Source: WSF

“Intelligence failure” is the most easily available excuse for the government in Pakistan following the daring Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba jailbreak in the northern city of Bannu early on April 15. However, more than intelligence failure, the jailbreak appears to be an outcome of a well-planned drama by Pakistani security agencies, ISI in particular, which wanted to reinforce the Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and their affiliates (Jihadi-sectarian groups eg, ASWJ aka SSP) operating in Pakistan.

According to Akbar Hoti, the police chief of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, where the jailbreak was carried out, between 150 and 200 attackers fired rockets on the main gate of the jail and released around 384 dangerous prisoners, 20 of whom are described as “very dangerous,” including Adnan Rashid, who was convicted of participating in an attack on former President Pervez Musharraf. A large number of the escaped prisoners belonged to the Taliban, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (operating as ASWJ and LeJ) and other Jihadi-Salafi and Jihadi-Deobandi militants.

Bannu borders the restive North Waziristan tribal agency where Pakistan army is currently busy in playing hide and seek with the Taliban (also known as Good Taliban Bad Taliban game). However, the April 15 jailbreak was particularly shocking and raises many questions about the collusion between Pakistan army and Taliban/ASWJ.

How did hundreds of Taliban militants manage to cross scores of police and army checkpoints inside the city, as well as entry and exit points to and from adjacent tribal areas?

Why did no police or army reinforcements reach the site, even though the attack continued for more than two hours?

And if an “intelligence failure” is really to be blamed, how can the security of other cities — like Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, and Peshawar, which are located on the periphery of the tribal districts — be guaranteed in the days ahead?

Does the little or no resistance shown by prison guards point to the demoralization of the security force, making them sitting ducks for the Taliban and its supporters all over the country, or does that indicate the fact that the mother of all agencies had advised the police to step aside and let the Good Taliban do their urgent work?

Many security experts and top officials in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government believe that the involvement of senior officials in intelligence agencies cannot be ruled out.

Malak Naveed Khan, former chief of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police, says it is unbelievable to think that 150 to 200 heavily armed men could have entered the city, broken into the prison, and taken away nearly 400 prisoners without anyone moving to intercept them at any one of numerous checkpoints.

Equally important are the statements of the prison’s telephone operator, Shahab Khan, and Rahmatullah, one of the escaped prisoners who, with others, returned to the jail the next morning to surrender.

Shahab Khan said he was sending requests for reinforcements for more than two hours and that each time he was assured that help was on the way.

Rahmatullah said he saw 50 to 60 pickup trucks parked around the jail on the main highway, ostensibly used to transport the attackers, and heard the attackers shouting at the prisoners in Urdu to leave the vicinity.

So what really happened?

We’ll have to wait at least 15 days for the conclusions of an inquiry report into the attack by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government. That may provide some answers. But of course the world is still waiting for the results of an official inquiry into the events of May 2, 2011, in Abbottabad, when Osama bin Laden was killed.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Source: Daud Khattak, RFERL

Despite the duration of the attack, the prison guards apparently received no back-up from the military.

“We have freed hundreds of our comrades in Bannu in this attack. Several of our people have reached their destinations, others are on their way,” a Taliban spokesman told Reuters.

Reports said that anywhere up to 100 fighters were involved in the attack that began sometime before dawn, and were equipped with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

Having breached the walls of the jail, the militants apparently made their way to the section where prisoners who are on death row were held.

Their priority appears to have been securing the release of Adnan Rashid, who was in jail for his role in a failed assassination against former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

For up to two hours the militants fought with the jail’s guards before setting part of the jail on fire and releasing the inmates. Officials said 20 of those who escaped were considered particularly dangerous.

The incident is a reminder that the Pakistani military has little appetite to confront militants who are not a threat to the state.

Imtiaz Gul, an author and head of the Centre for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think-tank, said the incident was a huge embarrassment that demanded a full investigation. He said it appeared that the militants had received inside information about the location of their jailed colleagues.

“This is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan. It’s a huge embarrassment for the entire security apparatus,” he said. “This went on for two hours and the army or paramilitaries should have had time to get there.” (Source)

Who is Adnan Rashid and why did he enjoy special facilities in prison?

Adnan Rashid, a high profile prisoner who escaped from Bannu Central Prison on Sunday morning, was enjoying the facility of cellular phone inside the death cells of different jails where he was lodged after being sentenced to death by a field general court martial for his alleged attempt on the life of Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf.

A former junior technician of Pakistan Air Force, Adnan Rashid is a resident of Chota Lahor area of Swabi district. He is fluent in English, Pashto and Urdu. He used to contribute to several social networking sites including Blogs and Facebook from the prison. He had joined PAF in 1997. He was around 24 when he was arrested in early 2004.

The escaped prisoner was in contact with the world outside the prison through his cellular phone, according to sources. He was also in touch with several journalists and used to send them messages through short message service (SMS).

Prior to his escape, Adnan continued to plead his innocence and claimed that his only crime was that he had voted “No” in the referendum held by the then military president Gen Musharraf.

He had pinned high hopes on the judiciary led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry when his review petition along with that of several other convicts against their conviction was pending but after dismissal of his petition in March 2011 he started questioning the independence of judiciary.

Recently, he sent a sarcastic SMS to different persons which states: “There are millions of cases pending before high courts and Supreme Court, 99.9 per cent of these are actually appeals against verdicts of lower courts. Billions of rupees are being spent on higher civil courts so why not this judicial system is replaced by military courts; these are swift, require no judge, no special courtrooms or bars, and most interesting court martial are unchallengeable so no more need of high and supreme courts. It saves time and money of nation. What do you think? From a court martial convict.”

In the first life attempt on Gen Musharraf that took place near Jhanda Chichi Bridge at Rawalpindi on Dec 14, 2003, six personnel of PAF including Adnan Rashid were convicted by a field general court martial on Oct 3, 2005, at PAF Base Chaklala.

Besides Adnan, four others — ex-chief technician Khalid Mehmood, ex-senior technician, Karam Din, ex-corporal Nawazish and ex-junior technician Niaz Mohammad — were sentenced to death whereas another junior technician, Nasrullah, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Their appeal was dismissed by a PAF appellate court in Feb 2006. Later on, their petitions were dismissed by Lahore High Court on March 28, 2006. Against that judgment they filed appeals before the Supreme Court and a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry rejected the same on Sept 25, 2006.

The bench held that under Article 199 of the Constitution, civil courts had no jurisdiction to issue writ against orders passed by military courts. Their review petitions were also dismissed on March 31, 2011 by the apex court.

A soldier of Pakistan Army, Abdul Islam Siddiqui, who was separately tried in the same case by a court martial, had already been hanged on Aug 20, 2005.

The interviews of Adnan Rashid, when he was in prison, were also uploaded on Facebook, wherein he argued against flaws in Army Act, Pakistan Air Force Act and Navy Act and urged the Supreme Court to intervene in these cases. He had also sent several letters to Chief Justice of Pakistan requesting him to look into the flaws in their cases.

In one of his letters to the chief justice, he claimed that at the time of the said occurrence he was on duty in Quetta and was picked up by personnel of an intelligence agency on Jan 9, 2004.

When he was transferred to civil detention facility, he was initially lodged in a death cell at Haripur prison from where he was shifted to Peshawar jail. In Sept last he was shifted to Bannu prison.One of the reporters receiving regular messages from him said that in almost all the prisons he was having cellular phones. He had to change his number several times as during search operations in the prisons on several occasions he was deprived of his phone. However, after few days he was again enjoying the said facility. (Source)

Intelligence Debacle or a ISI-Taliban-ASWJ Collusion?

Somewhere between 100 and 150 militants launched an assault on Bannu Central Prison soon after midnight on Saturday. Blowing the main gates apart with rocket-propelled grenades, they caused 384 of over 900 inmates in the facility to escape in what is being described as the country’s biggest jailbreak. It is disturbing to know that the most high-profile of the escaped prisoners was Adnan Rashid, sentenced to death for an attempt on the life of Pervez Musharraf and whose release was the apparent objective of the assault. Equally alarming is the escape of some other hardened criminals on death row including known militants. The raid, responsibility for which has been claimed by the TTP, was obviously well planned; while some men were inside the jail, others erected barricades at all the access roads. As it turned out, though, the militants met with virtually no resistance.

Such a lapse (if it is an unintentional lapse at all) of intelligence, after a series of security breaches including the GHQ attack and later the undetected presence of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and the assault on PNS Mehran, casts serious doubts over the abilities as well as intention of the security and law-enforcement establishments. The area from Bannu to Miramshah has long been considered militant-infested and the Pakistan Army maintains a significant presence there. Unlike the tribal areas, the law-enforcement apparatus is extant; Pakistan army has numerous check-posts on roads leading to FATA and across the border. The fact that dozens of Taliban-ASWJ vehicles attacked a prison, spent good four or five hours in the prison, celebrated their victory, then travelled back safe and secure to Waziristan shows there is much more than what meets eyes. Such a strike, which must have taken months of planning, cannot be conducted without the knowledge of the intelligence network. Why should Pakistanis, or indeed the world, trust the ISI and Pakistan army when they say they have the security situation under control? Not only did a convoy of vehicles reach the jail without difficulty, the absence of a rapid response betrayed the security apparatus’s total lack of preparedness, to say the least. And this despite more than a decade of resisting militant groups that appear to be far more organised.

As a result of this debacle, the militants’ ranks are sure to be swelled by a large number of new recruits, with the Pakistani Taliban and their sectarian affiliates (Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan) being even further emboldened. This incident should make clear to those who give excuses and justifications for the militants’ excesses what the intentions of such elements towards the Pakistani state are: they have not simply declared a war on drone strikes or the American presence in Afghanistan. As for the security establishment, so often in the news for sordid tales such as ‘Mehrangate’, the incident should serve as a reminder of what its priorities should be. (Source)

Taliban’s statement

A Taliban commander who helped plan an assault on a Pakistani jail on Sunday which freed nearly 400 prisoners said his group had inside information.Pakistan’s Taleban movement, which is close to al-Qaeda and Sipah-e-Sahaba (ASWJ), said it was behind the brazen assault by militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles.

“We had maps of the area and we had complete maps and plans of the jail as well,” the commander, a senior member of the Taleban, said by phone. “All I have to say is we have people who support us in Bannu. It was with their support that this operation was successful.”

The Bannu attackers arrived in a convoy of vehicles, blocking off all access points to the jail before firing rocket-propelled grenades at the black, metal gates of the prison and forcing their way in.

They moved through the prison quickly, facing little resistance, until they found Adnan Rasheed, who took part in one of the attempts to kill Gen Musharraf, and then freed him and 383 others.

Citing preliminary investigations, Mr Majeed said 150 guards were supposed to be on duty when the militants struck, but only 36 were.

The Taleban commander, based in North Waziristan, said 150 fighters, including foreigners, launched the prison assault after months of training.

