherman calling on Pakistan to rein in terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Addressing an exhibition organised by the Indian Embassy in Washington titled the ‘Human Cost of Terrorism’, Congressman Sherman paid homage to the victims of the terror attack.
Condemning the attack, the US lawmaker said the group behind the attack, ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF) was “clearly an offshoot of the LeT, an organisation which unfortunately has found sanctuary in Pakistan”.
“And as the world focuses on Islamabad, where the talks are taking place or not taking place or might be taking place, we have to use this as an opportunity to demand that the Pakistani government clamp down on the LeT and the JeM and other terrorist group organisations,” Sherman added.
The digital exhibition showcased major terrorist attacks perpetrated across the world, including the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and the Pahalgam attack. It also highlighted the terror outfits which carried out the attacks, including several Pakistan-based individuals and entities such as the LeT.
Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor in May last year, targeting terror infrastructure in both Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation struck locations, including the headquarters and training facilities linked to LeT and another terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), from where attacks against India were orchestrated.
India commemorated Operation Sindoor’s first anniversary on Thursday.
Bulut further highlighted that anti-Hindu persecution in Kashmir dates back to the partition of India. She further claimed that during the 1980s, Islamic terrorism, with alleged backing from Pakistan’s military and the Inter-Services Intelligence, intensified across the Kashmir Valley.
She argued that Islamic terrorism is not merely a regional issue but a global threat. Highlighting the persistent threats posed by what she described as Islamisation, Bulut said the United States should confront the systematic religious and cultural erasure of non-Muslim communities in the South Asian region.
–IANS
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