Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, April 19th, 2024

The need for Collective War against Terrorists

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The need for Collective War against Terrorists

The dreadful phenomenon of terrorism is of organized crimes which has caused many humanitarian and fiscal damages all along the history. In the era of globalization, the terrorist acts and dangers are not confined to national and regional territory of countries but also affect other parts of the world.  Today, terrorism and organized crime groups are one of the most important issues threatening the Middle East region and the entire world, and it severely affects the stability of international environment. The Middle East region is one of the oldest centers of civilization and governance in the world. The Middle East is a magnificent region for advent of great religions and cultures. Geographically, Middle East played as corridor role which interconnects three major continents of Asia, Africa and Europe; historically, it served as a bridge between the East and the West, and has provided transportation route for transitions of commodity and promotion of cultures. From very long ago, the Middle East was considered one of the most important regions due to its significant role for exchange of goods, views and cultural understanding of different nations. Unfortunately, some of regional players have destroyed the prestige of this historical area owing to exploiting from organizations as a political tools and weapon; whereas, the extremist groups will ultimately damage their supporters, as well. 
In the past few decades, the problems in the Middle East, especially the issue of terrorism and its emerging crises, have not only undermined the countries of the region, but also the rest of the world have been affected by this unrestrained situation of this region. Thereof, Afghanistan, Iran, India, China are have increasingly damaged by terrorism; the recent series of terrorist attacks took place in Zahidan and Kashmir are of the latest example for this. Many of the citizens of these two countries were always victims of terrorist acts and while terrorism supporters and nests address are clear.  Therefore, it can be said that Afghanistan, along with Iran and India, is at the forefront of confronting terrorism in the region, and has been the main victims of terrorist groups.
Given that Shiasm is the formal religion of Iran and many of terrorists consider Shia as infidel, the growth of extremist groups is a serious threat to this country, and some of these groups formally threaten the current system of Iran. Therefore, Iran and the ruling religion of this country can be considered as a factor in provoking terrorists, especially ISIL. However, the nervousness of Iran originates from the financing of Saudi-backed groups inside the Pakistani territory, and so recently an Iranian commander threatened Pakistan to attack over the mentioned group nests.
Terrorism will also threaten the security and benefits of India in the region. The first threat is that Kashmir under Indian rule will become more insecure. During the years when Taliban was ruling in Afghanistan, the Kashmir under ruling of India got increasingly insecure due to the reason that extremists sought to attack India through Kashmir.  In addition, India, as a region’s superpower with rapid economic growth, needs new markets. Insecurity in countries like Afghanistan and Central Asia will hit India’s economy.
China, as the second largest economic power in the world, faces a greater threat than other countries. Competing with US, China is in need of more convergence and stability in the countries of the region. The Terrorist groups are serious threats to regional stability. Instability in the region also makes China unable to meet its energy needs and loses its markets in the region. Therefore, China also indirectly threatened from growth of fundamentalism and extremism such as Taliban, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the eastern Turkestan Movement.
Therefore, it can be said that terrorist groups are a serious threat to the countries of the region, especially India, Iran, China and Afghanistan. The countries of the region need to coordinate and cooperate in a joint resistance front to combat against these groups. Today, under the influence of the globalization process, security threats have become more diversified while the governments unilaterally are not able to ensure their national security. In many cases, the elimination of threats and national security is possible through multilateral cooperation. The regional countries should come to understating that eradication of terrorists are not possible without collective fighting and comprehensive  mechanism against extremism and terrorism.
The multi-lateral approach and the joint efforts of regional countries, particularly China, Iran and India, which have recently been damaged by the Terrorism, are the most effective way to fight terrorism; The multi-dimensional approach will synchronize regional actors, reduce the cost of combating terrorism, reduce the interferences of foreigners in the region, and remove the roots of the terrorist groups, etc. Otherwise, the terrorism in the Middle East is the main growing issues which will farther challenge the entire regional nations. Millions of citizens of these countries are the victims of either displaced or killed by this wretched phenomenon. The governments of the region have undertaken high costs with holding unilateral approach to counter terrorism, but the result of these efforts are not promising.
The most effective way to deal with terrorism in the Middle East is to unite the countries of the region, especially the powerful actors, to take a multilateral approach in their foreign policy cooperating with the war on terror, in order to achieve a credible outcome. Using all means of pressure against terrorist supporting countries, they can root out the terrorism and establish a safe and secure area benefiting all countries. And finally, ensuring the integrity and stability of the region provides a comprehensive development ground for the interests of all regional countries, while war and conflicts will threaten the interests all nations.

Moh. Zaher Sha’ban can be reached at Outlookafghanistan@gmail.com

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