Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki | Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki | Jamaat-ud-Dawah | India-Pakistan | 20020617 | ||||
Maulana Abdul Rehman Makki | Maulana Abdul Rehman Makki | Markaz-ul-Dawa-al-Irshad | Afghanistan/South Asia | 20050715 |
India-Pakistan |
Days after being designated terrorist by UNSC, Makki denies links with Al-Qaeda |
2023-01-22 |
[OneIndia] China has often used its technical hold to block proposals by India to designated several persons as global terrorists. Off late, Beijing finds itself isolated at the UNSC. Global terrorist, Abdul Rehman Makki released a video on Thursday from the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore in which he denies any links with the al-Qaeda or Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... The UN Security Council's 1267 ISIS (Da'esh) and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee on Monday designated Makki brother in law of Lashkar-e-Tayiba Chief Hafiz Saeed |
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India-Pakistan | |||
Hafiz Saeed has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan | |||
2020-11-20 | |||
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed ![]() has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an anti-terrorism court in Punjab. Saeed was arrested on July 17 last year in the terror financing cases. Earlier in February 2020, he was sentenced to 11 year imprisonment by an anti-terrorism court in two terror financing cases. According to reports, The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Lahore on Thursday sentenced four leaders of Jamat-ud-Dawa, including its chief Hafiz Saeed, in two more cases. He is lodged at the Lahore’s high-security Kot Lakhpat jail. The ATC also ordered the concerned authorities to confiscate Saeed’s property. Furthermore, a fine of Rs1,10,000 has also been imposed on him. Hafiz Saeed’s close aide, Abdul Rehman Makki
24 out of the total 41 cases registered against the JuD leaders have been decided by the ATC courts. Four cases have been decided against Saeed so far.
...the Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... (LeT), the Death Eater group blamed by the United States and India for the 2008 Mumbai siege, to 10 years in prison on two charges of terrorism financing, his lawyer said. The sentences for the two charges - five years each - will run concurrently. Saeed is already in jail serving two sentences of five-and-a-half-years each, handed down to him in February this year, which means he will not serve any extra jail time. "An anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced ten-and-a-half years imprisonment to chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... Hafiz Saeed, his deputy Zafar Iqbal, and front man Yahya Mujahid on charges of terror financing," Saeed's lawyer Imran Fazal Gill told Rooters. Appeals have been filed against previous sentences, Gill said. Saeed has been arrested and released several times over the past decade. He denies any involvement with militancy, including the 2008 Mumbai siege in which 160 people were killed, including Americans. The United States offered a reward of $10 million for information leading to the conviction of Saeed. The conviction comes as Pakistain tries to avoid punitive blacklisting by global dirty money watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which judges a country's ability to combat illicit financing, including to Death Eater organizations. Pakistain has remained on the "grey list" since 2018. In FATF's last review in October, Pakistain was urged to complete an internationally agreed action plan by February 2021 and to demonstrate that terrorism financing probes resulted in effective sanctions. Saeed's lawyer said his client was convicted under FATF pressure.
