Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

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ramana
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Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by ramana »

The state of Pakistan came into existence on August 14, 1947 after Partition from British India. Since its formation it has embarked on a collision course with India. In addition to starting three wars, the Kargil war like situation it has carried on a proxy war in Kashmir and supported terrorists movement in Punjab and elsewhere. There are reports of it providing safe sanctuary for Indian criminal underworld figures. It also seeks every opportunity to confront and challenge India in every forum. Many explanations are given for Pakistani behavior. Some blame the British for fanning the communal divide by giving separate electorates and other actions. Some blame the factors that came together at the time of Partition – the Indian Muslim elite, the West Punjabi landlord class and the East Bengal peasantry. Some others feel that the US by co-opting Pakistan in its system of alliances for its global interests also fanned the flames of obduracy. However from a study of history, Pakistan is the end product of the Islamic revivalism of the fifteenth and sixteenth century India.
The early Islamic conquest led to conversions of the local population due to various factors – force, incentives, alienation from Hindu mainstream, the simplicity of the new faith compared to the ritualistic portions of the mainstream, and the possibility to leap frog ones social status and belong to the conquering class. But the bulk of all these conversions were complete by the beginning of the Mughal period and at its maximum never exceeded twenty percent of the total population. There were pockets where the new adherents were in a majority, and it is these contiguous areas that later constituted Pakistan.
For these reasons the emphasis was on retaining the new adherents rather than new conversions. The fear was that Hinduism would absorb these new converts as one of its numerous castes and they would loose their special identity. The steps adopted included the “Islamization” of the society, seeking to attain the “Arab’ ideal and purge the society of its Hindu past and practices. The preachers who came into full force in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries bemoaned the fact that while the rulers were Islamic the state was not. They also yearned for pure form of Islam closer to its Arabic roots of the Prophet. It is this yearning that drives the state of Pakistan to declare the Ahmediyas as apostates, and show tolerance to sectarian warfare between Sunnis and Shias. They opposed the rise of indigenous rulers for they feared cutoff of the well springs of their faith from the Middle East, which happened any way in the British period. It was this imperative that drove them to invite the Afghan king Abdali to fight the Marathas at Panipat. After the Mughal collapse these teachers succeeded in coalescing the Muslim society in Northern India – the Khilafat movement, the fight for separate electorate and ultimately the formation of Pakistan. They were helped the British belief of martial races theory which helped the recruitment of people from certain regions and their geopolitical reasons. It is said that Zia Ul Haq, started the Islamization of the Pakistani Army. However I submit he was just the right person at the right time. In the late seventies the Muslim world was in ferment with the rise of the Ayotollah Khomeini in Shiite Iran and the consequent rise of Sunni fundamentalism coupled with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. So Zia was only cashing on the undercurrent of Islamic revivalism that created Pakistan to strengthen the state from external factors and his own power. One of the methods was to induct officers with a religious bent into the Army and increase the madarasa education for the general populace. This way he staved off the civilian political opposition to his military coup. The new Islamization has led to a surge in the geopolitical scene. It has contributed to the defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan and is poised to export its radical vision to the neighborhood- Kashmir, the Central Asian republics, Chinese Turkestan, and has harbored the Arab fundamentalists who fight Westernization. The US is now engaged in a war on terrorism dubbed by some as war on Islamists and the well springs are located in Pakistan.

If the reading is right then no amount of appeasement gestures like giving river waters, Kashmir or any such thing will satisfy the deep seated fear of assimilation that drives the fundamentalist mind in Pakistan.
What is required is to first remove the yoke of military dictatorship, which works in cohort with the religious leaders and controls free thought among the general public. This can be done by voluntary means with the US using its forces and economic power to effect this transition or by India inflicting a convincing defeat of the Pakistani Army. The fear of nuclear escalation inhibits the US from allowing this option to be carried out.
The other steps are a consequent to this major first step and belong to the stabilization measures genre - economic aid, assistance to reform the madarasa systems, force reduction and augmenting the police forces to enforce criminal jurisprudence etc. A secondary step would be to assure the common people of Pakistan that the people of India have accepted the partition and Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit to the Minar-e-Pakistan is an example of this. However this will not succeed unless the military dictatorship is removed for it festers the wounds of obscurantist thinking. Another needed step will be for the religious leaders of the Indian Muslims to assure the people of Pakistan that they are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and need no help.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Kaushal »

svinayak
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by svinayak »

Relavent to Indo-pak context
The word 'peace,' for example, implies to a Muslim the extension of the Dar al-Islam -- or 'House of Islam' -- to the entire world," explained Tibi, who is also a research scholar at Harvard University.

"This is completely different from the Enlightenment concept of eternal peace that dominates Western thought, a concept developed by (18th-century philosopher) Immanuel Kant."
THis was exactly what a news item in The Friday Times reported sometime back. One of the Islamists in TSP said in 'Khabarain' news that once India is converted to Islam then there will be peace. Till then Kashmir will be used to create the dispute with India. The need of a dispute is very important for their goal.

Ramana, A good overview of the Pakistan problem.
However from a study of history, Pakistan is the end product of the Islamic revivalism of the fifteenth and sixteenth century India.
Now this is correct but the Islamists consider the latest revival started at the start of the 20th century and Pakistan was the first success and Taliban govt taking complete control over Afghanistan in 1997-2000[ till the destruction of B Buddha] was final success in 20th century which layed the foundation for complete revival in the entire world for the 21st century.
The Taliban success is considered a great acheievement by the Islamist generals in the Pakistan Army and this success triggered their final assult on Kargil in 1999.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by saint »

It was in some news that mushrraf is to rein in madrassas and GF says there is a big change in infiltration [strategy?]. The very news itself stands to confirm about pakistani as a state filled with terrorists, hence a state sponsoring terrorism, but US feels pervez is doing the right job and give him time. Giving him time, will of course irritate India, sure but falls well under uncle plan.

Will the pakis again be back on our nerves? How much help will the super-duper sensor fencing gonna help?

