Banned Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Taiba are key recipients of the Saudi-UAE financial aid

Related post: SSP-LeJ-JUI and the Libyan connection: In the light of WikiLeaks

A US official in a cable sent to the State Department stated that “financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith clerics in south Punjab from organisations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ostensibly with the direct support of those governments.”

The cable sent in November 2008 by Bryan Hunt, the then Principal Officer at the US Consulate in Lahore, was based on information from discussions with local government and non-governmental sources during his trips to the cities of Multan and Bahawalpur.

Quoting local interlocutors, Hunt attempts to explain how the “sophisticated jihadi recruitment network” operated in a region dominated by the Barelvi sect, which, according to the cable, made south Punjab “traditionally hostile” to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith schools of thought.

Hunt refers to a “network of Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith mosques and madrassahs” being strengthened through an influx of “charity” which originally reached organisations “such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Al-Khidmat foundation”. Portions of these funds would then be given away to clerics “in order to expand these sects’ presence” in a relatively inhospitable yet “potentially fruitful recruiting ground”.

Outlining the process of recruitment for militancy, the cable describes how “families with multiple children” and “severe financial difficulties” were generally being exploited for recruitment purposes. Families first approached by “ostensibly ‘charitable’” organisations would later be introduced to a “local Deobandi or Ahl-i-Hadith maulana” who would offer to educate the children at his madrassah and “find them employment in the service of Islam”. “Martyrdom” was also “often discussed”, with a final cash payment to the parents. “Local sources claim that the current average rate is approximately Rs 500,000 (approximately USD 6,500) per son,” the cable states.

Children recruited would be given age-specific indoctrination and would eventually be trained according to the madrassah teachers’ assessment of their inclination “to engage in violence and acceptance of jihadi culture” versus their value as promoters of Deobandi or Ahl-i-Hadith sects or recruiters, the cable states.

Recruits “chosen for jihad” would then be taken to “more sophisticated indoctrination camps”. “Locals identified three centres reportedly used for this purpose”. Two of the centres were stated to be in the Bahawalpur district, whereas one was reported as situated “on the outskirts of Dera Ghazi Khan city”. These centres “were primarily used for indoctrination”, after which “youths were generally sent on to more established training camps in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and then on to jihad either in FATA, NWFP, or as suicide bombers in settled areas”.
The cable goes on to quote local officials criticising the PML-N-led provincial and the PPP-led federal governments for their “failure to act” against “extremist madrassas, or known prominent leaders such as Jaish-i-Mohammad’s Masood Azhar”. The Bahawalpur district nazim at the time told Hunt that despite repeatedly highlighting the threat posed by extremist groups and indoctrination centres to the provincial and federal governments, he had received “no support” in dealing with the issue unless he was ready to change his political loyalties. The nazim, who at the time was with the PML-Q, “blamed politics, stating that unless he was willing to switch parties…neither the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz provincial nor the Pakistan People’s Party federal governments would take his requests seriously”.

Cable referenced: WikiLeaks # 178082.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/22/saudi-arabia-uae-financing-extremism-in-south-punjab.html

http://criticalppp.com/forum/topic.php?id=1303

Imran Khan's PTI is a key supporter of radical Deobandi-Wahhabi organizations.

قاضی حسین احمد کے تازہ کالم جس میں انہوں نے سعودی بادشاہ کی تعریف کی ہے اور اب دیوبندی اور اہل حدیث کے مولویوں کا سعودی بادشاہ کی حمایت میں نکلنا یہ ثابت کرتا ہے کہ منصورہ اور مدارس میں اصل پیسا آتا ہی سعودی عرب سے ہے

کراچی سے پشاور تک جتنے دیوبند مدارس ہیں سب کے سب طالبان کی حمایتی ہیں ،پچھلے دس سالوں میں خاص طور پر ان مدارس کو اربوں روپیہ ملا ہے ، دار العلوم کراچی ،جامعہ اشرف المدارس کراچی ،جامعہ بنوریہ ،جامعہ خیر المدارس ملتان ،جامعہ اشرافیہ لاہور اور بہت سے اہل حدیث اور دیوبند مدارس میں گزشتہ دس سالوں میں لاکھوں پیسا لگایا گیا اور بڑی بڑی الشان عمارت تعمیر ہوئے ہیں جس کا رنگ اور نقشہ ہو بہو سعودی طرز کا ہے آج تمام بڑے مفتی صاحبان ائر کنڈیشن میں رہتے ہیں اور بہترین گاڑیوں میں پھرتے ہیں ،ایک ایک مدرسے کا روزانہ کا خرچ لاکھوں میں ہوتا ہے جہاں پانی اور بجلی کا مسلہ بھی نہیں ہوتا اور بڑے بڑے سٹینڈ باے جنریٹر لگے ہوئے ہیں ، مزے کی بات یہ کہ لاہور کراچی اسلام آباد یا اور دوسرے بڑے شہروں میں جو مدارس ہیں اس میں وہاں کی مقامی آبادی نہیں پڑھتی بلکے صوبہ پختون خہ اور پنجاب کے سریکی علاقوں کے طالب علم ہوتے ہیں پر سوال یہ پیدا ہوتا ہے کہ ان مولویوں نے شہر کے بیچوں بیچ یہ مدارس کیوں تعمیر کیے ،اس کی وجہ اچھا بزنس کیس ہے

آج کل نوے فیصد طالب مدرس میں انے کی وجہ دو وقت کی روٹی اور اچھی رہائش ہے جو انہیں ان کے گاؤں میں نہیں مل پاتی ہے اس کے علاوہ بڑے مدارس میں طالبعلموں کو ماہانہ وظیف بھی ملتا ہے ،زیادہ تر طالب دینی رجحان کے بجاے دینی تعلیم ایک پیشے کے طور پر لیتے ہیں کہ سات سال پڑھ کی کسی مسجد کے امام بنیں گے یا کم از کم حفظ کرکے قاری اور موزن بن جائیں گے تو اچھا روزگار ہو جائے گا ،اس کے علاوہ طالبعلموں کے ذہن میں طالبان کا کمانڈر بھی بننا ہوتا ہے جس کے لیہ جہادی تنظیمیں ہوتی ہیں جہاں وہ جا کر جہادی پیشہ اختیار کر لیتا ہے

تمام مدارس کو اندر خانے فوج کی سپورٹ حاصل ہے اور یہ فوج کے پلان کا حصہ ہے ،تمام دیوبند مدارس کے منتظمین کی فوج کی اعلیٰ قیادت سے رابطے ہیں

آپ کسی بھی دیوبند مدرسے امن جا کر طالبعلموں سے پوچھ لیں وہ خودکش بم دھماکوں اور طالبان کی کھل کر حمایت کر رہے ہونگے اور جب علما سے پوچھا یہ گا تو وہ گول مول جواب دینگے ،انہی مدارس سے لشکر جھنگوی ،سپاہ صحابہ ،طالبان ،لشکر طیبہ نکلتی ہے پر وہاں کے استاد یہی کہتے ہیں کے مدارس میں کوئی ٹریننگ نہیں ہوتی .
پاکستان کو اگر دہشتگردی کی جنگ جیتنی ہے تو باھر سے آنے والے پیسے کو روکنا ہوگا

جماعت اسلامی چل ہی رہی ہے باھر کے اور کھالوں کے پیسے پر پر آج تک کسی صحافی انے یا سیاسی جماعت نے منصورہ کے آڈٹ یا اس کے اخراجات دیکھنے کی جرات نہیں کی