Related: Abdul Rehman Makki: 2020-06-19 Terror financing and terrorism: ATC awards jail term to four JD leaders Abdul Rehman Makki: 2019-10-01 LHC allows Hafiz Saeed's case to be shifted from Gujranwala to Lahore Abdul Rehman Makki: 2019-07-25 Gujranwala court extends Hafiz Saeed's judicial remand for 14 days Related: Zafar Iqbal: 2020-06-19 Terror financing and terrorism: ATC awards jail term to four JD leaders Zafar Iqbal: 2020-02-13 Hafiz Saeed sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for terror financing Zafar Iqbal: 2019-11-04 'Efforts on to bring back killers of Bangabandhu, 4 national leaders' Related: Yahya Mujahid: 2017-11-26 US warns of 'damage to bilateral ties, Pakistan’s reputation' over Hafiz Saeed's release Yahya Mujahid: 2017-11-24 Pakistan releases US-wanted militant suspect on court order Yahya Mujahid: 2016-04-08 Sharia court dispenses ‘justice’ in Lahore Related: Financial Action Task Force: 2020-08-26 NA approves new bill against money laundering amid opposition's protest Financial Action Task Force: 2020-08-25 Pakistan Invites Taliban, China to Discuss Afghanistan Peace Financial Action Task Force: 2020-08-23 Pakistan to Comply with UN Sanctions against over 80 terrorists including Haqqani, Taliban and TTP members | |||
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India-Pakistan |
Terror financing and terrorism: ATC awards jail term to four JD leaders |
2020-06-19 |
[The News (Pak)] An anti-terrorism court on Thursday convicted four leaders of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD) over charges of terror financing and terrorism. ATC judge Ejaz Ahmad Butter awarded jail terms to Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Yahya Aziz and Abdul Islam all members of Tanzeem al-Anfaal Trust which is a subsidiary organization of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... The court awarded five years jail term each to Malik Zafar Iqbal and Muhammad Yahya Aziz along with imposition of a fine of Rs 50,000. In case of default in payment of fine, the convicts will face a further six months jail. Zafar and Yahya have been convicted under Section 11-N read with 11-1 (2) (b) Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 (money laundering, illegal fundraising and buying properties from raised funds). Malik Zafar Iqbal was the secretary of the al-Anfaal Trust, also run by the JuD. The prosecution team led by Deputy Prosecutor General Abdul Rauf Wattoo proved its case before the court that the Madrasa Sattaria property in discussion was in use of the convicts, which is a reasonable cause to suspect that it was used for terror financing or terrorism. It is penitent to mention here that the court in its order stated that the sentence awarded to Malik Zafar Iqbal shall run concurrently with his previous sentence. Previously, Zafar was convicted for five and half years along with JD Chief Hafiz Saeed ![]() The court has awarded one year jail term each to Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki and Abdul Islam along with imposition of a fine of Rs 20,000 each. In case of default in payment of fine, the convicts will face a further jail term of 10 days. Both have been convicted as the prosecution proved that they abetted in obtaining the property known as Madrasa Sattaria. Deputy Prosecutor Abdul Rauf Wattoo while talking to The News said that the convicts were active members of the banned al-Anfaal Trust from 2001 to 2018 and the prosecution proved its case. Elaborating the case, Rauf stated that any banned outfit cannot purchase, construct and run any piece of land. If it does so, it comes under the definition of terror financing and terrorism. The court while hearing the case on a daily basis concluded the trial in just nine days, Rauf added. |
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India-Pakistan |
Gujranwala court extends Hafiz Saeed's judicial remand for 14 days |
2019-07-25 |
![]() [DAWN] A court in Gujranwala on Wednesday extended the judicial remand of Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed for 14 days. Special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge Syed Ali Imran ordered the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to complete its investigation and present a formal chalan in court on August 7. The court said that Saeed should also be presented in court on Aug 7. Ahead of the JuD chief's appearance, strict security arrangements were made inside and outside the court premises with Anti-Riot Police, Dolphin Force and Elite Force personnel as well as police officials being deployed. Following his arrest on July 17, Saeed had been sent to jail on seven-day judicial remand. He had been arrested in connection with a terrorism financing case while on his way from Lahore to Gujranwala. Six suspects ‐ Saeed, Mohammad Ali of Malikwal, Abdul Ghaffar of Okara, Hafiz Masood of Johar Town (Lahore), Ameer Hamza of Al Faisal Town and Malik Zafar Iqbal of Sheikhupura ‐ were nominated in the FIR registered against them on July 1 on a complaint of the CTD. On July 3, the top 13 leaders of the banned JuD, including Saeed and Naib Emir Abdul Rehman Makki, were booked in nearly two dozen cases for terror financing and money laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The CTD, which registered the cases in five cities of Punjab, declared that the JuD was financing terrorism from the massive funds collected through non-profit organizations and trusts, including al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust, Muaz Bin Jabal Trust, etc. |
