Musharraf And Terrorism

In an earlier paper titled Musharraf,bin Laden & the Lashkar, we had, inter alia, stated as follows about thelinks of Gen.Pervez Musharraf, the self-reinstated Chief of the Army Staff (COAS),the self-styled Chief Executive and the self-promoted President of Pakistan,with Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), theHarkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), terroristorganisations active in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

"Musharraf denies any links of the Pakistan Army and theInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with the LET and other jihadis.  Whatmore, he denies their very presence in Pakistani territory.  On June 24, afortnight after the famous rebuke of the Ulema of June 5, which was moreshadow-boxing than reality on the eve of the Washington visit of Mr.Abul Sattar,Major-Gen.Rashid Quereshi, the media spokesman of Musharraf, was asked about theactivities of the LET and other jihadi organisations.  He replied withoutbatting an eye-lid: " No group operating in Kashmir has any base inPakistan." ("The Hindu" of June 25).

"In the past, Musharraf had been saying that if there wasprogress on the Kashmir issue in the bilateral talks with India, he might appealto the jihadis to deescalate their activities. Now, his spokesmen have beensaying that since these are indigenous Kashmiri organisations, Pakistan has noinfluence over them just as they have been telling the US that Pakistan has noinfluence over the Taliban and bin Laden.

"Pamela Constable of the "Washington Post", whowas one of the foreign correspondents briefed by Musharraf last week on theforthcoming summit, has reported as follows: "Musharraf brushed asidequestions about whether he would rein in armed Islamic groups that supportfighters in Kashmir, insisting that the Kashmiri insurgency is"indigenous".

"It is, therefore, likely that whatever be the outcome ofthe forthcoming summit, Pakistan will continue its proxy war against Indiathrough its jihadi surrogates even while denying any links with or control overthem.  Any optimism of a reduction in violence and cross-border terrorismas a result of the summit would be misplaced.  Musharraf will continue toplay his double game---overtly friendly, warm and seemingly accommodating andcovertly continuing to make our security forces bleed.  To expect anythingdifferent from him and to lower our guard against him could be suicidal. India will continue to pay a heavy price for its failure to evolve and implementconsistently an effective counter proxy war policy.  The policy of "kabinaram, kabi garam" (sometimes soft, sometimes hard) doesn't pay againstPakistan.  It will only confirm Musharraf in his perception that India is asoft State, which lends itself to easy manipulation."

During his televised breakfast discussions with Indian editorsat Agra on July 16 and his press conference at Islamabad on July 20, Musharrafdescribed the terrorists operating in J & K as "indigenousfreedom-fighters" and denied that they were based in Pakistan or that theywere receiving any assistance from Pakistan.  A similar stand was taken byAshraf Jehangir Qazi, the Pakistani High Commissioner in New Delhi, during a TVinterview on July 22 when he was asked about the post-summit massacre of someHindu pilgrims going on their annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave by the AlUmar Mujahideen and the massacre of the Hindu residents, including women andchildren, of a village in the Doda district of Jammu by the LET on July 22.

In its issues of February 13,1995, and March 27,1995, the"News" of Pakistan had carried two detailed investigative reports byKamran Khan, a well-known Pakistani journalist, on an international terroristnetwork consisting of the HUM (then known as the Harkat-ul-Ansar) and otherIslamic terrorist organisations operating from Pakistani territory with theknowledge and connivance of the Pakistani authorities.  He reported thatabout 200 HUM members from Pakistan had died in clashes with the Indian securityforces in J & K since 1991 and that its cadres were also active with the AbuSayyaf group in Southern Philippines and with the terrorists in Chechnya. He also brought out the links of these organisations with Ramzi Yousuf, nowundergoing imprisonment in the US for his role in the New York World TradeCentre bombing in February, 1993, and their role in the explosion at a holyshrine at Mashhad in Iran on June 20,1994, killing 70 people and in trainingSaudi fundamentalist elements opposed to the ruling family.

Subsequently, a number of other reports from equallywell-known Pakistani journalists and published in the Pakistani press broughtout in great detail the role of the Pakistani Army and the ISI in sponsoringterrorism against the Indian security forces in J & K in order to achievetheir political objective of annexing J & K without the direct involvementof the Pakistan Army.

During the Kargil war of 1999 too, Musharraf used theseterrorist groups to initially occupy the mountain heights before sending thePakistan Army.  In the transcript of the telephone conversation betweenLt.Gen.Mohammed Aziz, then Chief of the General Staff (CGS) at the GHQ, andMusharraf, then on a visit to Beijing, which was released by the Government ofIndia, Musharraf was assured by Aziz about his effective control over theterrorists in the following words: "The scruff of their neck is in ourhands."