Police officials said 76 escapees were now back in custody.

One, Zahir Shah, 29, said: “They took us with them to the main gate. Outside there were many cars. I think 20 cars in all. They shoved me into one of the vehicles and drove off really fast.” However, he turned himself in, saying: “I could be out in a few years for good behaviour. I don’t want to ruin my chances.” (Source)

ISI’s officials claim no intelligence failure in Bannu jailbreak

Reported by Waqar Ahmed, The News, April 17, 2012

ISLAMABAD: Concerned officials have strongly denied that the Bannu jailbreak incident was the result of intelligence failure. They added that the militants had only taken away one hardcore terrorist.

Speaking here on Monday morning, concerned officials said that on January 5, 2012 a letter was sent to all concerned warning of terrorist attacks. The letter stated: “Reportedly terrorist commander Askari, ex Tariq Jeedar group, is planning to carry out massive terrorist activity in KP and Kohat area.” The letter identified possible targets as the Lachi Police Station, PAF Base Kohat, Kohat Cantt and Bannu Jail to free terrorists.

The letter added: “This merits extreme vigilance and heightened security measures at all levels.” Unfortunately, the Bannu jail authorities ignored the warning.Sources well versed with the development said that 341 prisoners had escaped. This included 145 who were in judicial custody, 95 who were under 302 PPC, 30 were serving sentences for narcotics offences, 21 were serving life imprisonment, 21 were on death row, 24 held under the Frontier Crimes Regulation and five were female prisoners. They said the only important prisoner who was taken away by the militants was Adnan Rasheed, involved in an attack on General Pervez Musharraf. “Therefore, reports about large-scale breakout of the Taliban from the jail and intelligence failure are totally false,” they added. (Source)

Nazir Naji writes:

پاکستان میں دہشت گردوں نے ایک بڑی کارروائی کی۔ شاید پاکستان کی تاریخ میں یہ چھاپہ ماروں کی سب سے بڑی کارروائی تھی۔ ساٹھ ستر گاڑیوں پر دہشت گردوں کا ایک قافلہ بھاری اور جدید اسلحہ سے لیس ‘ کسی نوٹس میں آئے بغیر بنوں کی جیل تک پہنچا۔ بنوں کی یہ جیل جدید انتظامات کے ساتھ تعمیر کی گئی تھی اور اس میں خطرناک قیدیوں کو رکھا گیا تھا۔ 20 کے قریب قیدی ایسے تھے‘ جنہیں انتہائی خطرناک قرار دے کر پھانسی کی سزائیں دی جا چکی تھیں اور وہ خصوصی حفاظتی انتظامات کے تحت موت کی کوٹھڑیوں میں رکھے گئے تھے۔ ظاہر ہے ایک نئی اور محفوظ جیل کی نگرانی کے لئے جو انتظامات ممکن تھے‘ وہ کئے گئے ہوں گے اور بنوں جو کہ شمالی وزیرستان سے زیادہ فاصلے پر نہیں‘ وہاں دہشت گردی کی جنگ بھی جاری ہے اور پاک فوج کی تادیبی کارروائیوں کی مہمات بھی چلائی جا رہی ہیں۔ بنوں جیل پر حملہ آور ہونے والے دہشت گردوں کی تعداد چار اور پانچ سو کے درمیان بتائی جا رہی ہے۔ یہ سارا ہجوم ہماری سکیورٹی کے تمام انتظامات کو درہم برہم کرتا ہو بنوں جیل تک کیسے پہنچ گیا؟ انہوں نے جیل کے دو بھاری آہنی دروازوں کو توڑ پھینکنے میں کیسے کامیابی حاصل کی؟ اور پھر علیحدہ علیحدہ بیرکوں اور کوٹھڑیوں میں بند قیدیوں تک کیسے پہنچے؟ خبریں یہ ہیں کہ وہ جیل کے اندر چار پانچ گھنٹے تک اپنے ساتھیوں سے ملتے‘ خوشی کے نعرے لگاتے اور اپنی کامیابی کا جشن مناتے رہے۔ ایک اطلاع تو یہ ہے کہ پرویزمشرف پر قاتلانہ حملہ کرنے کے ملزم کو سہرا پہنا کر دلہا بھی بنایا گیا اور اس کے بعد یہ پورا جلوس قریباً 400 قیدیوں کو ساتھ لے کر پاکستانی سرحد عبور کرنے میں کامیاب ہو گیا۔ خبروں میں کہیں یہ نہیں بتایا گیا کہ جیل کے حفاظتی عملے کی طرف سے کیا مزاحمت ہوئی؟ کتنے محافظ ہلاک ہوئے؟ کتنے زخمی ہوئے؟ کتنے دہشت گرد زخمی یا مار گرائے گئے؟ یہ جیل خانہ تھا یا کوئی مہمان خانہ؟ جہاں حملہ آوروں نے اتنی آسانی سے سینکڑوں قیدوں کو چھڑایا اور انہیں ساتھ لے کر کوئی نقصان اٹھائے بغیر نکل گئے۔ آج کے دور میں یہ ناقابل فہم بات ہے۔ قابل فہم تو اس سے پہلے والے کچھ واقعات بھی نہیں۔ جیسے جی ایچ کیو پر دہشت گردوں کی کارروائی اور کئی گھنٹے تک فوج کے اعلیٰ افسروں کو ان کے اپنے ہیڈکوارٹر کے اندر یرغمالی بنا کر رکھنا۔ مہران نیول بیس پر دہشت گردوں کے آزادانہ حملے اور پھر ایبٹ آباد کا واقعہ۔

Jang’s editorial:

توار کی رات بنوں سنٹرل جیل پر عسکریت پسندوں کے لشکر کا حملہ دہشت گردی کا بہت بڑا واقعہ ہے جو اپنی سنگینی کے اعتبار سے مہران بیس اور جی ایچ کیو پر ہونے والے حملوں اور پھر ایبٹ آباد میں امریکی جنگی ہیلی کاپٹروں کی جارحانہ کارروائی سے کسی طور کم اہمیت کا حامل نہیں۔ راکٹ لانچروں، مارٹر گولوں، دستی بموں اور دوسرے جدید ہتھیاروں سے لیس 500سے زائد شدت پسندوں نے بنوں سنٹرل جیل پر حملہ کرکے اہم طالبان کمانڈروں سمیت 386قیدیوں کو چھڑا لیا۔ حیرت کی بات یہ ہے کہ تقریباً 60تیزرفتار گاڑیوں پر سوار حملہ آور رات ڈیڑھ بجے جنگی کانوائے کی صورت میں جیل پہنچے لیکن نہ تو راستے میں انہیں روکنے والا کوئی تھا، نہ فورسز کو خبر ہوئی۔ حملہ آوروں نے پہلے مین گیٹ پھر دوسرے بڑے دروازوں کو راکٹوں سے اڑایا، جیل کے عملے کو یرغمال بنا کر نہایت دیدہ دلیری سے قیدیوں کے پھانسی گھاٹ اور بیرکوں میں داخل ہوئے اور تقریباً ڈیڑھ گھنٹہ تک فائرنگ کرتے اور قیدیوں کو چھڑاتے رہے۔ اس موقع پر جیل کی حفاظت پر مامور 104پولیس اہلکاروں میں سے صرف 35ڈیوٹی پر موجود تھے۔ ان میں سے کئی فائرنگ سے زخمی ہوگئے۔ عینی شاہدین کا کہنا ہے کہ انتظامیہ کو بروقت اطلاع دی گئی اس کے باوجود پولیس یا کسی دوسری سکیورٹی فورس کی اضافی نفری مدد کیلئے نہیں بلائی گئی۔ حملہ آوروں نے پرویز مشرف حملہ کیس کے ملزم کو چھڑانے کے بعد اطمینان سے اس کی دستاربندی کی اور جلوس کی شکل میں اسے اپنے ساتھ لے کر شمالی وزیرستان چلے گئے۔ مذکورہ واقعہ سے حکومتی عملداری کے موثر ہونے اور سکیورٹی ایجنسیوں کی فعالیت کے حوالے سے بعض سنگین سوالات جنم لے رہے ہیں۔ جبکہ دوسری جانب ایسا محسوس ہوتا ہے کہ ملک اور اس کے عوام کو قانون شکنوں اورجرائم پیشہ عناصر کے رحم و کرم پر چھوڑ دیا گیاہے۔بلوچستان اور گلگت بلتستان میں جوکچھ ہورہا ہے اورکراچی میں بے گناہ لوگوں کا جو خون بہہ رہاہے اس سے قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں کی عوام کی جان و مال کے تحفظ میں ناکامی کا اظہار ہوتا ہے۔

Hamid Mir writes:

کیا یہ محض ایک اتفاق ہے؟ گزشتہ سال اپریل میں افغان طالبان نے قندھار کی ایک بڑی جیل پر حملہ کیا جس میں پانچ سو سے زیادہ قیدی فرار ہوگئے۔ فرار ہونے والوں میں اکثریت طالبان کی تھی۔ اس سال اپریل میں شمالی وزیرستان سے چند کلو میٹر کے فاصلے پر واقع بنوں کی ایک جیل پر حملہ کیا گیا اور ساڑھے چار سو سے زیادہ قیدیوں کو بھگا دیا گیا۔ بھاگنے والوں میں بڑی تعداد ایسے قیدیوں کی ہے جن پر طالبان اور کچھ کالعدم تنظیموں کے ساتھ تعلق کا الزام ہے۔ بنوں جیل کی انتظامیہ نے دعویٰ کیا ہے کہ حملہ آوروں کی تعداد تین سو سے زیادہ تھی۔ سوال یہ ہے کہ تین سو حملہ آور بھاری اسلحہ کے ساتھ پیدل آئے تھے یا گاڑیوں پر بیٹھ کر آئے تھے؟ تین سو حملہ آوروں نے ساڑھے تین سو قیدیوں کو آزاد کرایا اور پھر یہ ساڑھے چھ سو لوگ رات کی تاریکی میں کدھر غائب ہوگئے؟ سب جانتے ہیں کہ کوہاٹ سے بنوں یا ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان سے بنوں کی طرف آنے جانے والے راستوں پر جگہ جگہ ناکے موجود ہیں۔ شمالی وزیرستان اور بنوں کے درمیان سرحد پر سیکورٹی فورسز کا سخت پہرہ ہوتا ہے۔ بنوں جیل سے سینکڑوں قیدیوں کے فرار کو اگر ہم ایک بہت بڑی ملی بھگت نہ بھی کہیں تو یہ ایک ناقابل فراموش نااہلی ہے۔

Author: Tufail Ahmed

Source: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6208.htm

LUBP Editor’s note: While the post below provides ample documentation of the anti-Shia Muslim hate literature by extremist groups, there are a number of important areas which need to be made clearer. For instance, the Takfeer (fatwa of infidelity) against Shia muslims is mainly undertaken by those extremist groups which are a part of Pakistan’s security establishment’s Jihadi apparatus. Moderate Deobandis and Salafis-Wahhabis do not resort to takfeer as an essential part of their faith. Takfeer has a socio-political objective of undermining the basis of Pakistan’s religious, ethnic and sectarian diversity and is an essential tool of those Jihadi groups that are an essential subsidiaries and affiliates of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. As also pointed out in many earlier posts on this forum, the same groups that are conducting Shia genocide in Pakistan and using this hate literature to justify their dastardly acts are ALSO conducting the massacres of Sunni Barelvis, Ahmadis, Christains and moderate Deobandis and Salafis. This post highlights the sweeping generalizations and in many cases, blatant misrepresentations about the positions taken by diverse Shia communities. A very important point that is often alluded to, but never spelled out clearly is that Anti-Shia sentiment is combined with Anti-Semitism. The World Community needs to take note of this. (End note)

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This paper examines the role of Al Qaeda-affiliated Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) – the military arm of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) (new name Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ASWJ) – and how the LeJ/SSP duo is using U.S.-based social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other Internet tools, along with its own dedicated websites and print magazines, to incite violence against Shi’ite Muslims, and also how it is engendering Antisemitism in order to promote its ideological agenda.