پہلے ایک مسجد کو تعمیر کرنے کے لیہ سالوں لگا کرتے تھے کیوں کے اس کے پیسے دینے والے مقامی لوگ ہوتے تھے آج بڑے بڑے الشان محلوں جیسے مدرسے چند دنوں میں بن رہے ہیں ان کا پیسا کیسے اور کہاں سے آرہا ہے حکومت کو پتا ہی نہیں ،یہ حکومت کی نا اہلی ہی ہے

مدارس پاکستان میں ایک انڈسٹری بن چکے ہیں اور یہ دہشتگردی اور مذہبی نفرتوں سے پروان چڑھ رہی ہے مدارس کے منتظمین کے اپنے بڑے بڑے بزنس ہیں مثال کے طور پر جامعہ اشرف المدارس کے حکیم مظھر صاحب جو ال اختر ٹرسٹ چلاتے تھے آج دبئی میں کنسٹرکشن کا بسنس کر رہے ہیں اور ان کے تعلقات فوج کے اعلیٰ افسران سے ہیں

by Zalaan

http://criticalppp.com/forum/topic.php?id=955

WikiLeaks on Saudi funding to Jamat-ud-dawa & Debandi Ulama (Dawn TV report, 22 May 2011)

Apropos to our historical and current events that point towards discriminatory and humiliating laws the State of Pakistan have devised by giving in to the Islamist pressure, it is an undeniable fact that despite constitutionally marginalizing our vulnerable communities and curtailing rights of all citizens in general, no citizen feels protected and secure with unchallenged armed onslaught by extremists allowed to roam freely in our neighborhoods. The Government of Pakistan had indeed declared certain sectarian/militant groups banned since 2002, however, these banned outfits continue to function in the mainstream unopposed and unchallenged. Further, they have become audacious enough to display arms in public in boastful gestures. This must also not exclude how their activities are harmful to us all in general as they are given a free hand at provoking sentiments through their calculated dissemination of hate-messages through exploitative use of loudspeakers and through written material calling for violence/Jihad against certain communities for their beliefs and religions that do not conform to their brand of Islam.

We also understand that Pakistan needs to maintain its important position in world politics, and that Pakistan has a huge responsibility to fulfill all of its international conventions on countering terrorism and also those concerning human rights situation here, and for all it to be condoned, appreciated and genuinely owned by the people of Pakistan, it is imperative for our establishment to prioritize their sincerity to citizens before defining the contentious “strategic interests” , a draconian policy historically aimed at appeasing the radical militant organizations at the cost of well-being, social harmony and economic progressiveness on equal footing for all segments of Pakistan’s populace.

We condemn this gross unjust attitude shown by our authorities for giving in to the militants as could be witnessed directly on Sunday’s so-called “Defense Rally’ at Minar e Pakistan.

Sunday witnessed the rebirth of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) as thousands of flags and weapons-waiving, SSP activists participated in the procession at Minar-e-Pakistan, contrary to the claims of Jamat-ud-dawa that the procession was aimed at discussing the ‘defence’ of Pakistan.

Not only their participation was allowed there, but seeing their presence and hijacking Minar e Pakistan, a monument that symbolized freedom for Pakistan, is an insult to the very essence of patriotism we adhere to our soil.

To explicitly cite the trouble:

A specific recurrent issue that has become a cause of our concern is the open incitement to religious violence by many groups that is openly engaged in declaring unlawful and unwarranted fatwas against our citizens. There are numerous examples to be found, like the unlawful activities of Khatm e Nubuwat religious groups. We demand that by definition of terrorism, these groups and their activities, that have not been reprimanded before should now be declared banned and contained with immediate effect. The more hate, bigotry and murder they unleash, more damaged we become as a nation.

It is undisputed that such groups are responsible to intimidate and pose direct threat to our vulnerable citizens, but also coerce other institutions, especially educational institutions, residential places, graveyards, villages etc. to expel them from mainstream. Activities as such, and the apathetic attitude of the State towards such growing extremism is our shameful reality that cannot, and should not be left ignored for long before it completely permeates our society with degenerating mindsets of our current and subsequent generations.

What can we do?

I, along with my friends invite you to join this page to express your views and also to sign it as a petition urging the government to take notice of growing extremism and vigilantism and to stress on the need to protect our minorities from these violent groups that have been let loose on us. The more we can get it signed, the better results we can get in making our case realistic. And for those of you residing in Lahore and you feel committed to this cause, please express your desire to take it forward. Your suggestions are always welcome.

I thank you for your patient reading. However, this is a matter not just of our national conscience, but of also of the future of our country.

Regards,

A Concerned Citizen.

Source:

Imran Khan dispatched a special message to ISI-backed rally led by two militant organizations.

Related post: Imran Khan’s PTI joins banned terrorist groups in pro-army rally in Lahore

Last month (Nov 2011), I was so hopeful after reading Imran Khan’s clear and bold stance against militant groups basd in Pakistan:

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has said his party will ensure that no militant groups operate from Pakistani soil if it comes to power, but stopped short of committing himself to action against the Jamaatud Dawa, and its leader Hafiz Saeed due to the threat posed to politicians by extremists. According to a PTI (Press Trust of India) report, the head of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf party said it should be the country’s state policy to ensure that “there are no militant groups operating from within Pakistan”.

“As a policy, if the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf government comes to power, we will insist on there being no militant groups operating within Pakistan because the world has changed. The groups that were created during the Afghan Jihad, and this is now an outdated concept of having them as assets,” Mr Khan said in an interview with Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN’s “Devil’s Advocate” programme.

Mr Khan said the time had come “to not only remove all militant groups (and) disarm them” but also to work for the “de-weaponisation in Pakistan because it is causing massive problems within the country”.

Imran says he won’t allow any militant group to operate from Pakistan, Dawn, 14 Nov 2011

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/14/imran-says-he-wont-allow-any-militant-group-to-operate-from-pakistan.html

However, my hopes were soon dashed when I came to know that in the ISI-sponsored Defence of Pakistan rally (Lahore, 18 Dec 2011) led by a number of militant organizations including Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Hafiz Saeed and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s Ahmed Ludhianvi, Imran Khan’s PTI participated and a special message by Imran Khan was read to the conference participants.

The Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC) is an anti-US and anti-India campaign run by Messrs General Hamidf Gul, Hafiz Saeed (LeT-JuD), Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi (LeJ-SSP) and Samiul Haq (JUI-Taliban), among others. Its Lahore rally was a pro-army establishment show or religio-political and militant organisations which provided an opportunity for several political light-weights to curry favour with the radical `40-party` front put up by the DPC. Sheikh Rashid was there, eager to enlist as a true Dawa follower. Ijazul Haq (General Ziaul Haq’s son) was in attendance as was Jamaat Islami`s Liaqat Baloch.

Most significantly, Imran Khan dispatched a close associate of his to read out a message on his behalf. This was not the first time PTI had been spotted at such a meeting. In the circumstances, the message took on stronger meaning.

Cyril Almeida writes:

It was an extraordinary spectacle in Minto Park at the foot of the Minar-i-Pakistan on Sunday: jihadists, sectarian warriors, orthodox mullahs, Islamic revivalists, all banding together under the banner of the Difaa-i-Pakistan Council (Pakistan Defence Council) and vowing to ‘defend’ Pakistan against external aggression.

Headlined by Hafiz Saeed, leader of the Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), widely perceived as a front for the banned Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT), Sunday’s event was a massive show of right-wing strength and has come in the wake of a heightened public profile by the JuD in recent months.

Was the PDC rally, then, meant to signify the entry of Hafiz Saeed into national politics, though perhaps not of the electoral variety?

More broadly, does the PDC event suggest that the security establishment is once again lashing together reactionary and millenarian forces in pursuit of narrow institutional interests without heed to the dangers to state and society of such a move?

