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Jihad's new face

Jihad's new face

Author: Wilson John
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 27, 2002

Till the other day, US policy-makers were sounding very coy about Pakistan and its terror siblings. One of them called Pakistan a stalwart ally. Another hugged and patted General Pervez Musharraf on his back for his support in the war against terrorism-all within days of a dastardly attack on a church, a missionary school, a civilian bus and the US Consulate. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld refused to believe that his ally was a terrorist harbourer.

Secretary of State Colin Powell brushed aside irrefutable evidence gathered and presented by India about his friend's continued assistance to terrorist elements, including America's Most Wanted, Osama bin Laden. So it is a bit surprising and a whole lot unnerving to hear the same Mr Rumsfeld dub, seemingly without any provocation, the Jaish-e-Mohammad as one of the most dangerous terrorist organisations in the world.

We don't have any quarrels on this point. We have been telling the world about Jaish the day General Musharraf engineered the Kandahar hijacking to free Maulana Masood Azhar and Omar Saeed Sheikh. At least the Americans should not have had any doubts about the General's double game after the US Special Forces found clear documentary proof in a safe house vacated by the fleeing Al Qaeda. Though nothing much is known about the Maulana, a highly inappropriate sobriquet for a terror instigator, the world today has no doubts about his deputy Omar Sheikh, awaiting the death penalty for brutally killing the American journalist, Daniel Pearl, early this year.

It will be a mistake to label Omar Sheikh merely a killer. He is a terror mastermind. He has meticulously planned every major terrorist incident in India, including the December 13 attack on Parliament. There is proof of his role in transferring money to Mohammad Atta, prime accused in the WTC attack. He is also a prodigy of the Inter-Services Intelligence. The ISI has been utilising his organisational and planning skills to operate its Kashmir operations. Omar Sheikh is a key aide of the Maulana and a link between Jaish and the military-intelligence establishment in Islamabad.

Today, Jaish is a banned organisation and the Maulana is supposed to be incarcerated in some jail in Pakistan. The truth is the latter is enjoying state hospitality in some anonymous but well-appointed state guest house from where he has been quietly and freely reorganising his terror network. The Maulana has clout. Even the General has been hard-pressed to put a leash on him. A few days after the hijack drama at Kandahar, the Maulana organised a press conference at the Karachi Press Club and openly announced his jihad against the US, Israel and India. Thereafter, he opened offices across the country, one not very far from the private residence of the General in Karachi.

His cronies sat at public squares seeking contributions for jihad. Young men were recruited and sent to training camps set along the Pakistani-Afghan border by the ISI to train Taliban fighters. The Maulana flourished under the benign protection of the General who, under US pressure, persuaded him to sacrifice his deputy, Sheikh, for the larger cause of jihad. The quid pro quo is clear. For letting Omar Sheikh go, the the Maulana is promised a more decisive role in a new and deadlier terrorist network being established in Pakistan. Perhaps Mr Rumsfeld has an inkling of Jaish emerging as another front for the Al Qaeda.
 


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