The LeJ has figured in several recent attacks in Pakistan. On February 28, 2012, Islamic militants dressed in Pakistani military fatigues stopped a bus in Pakistan’s northern district of Kohistan, forced all the passengers off, and examined their Pakistani government-issued Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) to verify their faith by their surnames. Passengers whose names indicated that they were Sunni Muslims were let off, while 19 Shi’ite Muslims headed for their homes in Gilgit Baltistan and were shot dead by the militants.[1]

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a terrorist group feared for its long-standing campaign of violence against Shi’ite Muslims, was blamed for the attack. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik ordered a probe, stating that the LeJ and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have been “involved in similar crimes [against Shi'ite Muslims] in the past.”[2]Responsibility for the attack was claimed by a militant who identified himself as a spokesman of Jundallah, a Sunni militant group which is indistinguishable from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, both in terms of its ideological orientation against Shi’ite Muslims and in terms of the two groups’ cross-pollination.[3]

The LeJ and SSP have operated under various names in recent years. It was reported that another militant group called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Alami (International) could be behind the February 28 attack. Speaking with the GEO News television channel the next day, Allama Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi of Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), a coalition of banned militant organizations, confirmed that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Alami exists, while accusing Shi’ite militants of Lashkar-e-Mehdi from Gilgit Baltistan of carrying out attacks on Sunni Muslims in Karachi.[4] A November 2010 media report noted that the LeJ has evolved into several branches: Junoodul Hafsa, working in collaboration with Ghazi Force; Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Alami, working alongside Al-Qaeda; Asian Tigers, run by the Punjabi Taliban; and the LeJ’s cell for Baluchistan and Karachi, named Jundallah.[5]

The Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP or Soldiers of the Companions of the Prophet), a former registered political party now banned by the Pakistani government, is the mother of LeJ and its associated outfits. The reference to the “Companions” in the name of SSP is meant mainly for the four Islamic caliphs who succeeded Prophet Muhammad – as per the Sunni interpretation – in the following order: Abu Bakar, Umar ibn Khattab, Usman ibn Affan and Ali Ibn Talib, the last being the fourth in succession. Contrary to this order of succession as upheld by Sunni scholars, the Shi’ites consider Ali Ibn Talib, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, as the first caliph, giving birth to a vast array of radical literature and hateful campaign against each other by both sides.

The SSP was founded in 1985 by militant cleric Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, whose key successors included Maulana Ziaur Rehman Farooqi, Riaz Basra and lawmaker Maulana Azam Tariq and Allama Sher Ali Haideri. All of them, along with other SSP militants, were killed in revenge killings by Shi’ite militant groups. Following the Pakistani government’s ban on the SSP, this network of militants now operates openly under the banner of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), now headed by SSP leader Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi. At some point, the group has also been known as Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan. For all purposes, the LeJ, SSP, Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan and ASWJ are the same, while the like-minded Jundallah was founded by two Pakistan Army officers in Quetta and has been fighting against Iran and, like the LeJ, against Shi’ite Muslims in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan.[6]

On March 9, 2012, the Urdu-language website of the BBC reported that the Pakistani government had “discreetly” banned the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) through a government notification issued to top security officials in Pakistani provinces, but the ASWJ leaders were unaware of the ban.[7] The Urdu website also published a copy of the notification dated February 15, 2012. After the matter became public, the Pakistani government came under pressure from the LeJ/SSP/ASWJ leaders. On March 12, 2012 – just three days after the ban became public – Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik rejected the media reports of the ban as baseless and described the copy of government notification published by BBC Urdu as fake, according to the Urdu daily Roznama Jasarat.[8]As this paper reveals below, not only the ASWJ and LeJ, but their mother organization SSP too is organizationally vibrant in various Pakistani towns.

It is also pertinent to note that in recent years, the top leaders of LeJ, SSP, Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan and ASWJ have enjoyed the patronage of the provincial government of Punjab headed by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the brother of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.[9] Due to violent conflicts between the Shi’ite groups and the LeJ/SSP duo, top leaders and members of the rival militant groups have been killed over the years. In recent years, the LeJ and its associated groups have also been working alongside Jundallah, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In this paper, the reference to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) denotes the LeJ/SSP duo and its associated groups.

The LeJ/SSP’s Use of Internet and U.S.-Based Websites

The cover page of Mahnama Ablaghe Haq

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s media campaign is steered by the Jhangvi Media Movement (JMM), which has a dedicated website jmmpak.org, creating numerous links to its webcasts, websites, videos and print magazines. The JMM also has multiple active accounts on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, the U.S.-based social networking sites used by it to advance its ideological propaganda.

Ahlesunnatforum.com – built on the lines of jihadist internet forums associated with Al-Qaeda – is a major internet forum operated by the LeJ/SSP. The JMM website lists a number of websites associated with it, some being jmmpak.net, kr-hyc.tk, jmmpak.tk, youtube.com/jmmpak, katibewahi.com, realitymedia.ws and Islamic-forum-net. A search of these websites in early March 2012 indicated that most of these sites are active. The jmmpak.org also propagates a number of websites and print magazines.

Such websites and publications include: kr-hcy.com (Haq Char Yaar, or the Righteous Four Companions), a website devoted to spreading the teachings of the four caliphs of Islam. This website is introduced in the following statement, in English: “The Haq Char Yaar website is dedicated in the name of the Companions…  This site does not represent any Muslim association or society but is for the general information to the Muslims [to spread] awareness of true Islamic faith. Haq Char Yaar Media Services is devoting their lives to protect the name of Companions [of Prophet Muhammad]… We believe in peace but inclination to peace is not our weakness…”[10]

The LeJ/SSP’s attacks are not limited to Shi’ite Muslims. They also target Ahmadi Muslims. Its print publications include Mahnama Ablaghe Haq, an Urdu monthly magazine which has an Internet presence on ablaghehaq.co.cc and on ablaghehaq.com. One of the special issues of the magazine in September-October 2011 carried an exclusive article against Ahmadi Muslims, with the cover page (see image above) accusing India, Israel, Britain and the U.S. of propping up Qadianis, the pejorative term for Ahmadi Muslims, while a sword is being used, presumably by the LeJ/SSP, to cut off the hand behind Ahmadis Muslims. The sword carries the Urdu text: “Second Constitutional Amendment 1974″ – a law enacted by the secular Pakistani Prime Minister Z. A. Bhutto that dubbed Ahmadis non-Muslims and barred them from being called Muslims.

In that issue of the magazine, a detailed article in Urdu explained to its readers how to create a YouTube account and post and download videos.[11]

The print magazines, along with their Internet addresses, which are prominently promoted through the Jhangvi Media Movement (JMM) website, include the following: Al-Esar News, an Urdu newspaper on alesar.com.pk; katibewahi.com, which promotes anti-Shi’ite literature in Urdu; khushbu-e-wafa.tk, etc.

One such website, haqsuchmedia.co.cc, deserves special mention, as it promotes numerous audio-video speeches and Urdu books against Shi’ite practices and describes the 2007 Pakistan Army operation in Red Mosque of Islamabad as “the second Karbala [the 680 C.E. battle lost by the Shi'ites].” In addition to producing numerous speeches of LeJ leaders, it also publishes videos released by As-Sahab, the media production house of Al-Qaeda. One of its numerous slogans and posters states (see the image above): “O Muslim when you meet the enemy (Shi’ite) of the Companions, then the heart of the Prophet feels sad in the Green Dome [Holy Mosque in Medina].”[12]

Utilizing U.S.-based websites such as archive.org, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and social publishing site Scribd, the JMM website produces numerous weblinks to anti-Shi’ite articles, video speeches, magazines and books in Urdu and English. As examined below, it also uses Justin.tv, another U.S.-based provider, to webcast lectures and programs by militant clerics associated with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group of organizations. Like other jihadist groups, it uses the U.S.-based not-for-profit Internet Archive established in 1996, at archive.org, to publish a vast amount of hateful content against Shi’ite Muslims. A quick search of archive.org yields vast amounts of hate material posted by anti-Shi’ite groups. The image below shows how the Reality Media Centre Lahore, which is an anti-Shi’ite organization aligned with the LeJ, uses the U.S.-based website archive.org to publish hate material.

Use of U.S.-based archive.org to propagate anti-Shi’ite hate

Why Was the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) Established? – “The Shi’ite is a Nasl [Race/Offspring] of Jews; the Sipah-e-Sahaba Calls the Shi’ite a Bigger Infidel Than the Jew”

On its Internet discussion forum ahlesunnatforum.com, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has posted a series of six videos, answering the question: Why was the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) established? A collage of images, texts and audio-video statements of Islamic clerics from various schools of Sunni Islam declares that the group draws its ideological roots from all key Sunni sects, stating: “The Deobandi, the Barelvi, [and] the Ahle Hadith are united on the question of the honor of the Sahaba [the Companions of Prophet Muhammad].”[13] The images given below from the first video illustrate the ideological declarations made by the SSP.