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India-Pakistan |
Hafiz Saeed, aides move court against terror financing charges |
2019-07-14 |
[DAWN] Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and his seven aides have approached the Lahore High Court challenging a case carrying charge of terror financing lodged by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) by ’wrongly’ showing them as members of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba![]() Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... (LeT). In a joint petition filed through senior lawyer A.K Dogar, the JuD leaders submitted that the facts narrated in the impugned FIR lodged on July 1, 2019 illegally described them as members of the LeT and levelled unlawful allegation of terror financing. The counsel referred to a 2009 judgment by a full bench of the LHC against the detention of Hafiz Saeed...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... at that time and stated that the petitioners were not members of the LeT. He stated that the LHC through another judgment issued in 2003 had held that Saeed had left the leadership of LeT on Dec 24, 2001 while the organization was banned on Jan 14, 2002. The lawyer pleaded that the claim of the government that the petitioners were the members of the LeT stood disapproved in the light of the two judgments. Therefore, he asked the court to quash the impugned FIR lodged by the CTD for being unlawful and of no legal effect. The other petitioners include Muhammad Ayub Sheikh, Zafar Iqbal, Syed Luqman Ali Shah, Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Abdul Salam, Abdul Ghaffar and Abdul Qudoos Shahid. The federation through the secretary ministry of interior, Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard 2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers 3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... government through home department and the SHO CTD regional headquarters Lahore have been made party in the petition. |
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India-Pakistan |
Hafiz Saeed’s brother-in-law among two JuD men detained |
2019-05-17 |
[DAWN] The Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard 2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers 3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... government has detained Naib Emir of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD) organization, Abdul Rehman Makki, along with another big shot Mohammad Shahbaz after the police believed their activities posed a threat to peace and tranquillity in the country. The action was taken after the JuD big shots in their speeches criticised the government’s action against outfits to comply with the requirement of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). An official privy to the information told Dawn that the detention order of Makki and Shahbaz were issued by Lahore Deputy Commissioner Saleha Saeed under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance. The police detained them for 90 days and sent them to the Camp Jail, he said. ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD The official said Makki is the brother-in-law of Hafiz Saeed ![]() ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... and he was detained from Lahore along with his senior fellow. |
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India-Pakistan |
'India be declared terrorist country' |
2013-01-23 |
[Dawn] Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD) leadership on Monday demanded India should be declared a 'terrorist country' after its home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's admission that Hindu terrorist organizations were involved in the tragic incidents of torching Samjhota Express, besides Maligaon and Makkah mosque incidents. "The Indian interior minister's confession about involvement of Hindu thug and terrorist organizations in various tragedies, such as Samjhota Express burning and other incidents has proved that India is promoting terrorism. So the world should now take up this matter very seriously by declaring it a terrorist country," JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ![]() ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... told news hounds at a presser at Jamia Masjid Al-Qadsia, Chauburji. Flanked by Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Maulana Ameer Hamza, Hafiz Muhammad Masood, Yahya Mujahid and other JuD leaders, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed urged the United States to start drone attacks on India too as Hindu terrorist groups were active there as per Indian minister's statement. He accused India and the US of planning to hit Pakistain's nuclear programme. Giving a free hand to American CIA with regard to drone attacks in Pakistain was a part of this planning, Saeed alleged. "If the US