How Pakistan helped the West fuel terrorism: From Soviet Jihad to the war on terror

Pakistan’s role in global terrorism isn’t just a side story — it’s the backbone of how modern jihad took shape.

Transcript

00:00Well, we have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades, you know, and West, including Britain.

00:06You know, when people talk about terrorism today, they often forget how it all started.

00:12And just so you know, Pakistan played a massive role while pretending to be the good guy.

00:16Flashback to 1979, Soviet tanks roll into Afghanistan, the US freaking out.

00:20Enter Pakistan.

00:22America needed someone to handle the dirty work, train fighters, arm them, basically create an army of holy warriors, the Mujahideen.

00:28And guess who stepped up?

00:30Pakistan's ISI.

00:31Funded by CIA dollars, Saudi money, and a whole lot of weapons.

00:34Training camps set up.

00:36Radicalization full speed ahead.

00:38Osama bin Laden?

00:39Yes, he got a start in this chaos too.

00:41He coordinated closely with the CIA while raising money from private Saudi citizens.

00:45Fast forward.

00:47Soviets leave, but the terror factories, they don't shut down.

00:50After the Soviet defeat and the birth of Taliban, many of these fighters turn to Kashmir, spawning a decade of violence in the 1990s.

00:56Meanwhile, the Taliban is running Kabul.

00:58And Osama has launched a holy war against the US through Al-Qaeda.

01:02And Pakistan?

01:02It just kept playing both sides.

01:04On one hand helping the West, the other hand nurturing extremists.

01:08Then comes 9-11.

01:09America launches its global war on terror.

01:11And once again, Pakistan's in the spotlight.

01:13Publicly, it's America's best ally.

01:15Behind closed doors, it's giving safe havens to the same terrorists it promised to fight.

01:20Remember Osama?

01:20America found chilling just a stone's throw away from Pakistan's military academy.

01:25Bottom line?

01:26Pakistan didn't just allow terrorism to grow.

01:28Most Indian observers say Islamabad built it, fed it and cashed in big time while the world paid the price.

01:34In recent years, Pakistan itself has borne the brunt of the terrorism it once allowed to prosper.

01:39While very conveniently playing the victim in this situation.

01:42As Defence Minister Khwaja Asif said in this interview published on 25th April 2025, just days after the Perilkam attack in Kashmir.

01:49That was a mistake and we suffered for that.