Hotbeds of terrorism in Asia ablaze with border conflicts

Nahla Abdel Moneim

The concentrations of terrorism and the choices of where terrorist groups prefer to spread geographically are not only driven by chance or by the low security situation, but are subject to political factors and attractive economic variables, especially if there are natural resources, which applies to the terrorist expansion in the Asian region.

The proliferation of groups, most notably al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Hizb ut-Tahrir, along with the currents emerging from them on the Asian continent, remain governed by the factors afflicting the region, which are intensified by the international conflict, creating gravitations that affect the reality of the struggle and the perpetuation of civil and political conflict.

Close border conflicts

The border conflict between India and Pakistan created an entrance for terrorist groups to establish their presence in the disputed Kashmir region between the two countries.

The sectarian secession of the Indian peninsula in 1947 imposed a jurisprudential conflict that extended its effects against the background of the disagreement over the right to possess the territory of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, and thus terrorist groups found an outlet in the region, taking advantage of the military infighting and the religious dimension of the conflict that is the result of the separation of India and Pakistan on the basis of religion, whether Hindu or Muslim.

Current al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s speeches about Kashmir show his use of the vocabulary of supporting Muslims and the Islamic religion against India and its Hindu leaders, a discourse on which extremist groups feed.

For its part, the Australian Institute of Economics and Peace said that political conflicts are the first key to the emergence and development of terrorist groups in the region, which affects the civilian and military death toll in the Asian region and elsewhere.

Distant border disputes

The fight against terrorism in Kashmir is affected by another border conflict that erupted in a non-adjacent, but related direction, as the conflict between India and China over borders affects what is happening in the region. In March 2019, China used its veto power to prevent the inclusion of Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar on the Security Council’s international terrorism list, arguing that he still needs to be examined.

For its part, India objected to China’s refusal to classify Azhar as a terrorist and considered it a political challenge, as India considers Azhar to be one of the most dangerous terrorists who threaten its security and stability, as he is accused of participating in the Mumbai attacks on December 7, 2008, which resulted in the death of 195 people and the injury of 327 others.

In the context of political conflict and its role in framing terrorist groups, Nourhan al-Sheikh, a professor of political science at Cairo University who specializes in Asian affairs, said in a previous statement to the Reference that the division of Afghanistan, or the political future of the country, is linked to the conflicts existing between the countries in the region, adding that the US military withdrawal agreed upon between the Taliban and Washington may not be truly implemented.

Sheikh linked the lack of actual implementation with the ongoing conflicts over the South China Sea and the relationship of the United States to this conflict, as she considers that fighting terrorism in Afghanistan is affected by the lack of real political will among the major countries to eliminate extremists, but it is linked to international balances that see this turmoil as an achievement to its goals.