M A I N   N E W S

A VIEW FROM PAKISTAN: A TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE
Jehadis turn guns on Musharraf
Adnan Adil

Last Friday’s bomb attack on the US Consulate in Karachi killing 11 and injuring 40 was yet another reminder to President Pervez Musharraf that the jehadi outfits remain undeterred in targeting the USA and those who cooperate with it in the war against terrorism.

The January kidnapping and later murder of Daniel Pearl, the bomb explosion inside a church in Islamabad in March and the suicide attack in Karachi that killed 14 persons including 11 French citizens in May were meant to convey the same message.

A previously unknown group, Al-Qanoon (the law), has claimed responsibility for the attack. The group claiming responsibility for the blast, Al-Qanoon, issued a statement to media organisations hours after the explosion. The hand-written statement, delivered in person by group representatives, included a warning of further attacks.

It is believed that Al-Qanoon is another face of the al-Qaida, the hydra-headed monster, some of whose affiliates operate in the name of jehad while others kill in the name of sect or religion.

There are reports of the leaders and activists of the Al-Qaida having taken shelter in the tribal belt on this side of the Durand Line. Others are supposed to have fanned out into the interior of the country to link up with like-minded groups. These groups include Kashmiri jehadi organisations and anti-Shia sectarian groups.

Inspector General of Police, Sindh, Kamal Shah said the police is focusing its investigation on a suspect, Mohammad Omar, a member of the anti-Shia sectarian outfit who, he said, has provided useful information about the bomb blast and his organisation’s connections with the Al-Qaida. He said the bomb might have been detonated through a remote control. He did not rule out the involvement of Al-Qaida in the explosion.

Several Pakistani militant groups, such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, have strong ties to Osama bin Laden’s organisation. Police investigations of the Arab militants living in Lahore and arrested in April from Township and Johar Town areas revealed that they had connections with Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. They were using satellite telephones and had coded message system to communicate through Internet. Those arrested from Lahore included two person from Jordan and one from Libya, police sources say. Similarly, the Karachi police investigations found evidence of financial transactions from al-Qaida to the JeM and al-Omer organisations.

Many al-Qaeda militants have fled across the Afghan border to find shelter among supporters in Pakistan. An action against these elements is going on in the tribal areas of North and South Waziristan. According to Jehadi sources, at least 5000 Arab nationals from Saudi Arabia and Egypt are hiding in the semi-autonomous tribal belt.

In addition, there are thousands of Pakistani young men trained for Kashmir Jehad, who now have been stopped from crossing over into Jammu and Kashmir. Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, a leader of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, while addressing a public meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan on June 16 said that more than 1200 mujahideen from his organisation lost lives in the Kashmir Jehad. Families of Pakistani militants died in Kashmir Jihad were sitting next to the stage where leaders of main religious parties vowed to continue their support to Kashmir Jehad in defiance of the government’s policy of stemming the cross-overs into Jammu and Kashmir.

In last one week, Jehadi sources say, the government has forced Kashmiri militants to surrender their communication equipment that they were using to maintain link with their colleagues in the Indian-held Kashmir. Syed Salahuddin, Chairman of the Jehad Council, has said in his press statements that Kashmiris would continue Jehad in Kashmir whether Pakistan supports them or not. According to Jehadi sources, more than 20,000 militants present in Jammu and Kashmir are not in the control of Pakistani authorities.

Observers feel the recent blasts were probably aimed at both the USA and the government of President Pervez Musharraf, since Washington has been pressuring Islamabad to crack down on al-Qaida members in the tribal belt and to rein in Kashmiri militants.

Security officials say it is not unusual for new militant groups to emerge — either by splitting off from or merging with other groups, dissolving or changing names. For example, when the USA designated Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA) as a terrorist group, the organisation simply changed its name to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). Eventually, many HuM cadres split off into a new group called Jaish-e-Mohammad. Similarly, Bakht Zameen, a Kashmiri militant leader, split from Hizb-ul-Mujahideen established his group with the name of al-Badr.

The Islamabad church bombing also was committed by a previously unknown organisation, Laskar-e-Omar (LeO). Some reports claim the LeO consists of scattered Taliban, al Qaida and Pakistani sectarian killers.

Observers say the militants by attacking US assets in Pakistan, actually directed their guns at the government of Musharraf, who is struggling to balance between militant groups and demands from Washington. Musharraf maintains a tight security around him and his movements within the country are also kept top secret.

After a series of bomb explosions and killings of foreigners in Pakistan, insiders say, the US government is pressing Islamabad to allow the FBI officials in Pakistan to carry out search operations and arrest al-Qaida suspects. So far, the government has not given this permission. 

Deployment in J&K to continue
Tribune News Service

Defence Minister George Fernandes receives a flag from the Indian Army mountaineering expedition Annapurna-1 team leader, Lieut-Col. S.C. Sharma, in New Delhi on Wednesday. — PTI photo

On suggestions for a military-to-military dialogue with Islamabad as a means towards mutual troop pullback, he said, “We will go ahead as and when required” adding that the channel of hotline between the Directors-General of Military Operations of both the countries was till working.