is serious and sincere in eliminating terrorism in the region, it should immediately initiate drone attacks on training centres of thug Hindu terrorist organizations," he said. He questioned the US leadership for not imposing a ban on Indian terrorist groups and singling out Pakistain in this regard. The JuD head accused the Indian army of being also involved in terrorist activities in Pakistain. He said it had been proved that the Indian terrorist groups were also involved in dozens of terrorist activities in Balochistan ![]() ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... , Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and other areas of Pakistain. He said India had always accused Pak religious organizations of being involved in terrorism. "Though India accused us of being involved in Mumbai attacks and terrorism across the Line of Control (LoC), its claims had proved wrong. And now confession of its own minister has made everything crystal clear before all," the JuD leader said. He urged the government to take up the issue of torching Samjhota Express at the UN Security Council, adding the Pakistain should also seek handover of the culprits involved in the tragedy. |
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India-Pakistan |
Has the Lashkar-e-Taiba split as well? |
2010-11-03 |
[Pak Daily Times] The NATO and ISAF command in Afghanistan has recently witnessed a new kind of enemy, which, according to a NATO commander, "is not the Taliban or the Haqqani group", Daily Times confirmed. Officials confirm the presence of a new, more modern and sophisticated Punjabi Taliban in Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Binny's house in Chitral... of Afghanistan. They are a more beturbanned goon section of the Pakistain-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who had broken off from their mother organisation and refused to take orders from LeT supremo, Hafiz Saeed. In reality, this rebellious group, which had just split from the LeT, is the old Tehreekul Mujahideen (TM) and a faction of the previously split Kairun Naas (KN) of the LeT, which had been formed by the more fanatical Ahl-e-Hadith that held the Kashmire Conference in 1990, attended by both Hafiz Saeed and Professor Sajid Mir. Daily Times investigations reveal two reasons behind the split: Pak intelligence agencies have finally decided to split the jihadi groups as a policy to make them weaker, and Jamaatud Dawa (JD), LeT, TM and KN split as they had become too powerful; sectarian and ideological tensions within the Ahl-e-Hadith faction about the concept of jihad, as the more fanatical group fighting in Afghanistan is more into the Arab Mujahideen camp. It is to be noted that previously a faction split from the JD in 2004 when armed festivities broke out in the premises of its headquarters, and the breakaway faction, KN, vowed to kill Hafiz Saeed, the JD head. Saeed had previously joined the Afghan jihad pretty late in 1987 on the insistence of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who had traditionally headed the operational part of the LeT. Organisational structures of the JD and LeT were severely hurt by accusations from within the JD about Hafiz Saeed's involvement in nepotism, corruption, his second marriage to a fallen comrade's widow, which became a personal issue with Prof Iqbal, a top JD council member, who himself married an underage Baltistani girl. In a series of blunders, Saeed appointed his brother-in-law, Maulana Abdul Rehman Makki, then a teacher at Medina University in Soddy Arabia, second in command of JD, which did not go down well with a lot of people, especially with Lakhvi, as it was seen as an attempt by Saeed to control the finances of JD. In 2001, Saeed also came under fire when he renamed Markaz Dawat Wal Irshad as Jamaatud Dawa, and separated it from LeT. Lakhvi disapproved of the decision then and Daily Times can confirm that he has finally fallen out with the JD chief now and is in-charge of most of JD's properties in Sindh and directly controls the Muridke centre, popularly known as 'Markaz-e-Taiba'. Lakhvi, said to be the criminal mastermind behind the Mumbai attacks, has developed links with Arab cut-throats in Pakistain, where he married his sister off with the top al Qaeda terrorist, Abdul Rehman Sherahi. He was the one who helped Lakhvi connect with top al Qaeda and Arab leaders, and heavily invested in LeT's infrastructure. It should also be taken into account that the Jamaat Ahl-e-Hadith also opposed the formation of Markaz Dawat Wal Irshad (JD) because of possible Saudi support to it, which did not happen. JD was also barred from recruiting students from the Ahl-e-Hadith madrassas as they were under the control of Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith and openly supported by the Saudis. And it looks now, confirmed a former spy chief, "that the new rogue part of JD fighting in Pakistain could well be those who were behind 26/11 in Mumbai, you never know." Interior Ministry officials confirmed to Daily Times about an American request to probe into the affairs of many Pak jihadis who are joining various Arab and Afghan forces in Afghanistan and FATA to carry out attacks on the ISAF forces, especially in Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Binny's house in Chitral... of Afghanistan. |
