While a lot of criticism of Pakistan’s agreement to impose sharia and end military operations in the Malakand division focus on the government’s ceding of territory, Pakistan’s unwillingness to confront the extremists, and the extension of a safe haven in the northwest, few analysts have explained why this is an ideological victory for al Qaeda and the Taliban. Asia Times‘ Syed Saleem Shahzad provides an excellent yet quick overview of the ideological implications:
Many Muslims believe that ancient Khorasan – which covers parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – is the promised land from where they will secure the first victory in the end-of-time battle in which the final round, according to their beliefs, will be fought in Bilad-i-Sham (Palestine-Lebanon-Syria). The geographical borders of Bilad-i-Sham-Khorasan extend from Samarkand in Uzbekistan to the small Malakand division in the northern fringe of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) that includes the militant-dominated Swat Valley. On Monday, at a time when United States Central Command chief General David Petraeus was trying to set up a supply route for troops in Afghanistan through Uzbekistan, in this extreme corner of the promised land of Khorasan – Malakand division – militants had every reason to celebrate.
Mentions of the Khorasan have begun to increase in al Qaeda’s propaganda. After their defeat in Iraq, al Qaeda began shifting its rhetoric from promoting Iraq as the central front in their war in against the West to the Khorasan being the central front. The victory in northwestern Pakistan, as well as the gains in Afghanistan, will provide al Qaeda and the Taliban with a powerful recruiting message.