The US State Department's annual report on Patterns of GlobalTerrorism during 2000 released by Gen. Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, onApril 30,2001, gave the following detailed account of Pakistani involvement withthe terrorist groups in J & K and Afghanistan:

• "The Government of Pakistan increased its support to the Taliban and continued its support to militant groups active in Indian-held Kashmir, such as the Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM), some of which engaged in terrorism.
  
• "Islamic extremists from around the world--including North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central, South, and Southeast Asia--continued to use Afghanistan as a training ground and base of operations for their worldwide terrorist activities in 2000.  The Taliban, which controlled most Afghan territory, permitted the operation of training and indoctrination facilities for non-Afghans and provided logistics support to members of various terrorist organizations and mujahidin, including those waging jihads (holy wars) in Central Asia, Chechnya, and Kashmir.
  
• "Throughout 2000 the Taliban continued to host Usama Bin Ladin despite UN sanctions and international pressure to hand him over to stand trial in the United States or a third country.  In a serious and ongoing dialogue with the Taliban, the United States repeatedly made clear to the Taliban that it would be held responsible for any terrorist attacks undertaken by Bin Ladin while he is in its territory.
  
• "Massacres of civilians in Kashmir during March and August were attributed to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) and other militant groups.
  
• "Pakistan's military government, headed by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, continued previous Pakistani Government support of the Kashmir insurgency, and Kashmiri militant groups continued to operate in Pakistan, raising funds and recruiting new cadre.  Several of these groups were responsible for attacks against civilians in Indian-held Kashmir, and the largest of the groups, the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, claimed responsibility for a suicide car-bomb attack against an Indian garrison in Srinagar in April.
  
• "In addition, the Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, continues to be active in Pakistan without discouragement by the Government of Pakistan.  Members of the group were associated with the hijacking in December 1999 of an Air India (author's comment: it was actually the Indian Airlines) flight that resulted in the release from an Indian jail of former HUM leader Maulana Masood Azhar.  Azhar since has founded his own Kashmiri militant group,Jaish-e-Mohammed, and publicly has threatened the United States.
  
• "The United States remains concerned about reports of continued Pakistani support for the Taliban's military operations in Afghanistan. Credible reporting indicates that Pakistan is providing the Taliban with materiel, fuel, funding, technical assistance, and military advisers.  Pakistan has not prevented large numbers of Pakistani nationals from moving into Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban.  Islamabad also failed to take effective steps to curb the activities of certain madrassas, or religious schools, that serve as recruiting grounds for terrorism.  Pakistan publicly and privately said it intends to comply fully with UNSCR 1333, which imposes an arms embargo on the Taliban.
  
• "In South Asia, the United States has been increasingly concerned about reports of Pakistani support to terrorist groups and elements active in Kashmir, as well as Pakistani support, especially military support, to the Taliban, which continues to harbor terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan."

Details Of HUM, JEM And LET

The State Department's report gave the following details ofthe HUM, the JEM and the LET: 

The HUM
Description
"Formerly known as the Harakat ul-Ansar, the HUM is anIslamic militant group based in Pakistan that operates primarily in Kashmir. Long-time leader of the group, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, in mid-February steppeddown as HUM emir, turning the reins over to the popular Kashmiri commander andhis second-in-command, Farooq Kashmiri. Khalil, who has been linked to Bin Ladinand signed his fatwa in February 1998 calling for attacks on US and Westerninterests, assumed the position of HUM Secretary General.  Continued tooperate terrorist training camps in eastern Afghanistan.

Activities
"Has conducted a number of operations against Indiantroops and civilian targets in Kashmir.  Linked to the Kashmiri militantgroup al-Faran that kidnapped five Western tourists in Kashmir in July 1995; onewas killed in August 1995 and the other four reportedly were killed in Decemberof the same year.  The new millennium brought significant developments forPakistani militant groups, particularly the HUM.  Most of these sprang fromthe hijacking of an Indian airliner on 24 December by militants believed to beassociated with the HUM.  The hijackers negotiated the release of MasoodAzhar, an important leader in the former Harakat ul-Ansar imprisoned by theIndians in 1994.  Azhar did not, however, return to the HUM, choosinginstead to form the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), a rival militant group expressing amore radical line than the HUM.

Strength
"Has several thousand armed supporters located in AzadKashmir, Pakistan, and India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions. Supporters are mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris and also include Afghans and Arabveterans of the Afghan war.  Uses light and heavy machineguns, assaultrifles, mortars, explosives, and rockets.  HUM lost some of its membershipin defections to the JEM.