The Difaa-i-Pakistan (PDC), an umbrella group of 44 right-wing entities and personalities, has been reactivated in the wake of the Mohmand killings, suggesting an external agenda.

But critics also see a thinly veiled domestic political agenda behind the creation of the PDC, an attempt to create a right-wing grouping from which an MMA-style or perhaps even an IJI-style political front will emerge ahead of the next general election.

“We’re seeing a replay of 10 years ago. After 9/11, we saw the creation of the Pak-Afghan Defence Council. From there, the politicians in the group created the MMA while the hardcore jihadis went their own way,” said Nusrat Javeed, a veteran journalist.

Beyond the immediate purpose of cultivating the PDC as a buffer against American demands, analysts believe the right-wing alliance has a deeper political purpose.

“Like you have many windows open on the computer, the establishment has many windows open too,” Arif Nizami said. “So they have Imran Khan to collect all the establishment political types and now you have the PDC to gather together all the ultra-right types.”

“The ISI has unleashed its jihadis,” said Amir Mir, an expert on Islamic militancy in the region, adding, “Before Sunday’s rally, there had already been five rallies in November alone on the Mall (Lahore).”

The link between the PDC and the security establishment, according to Mir and other analysts, was as clear as anything can be in the otherwise murky nexus between the establishment and jihadi groups.

“Samiul Haq (of JUI-S), Hafiz Saeed, Ijazul Haq, Sheikh Rashid, all these people come from the agency circles,” Mir argued. “And look at their views on foreign policy, they’re nothing more than mouthpieces of the intelligence establishment.”

“See who is involved (in the PDC) and look at their past: they’ve never gone against the ISI and some of them are quite frank about it,” Suhail Waraich said. “Their platform is anti-US, anti-India, anti-present government, who does that suit?”

“The revival of the military-mullah alliance could be to squeeze the space for Zardari and the PPP, the N-League and the other nationalist parties in the provinces,” said Imtiaz Alam.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/21/rally-in-lahore-sends-alarm-bells-ringing.html

Imran Khan’s tacit-association with the ISI and his apparent association with right-wing groups, including militant groups, indicates that he, too, is a pragmatic, Machiavellian politician. For example, his message to foreign (Indian or Western audience) is usually different from his political message to his domestic audience. Further, despite his tall claims of being a Tsunami, he is an ordinary mortal being and is extremely fearful of militant creatures, such as Ajmal Kasab and Mumtaz Qadri.

For example:

When Thapar asked him about militant groups and whether Khan would denounce them, he answered broadly in the affirmative. But Thapar is not the usually naïve and unabashedly sick-of-democracy Pakistani television anchor. He proceeded to ask Khan whether Hafiz Saeed and Jamaat-ud-Daawa would be specifically mentioned. That was uncomfortable, for specifics are not conducive to Khan and his populism. Out came the reply which speaks volumes about the man and his philosophy. To paraphrase it Khan’s reply referred to Salmaan Taseer’s death about how the killer of a governor ‘becomes a hero’. Khan went on to say that Pakistan is the most polarised country in the world and that there is no point in being a hero in this country.

Waqqas Mir, Pakistan Today, 18 Dec 2011

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/12/more-on-khan/

However, when he was specifically asked if he would check the activities of Hafiz Saeed, blamed for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and his group JuD and its front organisations like the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, he did not commit himself to acting against these elements due to perceived fears posed by extremists.

“Look, I’m living in Pakistan. Pakistan at the moment is the most polarised country in the world. A governor gets shot, his assassin becomes a hero. There’s no point in becoming a hero right now in this country where there’s no rule of law,” he said, referring to the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer.

“Life is very cheap here, so just let me make a policy statement. Don’t just go into details. As a policy statement, it should answer your question. No militant groups operating from within Pakistan,” he said.

Imran says he won’t allow any militant group to operate from Pakistan, Dawn, 14 Nov 2011

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/14/imran-says-he-wont-allow-any-militant-group-to-operate-from-pakistan.html

Related posts: Imran Khan’s Vice President Ejaz Chaudhry’s links with sectarian terrorists!

Imran Khan’s message to the Defence of Pakistan rally in Lahore – by Hakim Hazik

Imran Khan says he won’t allow any militant group to operate from Pakistan

Imran Khan’s Lahore rally offers no hope to Pakistan’s religious and ethnic minority groups

Sunday 18 December 2011 will be remembered as an important day in Pakistan’s history because Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) openly joined two banned terrorist organizations (Lashksar-e-Jhangvi and Lashkar-e-Taiba) in a pro-army rally clandestinely organized by Pakistani spy agency ISI. 

For those PTI supportors who are in denial about Imran Khan’s links with banned Jihadi groups, please refer to Daily Times, “SECOND EDITORAIL: Hate speech at a bigoted rally”  

On that day, a loose federation of Deobandi-Wahhabi religio-political organizations with known connections with Pakistan’s military establishment held a massive Difa-e-Pakistan rally (Defence of Pakistan Conference) to express support for Pakistan army and condemn “evil designs” of India, USA, Hindus, Ahmadis, Shias, Jews and the West in general.

Amongst others the rally was attended by the following radicalized Wahhabi/Salafi and Deobandi Jihado-sectarian groups: Jamiat Ahle-Hadith (Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer – Salafi/Wahhabi), Sipah-e-Sahaba /Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi – Deobandi), Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (Sami-ul-Haq – Deobandi), Jamaat-ud-Dawa/Lashkar-e-Taiba (Hafiz Muhammad Saeed – Salafi/Wahhabi), Jamaat-e-Islami (Liaquat Baloch – Deobandi), Inter Services Intelligence (General Hamid Gul – Salafi/Wahhabi) and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insasf (Imran Khan – Deobandi).

The conference was engineered by Pakistan Army / ISI in order to to pressurize the NATO and the USA and to mobilize Pakistan’s public opinion in support of Pakistan army. However, the conference was able to attract only a section of Deobandi and Wahhabi mullahs and madrassah students. The majority of Pakistan’s peaceful moderate Sunnis (Barelvis), Shias, Ahmadis, Christians etc did not participate in the conference.

Overall, the Difa-e-Pakistan Conference was a radicalized Deobandi-Wahhabi show of power on the behest of Pakistan army.

While Imran Khan could not attend the conference in person, his PTI workers participated in the conference and Imran Khan’s special message was read out on his behalf to the conference participants right before the Sipah-e-Sahaba leader Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi’s speech.

(2:20 Imran Khan’s message to the conference was read out by a PTI leader.)

Imran Khan and PTI’s participation along with at least two banned terrorist organizations, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP aka Lashkasr-e-Jhangvi LeJ) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT aka Jamat-ud-Dawa JuD), confirms his sectarian and jihadist tendencies.  While many of his elitest urban followers are in denial about his links and ideological ties to banned Jihado-sectarian organizations, they should pay heed to the fact that this incident is not a one off and cannot be denied away with one-sentence sweeping non-rebutals.  Here is another instance of PTI supporting a hate rally against the minority Ahmadi Muslims that took place earlier this year:

Imran Khan’s deputy from the Tehreek-e-Insaaf is here, Jamaat-ud-Daawa is here, Maulana Sami-ul-Haq is here. The first to speak is the PTI man. He says on behalf of Imran Khan (“Imran Khan ki taraf se…”) that the PTI will not tolerate any amendment to the blasphemy laws. (This is the opposite of what King Khan told his adoring British followers in The Guardian of London just a few weeks ago.) Quickly he moves from that to the Raymond Davis incident, saying that Muslims must also consider (in addition to theological issues) the very real dangers faced by poor people in Muslim societies today. This becomes a pattern: every speaker starts with the blasphemy law but ends with the American man’s killing of three people in Lahore. Source: Friday Times

Previously it has been documented that Imran Khan’s PTI and its various leaders (e.g. Vice President Ijaz Chaudhry) have close links with Sipah-e-Sahaba / Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Khatam-e-Nabuwat terrorists.

