India-Pakistan: Visa Threat Does the Impossible
1st February 2017
February 1, 2017: Islamic terrorist violence inside Pakistan continues to decline. Surprisingly the vocal popular support for Islamic terrorism in Pakistan was suddenly muted in late January as the military made some unexpected concessions regarding its support for terrorism and the government was able to go after a major Islamic charity that was long known (by literally everyone) as a front for Islamic terrorist fund raising. What caused this sudden change was the unexpected American threat to declare Pakistan a supporter of Islamic terrorism and restrict the movement of Pakistanis to and from the United States. What made this threat so convincing is that the newly (since January 20 th ) installed U.S. government started keeping campaign promises and banned seven nations (Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen) that have long been the source of most Islamic terrorism. Many in South Asia believe Pakistan should be on the list. Afghanistan and India have long called for such action against Pakistan but Pakistanis thought the Americans would never do it. The leaders of Pakistan’s Islamic parties, who normally call for violent demonstrations against any effort to shut down Islamic terrorists who only attack outside Pakistan were quiet. That was because many of their key supporters may be enthusiastic about Islamic terrorism, they are more concerned about family in the West, especially the United States, or seeking to go there. The Islamic political parties have grown stronger since the military cracked down on anti-Pakistan Islamic terrorists in 2014. But now even the military is concerned about Pakistan being labeled what it has long been; a major supporter of Islamic terrorism. The fear may not last, but it’s a refreshing change of attitude for people in the region, including most Pakistanis.