By
Sajjad Shaukat
Suicide bombers hit three cities of Saudi Arabia on
July 4, this year and killed at least four people in the holy month of Ramadan,
near the day of Eid al-Fitr. The first attack occurred near the US Consulate in
Jeddah. One explosion rocked Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia when a suicide bomber
attempted to launch an assault at a Shia mosque. The other suicide bomber
detonated a bomb near the security headquarters of the Prophet Muhammad’s
Mosque in Medina,
the second-holiest site in Islam.
The bombings in Saudi Arabia followed the
recent terror attacks in Turkey, Bangladesh, Yemen and Iraq which killed scores
of people, and the Islamic State group (Also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh)
claimed responsibly for these assaults except those conducted in Turkey and
Saudi Arabia which are also thought to be carried out by ISIS. Meanwhile,
according to a latest report, a suicide bomber riding a motorbike attacked a
police station in the Indonesian city of Solo
on July 5, leaving one officer injured. Indonesia is the majority Sunni
nation, also having Shias.
In case of Bangladesh, assault on the Holey
Artisan Bakery (Restaurant) in the diplomatic district of Dhaka, a least 20
hostages and two police officers were killed. It also includes nine Italians,
seven Japanese and one American. Bangladesh’s 160 million people are
almost all Sunni Muslims.
Western analysts opine that the “ISIS, now
under pressure in its core territory of Iraq and Syria from where their
militants are on flee owing to the successful military operations led by
Russian-supported forces. The group has started missions elsewhere in the world.
However, triple blasts in Saudi Arabia cannot be seen in isolation, as
these are part of the secret strategy of some state actors like US, Israel, Turkey,
Saudi Arabia and India. Their
intelligence agencies, especially American CIA and Israeli Mossad and Indian
RAW are in connivance with the ISIS militants to obtain the collective and
individual interests against Russia,
the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, Pakistan
and Iran.
In these terms, false flag operations such as the terror attacks in Brussels and Paris,
including Orlando
shooting were part of the same scheme. In fact, there is a co- relationship of
the double game and false flag operations.
It is notable that on June 28, 2016, The
New York Times wrote, “The mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.,
on June 12 included a curious phrase: false flag…The victims in the
shooting? They were “crisis actors” hired to promote the story as a pretext to
impose tighter gun restrictions, the theory goes…the term false flag relates to
naval warfare when a ship would fly a flag that would conceal its true identity
as a way to lure an enemy closer. Today, it is commonly a shorthand for an act
of deception…conspiracy theorists have applied the label to high-profile
attacks, including the shootings by a husband and wife last year in San
Bernardino, Calif, that killed 14…the phrase has even been used to doubt the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.”
In an interview with Brazilian TV on June
14, 2016, the ex-wife of the Orlando
shooter Omar Mateen Sitora Yusufiy disclosed that American FBI pressurized her
to keep quiet about his homosexuality. Since the attack, Mateen has been dubbed
an Islamic terrorist by the politicians, senior officials and commentators in
the US,
following reports he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, as they
wanted to downplay the personal and self-hating nature of the assault.
Similarly, Bangladesh
which has been entrapped by India
left no stone unturned in implementing propaganda against Pakistan. As
regards the terror assault on the Dhaka restaurant, Home Minister of Bangladesh
Asaduzzaman Khan blamed homegrown Islamist terrorists and Pakistan’s
intelligence agency ISI and added, “there is no IS or al-Qaeda presence in
Bangladesh…the hostage-takers were all home-grown terrorists and not members of
IS or any other international Islamist outfits.” This statement was opposite to
the top officials of the country, who has claimed that ISIS exists in Bangladesh.
However, availing the opportunity, Indian media also began a campaign, accusing
ISI in this respect.
It is mentionable that on January 13,
2015, at least seven personnel of the Afghan security forces died during the
suicide attack which targeted the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad. The ISIL
claimed responsibility for the terror assault which coincided with efforts to
restart the suspended peace process with Taliban insurgents. Pakistani sources
suggested that Indian secret agency RAW was behind this terror attack to thwart
these peace talks. On May 21, 2016, the CIA-operated drone strike killed the
Chief of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Akhtar Mansour in Nushki, Balochistan province of Pakistan. After the incident, Afghan
Taliban leaders refused to participate in the US-sponsored talks with the
Afghan government. Notably, in the recent past, with the help of Pakistan, a series of meetings were held in Islamabad and Kabul among
the representatives of Pakistan,
Afghanistan, China and the US
to develop an understanding for the earliest possible resumption of stalled talks
between the Afghan government and the Taliban with view to ending nearly 15
years of bloodshed in Afghanistan.