The video declares that the Shi’ite Muslims are worse than the Jews, with the Urdu text as excerpted in the above image reading: “The Shi’ite is a nasl [race/offspring] of the Jews. The Sipah-e-Sahaba calls the Shi’ite a bigger infidel than the Jew.”[14]

In the image above from the video, a cleric holds a Koran on his head and declares: “The Koran is on my head [i.e. I swear] that the Shi’ite is a kafir [infidel].”[15] Another Urdu text on the video declares: “Muslims, keep the Shi’ite far from your offices and factories. To give jobs to these infidels is enmity against Islam.”[16]

The above footage shows anti-Taliban Pakistani cleric Tahirul Qadri of the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam, with the Urdu text stating: “One who does not consider a Shi’ite is himself an infidel.”[17] Another text under the image of Tahirul Qadri, who dismisses the literature of Shi’ite Muslims in the accompanying video statement as false and without authentic sources, states: “The Shi’ite and the Sunni can never be brothers. The Shi’ite is the biggest infidel of all.”[18]

In an image on the video, an Urdu text accuses Shi’ite Muslims of killing Saddam Hussein of Iraq, stating: “Saddam being hanged under the watch of the Shi’ite.”[19] The video produces a series of statements of Shi’ite clerics, accusing them of allegedly uttering abuse against the companions of Prophet Muhammad.

The video also reproduces a clip of Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, the SSP founder, addressing a crowd while the Urdu text (see above) clarifies his speech: “There is a fatwa [Islamic decree] by Maulana Ahmed Raza Barelvi [the founder of the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam] stating that the Shi’ite is a kafir [infidel] and anyone who doubts this is also a kafir.”[20]

The second part of the video series contains a clip of Maulana Ziaur Rehman Farooqi, a late Islamic cleric associated with the SSP, in which he delivers a fiery speech against Shi’ite Muslims in order to defend the honor of the Companions.[21] In the same video, Maulana Asif Ashraf Jalali, a Barelvi cleric, equates the Shi’ites with Jews.[22] It also cites Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, an 11th-12th century Persian Islamic scholar followed widely by Sunni Muslims, quoting the Prophet Muhammad as saying: “In the last days, there would be a nation (Shi’ites) which will curse my companions and will find faults. You should not strike up friendship with them. Do not eat alongside them. Do not marry them. If someone is sick among them, do not ask about them. If someone dies from among them, do not offer the funeral prayer…. May Allah’s curses be on them.”[23]

A third video of the series teaches the LeJ followers that the Shi’ites can be identified by the following surnames (see the Urdu text in image above): “Jafri, Alvi, Zaidi, Hussein, Naqvi, Raza, Abidi, Abbas, Shah, Hassan.”[24] The video also clarifies at one point that 2,700 members of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan had been killed up to 2010, that is, in allegedly revenge killings by Shi’ite militants.[25]

In the fourth, fifth and sixth videos of the series, which are published on YouTube, a number of Islamic clerics associated with the SSP are shown delivering speeches on various points of beliefs associated with Shi’ite Muslims. In the fifth video, an Urdu text again dismisses the Shi’ites as Jews, stating: “They are the nasl [race/offspring] of Jews and merely use the name of Hazrat Ali [the Islamic caliph].”[26]

The sixth and last video of the series shows clips of speeches by various militant clerics associated with the SSP. Addressing a crowd, Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi, a youth leader of SSP, defends Saudi Arabia for its pro-Sunni leadership and castigates the Shi’ite Iran, stating: “Iran is behind all the conspiracies hatched against all Islamic countries and the Companions [of the Prophet Muhammad].”[27] One of the final images in the video reads (see the above Urdu text): “Muslims of the entire world, if you want to escape the evil of this Shi’ite infidel, then support the Sipah-e-Sahaba. Deoband[i], Barelvi, Ahle Hadith, or anyone can be a leader of Sipah-e-Sahaba.”[28]

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s Campaigns on Twitter

In recent years, especially after the Pakistani government ban on the publications of some militant groups, social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have emerged as the media of choice for these groups to advance their ideological agenda. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and its members operate several accounts on the micro-blogging website Twitter, with the most prominent accounts being @Jhangvi and @JhangviNews. Some other Twitter accounts linked to the militant network also include @SunnikiLLing and @KKSKEWS.

Over the past few months, these Twitter accounts posted messages, conveying the messages of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions, inviting their readers to various events and conferences organized by the LeJ and SSP leaders in different Pakistani towns, urging followers to watch live webcasts of speeches delivered by their leaders, directing readers to newspaper reports about statements of Islamic clerics in Pakistan and abroad, etc. Some of these examples are given below to illustrate these activities.

@Jhangvi

Tweet Urges Sunni Muslims to Desist from Friendship with Shi’ites: “Oh Sunnis, Have Respect; End Friendship with Shi’ites….”

The LeJ’s main Twitter account, @Jhangvi, became active sometime in late-September 2011, publishing a series of first posts on September 28. It directs its readers to the main website of Jhangvi Media Movement, or jmmpak.org. Like all Lashkar-e-Jhangvi publications, its hate campaign is directed mainly against Shi’ite Muslims. Most of the tweets are in Roman Urdu.

On September 28, its first tweet announced: “Breaking News: Lahore – The accursed Shi’ite Ali Raza who sent message involving blasphemy against the companions [of Prophet Muhammad] arrested… case registered.” Another of its tweets on the first day of activity on Twitter noted that in the village of Kdwala (Chak No. 68/DB) in Bahawalpur district, Maulana Habibullah, a cleric of the Barelvi sect of Islam, refused to lead a funeral prayer for a Shi’ite Muslim named Buta.

On October 3, its tweet informed that a bus of Shi’ite pilgrims was attacked in Baluchistan, “sending 13 of them to Hell.” On October 9, its tweet urged Sunni Muslims to desist from friendship with Shi’ites: “Oh Sunnis, have respect; end friendship with Shi’ites….” It tweets news stories relevant to Sunni extremists.

On October 3, 2011, it tweeted: “The Supreme Council of Saudi Islamic Scholars has decreed a person committing blasphemy against the companions [of Prophet Muhammad] to be out of Islam.” This tweet cited Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Jinnah of October 3, Islamabad edition as its source. In a tweet dated January 5, 2012, it said: “23 Shi’ite terrorists arrested [in Saudi Arabia] under the charges of conspiracy against Harmain Sharifain [the holy mosques in Mecca and Medina]; sloganeering by Shi’ites against Muslims.” On October 24, its tweet read: “infidel, infidel, Shi’ite infidel… numerous curses on Khomeini [the late Iranian leader].”

Illustrating recent public concerns in Pakistan that LeJ/SSP leaders are enjoying the support of the Punjab government, the second tweet posted on September 28 celebrated: “Raids on Shi’ite homes on the order of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Darya Khan [town in Punjab province], about 50 terrorist Shi’ites arrested…” On October 10, 2011, it tweeted: “The Lahore High Court has ordered the removal of the names of 25 leaders of Sipah-e-Sahaba [Pakistan] from the list of terrorists.” These tweets establish the fact that the SSP, the mother of all LeJ-associated groups, remains active at a grassroots level in Pakistan despite the government ban.

“Only by Sending Curses on the Lifestyles of Jews and Christians can You Be Loyal to Siddique and Umar [the First and Second Caliphs of Islam]…”; The Prophet Said: “Know It without Doubt, the Heaven is Under the Shadow of Swords”

The tweets have included messages against Jews and Christians and views articulating armed intentions against those who do not follow its ideology. On September 28, it posted another tweet advocating hate against Jews and Christians: “Only by sending curses on the lifestyles of Jews and Christians can you be loyal to Siddique and Umar [the first and second caliphs of Islam respectively] – a saying of Maulana Azam Tariq Shah [the founder of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi].”

On October 14, its tweet quoted Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leader Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi as saying that “conspiracy against Kaaba, the qibla of Muslims, should stop.” Qibla is the holy mosque in Mecca to which Muslims turn in prayers; and the reference is to concerns among Islamic clerics in Pakistan that Western leaders are conspiring to demolish the Kaaba, the holy mosque in Mecca.

On September 29, 2011, it tweeted an Urdu couplet articulating armed intentions: “Well, I am the priest for peace, will become a storm when the time comes; if even a finger is raised against our lord [Prophet Muhammad] or Sahaba [companions of Prophet Muhammad], I will throw the pen and turn into a sword.” On September 29, another tweet quoted Prophet Muhammad as saying: “Know it without doubt, the Heaven is under the shadow of swords.”

An October 27 tweet carried a prayer to be read before going to bed, stating: “Oh Allah, I live and die to uphold your name….”

It posts messages about religious and militant leaders associated the LeJ/SSP and its associated groups. On September 28, it tweeted a congratulatory message: “We offer congratulations to Qari Ataullah Rehman on being elected without competition to the post of President of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan [the outlawed political party and mother organization of LeJ-associated groups] for the Sukkur district.” Its numerous tweets confirm that that the SSP continues to function as a well-operated organization.

An October 2 dated tweet urged its followers to watch the live webcast of the Shuhada-e-Islam (Martyrs of Islam) Conference of October 6, 2011 in Islamabad, marking the martyrdom of LeJ founder Maulana Azam Tariq. On January 5, 2012, its tweet announced: “Tariq Muawiya, the senior member of Sipah-e-Sahaba [for] Lahore, has been martyred in a firing by Shi’ite terrorists.” This account announced many similar messages over the subsequent months, revealing the continuation of the armed rivalry between Sunni and Shi’ite groups.

On February 12, 2012, a tweet urged its followers to visit its official website jmmpak.org to watch the live webcast of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (Defense of Pakistan Council or DPC) rally in Karachi. The DPC, a network of banned militants, is established and headed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the founder of Pakistani jihadist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). It should be noted here that Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, the new banner under which the LeJ/SSP operates, is a prominent speaker at DPC rallies and is a key leader of the DPC. In recent months, calls for jihad against the U.S. and India were issued at the DPC conferences in Pakistani cities.[29]

@JhangviNews

“Shi’ite Terrorists; Shi’ites are the Killers of Sunnis; Shi’ites Infidels; The Massacre of Muslims by Shi’ite Infidels Continuing in Syria”

@JhangviNews is perhaps the second most active Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Twitter account. Among its first-day posts on January 19, 2012, it urged its followers to “FOLLOW JhangviNews and send to 40404 [by SMS to mobile phone number].” In a similar tweet dated February 14, it urged its followers to obtain free Sunni news by sending “Add JhangviNews” to 9900 by SMS. Over subsequent months, it has urged followers to use mobile phones, especially SMS, to obtain Sunni news.

On January 19, a tweet outlined its goal: “We are offering sacrifices for the Prophet (peace be upon him). We are the soldiers of the soldiers of the Prophet (peace be upon him).” On January 20, its tweet, illustrating that it does not consider Shi’ites as Muslims, said: “[In the town of] Hangu: The worst wall-chalking against Muslims by Shi’ites….” Over the subsequent weeks, it posted numerous tweets, revealing a murderous rivalry between Shi’ite and Sunni groups in Pakistani cities.