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India-Pakistan |
Jihadi rally held in Pakistani Kashmir |
2010-02-04 |
NEW DELHI: An anti-India jehadi rally to express "solidarity with Kashmir" was organised Thursday in Pakistan-administered Kashmir by the Jama'at-ud-Dawaah (JuD), a banned frontal organisation of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit. New Delhi is keeping a close watch on the Muzaffarabad meeting "Yakjehti-e-Kashmir" (Solidarity with Kashmir) the JuD held after lying low for over a year following the Mumbai terror attacks. The gathering began Thursday and is likely to go on for a couple of days. "Let us see the resolutions they adopt after this meeting," said a home ministry official. The meeting is expected to be attended by top jehadi leaders including Hizbul Mujahideen commander Syed Salahuddin and JuD leader Abdul Rehman Makki. To be addressed by LeT commander and JuD's chief of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir chapter Abdul Aziz Alvi, it is seen as the terror outfit's stepped up approach to shift its focus back on Jammu and Kashmir. LeT chief Haafiz Saeed, blamed by India as one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks, is expected to address a similar rally in Islamabad Friday, an official said. Former chief of Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Hamid Gul, an invitee to the conference, said the Pakistan government was aware about the jehadi rally and India's unhappiness did not matter. "If India is feeling unhappy, let them (be)," Gul told news channel Times Now. He said the meeting was "an important human cause" and India should "face the reality in Kashmir". Denying that the JuD, banned by the UN, was a terror outfit, Gul said: "India and Pakistan should make clear the distinction between terrorists and freedom fighters." The meeting comes as foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are likely to meet after Home Minister P. Chidambaram's expected visit to Islamabad later this month, brightening the chances of resumption of the composite dialogue that stalled after the 26/11 terror attacks. |
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India-Pakistan | ||
Delhi stunned: UK & China stall move to blacklist Masood Azhar | ||
2009-05-31 | ||
New Delhi: Barely seven months after the Mumbai attacks, Indian efforts in the United Nations to place sanctions on Jaish-e-Mohammad founder Maulana Masood Azhar have received a major setback. In a surprise move, the United Kingdom has joined hands with China to block the Indian request to proscribe both Azhar and Azam Cheema, the Lashkar-e-Toiba operative accused in the Mumbai train blasts, under the UN's "Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions" resolution (1267).
What has stunned India is the UK's position because the Jaish as an outfit is already banned by the UN and so it is only logical for Azhar to be put on that list. It's learnt that London has asked for "fresh evidence" and "more details" while placing the request on a procedural hold. China has taken a similar position.
As a result of that action, Pakistan was forced to take action against Saeed, who was detained and the JuD offices were sealed. A case is now underway in Pakistan where Saeed is challenging his detention while the Pakistan government is saying that it is only following a UN decision. India had hoped similar action would be possible against Azhar, who was released after the Kandhar hijack and has since then been in Pakistan. Subsequently, he was also named as the man behind the 2002 attack on Parliament. He is also one case where the usual tussle for "evidence" with Pakistan may not become such an issue because he was released under duress through an act of terror. Pakistan, however, has denied his presence in its territory even though security agencies here have detailed information about the new house he has built in Bahawalpur, an account written by a visiting Pakistani gave a detailed account of how the Jaish set-up had grown in the city. Several Jaish terrorists nabbed in India, including those plotting the abduction of Rahul Gandhi, have given information about Azhar's activities in Pakistan. Azam Cheema, on the other hand, was in charge of India operations in the LeT and those held for the Mumbai train blasts had been trained by him. Cheema has a farmhouse, according to sources, outside Bahawalpur and even runs a training facility there. However, he is also employed as a teacher of Islamic studies in the Zaranwala Degree College. Of late, Cheema has been keeping a low profile while Yousuf alia Muzammil had emerged as the in-charge of operations in India. On both these cases, India was confident of securing a ban. India had also moved a third request in the UN against Abdul Rehman Makki, a noted ideologue of the LeT who was handling JuD's relations abroad and is now effectively heading the outfit after the crackdown. Makki figured in the interrogation of many LeT trained terrorists, including some of Indian origin. He has a profile of a motivator with effective oratory skills. The fate of this request is still not clear, said sources. | ||