This latest strike by the US
predator in Balochistan gave a greater setback to peace process for Afghanistan
under the Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework.
While, the US,
China and Pakistan are jointly working to facilitate the
process so as to bring peace both in Pakistan
and Afghanistan,
and the whole region. But, Washington is
playing double game with Pakistan,
because it is the only nuclear country in the Islamic World, which irritates America, India,
Israel and some Western
partners of the US.
Hence, secret agents of CIA, Mossad and RAW which are well-penetrated in the
ISIS, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are using the militants of these
terrorist outfits to destabilize Tibetan regions of China, Iranian
Sistan-Baluchistan, Pakistan’s province of Balochistan and Central Asia
(Russian interests) by arranging the subversive activities to promote
acrimonious sense of dissent, sectarian violence and to arouse sentiments of
separatism. In this regard, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is
their special target. Collectively or individually, these intelligence agencies
are also assassinating, Jundullah (God’s soldiers)—the Sunni militant group
which is active in Balochistan against Shias. Besides martyring several
personnel of Pakistan’s
security agencies in the province, these foreign-backed entities kidnapped and
massacred many innocent people, including Chinese and Iranian nationals.
It is of particular attention that the US had planned to spark a civil war between the
Sunnis and Shias in wake of fake global war on terror to obtain the
illegitimate interests of the Zionist Jews and Israel. For the purpose, a study of
Rand Corporation, titled ‘US
Strategy in the Muslim World After 9/11’ was conducted on behalf of the then US Deputy Chief
of Staff for Air Force. Its report which was released on December 27, 2004
advocated that Sunni-Shia sectarian division should be exploited to promote the
US
objectives in the Muslim World. The report was first implemented in Iraq. CIA also
got the services of Mossad to fuel sectarian violence in Iraq. In 2004,
major terror-attacks were carried out against the Shias. Afterwards, a chain of
Shia-Sunni clashes started between Iraqi Shias and Sunnis, targeting each
other’s mosques and religious leaders through bomb blasts, suicide attacks etc.
After Iraq’s experiment,
more deadly pattern of sectarian strife and clashes was conducted in Pakistan.
While hinting towards US and Israel, Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei had revealed, “The bloody actions being
committed in Iraq, Pakistan and Iran are aimed at creating a
division between the Shias and Sunnis…those who carry out these terrorist actions
are directly or indirectly foreign agents.”
Pakistan’s leading Ulemas (Religious scholars) of
the Shia-Sunni sects, including politicians have repeatedly pointed out that
external conspiracies were being hatched to destroy peace in the country though
sectarian divide.
Meanwhile, rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran
widened in the aftermath of the execution of the prominent Shia religious
leader Nimr al-Nimr as part of Riyadh’s
executions of 47 persons on terrorism charges, on January 2, this year. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries like Qatar, Bahrain
and Kuwait, including Sudan broke off diplomatic relations with Iran.
The long rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran came to a boiling point, as
rulers and religious leaders of both the countries were accusing each other of
promoting sectarian divide in the Islamic World on the Shia-Sunni basis, while
manipulating Arab-non-Arab differences.
The debate accelerated in Pakistan regarding terrorism, sectarian divide, Saudi Arabia,
ISIS etc. The opposition leaders like Imran Khan
said that Pakistan should
offer mediatory role in defusing the tension between Riyadh
and Tehran.
They pointed out that aligning with the Saudi-led counter terrorism alliance
may spark sectarianism in the country and the region.
Besides, Pakistan’s media commentators openly remarked on
the TV channels that ISIS was created by the US,
and like America, Saudi Arabia wants to change the Syrian regime
of Assad—also due to the reason that Syria is a Shia country. They also
said that no Shia-country has been included in the so-called alliance of Saudi Arabia to fight ISIS.
And as to why Islamabad does not join the
Russian-led genuine coalition to fight the ISIS
terrorists.
Particularly, a senior
media analyst of Pakistan,
Najam Sethi elaborated that Saudi
Arabia have, in fact, decided to promote
sectarian divide in the Muslim World.