Q: what will happen to pakistan and its wmds if musharaf disappears suddenly?
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Sanjay Joshi »

Whats the point of this thread?
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by RanjanRoy »

Ramana: ... After the Mughal collapse these teachers succeeded in coalescing the Muslim society in Northern India – the Khilafat movement , the fight for separate electorate and ultimately the formation of Pakistan. ...
From what I have come to know Khilafat movement was an isolated overreaction by a only handful activist from Bombay, and looked foolish and died a quick death since the Turks, the Arabs as well the muslim heartland of un-divided India did not see any issue with end of Ottoman empire. The Khilafat activits did not get any support for their cause beyond handful in Bombay.

May want to compare note on the subject with A/C Sen.
Whats the point of this thread?
Understanding what drives & sustains the islamist-terrorist fountain head in Pakistan, so that thought-process for problem resolution can be better focused.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Kuttan »

What does "Khilafat" mean? I recall that the message on the "Al Mujahirroun" web page a couple of years ago described the "proceedings" of a "Conference for Khilafat in Pakistan". It also called for a coup in Pakistan... because the TSP govt was not fundoo enough.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by kgoan »

"Khilafat" means "Caliphate". Does that help?

No? Well if I recall my saturday matinees correctly, these people are lamenting the fact that hollywood no longer makes family oriented films about the "Arabian Nights", "Ali Baba", "Sinbad" etc. Hollywood, and the rest of the world, has moved onto "Star Wars" etc.

I think they want Lollywood to take over but are wary of the low production qualities as well as the possible Hollywood takeover of Lollywood.

Not that I blame them. Personally, I reckon they're right to worry.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Kuttan »

Kgoan: Thanks. I thought TSP was already a Caliphate - at least they've got the harem part right, with Houri Mush and all the other Houri-Generals dancing for Armitage and other visiting Caliphs.

Ramana: Essentially same title, same thoughts:

http://washtimes.com/upi-breaking/17062002-043525-4513r.htm

WASHINGTON TIMES, JUNE 17, 2002

ANALYSIS: AL QAIDA'S PRIVILEGED SANCTUARY

By Arnaud de Borchgrave
UPI Editor-at-Large

Excerpts:
Is Pakistan taking Afghanistan's place as the new fulcrum of transnational terrorism? Intelligence sources in Washington, London, Paris and Rome agree that al Qaida's underground network in Pakistan is functioning with the complicity of the clergy and intelligence services. ...... Musharraf's much-publicized crackdown on Islamist extremists is
a dismal failure .... some 10,000 Afghan Taliban cadres and followers and about 5,000 al Qaida fighters are now hiding in Pakistan "with the full support of intelligence authorities, as well as
religious and tribal groups,".....

The latest reports from Pakistan are ringing alarm bells throughout the Western intelligence community ( N^3 comment: could these be wake-up calls, I wonder? :p ). Disinformation about U.S. intentions is being circulated by "midlevel" Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency operatives and some field grade army officers. Samples:

-- U.S. forces are not to be trusted "at all."
Pakistan's nuclear program is the key objective.

-- China, working closely with ISI, has saved the Pakistani nuclear program several times by informing Pakistani intelligence of American, Israeli and Indian plans to destroy it.

-- India and Israel will try again to attack Pakistan's nuclear facilities...

-- The United States wants to neutralize Peshawar .. and Quetta ... where religious groups
are working with frontier tribes to neutralize U.S. actions.

-- The U.S. wants to divide Pakistan into seven separate states -- Punjab, Sind, Northwest Frontier Province, Baluchistan, Fata (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), Karachi and Kashmir. Kashmir, under the U.S. plan, is to become an independent state.

... [ stuff about "Kashmir independence" deleted ] ....

-- The United States and India want Pakistan to become a small Nepal-type state under Indian influence.

-- India will be rewarded with a U.N. Security Council seat for agreeing to Kashmir independence.

-- Out of 4,000-plus workers for NGOs in Pakistan, approximately 1,000 have been identified by ISI as U.S. intelligence agents.. trying "at all levels" to destroy the unity of Pakistani armed forces.

-- The United States and Israel concocted the 9/11 plot in order to produce
conditions favorable for "a new world order controlled by America."
..

...

The government plan to clean up the madrassa (religious school) network has been
largely ignored. Interior Ministry figures show that there are some 6,000 plus
"important" madrassas...

....clergy continues to teach that it is the sacred duty to resist the American, Israeli and Indian infidels that want Islam's destruction. The demise of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan is
repeatedly cited as "proof" of what the mullahs claim.

Punjab .. has 2,500 madrassas, 80 percent of them in the city of Lahore. Some 600,000 students are still being taught to hate America and Americans. The U.S. has allocated $34 million for madrassa reform during the current fiscal year. Poor families --40 percent of 145 million live below the poverty line -- favor the schools because they provide free meals and lodgings. Mullahs talk proudly about their common heritage, culture and religion and say that the financial strength of the entire "Muslim Ummah" is behind them. The
madrassa system is almost entirely dependent on subsidies from Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates and Libya.

... Anti-American forces are "slowly but surely coalescing against American aggression and is using the Palestine issue to join hands with al Qaida as a new Taliban movement,"...
....

In Pakistan, al Qaida's Pakistan network is expanding rapidly with full
intelligence and private financial support,

... Osama bin Laden has been living in Peshawar since the second week in December, "where he is among friends and admirers and protected by several thousand Pakistani sympathizers." More than 80 percent of Pakistanis, according to a public opinion poll last fall, believe that bin Laden is a "freedom fighter," and not a "terrorist."

