EFL
Ever since the start of the insurgency in Kashmir, the Pakistani intelligence agencies have constantly raised, mutated, emasculated and even extirpated the so-called jihadi groups active in Kashmir. The dependence of the Jihadis active in Kashmir on Pakistan for training, logistics, arms and ammunition and most of all sanctuaries, has been exploited to the hilt by the Pakistani establishment. Not only do the Pakistani agencies decide which organization will play what role in fuelling the insurgency in Kashmir, they also raise new outfits at regular intervals to ensure that none of the organizations ever get so big or powerful that they can ever pose a threat to the state. The moment a group gets too powerful or autonomous or becomes a political liability or if it strays from the line given to it by the Pakistan establishment, it is either replaced by another group or is rendered completely ineffective by withdrawing patronage. In the initial years the Pakistanis supported JKLF despite the fact that they were not comfortable with the JKLF's pro-independence ideology. But as soon as the Pakistanis managed to build up the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahedin, support was withdrawn from the JKLF. The fact that the Hizbul Mujahedin was initially composed of Kashmiri's made the Pakistani establishment look for a more Pakistani alternative. This was achieved by diverting the jihadis who had fought in Afghanistan to Kashmir. There were essentially two Deobandi jihadi organisations which were ushered into waging war in Kashmir — Harkatul Jihad Islami and Harkatul Mujahedin. Because of the problems in coordinating their operations, in 1993 a merger was effected between these two Deobandi jihadis groups to form the Harkatul Ansar.
But it abducted and murdered some western tourists, causing unwanted attention...
|