Here is a news report from Pakistan Today newspaper (18 Dec 2011):

Is the SSP out of the closet?

LAHORE – Sunday witnessed the rebirth of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) as thousands of flags and weapons-waiving, SSP activists participated in the procession at Minar-e-Pakistan, contrary to the claims of Jamat-ud-dawa that the procession was aimed at discussing the ‘defence’ of Pakistan. Whereas the cause of the procession was generally appreciated, even the participants raised their eyebrows at the presence of a banned organisation that has been accused of killing Shia Muslims inside the country. After its ban in 2002, Dafa-i-Pakistan Council’s Sunday rally was the first occasion on which the elements of SSP appeared on the scene and vowed their full support for the JD and their stance of ridding the country of the US.

Many religious clerics and madrassa students under the supervision of Almuhammadia Students Organisation of Pakistan were gathered on Sunday in the ground of Minar-e-Pakistan but the presence of members of banned organisation, armed was the main highlight of the evening. SSP’s activists accompanied JD workers on the city roads and encouraged people to attend the DPC’s rally. “It seems as if the government has lifted the ban from banned organisations. In the name of protesting against the NATO attacks, these organisations are being allowed to roam freely and this will lead to sectarian clashes,” said Zafer Ali, a student, adding that the government was making a mistake by allowing organisations like JD and SSP to function openly.

“Instead of giving a positive impression, clerics chose to call a banned organisation which came with weapons and flags. Even though the cause of the rally is a good one, but I smell danger because everyone will get the impression that the aim of the rally was to recruit terrorists,” said Usman, another citizen.

Members of the banned organisations were also seen tearing the billboards and posters of former dictator Pervaiz Musharraf at Nasir Bagh where a session was being held. They also raised slogans against him.

STUDENTS AVOID THE RALLY: Although a large number of madrassa students joined the procession at Minto Park, students of schools, colleges and universities abstained from it. According to sources, most students at the procession were forcefully brought from the religious madaris of Deoband, Ahl-e-hadis and Ahl-e-Sunat but the students from the universities and colleges could not be attracted. Source: Pakistan Today

Report by BBC Urdu

مینار پاکستان پر ہونے والے اس جلسے کا اہتمام دفاع پاکستان کونسل نامی تنظیم نے کیا تھا اور اس جلسے میں کالعدم تنظیموں کے کارکنوں کی بڑی تعداد نے شرکت کی۔ دفاع پاکستان کونسل نامی اس تنظیم میں مختلف مذہبی جماعتیں شامل ہیں تاہم اس جلسے کی تیاری اور انتظامات میں مذہبی تنظیم جماعت الدعوۃ پیش پیش تھی اور یہی وجہ تھی کہ جلسے گاہ میں سب سے بڑی تعداد میں جماعت الدعوۃ کے جھنڈے نظر آئے۔

کالعدم تنظیم سپاہ صحابہ پاکستان کے کارکنوں بڑی تعداد میں اس جلسے میں شرکت کرنے کے لیے صوبہ پنجاب کے مختلف علاقوں سے لاہور آئے تھے اور جماعت الدعوۃ کے علاوہ اس جلسے میں کالعدم تنظیم سپاہ صحابہ کے جھنڈے بھی نظر آ رہے تھے۔

جلسہ گاہ کے ارگرد جو بینرز لگائے گئے ان پر’بھارت کا جو یار ہے غدار ہے غدار ہے ، بھارت سے رشتہ کیا نفرت کا انتقام کا ، پاکستانی دریاؤں کےپانی پر قابض بھارت کا ایک ہی علاج الجہاد الجہاد‘ جیسی عبارتیں درج تھی۔
مقررین نے خبردار کیا کہ اگر نیٹو کی سپلائی لائن بحال گئی اور بھارت کو پسندیدہ ملک قرار دیکر واہگہ بارڈر کھولا گیا تو اس پر احتجاج کیا جائے گا۔

جلسے سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے جماعت الدعوۃ کے امیر حافظ سعید نے کہا کہ امریکی مہمان بن کر آئیں اور سفارتخانوں میں اپنا سفارتی کام کریں تو ان کی عزت کریں گے لیکن اگر وہ سڑکوں پر ہمارے لوگوں کو ماریں گے تو اس کی اجازت نہیں دیں گے۔ انہوں نے الزام لگایا کہ اسلام آباد میں بھارت کو پسندیدہ ملک قرار دینے کی سازشیں تیار ہو رہی ہیں اور بقول ان کے پارلیمنٹ سے ایسی کوئی قرارداد منظور نہیں ہونے دیں گے۔ خافظ سیعد نے مطالبہ کیا کہ شمسی ائیر بیس کی طرح دیگر اڈے بھی خالی کرائے جائیں۔

جمعیت علماء اسلام (س) کے سربراہ مولانا سمیع الحق نے جلسے کے اختتام پر شرکاء سے دفاع پاکستان کے لیے جہادی جذبے سے لڑنے کا حلف بھی لیا۔ انہوں نے اعلان کیا کہ دفاع پاکستان کونسل کا تیرہ جنوری کو راولپنڈی اور بائیس جنوری کو کراچی میں جلسہ ہوگا

جلسے کے خاص خاص مقررین میں جماعت اسلامی کے سیکرٹری جنرل لیاقت بلوچ، آئی ایس آئی کے سابق سربراہ جنرل حمید گل ، مسلم لیگ ضیاء کے اعجاز الحق اور اہلسنت والجماعت کے مولانا محمد احمد لدھونوی شامل تھے۔

Source: BBC Urdu

Xenophobic declaration of the conference

Leaders of terrorist organizations LeJ, LeT etc and their affiliates at the conference

Supporters of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan aka LeJ conspicuous due to their flags keenly listen to Imran-Khan’s anti-USA speech (previous occasion)

Sipah-e-Sahaba’s flags in Imran Khan’s anti-Drone rally

While Pakistan has directed its focus and significant resources to fighting terrorism in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), the growing activities of banned militant organizations and their influence in Punjab, the country’s most populous province, have been largely ignored.  Militants, most trained in Afghanistan and others ex-inmates of Afghan prisons, have recently surfaced in Punjab and become active in Punjabi jihadi groups.

The Punjabi militant network is a loose conglomeration of members of banned militant groups of Punjabi origin that have developed strong connections with the Tehrki-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), al-Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and other militant groups based in FATA and KPK. Members shuttle between FATA and the rest of Pakistan, providing logistical support to FATA and Afghanistan-based militants to conduct terrorist operations deep inside Pakistan.

The main banned organizations with leadership and headquarters in Punjab include Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Jummat ud-Dawa (JuD), Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), Harkatul Jihadul Islami (HJI), all working in collaboration with the TTP and al-Qaeda (Central Asia Online, May 10). These sectarian groups are active in the Punjabi cities of Jhang, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Khanewal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahimyar Khan, Muzaffergarh, Layyah, and Gujranwala, leaving the government with the difficult task of eliminating these groups with actions other than those already taken in the tribal areas. [1] The LeT’s governing offices are located in Muridke and Lahore while the SSP is controlled from Jhang district. Similarly, LeJ takes directions from Rahimyar Khan and the JeM is linked with its center in Bahawalpur (Viewpoint Online [Pakistan], July 16, 2011). [2]

Media reports suggest that a large number of militants from Punjab have joined hands with the TTP as well as the Afghan Taliban in recent years. With significant numbers of recruits from Punjab-based sectarian organizations, the TTP has proved to be lethal to government efforts to establish order on the frontier (Outlook [Kabul] May 6).According to the figures of the ten largest jihadi organizations, the number of “martyrs” from Punjab is more than 12,000, of which roughly 4,000 have lost their lives in Afghanistan. [3] An intelligence report recently prepared by the provincial government’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) revealed that 2,487 militants trained in Afghanistan and 556 militants released from Afghan prisons have surfaced in the province and are now active in the Punjabi Taliban Network (Express Tribune [Karachi] August 30).