..... Al Qaida's underground in Pakistan emerged unscathed from
Operation Enduring Freedom across the 1,300-mile border.
....
Prior to 9/11, Musharraf estimated that Pakistan harbored about 1.4 million extremists -- or one percent of the population -- who were holding the rest of the population hostage. Since 9/11, Musharraf conceded that 10 percent to 15 percent of the population was opposed to his pro-American foreign policy. That would be 10 million to 14 million people whose sympathies are with America's enemies.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Ashutosh »

Originally posted by narayanan:

The U.S. has allocated $34 million for madrassa reform during the current fiscal year.
Now now ... this is a direct funding and abetting of cross-border terrorism by the USA against India ... how and when did this happen?
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Umrao »


"Khilafat" means "Caliphate". Does that help?
...
No? Well if I recall my saturday matinees correctly, these people are lamenting the fact that hollywood no longer makes family oriented films about the "Arabian Nights", "Ali Baba", "Sinbad" etc.
Yes I remember in one of the matinees, I saw (bunking school) there was a song sequence in Caliphate, "Naach mere Jaan fatafat.... baat meri maan...." (mehmood) :)
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by member_4405 »

Epicentre of terrorism is in a country so close yet so far . This countrry is special , one hand it implements modern capitalism and on the other hand it still carries out age old commie atrocities such as detaining innocent citizens and killing them for their organs .Still haven't realised which country this is ? No it's not your everyday evil brutal authoritarian regime led countries , it's no other than TSoPRC . If you still haven't got the answer go to Henan province and you will know what i mean . Till then adios. :D
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Sunil »

The word `Khilafa' has several connotations.

The basic notion central to Islamic teaching is that any Islamic scholar, sufficiently well versed in knowledge of religious issues may take on students. These students or mureeds constitute his `Khilafa'. He is the head of the `Khilafa' and he decides which of his Mureeds inherits the mantle of leadership after him.

The concept of the Khilafa in theory apparently can be extended to cover the entire `Islamic World'. Therefore it is possible to imagine a system of moral (subsequently extended to political, social and economic) thought that covers the `Islamic World'. This way the `Islamic World' would constitute the `Khilafa' of a sufficiently advanced and wise Islamic scholar. Such a scholar would also take the title of the Amir-al-Mumin (the Leader of the Faithful).

After the upheavals that followed the passing of Prophet Mohammed, this system evolved as a way of maintaining a measure of stablity in early Islamic societies. However with the passage of time, and with the gradual saturation of the expansion of Islamic empires the `Khilafa' became a sort of moral standard to be borne at all times by `Islamic Rulers' in order to maintain their moral ascendancy over their populations.

This led some to introduce the notion of the `Khilafa' into various items of daily use and practice. It is per such pressures that the name of the `Khalifa' came to be impressed on coinage and called out in the `Khutba'(The friday sermon). Some rulers went further taking titles such as Nasir-e-Amir-al-Mumin (servant of the Amir-al-Mumin).

It is important to note that the `Khilafa' was a theoretical construct. It was by no means impervious to political pressures and the title of the Amir-al-Mumin changed hands frequently after political unrest. In some case such entire sects broke away from the Amir and formed their own moral-political-economic-social structure (such as the Shites of Iran).

Also not all `Islamic Rulers' felt particularly obliged to accept the moral ascendancy of Amir-al-Mumin. Some in India were known to have taken titles of `Sultan-e-Adil' which flew contrary to the norm of the time. There were also times when there was no recognized Amir-al-mumin and a `notional'/`hypothetical' Khilafa was taken to exist and the affairs of the state were carried out.

With the beginning of the renaissance, europe began to expand towards the `Islamic World'. The power of the `Khilafa' gradually declined and its importance in political circles decreased. However as a concept it remained close the hearts of several Islamic thinkers. This may explain why the termination of the Uthmani Khilafa by the British in 1917-18 led to a near revolt in many parts of the world. The effects of this revolt were first felt in the more educated sections of Islamic peoples. In a relatively short time in places like India where the Islamic ruling classes had only been freshly deposed, the idea that the removal of the Uthmani Khilafa is an affront to Islam trickled down into the masses. This was the start of the `Khilafat Movement' in India. In India the movement also was mixed into several other `Islamic' social reform agendas that certain intellectuals were interested in pursuing. By contrast in the Arab world the `Khalifa's' demise was quietly welcomed by the Arab princes who were quite happy to exercise their newfound moral independence and tried one after another to establish themselves as the titular head of Islam. The House of Saud succeeded where others (such as the Hashemites) failed.

Subsequently several movements developed in Arabic societies which drew on the administrative classes of their Uthmani Khilafa for the strength. These movements propagated a millenarist vision which promised the salvation of Islamist society upon re-establishing the `Khilafa'. These movements were dealt with very severely in Arab countries. However over the past 40 years some of these movements have survived and morphed into segments of the political spectrum in some Arab countries. There is an increasing presence of these movements in Central and South eastern asia. Pakistan too has seen the presence of these movements.

The connections between these movements and the other extremists movements of Pakistan is not very clearly in evidence. It is however difficult to imagine that there isn't a common thread running through them all. Thus whenever I read the word `Khilafa' in the utterances of a Pakistani Islamist (such as Al-Muhajiroun), i tend to see it as alluding to a greater `moral unity' between Pakistani's interests and those of similar forces in the `Islamic World'.

Sorry for this rather long rant, but basically I am loathe to make or see oversimplifications.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by jrjrao »

After such an outstanding lesson by Sunil, I would like to quote this from the second post of this thread..
Above all, Pakistan and Islam are inseparable — whatever the opinion of the alienate, deviant and comprador elite of Pakistan, who have a track record of sycophancy in misleading every government...It is high time that the Government did some serious domestic damage repair in regard to Pakistan’s core concerns: Islam, Kashmir and Jehad.

The key to the future of Islam, the Muslim world and Pakistan lies collectively in Tauhid (unity) and Jehad.

Gen Pervez Musharraf has to prove himself not only in his relations with India, as it keeps insisting, but much more in regard to Pakistan, itself—by standing up to it like a Momin and not succumbing to the pro-Indian international pressure....A Muslim is nothing, if not a Mujahid—especially a soldier. Failing that, he is a deviant comprador. Islam and the Muslim world would like to remember its sons as Ghazis, Mujahids, and if absolutely unavoidable, even as the sacred Shuhada. But certainly not as deviants and compradors.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Kuttan »

Hmmm!! Clearly that goes far beyond what was covered by the Maulavi in my 5th-grade lessons (which, sad to say, is as far as my formal Islamic religious education went ).