The fact that the LeJ identifies itself deeply with the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) is also established in its tweets. In a tweet dated January 20, the group warned – quoting former Pakistani federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed – that a strategy will be worked out under the leadership of Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi if the government officials did not grant permission for a DPC conference in the town of Multan for January 29, 2012. It should be noted that DPC founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has been put on the UN terror list along with his organizations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) for their role in the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

On January 20, another tweet boasted that the December 18, 2011 conference of DPC in Lahore and the upcoming conferences in the cities of Rawalpindi and Multan prove that the “field cannot be bedecked without the SSP [Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan].” A January 22, 2012 tweet quoted Lt.-General (retired) Hamid Gul, former chief of the Pakistani military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as telling a DPC conference in the city of Rawalpindi: “I am feeling happy that the flags of the SSP [the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan] which has been banned for 10 years outnumber others [at the DPC rally]….” On January 29, it urged its followers to watch a live webcast of the DPC conference from Multan via the DPC’s official website difaepakistan.com. In later tweets, it urged its followers to carry the SSP flag to the DPC conferences.

On January 21, its tweet announced the release of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi leader Malik Muhammad Ishaq from jail. The same day, January 21, it posted a message that in the Government Degree College town of Jhang, from which the LeJ draws its name, “Attempts by Shi’ite terrorist organization ISO [Imamia Students Organization] foiled to erase wall chalking [of slogans] by the Sunni organization MSO [Muslim Students Organization].” It posted similar tweets concerning its associated groups over the subsequent weeks. On January 24, it tweeted that the legal adviser of the Karachi branch of SSP, M. Ali Mama, and one Brother Noman, were shot dead by “Shi’ite terrorists.” Stating that “Shi’ites are the killers of Sunnis,” a January 30 tweet notified that Karachi-based sympathizer of SSP, Dr. Qazi Ashfaq, has been shot dead by Shi’ites. A tweet dated February 2 declared: “Shi’ites infidels.”

On January 19, 20 and 21, its tweets said that about 6,000 Sunni Muslims have been “martyred” by the Shi’ite government of Syria. It posted another tweet on January 21: “If Hindus, Jews and Christians kill Muslims, then [it is called] atrocity. And if the same deed is committed by Shi’ite religion, then why all Muslims are silent?” A tweet dated February 3, 2012 said: “The massacre of Muslims by Shi’ite infidels continuing in Syria….”  A February 7 tweet questioned: “Everyone is looking at the atrocities being committed against Muslims in India, Kashmir and Palestine, but [why are] all silent on the atrocities in Syria?” In a tweet dated February 18, it notified that Iranian commandos are “worsening the peaceful atmosphere of Karachi” by allegedly being involved in militant attacks against Sunni Muslims and urged its followers to keep an eye on suspicious activities in their vicinities.

On February 22, 2012, it marked the day as the Martyrdom Day for Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, who founded the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and was killed on that day in 1990, stating: “Allah willing, we will ensure a Sunni Revolution on the soil of Pakistan….” A day later, a tweet warned: “O Shi’ites, listen! We can bury generations of generations in graves but will not abandon pursuing you….”

The LeJ/SSP’s Use of Facebook

A January 27 post urges followers to join Bilkis Messenger Room

The Jhangvi Media Movement (JMM) uses the social networking site Facebook to advance its ideological goals through an account – jmmpak – created on June 20, 2010. Similar accounts are also created on Facebook by its followers and members. It posts comments and links to various YouTube video, webcasts, messenger rooms and stories in Pakistani dailies which are of relevant to its followers. Over the past few months, it has posted YouTube links to radical speeches by Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, the late SSP founder. It uses Facebook for the same purposes it uses Twitter and other websites.

A March 6, 2012 post linked to a digital copy of its print magazine, Nizam-e-Khilafat Rashida(the Rule of the Righteous Caliphs).[30] Similar links were posted, connecting readers to various books and magazines published by the LeJ/SSP associates. A March 7, 2012 post directed its readers to follow a webcast of a speech by SSP leader Maulana Aurangzeb Farooq at the Difa-e-Pakistan Council rally in Peshawar. On the same day, a post urged its followers to use SMS service on their cell phones to get updates about the activities of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and regarding the honor of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad by sending a message to phone numbers 40404 and 9900. A March 8, 2012 post directed its readers to visit the main website of Jhangvi Media Movement (JMM), jmmpk.org, to watch a live webcast of a conference on the life of Prophet Muhammad. In a December 6, 2011 post, it noted that its main website jmmpak.org is under cyber attack.

A post on February 8, 2012 announced that the group would soon post poems of Islamic cleric Mufti Saeed Arshad Husseini on the internet. On February 16, 2012, its post said: “Firing by Shi’ite terrorists – the worst infidels of the universe, the enemies of the religion and Ummah – on a mosque of Muslims” and linked to a YouTube video which is not clear but gunshots can be heard.[31] A February 21 post identified Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi, the leader of ASWJ, as the leader of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), the supposedly banned group in Pakistan.

A July 15, 2011 post celebrating the release of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) chief Malik Ishaq despite being involved in 36 serious cases

In March 2012, media reports emerged that the Pakistani government had banned the ASWJ. Reacting to this, a March 11, 2012 post on Facebook in Urdu script quoted Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi, the chief of ASWJ, as saying: “Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat is not a Jamaat [organization, but it] is our religion.  We will never accept [a] ban on the religion. The enemy wants to create disarray in the Jamaat by spreading news about [a] ban. All members stand united.” In March 2012, reports emerged that the administrative officials in Gilgit Baltistan, a region which is under Pakistani control illegally, are planning to reform school syllabi. The LeJ/SSP leaders accused the Shi’ite officials of removing content from textbooks to suit the Shi’ite population. A Facebook post dated March 14, 2012 gave a link to a YouTube video in which Maulana Muhammad Nawaz, Secretary General the SSP’s branch in Gilgit Baltistan, described the move as “sedition” against Pakistan.[32]

It posts numerous posters and images about events organized by the SSP/ASWJ in various Pakistani towns. Such posts were regularly published on its Facebook pages from 2010 through 2012. As examined in the paragraphs below, the Jhangvi Media Movement posts numerous videos on YouTube and links them through its Facebook page. The nature of these posts is either against Shi’ite Muslims or to promote the activities of the LeJ/SSP.

The LeJ/SSP’s Use of YouTube

Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat chief Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi

The Jhangvi Media Movement (JMM) has a robust presence on YouTube, having joined the free video-sharing website on February 22, 2010.[33] Some of the most prolific YouTube accounts associated with the LeJ/SSP include: jmmpak, sspinternetwing1, thealazeematmedia, jmmpak313, hcyglobal, haqsuchmedia, jhangvi, haqnawazjh, etc. Over the past two years, the JMM has posted more than 500 videos on its main YouTube channel – jmmpak. Its videos include clips from television channels showing statements of leaders of the ASWJ, the successor to SSP, and Islamic clerics addressing religious gatherings in various Pakistani towns.

Hundreds of videos of ASWJ chief Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi are available on YouTube. In December 2010, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik accused the LeJ/SSP of working alongside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.[34] In an interview on Dunya television channel, Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi denied that his group is or will be involved in any terror activity.[35] Asked as to why the ASWJ is not registered with the government, Ludhianvi responded: “The Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat is not any party. ‘Ahle Sunnat’ refers to those who follow the path of Sunnah. The Sunnah means the ways of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and the Jamaat means the Companions [of the prophet]… Everyone in the country who calls himself Sunni is part of the Ahle Sunnat…. We do not use the name [of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan] because the matter is before the court… When the court lifts the ban, we will start working under the name of Sipah-e-Sahaba….”[36]

In December 2010, the JMM posted a video of a talk show from Samaa TV channel on the issue of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, after Pakistani lawmaker and now ambassador to the U.S. Sherry Rehman introduced a bill proposing legislative reforms on the issue. Speaking on the program, Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, the former chief of SSP and now head of ASWJ, argued that only Prophet Muhammad had the authority to forgive those who committed blasphemy against him.[37]

A few weeks later, on January 4, 2011, Punjab’s secular Governor Salman Taseer, who had campaigned for reform in blasphemy laws, was shot dead by a security guard who shared the ideology of ASWJ/SSP. It should be noted here that the assassin, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, belonged to Dawat-e-Islami, one of the Pakistan-based Barelvi Sunni organizations, which are as militant in their ideological orientation as other Deobandi groups such as the LeJ/SSP when their interests converge, for example on the issue of the blasphemy laws or honor of the companions of Prophet Muhammad, and generally in their ideological standpoint against the Shi’ite Muslims.

However, the ideological standpoints of the LeJ/SSP and the Barelvi clerics do not always merge. In December 2010, the JMM posted a four-part television program, which was produced after the July 1, 2010 terror attack on the Hazrat Ali Hajveri shrine in Lahore. On the program, Maulana Shamsur Rehman Muawiah, the President of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ – the new name of SSP) for Punjab province, denied any involvement of SSP in any terror attack in the past or in future.[38] However, appearing on the same program, Barelvi cleric Maulana Raghib Naeemi blamed the groups ideologically aligned with the LeJ/SSP for attacks on the shrines of Sufi mystics in Pakistani towns.[39] The LeJ/SSP, which owes its ideology to the Deobandi school of Sunni Islam, supports the Taliban attacks on Sufi shrines because it deems many Barelvi practices at the shrines to be against Islamic teachings.

But the main targets of the LeJ /SSP conglomerate continue to be the Shi’ites. In countless videos posted on YouTube videos, Shi’ite Muslims are the main target of the group’s hateful attacks. A September 1, 2011 YouTube video discussed the question: “Is Shi’ite a Muslim?”[40] Scores of lectures preaching violence against Shi’ite Muslims delivered by Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, the founder of SSP, are available on YouTube. On March 12, 2012, a simple search of the term “Haq Nawaz Jhangvi” yielded 3,130 results on YouTube.

Maulana Ikramullah Mojaddadi

In a YouTube video dated Mar 6, 2010, Maulana Ikramullah Mojaddadi addresses an SSP conference, delivering a fiery speech advocating violence against the “enemies” of the Sahaba, the companions of Prophet Muhammad.

Addressing a Martyrdom Conference in Lahore, Maulana Ikramullah Mojaddadi said: “Marzais [i.e. Ahmadi Muslims] were declared infidels in this region [under a law passed by the secular Pakistani government in 1974]. Very soon, Allah willing, that day is not far when the Sunnis will be united on a single platform and get the enemies of the Sahaba declared kafir [infidel].”[41] The reference to “enemies” is for all those who oppose the SSP’s clerical interpretation of Islam, but especially the Shi’ite Muslims.