When Pakistan’s opposition parties lashed
out at the government in the National Assembly for not coming up with a clear
stance on the situation, arising out because of the tension between Saudi
Arabia and Iran and called for a parliamentary briefing on the issue so as to
make efforts to prevent Sunni-Shia conflict in the region, Adviser to
Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz stated before the
National Assembly. “The Muslim World faces grave dangers in the situation…Pakistan will continue to play its positive role
to ease tensions between Iran
and Saudi Arabia
and it advocates unity among the Muslim countries.”
For the purpose, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief
of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif had visited Saudi
Arabia and Iran. They held meetings with their
rulers in a bid to defuse tensions between the two countries. They called for
resolution of the crisis through peaceful means in the larger interest of the
Muslim world. In this respect, Islamabad
decided to appoint a focal person on Saudi-Iran issue.
Knowing the double game
of the US-led some Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, including Turkey which are
assisting the Sunni-based militant outfit ISIS with money and weapons to oust
the Shia-government of Syrian
President Assad, and which also seem determined to promote Sunni-Shia conflict
in the Muslim World, in the recent past,
Islamabad refused to send its troops in Syria to fight against the ISIS. Similarly,
last year, despite the insistence of Riyadh, Islamabad did not
join the Saudi-led coalition which had been conducting air strikes on Yemen. Instead,
Pakistan’s parliament had
passed a unanimous resolution which stated, “The war in Yemen is not sectarian in nature, but has the
potential of turning into a sectarian conflict which will have critical fallout
in the region including Pakistan.”
It urged the government “to stay neutral in the Yemen”
conflict and called upon “warring factions in Yemen to resolve their differences
peacefully through dialogue.”
On December 15, 2015, Saudi Arabia announced a 34-state Sunni-based
military alliance to fight the ISIS. The
alliance included Islamic states such as Egypt,
Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey,
Malaysia, and some African
states, with a joint operations centre established in Riyadh. The name of Pakistan was
also mentioned in the list. Washington
immediately welcomed the alliance. On December 17, 2015, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry
stated that he was surprised to read the news that Saudi
Arabia had named Pakistan
as part of the alliance, without Islamabad’s
permission.
It is worth-mentioning that Saudi rulers
have been accusing Iran of
fueling sectarianism and division in the Islamic World by backing Yemen, Syrian
regime and Hezbollah. But, ground realities are quite opposite, as from the
very beginning, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah which have always supported the right
of self-determination of the Palestinians by condemning continued atrocities of
Israel on them—have been showing solidarity with the PLO and Hamas which are
Sunni groups.
Confused due to his own double game and
that of the US-led Israel, which Ankara also implements, while talking about
the Istanbul Airport terror attacks of June 28, Turkish President President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on July 2, 2016 that President Assad was a more
advanced terrorist than the Islamic State group, despite the deadly attack on
Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport which Turkish officials blamed on ISIL. There is
another contraction, as a Turkish official told the AP that the “three bombers
who carried out the attack on Istanbul’s main
airport had connections to Russia,
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan,”
having links with the ISIL.
Like Turkey,
Saudi Arabian rulers who have already been funding the ISIS, Al-Qaeda’s
Al-Nusra Front and the rebel groups in accordance with the directions of Israel and CIA
have been fighting for survival of their kingship. Hence, they do not bother
for division of the Islamic World on sectarian lines. In pursuance of the
Israel-led American secret strategy, Saudi Arabia
has chosen the path of leading unrest in the Middle East.
But, Riyadh must know that more chaos in the
Middle East will also envelop Saudi
Arabia, culminating Saudi monarchy.
Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia is being deeply
respected by the Islamic countries, as it is the custodian of the two Holy
Mosques. But, it is very shocking for all the Muslims that it has decided to
promote sectarian divide in the Muslim World by manipulating the terror attacks
in Saudi Arabia.
Whenever suicide attack hit Saudi Arabia,
Saudi rulers propagate that holy places of Mecca
and Medina are
under threat. The main aim behind is to get the sympathies of general masses of
the Muslim countries against Shias, Iran, Syria and Russia which have exposed
the US phony war in Syria and Turkish-Saudi support to ISIS. While Syrians,
Yemenis and Iranians are also Muslims and respect the holy places of Saudi Arabia like
the Sunni Muslims. But, they are against the Saudi-led Israeli policy.
Undoubtedly, we can conclude that the US,
Zionist Jews, Israel, India, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are the real planners who
want to cause the Sunni-Shia conflict in the Islamic World in order to obtain
their covert collective and individual interests.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international
affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible
Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: sajjad_logic_pak@hotmail.com
Courtesy Veterans Today