As for the Al Mujahiroun web page, what they were advocating was the kinds of "wisdom" and "morality" which tended to have pictures of swords associated with them, and what they were advocating was not at all out of line with what the Taliban were practising at the time. Also, most shockingly, they did not seem willing to associate the "wisdom" part with General Musharraf. Perhaps now, after all those gushing fan columns by Pamela con Stable, they might reconsider this...
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Kuttan »

Well .. I guess I might as well let everyone know how ignorant I am - what is a "comprador"? Somehow it apears not to be associate with the same stupidity as "matador"...

Is "comprador" a brave Pakistani General who subscribes to the theory that "downhill racing is the better part of valor"?
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Nandu »

Originally posted by narayanan:
what is a "comprador"?
http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=comprador

A native-born agent in China and certain other Asian countries formerly employed by a foreign business to serve as a collaborator or intermediary in commercial transactions.

i.e. Mushy is a CIA/RAW/Mossad agent.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by ramana »

Arun, While the Khilafat movement was marignal in its impact on restoring it in Turkey (yes the Turkish emporer took that title and it was being abolished by Attaturk) it had a seminal impact on some Indian muslims and served to rally them under a unifying cause. htis was later converted not the movement ofr Pakistan. So that is the importance of the Khilafat movement to India.

The thread was slow in responses but has started filling up. These were my thoughts while driving to work and had penned them. Glad to see it has some stalwarts responding to it.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by svinayak »

Gen Pervez Musharraf has to prove himself not only in his relations with India, as it keeps insisting, but much more in regard to Pakistan, itself—by standing up to it like a Momin
This will tell how they will take the next step.
The next step would be roping in the sole moral protecter of the Momin - KSA. Pak is roping in KSA using the OIC resolution and also Mullahs in KSA to start preaching jihad against Hindus in perticular.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by rajkumar »

What is the point of this thread?

While I don't mind having a discussion about Pakistan being the epicentre of dirty deeds, I object most strongly to the diversion of this thread into religion.

If we wish to discuss Islam then it should be on the Culture forum and not here. Anyway are we not ignoring the BR golden rule that religion should not be discussed on this forum.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Atish »

There has been 0 discussion of religion in this thread. Only historical movements and stuff. Discussing political behaviour of religious communities is allowed I believe.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Kaushal »

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-yeor061902.asp

Jihad Conquests
Islamism today.

By Bat Ye’or and Andrew Bostom


"Historically, non-Muslims conquered by jihad wars were governed by the laws of "dhimmitude." As opposed to flimsy notions of "tolerance" and "protection," dhimmitude was the actual sociopolitical, and economic status of these vanquished peoples (dhimmis), including Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Buddhists. Unfortunately, this "tolerance" and "protection" was afforded only upon submission to Islamic domination by a "Pact" — or Dhimma — which imposed degrading and discriminatory regulations. The main principles of dhimmitude are: (i) the inequality of rights in all domains between Muslims and dhimmis; (ii) the social and economic discrimination against the dhimmis; (iii) the humiliation and vulnerability of the dhimmis. Numerous documents from both Islamic sources and the dhimmi peoples, establish the origins and aims of these nefarious regulations, including their contemporary incarnations (for example, in Iran, Egypt, the Sudan, Pakistan, and of course in Saudi Arabia, and under the Taliban in Afghanistan)... "

— Bat Ye'or is the author of Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide. Andrew G. Bostom, MD, MS is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University School of Medicine
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by ramana »

For sake of completeness.

ramana
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posted 20 June 2002 10:21 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Review: Our Ally, our problem
-----------------------------------------
June 18, 2002 8:45 a.m.
Our Ally, Our Problem
Pakistan is an exceptionally hard case — here’s what to do.

By Marin J. Strmecki, From the July 1, 2002, issue of National Review

As the Bush administration moves into the next phases of the war against terrorism, it will need to confront a profoundly difficult problem: Pakistan is at the same time an indispensable partner in that war and a principal and continuing source of the terrorist threat. The al Qaeda network, created in Pakistan in 1989, was nurtured by Islamists in the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) and the military. Ultimate victory in the current conflict will require a concerted strategy to purge the Pakistani government of the elements that facilitated the rise of al Qaeda.

The genesis of Pakistan's role in the jihadist terror network was President Zia ul-Haq's shift toward Islamist ideology in the 1980s. Interpreted in the West merely as an attempt to legitimize his military rule, Zia's adoption of Islamist views was in fact part of a wider political and geostrategic vision: He sought to use radical Islam to conquer Afghanistan through proxy forces and to create an alliance with states such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. The objective was to create an Islamist coalition — one that combined Pakistani nuclear weapons and the oil wealth of the Persian Gulf — that would serve as a "dagger" aimed at India and that would expand its influence into Central Asia.

(Please read my comment in the thread pakistan- epicenter of terrorism about Zia)

By the early 1980s, the ISI was busily executing Zia's vision. U.S. aid to the Afghan resistance was channeled overwhelmingly to fundamentalist groups within that movement. A partnership was struck between the ISI and Saudi Arabia's intelligence service to fund a program to bring jihadists to Pakistan from throughout the Islamic world, to be trained in paramilitary tactics and to participate in the war in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden took up residence in Peshawar in 1984 to run the so-called Services Office that facilitated the involvement of foreign fighters; it was this office that eventually morphed into al Qaeda. At the same time, Saudi money supported the creation of thousands of madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan, whose best graduates were to be recruited into the jihadist movement.

In the mid 1990s, these efforts culminated in the ISI's forging the alliance between al Qaeda and the Taliban regime, itself a client-state of Pakistan. The ISI arranged the initial meetings between bin Laden and Mullah Omar, brokered their partnership, and facilitated the fusion of their military and paramilitary organizations. The ISI benefited from the arrangement by training Kashmiri guerrillas in the al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.