It should be noted that Maulana Ikramullah Mojaddadi belongs to the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam who are opposed to the SSP/LeJ but share similar views against Shi’ite Muslims. In a video posted by the JMM, Mojaddadi stresses unity between various sects of Sunni Islam, especially between the Barelvis and Deobandis, stating: “The thing I want to say here is that as Ameer-e-Azeemat [Haq Nawaz Jhangvi] used to say that if speaking for the honor and dignity of the companions of the Holy Prophet is crime and terrorism, so I would repeat this ‘crime’ again and again. If for this reply of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, or sitting with the people related to Ahle Sunnat and for eulogizing the Companions and Ahle Bait [relatives] of the Holy Prophet, I am blamed to be a Mojaddadi [Naqshbandi], Barelvi or anyone else: all these allegations are open-heartedly welcome….”[42]

Clearly, the Deobandi clerics who form the backbone of the LeJ/SSP conglomerate and the Barelvi clerics have similar ideological standpoints on some issues such as in their viewpoint against Shi’ite Muslims and Ahmadi Muslims, but differ on some issues like the Barelvi practices associated with music and singing in Sufi shrines. Both of these groups of Sunni Islam, along with other Islamic clerics, are also known for propagating Antisemitism to further their ideological agenda.

Islamic Cleric: “When You Start Reading Chapter Al-Baqra [of the Koran], I Want to Add a Few Points in Hints, You will Find that the Jew is a Nasl [Race/Offspring] Which Martyred 39, [I] Repeat: 39 Prophets in One Day”

Islamic cleric Nasir Shiraz

In a YouTube video dated September 4, 2010 posted by the JMM, militant cleric Nasir Shiraz, who is identified as “commander” stokes Antisemitic feelings, stating:[43]

“The Koran is indeed a great book, which is a guide of life from the Creator for the momins [faithful Muslims], which is a constitution for the momins…. which helps recognize the enemies…. I will urge you friends… if a commentator says that Jews and Christians are our well wishers, tell him: ‘you are a momin, you are a Muslim, you trust in the Koran of the Creator, when you go home, look up the Koran, read the translation of [verses] of Chapter Al-Baqra, and if after reading [the] translation of the Chapter Al-Baqra, if your consciences decides that the Jews and Christians can be well wishers of the Muslim Ummah, can be friends of the Muslim Ummah, then you make them your friends.

“And if your conscience decides that Jews and Christians were not the well wishers of the Muslim Ummah yesterday nor they are today, then support the people who – upholding their lives on palms – enter the [battle] field to foil the conspiracies of Jews and Christians and sacrifice their lives. When you start reading Chapter Al-Baqra, I want to add a few points in hints, you will find that the Jew is a nasl [race/offspring] that martyred 39, [I] repeat: 39 prophets in one day. The Jew is a nasl that martyred Prophet Zakaria [Zacharia] peace be upon him. The Jew is a nasl that martyred Prophet Yahya [John the Baptist] peace be upon him. The Jews are a nasl who wanted to martyr Prophet Jesus…..”

The violent tone of languages used by the militant clerics is evident in numerous YouTube videos posted by the LeJ/SSP groups. A video posted in December 2011, prominent Islamic cleric Maulana Ilyas Chinioti addresses a conference in Islamabad, stating: “whether it be the history of Pakistan or Islam, it is decorated with martyrdoms. And it teaches us that a movement, a mission, for which Muslims sacrifice their precious blood in the path of Allah, that mission is inevitably successful.”[44] A YouTube video – dated February 19, 2012 – broadcasts a radical song in Urdu, urging its followers “to adornkafan [the shroud used to clothe corpses] on your head, and spread the mission [of Haq Nawaz] Jhangvi across the world….”[45] Such videos on YouTube are so numerous that it is difficult for any analyst to go through all of them.

In February 2012, Maulana Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi, a cleric of the SSP, addressed a conference in the town of Khairpur, where he declared: “A topic about which there is likelihood that shots will be fired, I talk for hours about that topic.”[46] The video of the speech was soon posted on YouTube by thealazeematmedia, one of the accounts associated with LeJ/SSP. In the speech, the cleric stated the SSP’s objectives as: To get Pakistan declared a Sunni state; to bring about the rule of the four righteous Islamic caliphs on the land of Pakistan; to bring about the domination of Islam inside Pakistan; and to defend the companions of Prophet Muhammad not by being the defense lawyer but by reminding the enemy of their reality, i.e. by fighting.[47] The cleric goes on to narrate the sacrifices of SSP leaders, as the event at which the cleric was speaking was meant to recall the role of Allama Sher Ali Haideri, a former SSP leader. Maulana Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi ends his speech in these words: “One who does not know how to die does not how to live.”[48]

In another YouTube video of the conference, Maulana Muhammad Muavia Azam calls for the enforcement of the Khilafat-e-Rashida (the Caliphate of the Righteous Caliphs) in Pakistan, and urges the audience: “Will you be together? Will you [fear] the atom [i.e. the atomic power America], the gun, NATO, America, Iran, kufristan [the world of the infidels]; if one were to fear… then [Taliban leader] Mullah Omar who was described as a terrorist ten years ago, today 10 years later, the atom [i.e. America] has said, the atom has been defeated, those possessing atoms have been defeated, America and its allies have been defeated. And those lions of Prophet Muhammad, dressed in old torn clothes, have won [in Afghanistan]. Ten years ago when starting the bombing [of Afghanistan] America had said that it will eliminate the name [of the Taliban] in two months, and Azam Tariq [the SSP leader] said, ‘O ye who count the days of the Taliban, I will count your days.’”[49]

* Tufail Ahmad is Director of MEMRI’s South Asia Studies Project (www.memri.org/sasp)

Pakistan’s Shia Muslims are currently considering a long march to protest against the anti-Shia bias of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The exact date for the long march is expected to be announced shortly after due consultations with all persecuted communities.

CJ Chaudhry has long-standing family ties with Jihadi-sectarian terrorists. He is a close relative of Punjab government’s law minister Rana Sanaullah, who is a known affiliate of Jihadi-sectarian organization Sipha-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP, renamed as Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ASWJ).

Pakistan’s Shia Muslims have quite a few misgivings against CJ Chaudhry which include but are not limited to:

1. No suo moto action to stop the ongoing target killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan (in the last 6 months alone, more than 240 Shias have been target killed by Pakistan army-backed Jihadi sectarian militants ASWJ-SSP, Taliban etc);

2. Acquittal of arrested Jihadi-sectarian terrorists (Malik Ishaq, Hafiz Saeed, Qari Saifullah Akhtar etc);

3. No summoning of government ministers and army commanders to explain their inability to stop Shia genocide in Pakistan;

4. Rejection of Shia rights activists’ petition asking for SCP’s intervention to stop Shia genocide.

Shia Muslims are not the only community to have felt betrayed by CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry, other persecuted groups such as the Baloch, Pashtun, Sunni Barelvi, Ahmadi etc have similar feelings towards CJ Chaudhry. For example, this editorial by The Baloch Hal: The man who betrayed Balochistan

We welcome the proposed protest against a pro-army, pro-Jihadi Chief Justice. We suggest that it’s not only Shias but also moderate Sunnis, Ahmadis, Christians, Balochs, Pashtuns etc who should march together towards Islamabad in support of human rights and demonstrate right in front of the Supreme Court’s building and also outside Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s residence.

Video on Shia genocide in Pakistan and a message to Pakistan’s Chief Justice and Army Chief

From Gilgit to Karachi, Quetta to Parachinar and Karachi to D.I.Khan, Shia Muslims are being target killed in all provinces and areas of Pakistan. However, Pakistan’s judiciary, army, politicians, civil society and media either remain silent or misrepresent the Shia genocide. This video is a message to all of them particularly to the champions of justice and national security.

Kia tum bhool gaye? Pakistani media’s silence on Shia genocide

Dhoondo Ge Agar Mulkon Mulkon: A tribute to Shias martyred by ISI-backed ASWJ-SSP-Taliban

I want to commend sister Naziha for presenting the ongoing genocide of Islamo Marxist groups like Sipah Sahaba/Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat by the All-Powerful Rafzi (Shia) lobby of Pakistan. Everyone in Pakistan knows that the Peaceful Pious Patriots of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are no match for the powerful, well armed and well funded Rafzi militias of Sipah Mohammad. Given the Rafzi threat, one can understand why sister Naziha tries to present this genocide as a two-way “tit-for-tat” conflict but in reality, we all know that it is the Rafzis, Qadians, Christains, Hindus, Baloch and Barelvi Sunnis who are committing the genocide of pious ISI-backed Islamo Marxist groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. If you don’t believe me or Sister Naziha, please refer to the twitter account of the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan which is presented in this article:

Pakistani Taliban join Twitter, threaten rights activists

Then you will realize how Sister Naziha and Tehrik Taliban Pakistan are not so far off in their views, Jazakallah! Like comrade Ali Sher Haideri of SSP, sister Naziha has also kept Rafzi name and background and has done a fantastic job of exposing Rafzi complicity against the allies of pious peaceful Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan.

For those of you who don’t know, this Rafzi lobby lead by Jinnah hijacked the Pakistan Movement. Yes, it was not Rafzi Jinnah who was responsible for Pakistan but Islamo Marxist luminaries like Dr. Israr Ahmad, historian Safdar Mahmood, Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani and Hamid Nizami of Nawa Waqt.

Today, it is real liberals like Naziha Syed Ali, Raza Rumi and Najam Sethi who are subtly doing the job of damage control against Paak Fauj. If it was not for them, the liberal fascist narrative would have taken hold and this would permanently damage the Islamo Marxist movement of groups like PML N, PTI, SSP-ASWJ-LeJ, JuD-LeT, JM, HuM, General Hamid Gul, JI etc. As per the liberal fascist narrative, it is the Christains, Qadians, Hindus, Moderate Deobandis, Barelvis, Rafzis, Pashtuns, Baloch who are being victimized by peaceful ISI-backed Islamo Marxist groups like Sipah Sahaba. In reality it is the exact opposite!

That is why I appreciate how sister Naziha has presented this; especially how her column starts with the appreciation of the grief bourne out by the Marxist workers of Sipah Sahaba. It is the liberal fascist media that is distorting this issue by referring to isolated incidents in Parachinar, Quetta, Rahim Yar Khan, D.G. Khan, D I Khan, Kohistan etc. In reality we all know that it is not peaceful TTP or Al Qaeda or LeJ that is responsible; in reality Rafzis were killing each other because they ran out of TTP’s to kill.

Riaz Malik archive on LUBP

Riaz Malik archive on PB

In a recent article highlighting refined tactics of urban elite affiliates of Pakistan army, Sarah Khan writes:

Traditionally lifestyle liberals in Pakistan use an 80-20 mixture formula, i.e., they inject the 20% pro-military establishment discourses within the 80% objective facts or neutral assessments in their articles. Of course we agree with the 80% of their content, however, it is the 20% part (e.g., Taliban = Pashtoon, or, sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shias, or, involvement of RAW in Balochistan, or, politicians are corrupt etc) which makes them more refined, opaque and dangerous than their right-wing affiliates of the Deep State.

In his talk-show titled Aapas Ki Baat (Geo TV) on 28 February 2012, Najam Sethi misrepresented Shia genocide by referring to vague sectarianism, Sunni vs Shia violence. He provided unhindered and unprecedented opportunity in his program to SSP-ASWJ’s terrorist leader Ahmed Ludhianvi to spread propaganda to Pakistani and international audience.