Location/Area of Operation
"Based in Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, and several othertowns in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but members conduct insurgent and terroristactivities primarily in Kashmir. The HUM trains its militants in Afghanistan andPakistan.

External Aid
"Collects donations from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf andIslamic states and from Pakistanis and Kashmiris.  The sources and amountof HUM's military funding are unknown."

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed)
Description
"The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) is an Islamist group based inPakistan that has rapidly expanded in size and capability since Maulana MasoodAzhar, a former ultrafundamentalist Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA) leader, announced itsformation in February.  The group's aim is to unite Kashmir with Pakistan. It is politically aligned with the radical, pro-Taliban, political party,Jamiat-i Ulema-i Islam (JUI-F).

Activities
"The JEM's leader, Masood Azhar, was released from Indianimprisonment in December 1999 in exchange for 155 hijacked Indian Airlineshostages in Afghanistan. The 1994 HUA kidnappings of US and British nationals inNew Delhi and the July 1995 HUA/Al Faran kidnappings of Westerners in Kashmirwere two of several previous HUA efforts to free Azhar.  Azhar organizedlarge rallies and recruitment drives across Pakistan throughout 2000.  InJuly, a JEM rocket-grenade attack failed to injure the Chief Minister at hisoffice in Srinagar, India, but wounded four other persons.  In December,JEM militants launched grenade attacks at a bus stop in Kupwara, India, injuring24 persons, and at a marketplace in Chadoura, India, injuring 16 persons. JEM militants also planted two bombs that killed 21 persons in Qamarwari andSrinagar.

Strength
"Has several hundred armed supporters located in AzadKashmir, Pakistan, and in India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions. Following Maulana Masood Azhar's release from detention in India, a reportedthree quarters of Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM) members defected to the neworganization, which has managed to attract a large number of urban Kashmiriyouth.  Supporters are mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris and also includeAfghans and Arab veterans of the Afghan war.  Uses light and heavymachineguns, assault rifles, mortars, improvised explosive devices, and rocketgrenades.

Location/Area of Operation
"Based in Peshawar and Muzaffarabad, but members conductterrorist activities primarily in Kashmir.  The JEM maintains trainingcamps in Afghanistan.

External Aid
"Most of the JEM's cadre and material resources have beendrawn from the militant groups Harakat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI) and the Harakatul-Mujahedin (HUM).  The JEM has close ties to Afghan Arabs and the Taliban. Usama Bin Ladin is suspected of giving funding to the JEM."

Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous)
Description
"The LT is the armed wing of the Pakistan-based religiousorganization, Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI)--a Sunni anti-US missionaryorganization formed in 1989.  One of the three largest and best-trainedgroups fighting in Kashmir against India, it is not connected to a politicalparty.  The LT leader is MDI chief, Professor Hafiz Mohammed Saeed.

Activities
"Has conducted a number of operations against Indiantroops and civilian targets in Kashmir since 1993.  The LT is suspected ofeight separate attacks in August that killed nearly 100, mostly Hindu Indians. LT militants are suspected of kidnapping six persons in Akhala, India, inNovember 2000 and killing five of them.  The group also operates a chain ofreligious schools in the Punjab.

Strength
"Has several hundred members in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan,and in India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions.  Almost all LT cadres areforeigners--mostly Pakistanis from seminaries across the country and Afghanveterans of the Afghan wars.  Uses assault rifles, light and heavymachineguns, mortars, explosives, and rocket propelled grenades.

Location/Area of Operation
"Based in Muridke (near Lahore) and Muzaffarabad. The LT trains its militants in mobile training camps acrossPakistan-administered Kashmir and Afghanistan.

External Aid
"Collects donations from the Pakistani community in thePersian Gulf and United Kingdom, Islamic NGOs, and Pakistani and Kashmiribusinessmen.  The amount of LT funding is unknown.  The LT maintainsties to religious/militant groups around the world, ranging from the Philippinesto the Middle East and Chechnya through the MDI fraternal network."

In its annual report for 2000 presented to the CanadianParliament on June 20,2001, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS)stated as follows: " Pakistan’s long-standing support of the Sikhextremist issue is a major factor in its endurance.  The effects of ongoingsupport by Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus of the Jammu and Kashmirconflict, with its growing linkage to the Taliban, have spilled over intoeast-Asian expatriate communities around the world. "

While Musharraf's spokesmen have been projecting the jihadiorganisations as indigenous Kashmiri organisations with no base in Pakistaniterritory, the HUM and the LET themselves, in their propaganda literature andofficial web sites, project themselves as Pakistan-based organisations. They give their addresses and telephone/fax numbers in Pakistan and particularsof the Pakistani banks in which their accounts are held to which theirsupporters should send their contributions.