While President Pervez Musharraf replaced the leaders of the ISI after September 11, evidence suggests that the Islamist elements associated with the agency are not reconciled to defeat. Hamid Gul, the former head of the ISI who is said to retain influence over the true believers in the agency, has vocally opposed Musharraf's cooperation with the United States. Al Qaeda operatives and leaders — including the recently arrested Abu Zubaida and perhaps even bin Laden — have been hiding in safe houses in Pakistan, many of which were established under the auspices of the ISI.

The threat in Pakistan stems not from popular support for the Islamist cause — radical parties typically receive 5 percent of the vote in national elections — but from Islamist influence in the military and intelligence services. Therefore, the U.S. response should focus on finding points of leverage to purge this influence and on returning Pakistan to the moderate and secular path from which it departed under Zia.

Musharraf is a vital — but profoundly flawed — vehicle for such a strategy. He was the leader of Pakistan's reckless military adventure at Kargil in 1999 and was involved in Islamist charities that funneled support to al Qaeda. At the beginning of the current war, he only reluctantly supported the United States, describing his decision as the lesser of two evils. Yet as a result of this choice, he has crossed the Rubicon. The Islamists in his government and society view him as a traitor; he cannot go back. This means that the United States is in an ideal position to enforce its demands on him.

To date, the Bush administration's strategy vis — vis Pakistan has fluctuated between living in denial about Islamabad's role in terrorism and playing hardball by levying non-negotiable demands on its leader. What is needed is a rollback strategy — one that offers help to address the internal and external pressures on Musharraf's government at the price of cleaning out the Islamist influences in key institutions.

First, the United States should do what is necessary to destroy the dream of a rising Islamist coalition that has animated Pakistani radicals since Zia. While the destruction of the Taliban regime was a vital first step, the United States should work to ensure that a moderate, pro-Western regime takes power and succeeds in Afghanistan. The United States should also use its influence with such a government to promote friendly relations with Pakistan and ease Islamabad's fear of a two-front threat from India and Afghanistan.

The last hope of Islamist opponents of Musharraf is to stage a comeback in Afghanistan through a Pashtun nationalist backlash against the Tajik-dominated interim government created under U.S. power. The danger is real if the Bush administration fails to adjust its policies. Yet if the United States uses the current Afghan tribal assembly to redistribute control over the power ministries — and particularly if it creates a nonpolitical and professional military — the likelihood of a Taliban comeback will be substantially undercut.

At the same time, the United States should use the current crisis between Islamabad and New Delhi to destroy the prospects that Pakistan can make gains in Kashmir by employing Islamist paramilitary groups. In recent weeks, President Bush has rightly insisted that Musharraf live up to his pledges of last December to shut down the ISI-created Kashmiri insurgent organizations operating in Pakistan. Musharraf's backsliding on those commitments — for example, by arresting and then releasing the radical Islamists behind these movements or by recreating them under new names — led to the current crisis.

Because Pakistan cannot win a war with India, Musharraf is in a box. The United States should intervene diplomatically to ease his predicament, but exact a price for its help. Furthermore, the Bush administration should also make clear that the U.S. will address Islamabad's interest in resolving the Kashmir question in the future only if the Islamist insurgencies are permanently curtailed. By these actions, the United States can demonstrate that Zia's Islamist vision for achieving greatness for Pakistan is a dead end.

Second, the United States should engage Musharraf in an effort to purge Pakistan's military and intelligence services of dangerous influences. Below the senior leadership, the ISI remains a hornet's nest of radical Islamists. This state within a state has close ties with retired ISI personnel — particularly those around Hamid Gul — and Islamist political parties. They appear to be trying to foment general insecurity in order to reduce the Western presence that serves to support Musharraf's government. The recent attacks on churches, the murder of Daniel Pearl, and the fatal bombing of French engineers may stem from this strategy. Their hope is that, once isolated, Musharraf will be more easily toppled through a combination of street protests and an internal coup.

Third, the Bush administration should be far more generous in offering to help rebuild Pakistan's secular school system. The thousands of madrassas in Pakistan funded by Saudi Arabia create a breeding ground for Islamist opposition to Musharraf and recruits for the international jihadist movement. The initial $36.5 million U.S. aid program is just a down payment on what is needed.

Fourth, the United States needs to look for ways to restore civilian and constitutional rule in Pakistan without destabilizing the country. Though Pakistan has always been a difficult partner even under civilian governments, the natural allies for the United States are its secular political parties, not the generals with imperial aspirations. The process of transition should be structured so that Musharraf has the burden of dismantling the Islamist presence in the Pakistani government, ending ISI interference in domestic politics, and creating the mechanisms for genuine civilian control over national-security policy. Only then will a shift to civilian rule involve a genuine transfer of power.

A strategy for rollback of Islamist power in Pakistan is as important as the defeat of the Taliban regime. The Taliban and al Qaeda — both created in Pakistan with the assistance of the ISI — were manifestations of a radical political project that has not yet been fully defeated. Stability in the region — and victory in the war against terrorism — can only come once the imperial dream of Zia ul-Haq has finally died.

— Marin J. Strmecki is vice president and director of programs at the Smith Richardson Foundation.
----------------------
Couldnt have been written better!!!
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by ramana »

The Jihad conquests article is interesting for two reasons. Inspite of globalization it has a narrow focus on Judeo-Christians and ignores the Hindus who suffered equally if not more under jihad. The Hindus were treated worse than dhimmis as they were not of the book. The compromise of the Middle ages, due to the inability to turn the majority in India, was to grant honoraray dhimmi status to Hindus for the Islamic rulers to be stable. Also the Islamic conquest in India was after the decline of Islam in the West. What I mean is Averroes was long dead and gone when the Ghauri horde was doing its depradations in India.

Secondly the article gives a glimmer of hope. If Averroes and Ibn Khaldun had interpreted jihad in those terms than a similar great mind can reinterpret the softer side of jihad and internalize it. If one takes the long view it was the rise of Wahabi and Deobandi schools in the late eighteenth century that gave rise to militant islam. And even this would not have made difference if the US had not propped up the KSA for its oil wealth and roped their riches(indirectly the West's due to high oil prices) for their Afghan war against the Soviet Union. Now that the Cold War is over the US should see how it can bring about change in KSA and TSP the twin towers of militant Islam.