In the first few minutes of the program, Najam Sethi identified major players and factors behind Shia Muslims massacres in Pakistan and highlights the unholy link between SSP-ASWJ and Al Qaeda. This (80% segment) is good because it challenges the so called analysts who misrepresent genocide of Shia Muslims as a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. However, Sethi went off the track when he said violence in Pakistan started with the import of Iranian revolution in late 1970s.

However, resorting to his tradition of 80-20 mix (mixing 20% of disinformation in 80% of information), Sethi used Sunni-Shia sectarianism terminology to hide the fact that ASWJ-SSP terrorist represent their mentors in Pakistan army, not Sunni Muslims.

In the latter half, he deemed it fit to allow his program to be hijacked by SSP-ASWJ’s leader Ludhianvi.

Instead of speaking to the slain community (Shias), Sethi deemed it fit to speak to their killer, Ahmed Ludhianvi, allowing him to freely relay his propaganda and hate on international circuit.

Why is Najam Sethi terming State-sponsored Shia-genocide as Sunni-Shia violence (Shia Sunni Larai Jhagra)?

Why does not he ask Ludhianvi why he went to receive LeJ chief Malik Ishaq from Kot Lakhpat if he does not endorse LeJ’s terrorism?

Aapas ki baat: 28 Feb part 4

The Friday Times

Taking lead from Najam Sethi’s dishonest misrepresentation and dilution of Shia genocide in Pakistan, several authors in The Friday Times (chief editor: Najam Sethi) have published misleading and non-representative articles in the current issue (March 2-8, 2012) of the TFT. A detailed criticism of TFT can be read at the following link: The Friday Times misrepresents the suffering of Pakistan’s Shias and Ahmadis.

Najam Sethi faces tough questions on Twitter:

Abbas Raza ‏ @iamabbasraza
Dear @najamsethi u took SSP/LJ terrorist live in ur show. I cant remember u interviewing anyone in AKB ever before. #Double Standards?

Najam Sethi ‏ @najamsethi
@iamabbasraza No double standards. SS called. Wanted right to respond to serious allegations. We took call. Did you believe Ludhianvi or me?

29 Feb Abbas Raza ‏ @iamabbasraza
@najamsethi Funny no one else got this chance ever before on ur show.” u got a text” and then u took him live. anyways thanks 4 ur reply sir

29 Feb Najam Sethi ‏ @najamsethi
@iamabbasraza If leader of any party calls during my program and wants to come online for defense, I will welcome it! Good for my show!

………

Najam Sethi self-congratulates himself on his brave stance on ‘sectarian violence’. Hey, you forgot Farhat Taj, Dr. Taqi, Mehmal Sarfraz and quite a few others!

Najam Sethi ‏ @najamsethi
@Nauman_789 I had said more against SSP in ten mins than anyone in ten years! Least I could do was allow them defensive response. Fair?

………

Jhangvi media cell celebrates the fact that their terrorist leader was allowed to speak on national circuit in Najam Sethi’s popular program:

18h Jhangvi ‏ @JHANGVI
نجم سیٹھی آپس کی بات میں اظہار خیال ‎fb.me/1tESBLl9i‏

19h Jhangvi ‏ @JHANGVI
Hazrat Molana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi sb, apas ki bat Geo News 28 February 2012 fb.me/1mDepBhss

……..

This is not Sunni vs Shia Sectarian Violence

Hamid Mir and Najam Sethi in their programs and several authors in Sethi’s The Friday Times used the Sunni-Shia sectarianism discourse which is tantamount to misrepresentation of Shia genocide.

Shia scholar Allama Nazir Abbas Taqvi slaps those journalists, activists and propagandists who dishonestly misrepresent Shia genocide as Sunni-Shia sectarianism.

This is not Sunni-Shia sectarianism! Allama Taqvi speaks to Metro TV:

Dissent on the streets: Pakistani Shia Muslims protest against the killing of 19 Shias, who were killed in cold blood by men wearing military uniforms

Without tolerance, our world turns into hell” — Friedrich Durrenmatt.

A year ago on this day (March 2), Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated. His assassination took place less than two months after Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer was shot dead by his bodyguard. Both of them were ardent supporters of minority rights. Both of them were vocal about the country’s archaic blasphemy laws. Both of them received death threats as a result. These threats were as real in Mr Bhatti’s case as they were in Mr Taseer’s. But both men were principled and fearless. In the end, both of them met the same fate. They were assassinated by fanatic butchers.

In an interview with the BBC after Mr Taseer’s assassination, Shahbaz Bhatti said, “I was told that if I was to continue the campaign against the blasphemy law, I will be assassinated. I will be beheaded. But forces of violence, forces of extremism cannot harass me, cannot threaten me.” The debate on blasphemy laws slowly died down with Mr Taseer’s assassination. Mr Bhatti’s murder sealed the fate of this debate. Now people are afraid to raise this issue. Aasia Bibi, the innocent Christian woman accused of blasphemy and whose case was taken up by Taseer and Bhatti, is still in prison. Unfortunately, nobody in the corridors of power is now willing to raise their voice for Bibi’s release after what happened to Taseer and Bhatti.

In this ‘land of the pure’, nothing is sacred — especially not human lives. Most of these killings are done in the name of religion. Religious extremism did not emerge out of a vacuum all of a sudden. It was nurtured, strengthened and supported by the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies for their own vested interest.

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) are just but a few examples of terrorist outfits created by the military and its proxies in the garb of ‘Islamic’ outfits. But in essence, these terrorist groups have nothing to do with Islam and its message of peace. They are serving their masters, i.e.
the military, while their masters allow them to do as they please. Shia genocide is another ‘mission’ taken up by the terrorist networks.

This week, 19 Shias were killed in Kohistan cold blood by men wearing military uniforms. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC): “Though no militant organisation, who in the past were involved in killing the Shias, has claimed responsibility for the killings, the media has been accusing first one, and then another organisation in an attempt to cover up the alleged involvement of military men in the killings of members of the second largest sect of Islam. No statement of clarification has been forthcoming from the Pakistan Army about the men involved in the attack despite the fact that they were in military dress… The AHRC expresses the view that target killings give us a clear picture of the lack of accountability and transparency in dealing with the organised crimes done by militants organised backed by the intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies.” This is an indictment and rightfully so. Banned terrorist outfits cannot work with impunity unless they have the backing of powerful quarters. In Pakistan, the most powerful institution is the military. Since these banned outfits serve the military’s purpose of jihad, cross-border terrorism, intimidation, harassment and whatnot, nobody bothers when they kill innocent Shias, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and Sikhs.

Pakistan cannot progress without pluralism. Religious extremism has gnawed at the basic fabric of our society.

To see lawyers showering a cold blooded murderer with rose petals or banning Shezan on court premises just
because Shezan is owned by the Ahmadiyya community shows how even educated people are turning into outright zealots. Add to it the military and its proxies, and we have the deadliest mix ever. It is time to roll back this madness. It is time to stand up to these murderers.

The writer is a Pakistani journalist. Reach her at mehmal.s@gmail.com

Source: Mid-Day

Today's massacre of 20 Shias in Gilgit reminds of similar Shia massacre in Mastung, Balochistan

Related posts: AHRC Report: It is hard to refute the accusation that military is involved in killing of Shias in Pakistan

Those committing genocides in Pakistan and their handlers are repeat offenders – by Dr. Mohammad Taqi

Today’s massacre of at least 20 Shia Muslimss in Gilgit brings the tally of murdered and injured Shias close to 250 since the beginning of 2012 and aside from two dedicated articles, both in the Daily Times, and both by two honourable Pashtuns, Pakistan’s “progressive”, “liberal” and “secular” media remains defeaningly silent on this topic.  While Pakistan’s social media networks have been abuzz with Oscar awards, cricket matches, Maya Khan and Veena Malik, aside from the token tweet and sentence, Pakistan’s liberal media continues to ignore the ongoing Shia Genocide in Pakistan.

The PPP-led government remains both clueless and helpless to stop this ongoing genocide – while some of its elected representatives have spoken out against this but the world knows that it is not the elected Government in Pakistan that has enabled Shia Genocide – it is the military establishment.  The ISI’s partnership with the nexus of interconnected extremist Deobandi-Salafi groups (TTP, Jundullah, SSP-ASWJ-LeJ, JM, LeT) responsible for this has been formalized via Difa-e-Pakistan Counci (DPC). Furthermore, alternate political groups like Imran Khan’s PTI are also complicit as evidenced by their open support for DPC.

The right-wing in the Urdu vernacular press has no qualms in sympathizing with the Jihadists responsible for such acts.  However, their (mostly) pseudo-liberal counterparts in the English language segment of the media is even worse.  The latter claim to be liberal and progressive – however, after the third major Shia massacre in 2012 (Khanpur 34 killed, Parachinar 49 killed, Gilgit 20 killed), aside from the two examples mentioned, they have either remained silent, uttered the token condemnation or grossly misrepresented the issue as a routine Sunni vs Shia violence.

LUBP has provided a detailed has provided detailed casualty figures for Shias in January 2012;

http://criticalppp.com/archives/70763

This data is also available at other Shia websites and facebook groups – in case our “liberal” media can take time off from self-congratulation and the England-Pakistan cricket series.

It has also provided detailed analysis on this topic. Refer to:

Intellectual dishonesty in misrepresenting Shia massacres in Pakistan

Yet Pakistan’s “liberal” media is more at ease in writing on safe issues or those that can further material advancement.  The topic of Shia genocide is off limits because it exposes the role of Pakistan’s security establishment.  This is where Pakistan’s “liberal” media has drawn its limits.  It is excellent in token gestures, taking up “safe” causes that do not affect the interests of the military establishment. In furthering its financial interests through NGOs and heaping platitudes on each other, Pakistan’s “liberal” media is probably one of the best in the world.  However, for the embattled Shia Muslims of Pakistan, they appear to be least bothered.  When Pakistan’s liberal and progressive activists stay silent, misrepresent or provide brief, token protest on the Shia genocide taking place, it enables and encourages the Shia-killing Jihadists.

We can only hope that Pakistan’s influential English media writers take up this issue and present it to the rest of the world.

This is what today’s tragic massacre of Shia muslims may have looked like. This is the graphic video of a similar massacre that took place in Mastung, Balochistan just a few months ago.