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India-Pakistan |
Pakistani Islamists call for renewed jihad |
2008-06-19 |
NEW DELHI: Pakistans Islamist press has thrown its weight behind a group of mid-level and senior officers in the armed forces, who have been pressuring Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General Pervez Ashfaq Kiyani to terminate counter-terrorism operations in the North West Frontier Province and resume support for the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir. Last weeks air-strike on a Pakistan border post in the Mohmand Agency, in which several soldiers were killed, led jihadist leaders and commentators to call an end to Islamabads cooperation with the United States and to demand that it wind down the détente process with India, which they claim is working to exterminate Pakistan. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of the Lashkar-e-Taibas parent religious body, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, called on June 12 for Pakistan to give a tit-for-tat reply to the United States. It could do this, he suggested, by dissociating itself from the war on terror and joining the mujahideen to fight in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Saeeds deputy and key Lashkar military tactician, Abdul Rehman Makki, speaking to a congregation at Islamabads Jamia Masjid Quba the same evening, went one step further, asking that the Pakistan government should snap ties with the U.S. and Europe and wage an open jihad against them. In similar vein, the Daily Jasarats Friday Special released on the same day as Mr. Makkis speech called for Pakistan to abandon the war on terror and concentrate on the liberation of Kashmir through jihad. The money that the U.S. provides us for fighting the war on terror, the newspaper editorially argued, is nothing compared to the losses we have suffered. By fighting the war on terror, we only compounded our miseries. Pakistani jihadists have been telling their audiences the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir is essential to the nations survival. Nawa-i-Waqt, for example, complained that India was seeking to choke Pakistans water sources, India has eaten the mother of our rivers Kashmir, it said. We should stop talking peace with India, it proceeded, We should strengthen the mujahideen. We should wage jihad against India, otherwise it will turn Pakistan into a barren land. Positions like these are not new. Just last month, for example, Saeed claimed that the enemies of Islam are giving India unlimited resources so that it can construct dams on Pakistani rivers. He asserted that the Crusaders, the Jews, and the Hindus all have united against the Muslims, and launched the war on terror which is in fact a pretext to impose a horrible war to further the nefarious goals of the enemies of Islam. Saeed demanded that Pakistani rulers should restore the trust of the Kashmiris by adhering to the policy of jihad. Kashmir is not an integral part of India. It is an integral part of Pakistan! The nation will not allow the sacrifices of more than a hundred thousand Kashmiris to be disregarded and overlooked. Nida-i-Millat, another influential Islamist newspaper, called in its May 22, 2008, issue for an end to the growing popular culture exchanges which have characterised the détente process. So long as India does not end its illegal occupation of Kashmir, the newspaper said, there should be no trade, economic and cultural ties with it, a criticism of Peoples Party of Pakistan chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who has made clear he wishes to enlarge bilateral trade and people-to-people contact independently of dialogue on the conflict. India has been subjugating Kashmir for the last 60 years, the Nida-i-Millat argued, and is committing atrocities against our Kashmiri brothers. Around 52 dams are being constructed on the waters of occupied Kashmir. This will turn our land into a barren desert. India is conspiring to destroy us, but we are importing their cheap culture. Islamist polemic of this type is targeted at mid-level officers in the Pakistan army, who have been worn down by their gruelling counter-terrorism campaigns in the North West Frontier Province. Products of the new-model army constructed during the regime of General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, with the aid of neoconservative religious organisations, many of the officers see themselves as guardians not just of the state of Pakistan, but Islam itself. President Pervez Musharrafs decision to side with the U.S. after the events of September 11, 2001, was seen as a betrayal of the anti-India, pro-jihad postures which bound the army to him during his coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Islamists within the Pakistan army also have the tactical support of influential old-school nationalists, including several retired Directors-General who believe President Musharrafs policies have opened up existence-threatening fault-lines which can only be healed by an accommodation with the religious right. |
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