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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| EDITORIAL: General Musharraf and ‘the fanatics’ |
| 2004-05-26 |
| Speaking at a youth convention in Islamabad, General Pervez Musharraf declared that fanatics and extremists could not be allowed to rule Pakistan. He linked extremists to the terrorism of Al Qaeda, saying he was ‘500 percent sure’ that Al Qaeda activists were in Pakistan and ‘1000 percent sure’ that they were terrorists. He revealed that Al Qaeda elements were operating from the Tribal Areas and were responsible not only for acts of terror inside Pakistan but in other friendly neighbouring states too, including China, whose most dangerous wanted man, he confirmed, was recently killed in South Waziristan. As if to underline what he said, the same day Karachi police was engaged in a shootout with six terrorists of Harkat-ul Mujahideen al-Alami. The men who were captured as a result of the encounter revealed that they were involved in the 2002 attempt on the life of General Musharraf and the bombing of the US consulate in Karachi. The police encounter with the terrorists took place after the capture of their leader Kamran Atif who confessed to trying, unsuccessfully, to blow up the motorcade of the President in 2002. The six captured were in possession of hand-grenades, rockets, parcel bombs, and large amounts of explosives they were going to use in a car-bomb attack on a Karachi prison to get their companions released. Almost anyone who is familiar with the rudiments of the terrorist underworld in Pakistan will tell you that Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami is one of the five Al Qaeda-linked organisations that have vowed to assassinate General Musharraf. What is surprising is that General Musharraf has either allowed or is allowing the leaders of some of these organisations to roam freely and issue statements against his policies. It is not possible that he is unaware of their statements because they are published prominently in the Urdu press everyday. It should be remembered that at least three militias included in the five that have vowed to kill him have also been the most effective ‘freedom-fighters’ in Held Kashmir. The five-member ‘coalition’ of the jihadi organisations was launched in 2001 to avenge the invasion of Afghanistan. The coalition was called Brigade 313 (the number of warriors in the battle of Badr in the times of the Prophet PBUH) and comprised Lashkar-e Tayba, Jaish-e Muhammad, Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami, Harkat-ul Mujahideen al-Alami and Lashkar-e Jhangvi. The leaders of most of these organisations are either publicly free or have been allowed to conveniently disappear at home or abroad. Available literature on Al Qaeda reveals close contacts between the Lashkar-e Tayba and Osama bin Laden. For example, the leader of the Lashkar was allowed to establish his headquarters near Lahore. His stronghold is in Faisalabad from where a top leader of Al Qaeda, Abu Zubaida, was most dramatically captured and handed over to the United States. And so on. Everyone knows who wants to kill General Musharraf. But most people don’t know or understand why General Musharraf is allowing the ‘fanatic’ terrorist elements to roam around freely in Pakistan? |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Nuclear Pakistan, a prize the jihadees must be prevented from controlling. |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-05-27 1:29:11 AM |
| #1 General Musharraf has either allowed or is allowing the leaders of some of these organisations to roam freely and issue statements against his policies. It is not possible that he is unaware of their statements because they are published prominently in the Urdu press everyday. It should be remembered that at least three militias included in the five that have vowed to kill him have also been the most effective ‘freedom-fighters’ in Held Kashmir. Boy howdy, wot a coincidence! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-05-26 2:59:14 PM |