Militant Groups in Pakistan Emerge as Political Parties : Can Violent Extremism and Politics Co-exist?

Pakistan, October 1, 2017 : As international pressure is mounting on Islamabad to do more against militant groups operating from its soil, some militant groups are rebranding themselves as political parties.

"The Pakistan military is allowing militant, virulently anti-Indian groups to enter the political process to enable a vocal political voice against any Pakistani civilian warming relations with India," Thomas Lynch, a research fellow at the National Defense University in Washington, told VOA.

"The aboveground voices of [Hafiz Mohammad] Saeed and [Kashmiri militant leader Fazlur Rehman] Khalil as political figures will meld with their enduring role as leaders of virulently anti-India armed groups in a way that will further constrain Pakistani political leaders from easily undertaking any moves toward rapprochement with India," Lynch added.

New party

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa group (JUD), which has been designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. and is widely considered a front group for Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, launched a new political party last month.

Saeed was accused of masterminding Mumbai's 2008 terror attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

The U.S. government has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

JUD's newly established Milli Muslim League party came in third in a by-election in Punjab last week, securing more votes than Pakistan's People's Party contender did.

Lynch said he thought that without the military's blessings, the militants-turned-political parties cannot thrive.

"Nothing of consequence inside Pakistan security, politics or economics happens without the Pakistan military's concurrence, either by direct support or indirect acquiescence," Lynch said.

"This mainstreaming of longtime militant-terrorist groups led by Saeed and Khalil is of consequence [and] therefore must be supported by the Pakistan military," he added.

Last week's by-election was also contested by the Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah, a party of the followers of Mumtaz Qadri, who was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering Punjab's Governor Salman Taseer, the same person he was paid to guard.

Qadri killed the governor in 2011 because he advocated for reforms in the country's controversial blasphemy laws.

The two parties of militants-turned-politicians reportedly secured 11 percent of the total votes in last week's election.

Increasing pressure

The politicization of militancy coincides with increasing international pressure on Pakistan to take action against militant safe havens in the county.

Announcing his South Asia strategy, U.S. President Donald Trump last month put Pakistan on notice to stop harboring militant groups that use Pakistani soil to plan and launch attacks against Afghan and U.S.-NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Leaders of BRICS, an economic bloc composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, also expressed concerns this month about Pakistan-based militant groups and cited them as a problem for regional security.

Pakistan has long denied that militants enjoy safe havens in the country and has proclaimed itself as a victim of terrorism.

The country's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, however, this week admitted that Hafiz Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba were liabilities for his country.

"Saeed, LeT, they are a liability, I accept it, but give us time to get rid of them," Asif said at an Asia Society event in New York on Tuesday.

Optimism

Some analysts, however, see the new trend of pushing militants to mainstream politics as a good development.

"Unless these parties and individuals are allowed to be a part of the political system, they might never change their way and will go underground, which will be much more dangerous," said Zubair Iqbal, an analyst at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

The question is: Can violent extremism and politics co-exist? Pakistani-based political analyst Khadim Hussain has his doubts.

"The 'mainstreamed' extremist organizations have not publicly revoked their ideology. They have not yet dismantled their militaristic, welfare and ideological infrastructure. This seems to be legitimizing extremist violence in Pakistan," Hussain said.

Hussain added that " 'mainstreaming ' and 'integration' seem to be a tactic to divert the U.S., BRICS and other regional and international stakeholders' attention from the core issues of policymaking in Pakistan."

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Lynch of NDU echoed Hussain's analysis and said it was unlikely that the move would help curb extremism.

"I do not see this move helping to curb extremism in Pakistan over the short term," Lynch said.

As Pakistan is holding national and provincial elections in 2018, analysts fear that militant groups will attempt to use the new platform to influence legislation.

"These groups will inject xenophobia and extremist views in the body politic if given free hand in politics," Pakistani activist Marvi Sirmed wrote in an op-ed in Lahore's Daily Times, urging the state to halt any kind of support to these groups. (VOA)