For this great mind to be heard the Wahabi school has to be de-emphasized for it has its roots in KSA. Deobandi being from India has marginal impact out side South Asia.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by saint »

bin-laden-ism of pakistan, or pakism of bin-laden, quite associative!
link </font></li>[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> They describe Western-style liberal democracies as anti-Islam since they advocate that sovereignty lies in the people. According to these organisations, sovereignty lies in God and the clerics, as the interpreters of Islam, should have the decisive role in law-making and implementation. They look upon the successful functioning of the Indian democracy as a corrupting influence on Pakistan's civil society and elite. </font></li>[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> They say that they do not recognise national frontiers and that they recognise only the frontiers of the Ummah and assert the right of the Muslims to go and wage a jihad (holy war) in any country where, in their perception, Muslims are suppressed, even if it be in a Muslim country.
</font></li>[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> They describe Pakistan's atomic bomb as the Ummah's and advocate that Pakistan's bomb and nuclear technology should be available to any Muslim country which needs them to protect itself.
</font></li>[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> They support bin Laden's argument that the Muslims have the right and even a religious obligation to acquire and even use Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), if necessary, to protect their religion.
</font></li>[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Their office-bearers and cadres are largely Pakistani Punjabis. Their training and logistics infrastructure was based in Afghanistan and Pakistan before October 7, 2001, and is now totally based in Pakistani territory after they were driven out of Afghanistan by the international coalition led by the USA. Many of the training camps in Taliban-controlled territory destroyed by the USA's cruise missile strikes in August,1998, belonged to the HUM and the HUJI
</font></li>[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> All of them look upon the US, India and Israel as the principal enemies of Islam and are members (except the Al Badr, which is not) of bin Laden's International Islamic Front For Jehad (Crusade) against the USA and Israel, which was formed in 1998. The HUM was the first to join it in 1998 and the others followed later. Their cadres, believed to have been trained by bin Laden's 055 Brigade in Afghan territory, played an active role in assisting the Al Qaeda and the Taliban initially in their fight against the Northern Alliance before October 7, 2001, and then in their fight against the international coalition led by the USA thereafter.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Sunil »

I just wrote an email to someone and there i said something like this..

Pakistan has two basic tendencies; an explosive tendency and an implosive tendency. When the explosive tendency dominates, Pakistan exports violence to other regions of the world. As India and Afghanistan are right next to it, they have faced the brunt of this. If the implosive tendency dominates, Pakistani society chews itself up, it attacks its own institutions and people. The phases dominated by implosive and explosive tendencies occur in a cyclic fashion.

In each implosive phase, fearing the complete collapse of Pakistani society, the west pours resources into Pakistan. This sudden rush of resources in some way engineers the next explosive phase.

After having given this more thought, I feel I should add the following:

The implosive phase usually moves along internal communal and sectarian lines. In this phase the machinery of the state is used to systematically suppress the rights of the minorities in Pakistan.

The explosive phase usually radiates along Pan-Islamic lines. Pan-Islam is not new to the region, it was the driving force behind the military expansion of the Abbasid Khilafat, it was the vehicle for numerous `revivals' in the regions subcontinental Islamic communities, and it was a convenient tool in the hands of wily politicians since the time of the Sultans of the Tughlak Dynasty.

With the advent of modern technology and global connectivity, the Pakistanis have found a global reach for their Pan-Islamist produce.

Sept 11 was a clear and unignorable sign of these times.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by jrjrao »

A history lesson, as a Paki sees it..

Contains, among others, this falsehood - Kashmiris rose up in revolt because of "their continued deprivations, and attempts to convert them into a minority by projected immigration from India"... :roll:

Why are they so angry?

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/dmag1.htm
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by svinayak »


Originally posted by Sunil Sainis:
Pakistan has two basic tendencies; an explosive tendency and an implosive tendency. When the explosive tendency dominates, Pakistan exports violence to other regions of the world. As India and Afghanistan are right next to it, they have faced the brunt of this. If the implosive tendency dominates, Pakistani society chews itself up, it attacks its own institutions and people. The phases dominated by implosive and explosive tendencies occur in a cyclic fashion.
Sunil, You have come close to the explanation given by scholars such as Daniel Pipes and Patricia Crones. In some of the books I have glanced through such as on Political Islam these scholars have been quoted to explain the nature of Islamic states in the medieval age and the debate between a strong society and a weak state vs a strong state and a weak society. If you refer to some of these books you may get some more ideas.

Pakistan is behaving just like a classic Islamic state in modern times and alternates between weak govt ( not enough support from liberal middle class) and predatory behaviour over its neighbours ( India and Afghanistan).
When Paki establishment loses its support from the most stable segment of its society such as liberal middle class outside powers have come to stabilize it. Paki military has usually taken over to protect its interest and then the cycle starts over again when the military regime itself loses the support as in present case[due to monkey trap this is always the case for every regime; civilian or military]. Then the regime will take support from the fundamentalists and starts its predatory behaviour.

Understate
gives a good explanation of the nature of the support from the Paki society.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Kaushal »

ramana What I mean is Averroes was long dead and gone when the Ghauri horde was doing its depredations in India.

Not entirely true, Averroes died in 1198 CE

"Averroes
(Abul Walid Mahommed Ibn Achmed, Ibn Mahommed Ibn Roschd).

Arabian philosopher, astronomer, and writer on jurisprudence; born at Cordova, 1126; died at Morocco, 1198. Ibn Roschd, or Averroes, as he was called by the Latins, was educated in his native city, where his father and grandfather had held the office of cadi (judge in civil affairs) and had played an important part in the political history of Andalusia. He devoted himself to jurisprudence, medicine, and mathematics, as well as to philosophy and theology. Under the Califs Abu Jacub Jusuf and his son, Jacub Al Mansur, he enjoyed extraordinary favor at court and was entrusted with several important civil offices at Morocco, Seville, and Cordova. "

His death coincides almost exactly with the conquests of Ghori. Islam had not declined by then. It was in fact in full flower. Ibn Khaldun is almost 2 centuries later. It took a hundred years after the death of Ibn Khaldun in 1406 CE (who spent a considerable time in Spain) for Queen Isabella to drive out the last Moors out of spain. She used the resulting booty to finance Christopher Columbus' voyages to the Americas. But it is true that the Moghuls (Babar in 1526) conquered India at a time when Islam in Arabia was in decline and the leadership of the Islamic world had fallen to the Turkish world which had spread from Chinese Turkestan to what is modern day Turkey and even beyond into Eastern Europe,

kaushal
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by ramana »

Kaushal I stand corrected about Averroes date of death. But if he is the high point of Islamic intellectuals then the Islamic inroads into India were while it was on the wane.