Terrorist and suicide attacks inside Punjab have increased significantly since the Pakistan military’s offensive in South Waziristan in October 2009.  Most of the terrorists involved in the attacks belonged to a variety of Punjabi cities, with most hailing from the province’s southern region:

• The terrorists involved in the September 20, 2008 suicide attack on the Marriot Hotel Islamabad belonged to Toba Tek Singh, Attock and Chakwal. These militants were members of the HJI, headed by Qari Safiullah (Asia Tribune, July 28, 2009).

• Dr Usman, who masterminded the October 10, 2010 attack on the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarter (GHQ) as well as several other suicide attacks, is a native of Kabirwala.

• Asmatullah Muwaia, a key leader of the TTP in South Waziristan and master trainer of suicide bombers, also belongs to Kabirwala.

• Osman, the head of a LeJ splinter group operating in the southern region of Punjab, was wounded and arrested in the GHQ attack. Recently a military court pronounced a death sentence on the LeJ commander (The News [Islamabad] August 13).

• Similarly, the persons attacking the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in Lahore also belonged to cities in South Punjab.

A large number of “Punjabi Taliban” belonging to the LeJ, the SSP, the JuD, the HJI and other splinter groups, are especially active in the tribal region (The News [Islamabad] August 18). [4] Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also written to the Punjab government asking them to take action against the anti-Shi’a militants based in Jhang district, following a September 20 attack on an Iran-bound bus in the Mastung district of Balochistan that killed 29 Shi’a pilgrims (BBC, October 4).

According to security officials, Shehbaz Taseer, son of slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was abducted from the provincial capital of Lahore on August 6 by Punjab-based militants. [5] Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that Taseer has been shifted to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, most probably to North Waziristan (Dawn[Karachi], October 17). The abductee’s family members disclosed that they had received threats from militant groups since Governor Taseer was shot dead earlier this year for urging reforms to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws (seeTerrorism Monitor, February 24). Similarly, responsibility for the killing of Pakistan’s Christian Minorities minister Shehbaz Bhatti was claimed by a group calling itself the “Punjabi Taliban” (AP, March 2). Punjabi militant groups have also played an important role in attacking Ahmadis, Shi’a, Sufis and other civilian targets in the province (seeTerrorism Monitor, June 12, 2010).

The main reason for the emergence of a militant mind-set in Punjab is the rapid growth of religious madrassas (seminaries), most of them tied to militant organizations. There are a total of 5,500 religious madrassas in the Punjab, the majority of them belonging to the Deobandi sect. Students enrolled in these madrassas are from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and KPK as well as Punjab. Religious madrassas based in Punjab provide 40% of recruits to the jihadi outfits. [6] A Punjab CTD report reveals that at least 170 madrassas in Punjab are involved in “suspected activities,” a reference to their role in militant networks, preaching of jihad and spreading sectarian violence against the Punjab’s Shi’a and Ahmadi communities (Express Tribune, August 30).

It is also believed that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies and Punjab’s ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), have good relationships with the banned militant organizations. The Punjab government is known to have provided nearly $1 million worth of financial assistance to JuD in its provincial budget while senior leaders of PML-N (particularly law minister Rana Sanaullah) are seen campaigning with militant  leaders and aggravating interfaith harmony (Express Tribune, June 18, 2010).

Although Punjab is not in imminent danger of a Taliban takeover, the expansion of militant activities in the province, if unchecked, could have serious outcomes for Pakistan’s stability, the war in Afghanistan, the Indo-Pakistani relationship and the future of international terrorism. Unlike the Taliban entrenchment in South Waziristan and Swat, Punjabi militants are scattered across a large province instead of being concentrated in a single region where effective counterterrorism, intelligence and police operations are more likely to be able to contain their operations without massive military intervention. An initial step to dealing with the security crisis in Punjab would involve the provincial government and the national intelligence agencies abandoning their “strategic partnership” and selective attitude in dealing with banned militant groups.

Notes:

1. Mujahid Hussain, Punjabi Taliban, Nigharshat Publishers, Lahore, 2009.

2. Interview with Muhammad Amir Rana, Director of Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), August 16, 2011. A government ban on these jihadist organizations merely led them to operate under different names. SSP began operating under the names of Millat-e-Islamia and Ahle-e-Sunnat Wal Jammat, JeM as al-Furqan and Khuddamul Islam, and JuD or Lashkar-e-Tayyaba as Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation.

3. Muhammad Amir Rana, A to Z of Jihadi Organizations in Pakistan, Mashal Books, Lahore, 2009.

4. Interview with a Bannu-based journalist who requested anonymity, October 16, 2011.

5. Interview with a Lahore-based senior police official who requested anonymity, October 16, 2011.

6. Muhammad Amir Rana, A to Z of Jihadi Organizations in Pakistan, Mashal Books, Lahore, 2009.

A Pakistani man who trained at Lashkar-e-Taiba’s terror camps has been arrested in the US on charges of producing propaganda for the terror group. The Long War Journal has obtained a copy of the propaganda video, which is published here.

Jubair Ahmad, a Pakistani man who moved to Virginia in 2007, was charged on Sept. 1 and arrested by the FBI for providing material support to a terrorist group. He produced the tape at the behest of the son of the overall leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Jubair, who was born in Sialkot in Pakistan’s Punjab province, joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba, or LeT, when he was a teenager, according to the FBI affidavit. He admitted to the FBI that he attended three LeT camps.

The first camp attended by Jubair was Dora Suffa, “where he received instruction in religious dogma and proselytizing,” the FBI stated. Afterward, “he attended LeT’s basic training camp known as Dora A’ama, where he received additional religious indoctrination, physical conditioning, and weapons instruction.” According to Jubair, students at Dora A’ama “listen to lectures, offer your prayers, exercise, study guns, fire them.” He also said that “where I got training from they do the commando training there now.” Then, at the third camp, which is known as Dora Khasa, he attended LeT’s “commando course.” An instructor turned him away after one week as he was too young, Jubair claimed.

Jubair and his family were issued visas in October 2006 because “his father was related to a US citizen,” the FBI stated. Jubair entered the US in February 2007 with his father, mother, and two younger brothers. “His current immigration status is Lawful Permanent Resident,” according to the affidavit.

Jubair was in the US for two years before the FBI detected that he was participating in terrorist activities. The FBI began investigating him in 2009 “after receiving information that Jubair may be associated with LeT.”

The FBI said he created and uploaded a Lashkar-e-Taiba propaganda video on Sept. 25, 2010. To create the video, Jubair was in direct contact with Talha Saeed, the son of Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed.

The propaganda video included images of Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Seed preaching and being arrested by Pakistani police, images of Muslims being killed by Pakistani and Middle Eastern troops, prisoners and their jailers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Pakistani weapons systems, and video clips of US armored vehicles being blown up in roadside bomb attacks in Iraq. A “prayer” given by Hafiz Saeed that repeatedly invokes jihad and praises the “mujahideen” is played in the background.

Talha gave Zubair editing instructions and guidance on where he could find images and clips of the items he wanted in the video. Talha was also careful not to have Lashkar-e-Taiba explicitly mentioned, or connected with the November 2008 terror assault in Mumbai.

