Q&A Session during EFSAS Webinar - 45th Session UNHRC

The event was followed by a very vibrant and thought-provoking Q&A session, during which the audience and speakers exchanged views in a debate on dozens of issues including the future of the US-Taliban peace deal and the involvement of other international actors in it; the rise of ISIS recruits in South India; the need of strengthening democracy and State effectiveness in countries of South Asia, especially in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and the role of the Pakistani ISI in the expansion of ISIS. All parties agreed that India should play a bigger role in the US-Taliban peace process as an important regional player, and in attaining peace in Afghanistan in which it could act as a mediator and contribute to the dissolution of the issue, yet as expressed by Mr. Daud, it is highly likely that Pakistan will prevent any such political move from taking place as they are not prepared to welcome their arch-enemy on the negotiating table and continue to remain the de facto masters of the Taliban.

In response to the rise of ISIS in South India, Dr. Paul Stott highlighted the power of social media in the dissemination of extremist messages, particularly in the case of radicalized Indian nationals and the high number of South Indians working in the Middle-East and influenced by Wahhabi ideology. Mr. Malaiz Daud, while quoting the words of Bilawal Bhutto, son of Benazir Bhutto, ‘Democracy is the best revenge’, argued that in a democratic system the Taliban and other jihadist outfits are set to lose more, yet a bigger emphasis should be put on State effectiveness and the sponsors of such groups, like the Pakistani Military Etsablishment. As per the last point, Mr. Malaiz Daud pinpointed the similarities between the modus operandi of ISIS in Pakistan and the Haqqani Network, arguing that oftentimes the two groups acquired weapons and ammunitions from similar sources, which implies that the ISI keeps ISIS as open option to be utilized for strategic depth in the future. Mr. Timothy Foxley further argued that not only has the ISI had an extensive history in sponsoring the Taliban and bringing them into being, the Pakistani State has further demonstrated how terrorist groups operate from its soil and even beyond, in the pursuit of securing the State’s objectives; thus, the ISI might make its way to ISKP, either by accident or by design, in case the Pakistani deep State believes it fits its purpose of pursuing its strategic objectives of targetting India by means of using a new terrorist proxy when needed.