Here is an opinion in Rediff, from Israel on how Kashmir fits into the global jihadi policy.

Messrs Musharraf and Arafat

-------------------
Pinhas Inbari
Messrs Musharraf and Arafat
The head of the Israeli Council of National Security, Uzi Dayan, was very cautious when he came back to Israel from another Indian tour some time back. "Our developing relations with India are not against anybody," he said, meaning Pakistan.



He also recalled that after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf came to power there were modest attempts to improve Israeli relations with Islamabad.

Nevertheless, nobody believes that the Israeli-Indian relationship is a platonic one. In the world after September 11, local conflicts like Kashmir, the West Bank or Kosovo have assumed new dimensions that have a direct implication on Indo-Israeli relations. The Kashmir issue is no longer a local dispute.

Sources in the Israeli military intelligence feel that Kashmir and Jenin have turned into two fronts in the same global war. It's no coincidence that the Palestinian defenders of the Jenin refugee camp called it "Kandahar", with Al Qaeda starting to raise its Palestinian profile. The commanders of the Jenin fighters were in Damascus, they said. Syria and Iran are allies, with links to arch terrorist Imad Fayez Mugniyah, known to be close to Al Qaeda.

Just three years ago, everybody was wondering how Yasser Arafat was going to declare a Palestinian state -- after a negotiated process with the Israelis or unilaterally? Today, the issue has gone beyond Palestinian independence to the Islamic notion of liberating Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque. It is strange that the US is trying to push the problem back to the secular course of establishing a state, while Arafat is reluctant to co-operate.

It was not Israel and India, but radical Islam that made the choice. Radical Islam could not tolerate a Jewish state dominating Muslim territory, while Indians are regarded as pagans, war with whom is obligatory. Jews are tolerated only as "Ahl a-Dhimma" -- the people under protection, which is to say that Jews can be tolerated only under Muslim rule, not vice-versa.

As the somewhat vague term of "radical Islam" started getting a sharper definition, India and Israel realised that they had a common enemy in the Wahabi school of Islam, the dominant religious theology of Saudi Arabia and the most fundamental Muslim thinking and practice today. Sources in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office say they are wary of Riyadh's peace plan for West Asia, given that Saudi religious societies still finance terror in the West Bank.

The obvious fingerprints of Wahabism can easily be discerned both in Kashmir and the West Bank as well as in other fronts of the global war like Chechnya, Kosovo and other places where Al Qaeda has a presence.

In fact, there are growing doubts now among experts whether bin Laden is truly a "Saudi dissident" as described by the formal government in Riyadh, or still a part and parcel of the Wahabi clergy that dominates the oil kingdom.

Keeping this in mind, the fact that President Musharraf hurried to Saudi Arabia the moment India and Pakistan eased the tension of war brinkmanship assumes extra meaning. Arafat too has an invitation to visit Riyadh the moment the tense relations with Israel ease enough to permit him to leave.

Why Riyadh? Is it to get Saudi help in dismantling the Wahabite madrassas in Musharraf's case, or gathering Saudi help in a possible attempt to stop the suicide bombings in Arafat's case?

In both cases India and Israel are facing similar problems -- whether to believe the Saudi rhetoric of peace initiatives, including fatwas or religious decrees against suicide bombings, or the actual continuing financing of madrassas and the families of suicide bombers.

A realistic examination of the situation leads us to believe that the Saudi rhetoric, including the famous peace plan of Crown Prince Abdullah, is only a smokescreen for the real policy of spreading Islam.

What brings India and Israel even closer is the fact that Arabs are now found on the frontlines in Kashmir and the West Bank, and elements at the top of the Saudi regime are increasingly seen as the strategic depth of both lines of confrontation.

Musharraf and Arafat are both very shrewd. They conceal their relations with extreme Islam with one hand, while wooing their Western "friends" -- the US in Musharraf's case and the European Union in Arafat's case -- with the other.

Although there are many differences between Arafat and Musharraf, their policies have similar characteristics. Both are despots who need conflicts with neighbours to shift attention away from them -- Arafat because of his corruption and Musharraf because his swift shift towards the US has angered radical groups who prefer the Taliban.

Both use terror as a tool, which pose the same problems to India and Israel.

And while India faces a nuclear threat from Pakistan, Israel faces a future nuclear threat from Iran, which already supports terror against Israel, both inside the West Bank and from Lebanon.

But while India is probably hoping for Israeli assistance to neutralise the nuclear threat posed by Pakistan, she is trying to convince Israel that the threat from Iran is not imminent, and it is better to wait until internal developments in Iran ensure that Israeli concerns are assuaged. Anyway, it is strange to perceive that Iran is no longer regarded as the main threat to global stability.

Israel can contribute to India's defences from its long experience with terror and atomic threats. The Arrow missiles and the Green Pine radars, which together form an effective anti-missile system, are a case in point. Though Israel needs a battery of these systems to defend itself against Iraqi threats, security sources said India's request for more is likely to be considered favourably. Other force multipliers sold to India include the advanced unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, with sophisticated cameras and capable of firing missiles, one of which was shot down by Pakistan recently.

New Delhi and Jerusalem are also keen to prevent nuclear know-how from reaching terror groups. Will the growing co-operation between Israel and India push Musharraf to transfer such know-how to Al Qaeda? He probably will do it if he's convinced that Israel might help India bomb Pakistani nuclear installations. This is most probably why Uzi Dayan calmed Pakistani concerns. There will be a limit to how far Israel can go hand in hand with India. Defence? Okay. Offence? Probably not.