“Talha asked Jubair to include pictures of Hafiz Saeed when Hafiz was being arrested and placed under house arrest,” the FBI said. “As the conversation continued Talha described types of photos to be used in the video.”

“Jubair asked if he should post the Mumbai one and added they want to show their power… Talha told Jubair not to use anything referencing Mumbai but said Jubair could reference Palestine and operating of Mujahideen in Kashmir.”

In October, Talha instructed Jubair to remove all references to Lashkar-e-Taiba. Jubair uploaded the final version of the video to YouTube on Oct. 16, 2010, the affidavit stated.

Although the YouTube account was redacted in the report, The Long War Journal has learned that the account Jubair used is AbuDujjana.

Jubair deleted the video from his YouTube account after receiving a visit from the FBI late last month.

Background on the Lashkar-e-Taiba

Over the past decade, the US has added the Lashkar-e-Taiba and its so-called charitable front groups, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and the Falah-i Insaniat Foundation, as global terrorist organizations. Falah-i Insaniat was established in early 2009 after the United Nations added Jamaat-ud-Dawa to its list of proscribed terror groups.

Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and several of his top lieutenants have been designated by the US and the UN as a terrorists. They remain free men in Pakistan despite openly supporting jihad in both India and Pakistan, and regardless of LeT’s involvement in the Mumbai attack as well as other terror attacks.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba and Saeed have strong links to al Qaeda and elements within Pakistan’s military and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI.

Osama bin Laden and his mentor Abdullah Azzam encouraged Saeed to form Lashkar-e-Taiba in the late 1980s, and helped fund the establishment of the terror outfit. Lashkar-e-Taiba, like al Qaeda, practices the Wahhabi strain of Islam, and receives funding from Saudis and other wealthy individuals throughout the Middle East.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is an ally of al Qaeda; the two groups provide support for each other, and their operatives train in each other’s camps. Lashkar-e-Taiba has established training camps in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province and the tribal areas, and also maintains camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Northern Areas.

A senior US military intelligence official described the group as “al Qaeda junior,” as it has vast resources and is able to carry out complex attacks throughout its area of operations. “If by some stroke of luck al Qaeda collapsed, LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) could step in and essentially take its place,” the official told The Long War Journal in November 2008.

The relationship between al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba is complex, the official noted. “While Lashkar-e-Taiba is definitely subordinate to al Qaeda in many ways, it runs its own network and has its own command structure. The groups often train in each others’ camps, and fight side by side in Afghanistan.”

Lashkar-e-Taiba has an extensive network in Southern and Southeast Asia, where it seeks to establish a Muslim caliphate. The group essentially runs a state within a state in Pakistan; the group has established an organization that is as effective as Lebanese Hezbollah. Its sprawling Muridke complex, just northwest of Lahore in Punjab province, is a town of its own. Throughout Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Lashkar-e-Taiba runs numerous hospitals, clinics, schools, mosques, and other services. In support of its activities, LeT is active in fundraising across the Middle East and South Asia, and the group has recruited scores of Westerners to train in its camps.

Pakistan has refused to crack down on homegrown terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, despite their covert and overt support for al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terror groups. Inside Pakistan’s military and intelligence services, which are the real powers in Pakistan, groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba are seen as ‘strategic depth’ against India, and are used as instruments of foreign policy. Pakistani Army corps commanders, who occupy some of the senior-most positions in the military, openly cavort with Saeed.

After the November 2008 terror assault in Mumbai, India, which was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, Pakistan claimed to have shut down Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamaat-ud-Dawa offices and camps, and detained followers, but the efforts were largely cosmetic. Saeed was formally placed under house arrest, but in reality he was free to do as he pleased. His house arrest was later lifted by a Pakistani court.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba is one of the primary terror groups used by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency to direct military and terror operations inside India and Indian-held Kashmir. During the 1999 Kargil War, when Pakistan invaded Indian-held Kashmir, the Lashkar-e-Taiba fought as the vanguard for Pakistani forces in the mountainous region. To this day, Lashkar-e-Taiba military and terror units continue to infiltrate into Kashmir, with the help of Pakistan’s military.

Source: The Long War Journal

“But even if we achieve the ultimate defeat of al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theatre, an expanded and diverse network of terrorist groups determined to focus beyond their local environments is likely to persist,” said the strategy essentially focused on destroying al Qaeda.

In South Asia LeT, “the organisation responsible for the rampage in Mumbai in 2008 that killed over 100 people, including six Americans-constitutes a formidable terrorist threat to Indian, US, and other Western interests in South Asia and potentially elsewhere”, it said.

US counter-terrorism efforts against LeT will continue to focus on ensuring that the group lacks the capability to conduct or support operations detrimental to US interests or regional stability, including escalating tensions between Pakistan and India, the strategy said.

Much of US effort against LeT “will continue to centre on coordinating with, enabling, and improving the will and capabilities of partner nations-including in South Asia, Europe, and the Arabian Gulf-to counter the group and its terrorist activities”, it said.

The group boasts of running over 202 facilities in Pakistan, including schools, hospitals and charities. The Long War Journal says that LET “essentially runs a state within a state in Pakistan.” This is especially dangerous because of the group’s proven ability to recruit Westerners. European officials say that the LET is the biggest inspirer of homegrown terrorists, and it is known to be expanding operations in the West. The group’s focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan and India does not mean that it doesn’t harbor global ambitions. It has promised to “plant a flag” in Tel Aviv and Washington, D.C.

The report is mainly focused on al-Qaida and its other affiliated terrorist groups.

In its counter-terrorism strategy for 2011, released on Thursday, the US has said that al Qaeda continues to remain a threat and its defeat will only be achieved through a sustained partnership with Pakistan.

“From its base of operations in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), al Qaeda continues to pose a persistent and evolving threat to the US as well as to Pakistan and Afghanistan,” the strategy paper, released by The White House, stated.

Despite Gen Zia’s Islamisation, the promotion of piety in the barracks, and the support for puritanical movements that were allowed to organise sermons, the armed forces have still essentially retained a secular outlook. Institutionally, religion might be used as a motivational tool, but it is not allowed to guide the organisational strategy or goals. Intelligence networks help purge out the radical members of the forces.

But there have been many instances when radical Islamists have penetrated the armed forces and other law-enforcement agencies and threatened the state security mechanism. It is very well known that the lower ranks of the Punjab Police in district of Southern Punjab suffer from an infestation of sympathisers of militant organisation and this hurts the policing ability of the force. That was evident in the 1990s, when the Punjab Police was at the forefront of the war against sectarian terrorism and lower ranking officials had collaborated with the banned outfits on numerous occasions to tip them off or facilitate counter-attacks. An offshoot of the Shia militant organisation Sipah-e-Muhammad was led by a retired major, Ashraf Ali Shah.

In the two assassination attempts on former president Gen Pervez Musharraf, the PAF arrested 57 soldiers (Dawn June 25, 2009), five were awarded death sentences (mostly corporals, junior technicians), one army jawan (from the DSG) was hanged. Others, awarded sentences of varying lengths, included two soldiers of the SSG. Explosives used in the first attempt were in fact stolen from a PAF depot by one of the convicted airmen (Daily Times February 25, 2005). Some of the airmen were sermoned to radicalisation in-house and others “got a one-year leave on the pretext of accompanying the preaching groups, but when they were later arrested, it transpired that they had in fact been training with different militant groups” (The News May 24, 2011). Another three young airmen were sentenced for association with the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad in the arrests that followed (Oct 19, 2005).