Video report on Shia massacre in Kohistan:

**********

Dead bodies of slain Shia Muslims were brought to Gilgit

Senior political and strategic analyst Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa clearly identifies Pakistan army and its Jihadi policies as responisble for Shia massacre:

’ شاید اب ہوش آجائے‘
آخری وقت اشاعت: منگل 28 فروری 2012 ,‭ 15:54 GMT

پاکستان میں منگل کو گلگت بلتستان جانے والی ایک مسافر بس سے شیعہ فرقے سے تعلق رکھنے والے افراد کو کوہستان کے علاقے میں بس سے اتار کر نامعلوم حملہ آووروں نے گولیاں مار کر ہلاک کر دیا۔ پاکستان میں بڑھتے ہوئے فرقہ وارانہ واقعات پر بی بی سی اردو سروس کے پروگرام سیربین میں دفاعی امور کی ماہر ڈاکٹر عائشہ صدیقہ سے بات کی۔

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2012/02/120228_interview_aiyshah_fz.shtml

Today was the chehlum (end of formal 40 days of mourning) of 34 Shia Muslims who were massacred by Pakistan army backed Jihadi-sectarian terrorists (Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan SSP aka Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ASWJ) on 15 January 2012 in Khanpur (Rahimyar Khan, Punjab).

As was expected, Pakistan’s mainstream media including progressive journalists ignored a very large gathering of Shia Muslims from all over Pakistan who had gathered in Khanpur to protest against the ongoing Shia killings which is taking place in the country since late 1970s.

The speakers at the chehlum condemned the ongoing massacre of Shia Muslims at the hands of the ASWJ-SSP terrorists who have been recently reinforced through Pakistan army-backed ‘Defence of Pakistan Council’ (DPC). Shia scholars and leaders also condemned Pakistan federal government (of PPP) and the Punjab government (of PML-N) because of their failure to protect Shia Muslims in Punjab and all over Pakistan. Shia speakers expressed their full support to Sunni-Shia unity in Pakistan, and highlighted the fact that the majority of peaceful Sunni Muslims condemn barbaric terrorism by the Saudi-funded, Pakistan army-supported Jihadi-sectarian monsters (extremist Deobandis of SSP-ASWJ-DPC etc.)

Here is a video footage of the Khanpur massacre:

One can only feel anger and dispair at the civil society apologists or obfuscators of such dastardly inhuman acts.

Report in Urdu:

صوبہ پنجاب کے شہر خان پور میں سید الشہداء امام حسین علیہ السلام کے چہلم کے موقع پر ہونے والے بم دھماکے میں شہید ہونے والے شیعان مولا علی کا چہلم آج خان پور میں ہوا۔

ملک بھر سے لاکھوں کی تعداد میں شیعان حیدر کرار نے شرکت کی۔نمائندے کی رپورٹ کے مطابق خان پور میں شہدائے چہلم امام حسین علیہ السلام کی یاد اور شہداء کے چہلم کے سلسلہ میں عظیم الشان اجتماع منعقد کیا گیا جس میں ملک بھر سے لاکھوں کی تعداد میں پیروکاران امام حسین علیہ السلام نے شرکت کی اور چہلم امام حسین علیہ السلام کے موقع پر خان پور میں کالعدم لشکر جھنگوی کے دہشت گردوں کے حملے میں شہید ہونے والے شہدائے اربعین امام حسین علیہ السلام کو خراج عقیدت پیش کیا گیا۔

شہدائے اربعین امام حسین علیہ السلام کے چہلم کا اجتماع صبح 10 بجے شروع ہوا جو کہ مغرب تک جاری رہا ،اس موقع پر لاکھوں کی تعداد میں خواتین اور مردوں نے شہدائے اربعین امام حسین علیہ السلام کی قربانی پر خراج عقیدت پیش کرتے ہوئے اس عزم کا اظہار کیا کہ دین اسلام کی خاطر کسی قسم کی قربانی سے دریغ نہیں کیا جائے گا اور شہدائے اربعین امام حسین علیہ السلام کی قربانیوں کو فراموش نہیں ہونے دیں گے،اس موقع پر شرکائے چہلم نے لبیک یاحسین علیہ السلام کے فلک شگاف نعرے بھی بلند کئے ،شرکاء نے سروں پر سرخ اور سیاہ پٹیاں باندھ رکھی تھیں جن پر لبیک یا حسین علیہ السلام اور لبیک یا مہدی عج فرجہ عیاں تھا۔

واضح رہے کہ شہدائے اربعین امام حسین علیہ السلام خان پور کے چہلم کے اجتماع میں ملک بھر سے لاکھوں افراد کے ساتھ ساتھ شعرائے کرام،زاکرین اور دیگر بھی شریک ہوئے۔

Source

Video report: Shuhda Conference Khan Pur 23 Feb 2012

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=348563228508100

Chief of Pakistan army with chief of Difa-e-Pakistan Council

Outsourcing is an essential part of many businesses these days and Army being the biggest business empire in the country is doing exactly that. Give your basic duty out on contract and concentrate on the more important ventures like running bakeries, PCOs and restaurants.

I mean just imagine using the tax payers’ money to run these businesses only to fleece them again. Who are you kidding for God’s sake? And I am only talking of the Generals here, because it is the Army of the Generals, by the Generals and for the Generals, rest all being cannon fodder, fauji jawans (soldiers) and civilians alike. Remember the Kargil mis-adventure and the way they disowned their brave soldiers putting it all on the ‘jihadis’, which brings us back to our original topic.

The outsourced Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC) mainly comprises of right wing Jihadi-sectarian parties (JuD, SSP-ASWJ) and politicians (IJazul Haq, Sheikh Rashid, Imran Khan) traditionally linked with the defence establishment and variants of various banned and otherwise jihadi outfits. They brandish sophisticated weapons in their rallies and openly threaten the media with death if they were not given enough coverage. In any civilised society this alone would be enough to apprehend anyone, but not in the land of pure.

Amongst other actors in the cast list is the Napoleon of the East Lt Gen (R) Hameed Gul, who is the Godfather of the Taliban and the ‘conqueror’ of Jalalabad. Once arm in arm with the CIA, now that the dollars have dried up, he has switched sides and become the biggest critic of his masters.

The purpose of the DPC is to garner public support against the US thus bolstering their bargaining chips in the war on terror. The other purpose is to keep the anti-India sentiment alive so as to keep their own shop front open, because they know that the day we have peace with India is the day their monopoly is going to end. Let us be clear, just like the politicians, these generals can’t live without the US dollars and the so called 18 percent of the budget. They need it to maintain their lavish lifestyle, their golf courses and their luxury cars. To keep this all running they have to keep the conflict alive and the fire burning and little do they care if this fire burns a few of their own sub-ordinates and countrymen. According to Ahmed Ludhianvi of SSP-ASWJ (a main party in DPC), the purpose also is to defend Pakistan against an Iranian threat. The sectarian nature of such alliance could not be much clearer.

Little do they realise how dangerous it is that the outsourced actors are being brainwashed in the name of religion. The beautiful and peaceful religion (Islam) is being distorted to serve their purpose and in the process it is creating religious and sectarian divide which is harmful, not helpful, to the defence of Pakistan. These divisions are taking lives of innocent numerical minorities like Shias and Ahmadis every day, because the brand of religion they are taught only promotes intolerance and hate. Only yesterday (18 February 2012), at least 40 innocent Shia Muslims were slaughtered in Parachinar by a Jihadi-sectarian bigot known to be allied with Haqqani Taliban Network, a group known to have close links with SSP-ASWJ and Pakistan’s security establishment. But of course this all is taken as collateral damage in the bigger picture. Such a shame!

Coming to our premier intelligence agency which is supposedly the best in the world, albeit they couldn’t figure out that OBL was living in the heart of Abbottabad garrison. Look how inhumanly they are treating the ‘missing persons’. The mother of three of such missing brothers died a few days ago after seeing the condition of one of her sons. And look what ‘they’ have to say about them to justify the extra-judicial killings:

I question you that if they were guilty and the courts acquitted them, who gave you the right to become their judge, jury and executioner? And if you have that God given right, what stopped you from doing the same with the notorious Malik Ishaq of SSP-ASWJ, killer of at least 70 Shia Muslims and Barelvis, the guy who openly threatened judges and got witnesses killed while in jail and who now is openly seen in your DPC jalsas.

Brave Jihadi warriors of Difa-e-Pakistan Council

Related post: The banned outfit and General Hameed Gul’s Lies

Chief of banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Malik Ishaq was in attendance at the Difa-e-Pakistan Council rally in Multan, a spokesperson for the council’s member organisation Jamaatud Dawa has said.

“General (retd) Hamid Gul was wrong in denying Ishaq’s presence at the rally. He was present on stage,” said Yahya Mujahid, a spokesperson for Islamic chairty, which is blacklisted by the United Nations for its alleged ties to LeJ but not by the Pakistan government.

Gul, in an interview with Express News television channel, had categorically denied that Ishaq was present at the rally.

“It was DPC’s unanimous decision that Ishaq will not address the rally,” Mujahid told The Express Tribune on Friday. “It’s a simple rule that whoever addresses the people from stage at a DPC rally cannot be a member of a banned militant outfit.”

Mujahid was attending an emergency protest, called by the JuD outside their main mosque Jamia Qudsia in Lahore under the DPC’s banner, against resumption of Nato supply routes and trade talks with India. The council has also called a meeting of heads of member parties on February 19 in Islamabad.

Apology to media

He also apologised for statements made against the media at the council’s Karachi rally. “The statements should be condemned in the strongest terms. I, as a representative of JuD, have written letters of apology to media organisations.”

Funding

The spokesperson said that the DPC is an organised platform. “Funding [for the organisation] is provided by member parties while host parties for different rallies fund events in their own cities,” he explained. For instance, he said, JuD hosted the Lahore rally, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (Sipah-e-Sahaba) organised the one in Multan, Sheikh Rasheed hosted the Rawalpindi event and Jamat-e-Islami hosted the Karachi rally. “The nationwide networks of all member parties provide support in organisational procedures.”

Source: Express Tribune – By Rabia Mehmood

Some comments:

Salahuddin

Well done ET, as I myself watched an Interview in which Hamid Gul catagorically denied this fact and questioned the credibity of ET and the reporter, who reprted about Malik’s presence in Defa-e-Pakistan rally in Multan. When Gul was shown the photographic eveidence, he plainly refused to accept the truth and declared it as an engineered photograph. Now, can anyone tell me how such liars claim to be champion of Islam?

Khurshid

could this rainbow of such charming religious hardliners have been possible without some nudging and pushing from the right quarters? Consider the presence of Hamid Gul, Shaikh Rashid, Ijazul Haq each one with their loyalties to the”right” quarters. Consider Samiul Haq the father of the “good Taliban” and Mr. Saeed of JUD and LT fame, needing no intro to his connections. Consider also the absence of Fazlur Rehman, who has been spouting anti national security state rhetoric of late, and the identity of the patrons doesnt remain much of a mystery. But why? Why do the “boys” need these beards? Maybe not willing to put all the eggs in the skipper’s basket? Maybe the west needs to be constantly reminded why we cant “do more”. As ALice said in Wonderland, “it gets curiouser and curiouser”.