Pinhas Inbari is a senior Israeli journalist, analyst and author.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by JE Menon »

The term Musharafat was aptly, and a long time ago, coined right here on BRF.
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Kaushal »

Sindh is fast losing its uniqueness and is falling prey to the predatory fundamentalism of the Paki theocracy. The following was posted by Yvette Rosser at a membership site, Kaushal.

Please see the article below about the continuing Talibanization of
Sindh. I have spent considerable time in Sindh.... and loved every
minute. I drove with Sindhi friends all over the interior...
wonderful people, very spiritual and pluralistic in their outlook.
But their culture is under siege. There must be some international
attention paid to the terrible impact of Pakistani sponsored Sunni
Fundamentalism on Sindh's Sufi (Shah Latif) traditions.

When I was in Sindh in Spring 2000, I spent a few days with a farm
family near Larkana (about 60 kilometers from Mohenjo Daro). Here is
an excerpt from what I wrote about that meeting:

[....] (In this paragraph I am discussing the Talibanization of
Pakistani culture)

I [...] stayed with a Sindhi family at their home outside a village
in Larkana District, in February 2000. I was told by a middle-aged
farmer that these days they are "afraid to go to the mosque" they may
be killed, "shot in the back while praying". They are afraid "NOT to
go to the mosque" they may be killed for not being outwardly
orthodox. He told me "ten years ago people went to the mosque when
they wanted to, Eid, Ramzan, Jamaah, but no one forced you to go". He
added, "Now Mullahs from Panjab, trained by the Taliban, have come to
our village and built a madrassah next to the mosque. Three boys from
the village have gone to fight in Kashmir and Chechnya". He added
that when the boys leave the madrassah, "Some of them have become
quite intolerant. Sindhis have never been intolerant". He lamented,
"We never had this situation before, we have always been Sindhi
Muslims, now we have to fake our religiosity just to protect our
lives. At home, we sing Shah Latif couplets, we are Sufis". Indeed
his children chanted some poems for me written by the famous Sindhi
mystic, Shah Latif of Bhit.

This gentleman-farmer in Larkana district, who lives with his four
brothers and their wives and children in a long serai type rustic mud
home with a thatched roof confided, "our names are Muslim but our
chromosomes are Buddhist". He laughed and said that he wouldn't have
said that "in the presence of a Pakistani", whom he equates with
Panjabis. He didn't consider himself to be "Pakistani", he thinks of
himself as a Sindhi. Nor did he think of himself as strictly Muslim,
he was a Sufi. However he did say that he had to "hide his real
identity" or he would endanger his life, family, and property. There
is an intense fear among many people in Pakistan, not just the
Westernized middle class, that the Taliban is coming to town. In some
places, their arrival is past tense.

[note: I have not returned to Pakistan since the post-September 11th
"War on Terrorism", but emails I received from my friends in Sindh
indicated a collective feeling of hopeful anticipation that the
assault on the Taliban might help to disempower some of the
fundamentalists operating in their community. The following article
may indicate that their hopes are being dashed.... Sindh is the least
orthodox of the provinces of Pakistan... a soft underbelly for the
predatory fundamentalists.]

Approved-By: agha@C...
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 03:42:47 -0700
Reply-To: Zoya S <zoyaspk@Y...>
Sender: "Sindhi Language, Culture and Society" <SINDH-L@l...>
From: Zoya S <zoyaspk@Y...>
Subject: Pol: Pakistan-backed mullah terrorizes Sindhis
To: SINDH-L@l...

Molvi Ahmed Mian Hamadi a local boss of Lashker-e-Tayaba and a
recruiter of Islamic terrorists and fundamentalists has become a death
threat to the common rural villagers and simple Muslims of different
sects here in lower Sindh, Pakistan. This Tando Adam (District
Sanghar) based Molvi Hamadi has been publicly claiming in Juma
(Friday) sermons in mosques and public gatherings that those who have
not volunteered themselves for Jehad in Afghanistan and Kashmir
physically or haven't supported them through funding are murtids and
their marriages have already been broken and they have no right to
offer prayers in mosques. He is the man behind more than 3 dozens of
complaints, police reports and fatwas which sentenced hundreds of
innocent people behind bars under penal sections of 295-A, B and C.

In 1998 this terrorist Mulla Hamadi was the complainant in a criminal
case against Ayub Khoso, a young Sindhi poet and teacher who was
sentenced to 17 years rigorous imprisonment by the Mirpurkhas
Anti-Terrorist Court for allegedly having written a column in a
newspaper on Homosexuality in Muslim Society. The owner of the
[Sindhi] newspaper "Alakh" Qazi Zahoor was also sentenced to life
imprisonment and the newspaper was closed down.

Supported by local administration, ISI and law enforcing authorities
this Molvi Ahmed Mian Hamadi had also lodged criminal complaints
against innocent villagers Khalid Leghari, Jalal Chandio, Ghulam
Haider Baloch and others. Though several dozens of religious activist
have been arrested in Pakistan during the recent operation but no body
has dared to touch or even question this local head of religious
terrorism about his recruiting agency and sectarian, repressive and
vindictive secret operations.

Since his arrival from Kabul in late 2001 Molvi Hamdai has always been
escorted by a dozens of fanatic militants armed with AK-47 and other
automatic weapons and he never fails to issue death and violence
threats to Police Officials, Judges and Deputy Commissioners to attain
his religious and terrorist goals.

Zoya
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Re: Pakistan - Epicenter of Terrorism

Post by Umrao »

G8 tells Pakistan to stop terrorist acts


AGENCIES [ FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2002 11:22:21 PM ]

CALGARY: The Group of Eight (G8) nations urged Pakistan on Thursday to prevent terrorists operating from its soil, in brief comments issued at the end of a two-day summit in the Canadian Rockies.

“We agreed that Pakistan must put a permanent stop to terrorist activity originating from territory under its control,” said an official text of a statement by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, summing up the summit as its host and chairman.
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