The assassination of ex-GOC of SSG Maj Gen Ameer Faisal Alavi was plotted by a retired major, Haroon Ashiq. After joining the Lashkar-e-Tayyba, he moved on to work with Ilyas Kashmiri of the Brigade 313 linked with Al Qaeda. Ashiq’s own brother, Captain (r) Khurram, had retired from the army only to join Taliban and other fighters in Afghanistan. He was killed in 2007 in Helmand province. Various other retired soldiers, many of whom had liasioned with the Taliban during the ‘90s, returned to Afghanistan to fight on voluntary basis too.

Maj (r) Ashiq is not the only officer with links with Al Qaeda. In 2003, Major Adil Qudoos of 45 Signals was arrested and later sentenced for being linked to the militant network. The infamous Khalid Sheikh Muhammad was arrested from the house of his brother in Rawalpindi. Linked to this web of militants were Lt Col Khalid Mahmood Abbasi of Signals, Lt Col Abdul Ghaffar posted at the Army Aviation Command Rawalpindi, Maj Ataullah Khan Mahmood from the Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch, Major Rohail Sarfraz of HQ II Corps and Capt Dr Usman Zafar. The first three were given various sentences while the latter were dismissed from service.

More recently, retired Maj Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed has been found to be conclusively involved in planning of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks in some way and planning attacks on a Danish newspaper. Connected to the LeT, he was arrested by the authorities, but his current status remains unknown.

Another case of high level militant infiltration involved Col Shahid Bashir, retired Sq Ldr Nadeem Ahmed Shah (a member of the Rawalpindi bar) and a civilian employee of the Air Weapons Complex (AWC). Associated with the proscribed Hizbut Tehrir that is gaining membership amongst private university students across the country in alarming numbers, they are accused of spying on, leaking info about and planning attacks on the Shamsi Air Field. Muhammad Altaf, a civilian employee of the National Development Complex (NDC) that comes under NESCOM and deals with ballistic missile development was similarly arrested for alleged links with a banned outfit. His status remains that of a “missing person” (Dawn News TV “Gumshuda”).

Radicalisation at the highest levels has been witnessed earlier too, in the failed 1995 “Operation Khilafa” coup attempt. Led by DG Infantry at the GHQ, Major General Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, the plan involved taking over the GHQ at the time of the Corps Commander Conference, killing the high ranking officers and then taking over the country to impose a Taliban-esque radical Sunni government. Convicted or dismissed alongwith Maj Gen Abbasi were Brig Mustansar Billah, Col Inayatullah Khan, Col Azad Minhas, Col Abdul Hamid, Col Muhammad Iqbal, Lt Col Shamsul Islam Tahir and Lt Col Liaquat Ali Raja amongst others.

One of the most alarming factors is that the approver for the prosecution, who was the militant given the duty to provide raiders for the attack, was none other than Qari Saifullah Akhtar, an ex Harkatul Jihad Al Islami militant who is now linked to Al Qaeda and was named by Benazir Bhutto as being involved in the attacks on her life.

Radicalization in the lower ranks is equally worrying. Investigation by Dawn in May, 2010 showed that the deadly Jundullah that carried out the assassination attempt on V Corps Commander, later VCOAS Gen Ahsan Saleem Hayat, was raised by serving and ex-soldiers of the army and the PAF. Jundullah has become famous as a small but deadly force.

Constable Sheikh Muhammad Adil of the Sindh Police Special Branch was convicted in 2002 of being involved in the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. A member of the HuJI whilst serving in the police, Adil assisted in the act of kidnapping. More recently, the section in-charge of the Computer Section at the Special Branch of the Punjab Police was found to have militant links. Accused Junior Clerk Zahid Bajwa had been recruited on a fake domicile and had a case pending against him for possession of explosives. Posted at the HQ of the Special Branch, he had access to intelligence reports and security plans, a cause of extreme worry. A constable was arrested in 2004 for being linked to the network of militants that aided Al Qaeda operative Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani in Gujrat.

These cases are just the tip of the iceberg. While the armed forces have been somewhat successful in purging militant sympathisers from within their ranks, the case of police has been extremely worrying. The case of Mumtaz Qadri alone is sufficient to become a cause for worry. During the trial of the CIA contractor Raymond Davis, one of the policemen from the escort that brought Davis to court was proudly wearing the badge of a militant organisation on his chest. Even after being furiously admonished by the judge, the policeman refused to remove the badge from his uniform and nobody was able to do anything. Such cases are a cause for fear and should not be taken lightly.

The author is a free lance contributor based in Illinois, USA.

( Reproduced from “Friday Times” of Lahore, dated June 3,2011)

In an interview to an Indian TV channel on Saturday, Khan said that “low-level” ISI personnel may have been involved in the terrorist attack on Mumbai. Speaking against the backdrop of the disclosures made by David Coleman Headley about serving ISI officers — Major Iqbal and Major Sameer — Khan told the Indian channel, “I think there is no doubt that whosoever is this Major Iqbal is, was in touch with this man (David Headley),” he said. “I think I would certainly accept that,” he added.

This is the first-ever admission of ISI’s involvement in terrorism by a senior functionary, if retired, of Pakistan. Though Khan suggested that Major Iqbal could be acting on his own, his statement can only reinforce the growing global conviction about the state-run spy agency’s involvement in terrorist activities.

So far, Pakistan has been in denial about the existence of the two serving ISI officers, who were crucial to the terror plot against India.

The statement comes at a time when Chicago trial of 26/11 co-accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana and Headley’s testimony in the same court has trained the spotlight on the use of terror by ISI to promote Pakistan’s strategic objectives. This is sure to add to the embarrassment that Pakistan has been reeling under since Osama bin Laden was found to be hiding in plain sight in the garrison town of Abbotabad.

In his interview to CNN-IBN, Khan tried to backtrack soon after admitting ISI’s involvement in the Mumbai attack. “But the crucial question is that did Major Iqbal act under instruction from ISI hierarchy or is he one of these people who are operating on their own at lower levels,” he said.

Seeking to retreat, he further said he had doubts over ISI and army institutions taking part in something like Mumbai attacks as that would be “counter-productive”.

According to Headley, it was Major Iqbal who took the decision on the list of targets and also facilitated training of terrorists by Pakistan navy. Headley admitted himself being trained by Iqbal in a safehouse near the Lahore airport.

Khan was Pakistan’s foreign secretary for fours years from 1990-94. After his retirement, he was involved in Track II diplomacy to improve India-Pakistan ties. He is also a former chief of Pakistan Cricket Board.

On the possibility of Pakistan’s nuclear assets falling into hands of jihadis, Khan said he was confident something like that was not going to happen. When asked to elaborate further on the threat and that if he could completely rule out possibility of jihadi sympathizers infiltrating into Pakistani forces to acquire weapons or fissile material, Khan said, “I will not be 100% sure but 99% sure that this will not be allowed to happen.”

On the notion that Pakistan Army is not taking a hard enough position against anti-India groups, he said there is a feeling in Pakistan that this attitude has to change. “Now after bin Laden, Karachi, they must think that terrorism, not India is the major concern…This feeling is surely going to be accepted by the army,” he said.

Source: The Times of India

The discovery of the al-Qaeda leader in a city near Pakistan’s capital has pushed many in the administration beyond any willingness to tolerate Pakistan’s ambiguous connections with extremist groups. After years of ineffective American warnings, many U.S. officials are concluding that a change in policy is long overdue.

Those warnings are detailed in a series of contemporaneous written accounts, obtained by The Washington Post, chronicling three years of often-contentious meetings involving top officials of both countries. Confirmed by U.S. and Pakistani participants, the exchanges portray a circular debate in which the United States repeatedly said it had irrefutable proof of ties between Pakistani military and intelligence officials and the Afghan Taliban and other insurgents, and warned that Pakistani refusal to act against them would exact a cost.

