For decades, South Asia, especially India, has been severely affected by terrorism. A new investigation by Sputnik India explores a controversial idea: that many of the dangerous terrorist groups in the region are linked to actions taken by the United States. Some experts believe the U.S. played a crucial role in helping create these groups by providing funding and even training for them. But why would the U.S. do this?
The U.S. Deep State’s Role in Creating Terrorism
According to Abhinav Pandya, a noted author and expert on terrorism, the U.S. is largely responsible for the rise of groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a terrorist organization that has been a major threat to India for years. In fact, JeM has nearly pushed India and Pakistan to the brink of war twice—once in 2001, when it attacked the Indian Parliament, and again in 2019, when it carried out the deadly Pulwama bombing, which killed 40 Indian soldiers.
Pandya calls the U.S. the “facilitator and aider of terrorism” in South Asia. But why would the U.S. support such groups? It all goes back to the Cold War, a period of intense rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union (now Russia). To weaken the Soviets, the U.S. wanted to create forces that could fight them in places like Afghanistan. And that’s where the story gets complicated.
The Birth of Extremist Groups
Pandya explains that in 1979, when the Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan, the U.S. saw an opportunity to turn local extremist groups into a force to fight the Soviets. These groups were already highly radicalized, following a strict version of Islam known as Deobandi extremism, which had its roots in the Indian subcontinent. The U.S. worked closely with Pakistan to train and arm these extremists, turning them into the mujahideen, fighters who would battle the Soviet military.
From this partnership, several terrorist groups emerged, including Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), which was founded by Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil. HuJI went on to give rise to other dangerous organizations, including Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), and eventually Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Jaish-e-Mohammed: A Threat to India
Jaish-e-Mohammed was founded by Maulana Masood Azhar, who has deep ties to these earlier groups. Azhar studied at Madrasa Binoria in Karachi, a religious school that produced many of the region’s most radical extremists, including Mullah Omar, the former leader of the Taliban. According to Pandya, there are clear links between these extremist groups, and Jaish-e-Mohammed is perhaps the most dangerous of them all when it comes to India.
Azhar’s group has close ties to Al-Qaeda, the infamous terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden. In fact, bin Laden himself provided the initial funding to help start Jaish-e-Mohammed. It’s also said that bin Laden had a close relationship with Azhar’s father, an Islamic cleric in Pakistan.
A Dangerous Ideology Spreads
Pandya highlights that Jaish-e-Mohammed’s goal is to establish an Islamic state that includes all of India. This goal is closely aligned with Al-Qaeda’s vision. But how did such extremist ideas spread so far and take such deep roots in South Asia? Much of it goes back to the Deobandi movement, a strict form of Islam that originated over 150 years ago in India. Over time, this ideology grew stronger, particularly in Pakistan, where it replaced Sufism, a more peaceful and mystical version of Islam.
In the 1980s, when the U.S. and Pakistan began working together to fight the Soviets, these Deobandi groups became an asset for the U.S. Their shared hatred for the Soviet Union united them, and the U.S. supported these radicals to help achieve its military goals.
The Spread of Terrorism
The terrorist groups born from this U.S.-Pakistan collaboration didn’t stop at Afghanistan. They spread across South Asia, with Pakistan becoming a breeding ground for terrorism. Over time, some members of Jaish-e-Mohammed split off to form other groups, such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is now linked to another dangerous organization: the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP). This extremist group is based in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan and has been responsible for several deadly attacks, including one in Moscow in 2023.
Pandya warns that ISKP is now trying to make its way into India. Indian security agencies have already busted 25 of its terror cells in various parts of the country, and the threat is growing. The group’s propaganda machinery is highly effective and could push more people in India towards militancy, especially in a society that is becoming increasingly divided along religious lines.
The Road Ahead: India and Russia Must Unite
As ISKP expands its influence in Central Asia, particularly in countries like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, both India and Russia face major security threats. Pandya argues that the two countries need to cooperate to combat these terrorist groups. This could involve sharing intelligence, running de-radicalization campaigns, and even carrying out covert operations to dismantle terrorist networks.
The story that Pandya tells is both disturbing and eye-opening. It reveals how actions taken by the U.S. decades ago, in its quest to defeat the Soviet Union, have had unintended consequences that still haunt South Asia today. Terrorist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and ISKP continue to threaten the region, and their roots can be traced back to the policies of the U.S. and its allies during the Cold War. For countries like India and Russia, the fight against these extremist ideologies is far from over.
