India faces multiple threats from multiple groups: Rand study

Washington, Apr.16 (ANI): An imploding nuclear-armed Pakistan torn apart by militant groups, economic woes and sectarian tension poses an extraordinary danger to India because of spill-over effects, including effects on India's economy and its own Muslim population, says a Rand Corporation study.

According to Seth G. Jones, a political scientist at RAND and author of "In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan," while there is good reason for India and its neighbours to be concerned, there is considerable misunderstanding of the threat.

"Referring to it as one orchestrated by the "Taliban" is fundamentally misplaced. In reality, there is no single organization involved (and certainly not an overarching one called the "Taliban"), but a series of networks, which are dispersed, small and which allow individuals to communicate, coordinate and conduct their campaigns with little precise central command," he says.

Accurately describing these groups is important to formulating an effective response. A hierarchical "Taliban" with a clear command and control structure would lead to a relatively straightforward response: capture or kill the core leadership (a "decapitation" strategy), he opines.

But the networked nature of Pakistan militant groups requires a "networked strategy" that hinges on countering the groups in their areas using local police and intelligence agencies to gather information and penetrate the organizations. To attack the threat, there has to be a willingness to operate at the small-unit level and a deeper understanding of its structure, he concludes. (ANI)