U.S. officials have said they have no evidence top Pakistani military or civilian leaders were aware of bin Laden’s location or authorized any official support, but his residence within shouting distance of Pakistani military installations has brought relations to a crisis point.

Some officials, particularly in the White House, have advocated strong reprisals, especially if Pakistan continues to refuse access to materials left behind by U.S. commandos who scooped up all the paper and computer drives they could carry during their deadly 40-minute raid on bin Laden’s compound.

“You can’t continue business as usual,” said one of several senior administration officials who discussed the sensitive issue only on the condition of anonymity. “You have to somehow convey to the Pakistanis that they’ve arrived at a big choice.”

“People who were prepared to listen to [Pakistan’s] story for a long time are no longer prepared to listen,” the official said.

But few officials are eager to contemplate the alternatives if Pakistan makes the wrong choice. No one inside the administration, the official said, “wants to make a fast, wrong decision.”

Every available option — from limiting U.S. aid and official contacts, to unleashing more unilateral ground attacks against terrorist targets — jeopardizes existing Pakistani help, however undependable, in keeping U.S. enemies at bay. Military success and an eventual negotiated settlement of the Afghanistan war are seen as virtually impossible without some level of Pakistani buy-in.

“The fact of the matter is that we’ve been able to kill more terrorists on Pakistani soil than just about anyplace else,” President Obama said last week on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” “We could not have done that without Pakistani cooperation.”

For now, the administration is in limbo, awaiting Pakistan’s response to immediate questions about bin Laden and hoping it will engage in a more solid counterterrorism partnership in the future.

That outcome seems increasingly in doubt. In Pakistan, officials’ pledges following the bin Laden raid that Pakistan would never let its territory be used for terrorist strikes against another country have turned to heated accusations of betrayal by the United States.

There have been few high-level contacts with the Pakistanis since the raid. Telephone calls last weekend to Pakistan’s military chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani by White House national security adviser Thomas E. Donilon and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were said to be inconclusive at best.

Top administration national security officials have held several meetings on Pakistan in the White House Situation Room, and more are scheduled this week. No decision has been made on whether Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will make a previously scheduled trip to Pakistan later this month.

“This is supposed to be a continuation of the strategic dialogue” Clinton started with Pakistan last year, said a senior Pakistani official who expressed rising disappointment that the civilian government has echoed the bellicose military response.

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who has served as go-between for the administration during previous clashes with Islamabad, traveled to the region late last week with a message of urgency from the White House and warnings about the unsettled “mood of Congress,” one U.S. official said.

While U.S. lawmakers call for reconsideration of $3.2 billion in annual U.S. aid, public outrage has grown in Pakistan as more details have emerged about the raid. Months in the planning, CIA Director Leon Panetta said it was conducted without informing Pakistan for fear of leaks or interference. Humiliated and angry, Pakistan’s powerful army and intelligence service have warned that they will “resist” any future such operations and reexamine the broad range of bilateral cooperation.

In an emotional, closed-door session of Parliament on Friday, intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, head of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), offered to resign after apologizing for what he said had been an intelligence lapse. It was unclear whether he was referring to the failure to intercept U.S. raiders or the discovery of bin Laden’s years-long presence near a military garrison in the city of Abbottabad.

According to U.S. and Pakistani officials, talk has resurfaced in Islamabad of ejecting up to 80 percent of the approximately 120 U.S. Special Forces troops engaged in training Pakistan’s Frontier Corps soldiers. The issue was first raised earlier this year after a CIA employee with a U.S. diplomatic passport shot and killed two Pakistanis in Lahore.

ISI control over visas issued to U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials, eased as a gesture of cooperation last year, has been reimposed, officials said.

The feeling among senior military officers is that “these Americans have let us down, they’re after us,” and involvement with the United States has “ruined our army and . . . our country,” one retired senior officer said. The military view, he said, is that “We were a very noble country before we got involved in this stupid, so-called Bush war” in Afghanistan.

According to the internal accounts, the Americans tried time and time again to convince the Pakistanis to change what former CIA official Bruce Riedel, who authored Obama’s first Afghanistan-Pakistan policy review in early 2009, called their “strategic calculus” that ties with the Pakistan-based Afghan Taliban were the only way they could maintain their strategic influence in neighboring Afghanistan.

But the accounts show consistent Pakistani suspicion that the Americans would ultimately betray them in Afghanistan, leaving Pakistan surrounded by an unfriendly government on their western border, allied with India, their historical adversary to the east.

A July 29, 2008, Washington meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and his national security adviser, Mahmud Ali Durrani, and then-CIA Director Michael V. Hayden, his deputy Stephen R. Kappes and Anne W. Patterson, then the U.S. ambassador to Islamabad, illustrates the wariness on both sides.

The previous day, a U.S. drone-launched missile had killed Abu Khabab al-Masri, described as al-Qaeda’s chief bomb-maker and chemical weapons expert, in South Waziristan in Pakistan’s tribal region along the Afghanistan border.

Hayden apologized for collateral damage (news reports said three civilians were killed), and the strike had occurred during Gillani’s visit to the United States. The CIA director noted that the ISI had not contributed any targeting information.

Both sides referred to repeated Pakistani requests that the United States place Baitullah Mehsud, a leader of Pakistan’s increasingly lethal domestic insurgency, at the top of the hit list.

Kappes agreed that Mehsud was a legitimate target, but said that Sirajuddin Haqqani, a North Waziristan-based Afghan whose insurgent network regularly attacked U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan, was a far higher U.S. priority.

Pakistan’s insistence that it had no intelligence on Haqqani’s whereabouts was disingenuous, Patterson said during the meeting. The ISI was in “constant touch” with him, and the madrassa where he conducted business was clearly visible from the Pakistani army garrison in North Waziristan. (Mehsud was killed in an August 2009 drone strike. Haqqani remains high on the U.S. target list.)

In a series of December 2008 meetings following the terrorist attack in Mumbai that left nearly 200 people dead — including six Americans — top Bush administration officials told Pakistan there was “irrefutable” intelligence proof that the Pakistani group Lashkar-i-Taiba was responsible.

A written communication delivered to Pakistan said that “it is clear to us that [Lashkar-i-Taiba] is responsible . . . we know that it continues to receive support, including operational support, from the Pakistani military intelligence service.”

As the Obama administration continued efforts to persuade Pakistan — while escalating the number of drone strikes — Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, as well as Durrani and other officials, were repeatedly told that the United States would reach a breaking point.

In a November 2009 letter to President Asif Ali Zardari, Obama offered a new level of partnership — later buttressed with increased military and economic assistance. But he warned that the existing state of affairs, with Pakistan seeing insurgent groups as proxies for influence in Afghanistan, could not continue.

The following May, a Pakistani immigrant, the son of an army officer, allegedly tried to explode a car bomb in New York’s Times Square. Subsequent investigations traced his training to Pakistani insurgent camps.

In October, Obama dropped in on a high-level White House meeting between his national security team and Kayani. Referring to the Times Square bombing attempt, Obama warned that if a successful attack in this country were traced to Pakistan, his hands would be tied in terms of the future U.S.-Pakistan relationship.

In an interview last week in Pakistan, Durrani said he was not surprised at the unilateral U.S. attack on bin Laden. “The Americans had made it clear long ago that if they find a high-value target of this level, wherever in the world [they would] go after it,” he said.

What surprised him, Durrani said, was that “it made me look stupid” after years of talks with U.S. officials in which “I kept on trumpeting at the top of my voice, ‘Osama bin Laden cannot be here.’ ”

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