Militants, Musharraf
circling By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - The battle between Islamists and
Taliban supporters and the pro-Western Pakistan
government has intensified with the arrest of
dozens of people in a massive crackdown in and
around the federal capital, Islamabad.
This follows hard on the heels of the
uncovering of a coup plot against President
General Pervez Musharraf last week which resulted
in over 40 people being arrested. Among these were
al-Qaeda-linked personnel from the Air Weapon
Complex (AWC) of
Pakistan, a leading
organization in the field of air-delivered
weapons and systems. Two
prominent names were Muneer Malik and Ali Ahmed
Gondal.
Subsequently, two other staff
members at AWC, Shakeel Rabbani and Saqib Zafar,
were detained, in addition to more air force
officers. These arrests have not been made public,
but have been confirmed by Asia Times Online
contacts who say that more arrests can be expected
within the rank and file of the armed forces.
At the same time, a series of massive
crackdowns on militants is ongoing throughout
Punjab province.
It is the latest showdown
in and around Islamabad, though, that is of
significance as the guns have suddenly been turned
against the premier Islamic party of the country,
the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), and its ideological
cousin, the Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest
indigenous Kashmiri separatist militant outfit.
Prominent figures among the two
organizations were rounded up, including Khizar
Hayat and Waqar Ahmed Janjua from Hizbul's Wah
cantonment and Rawalpindi, respectively. Many
other less prominent activists and members of the
groups were also held. Some were released after
initial interrogations.
The crackdown came
without warning. It prompted the deputy chief of
the JI and member of parliament, Liaquat Baloch,
to urgently meet with top Inter-Service
Intelligence (ISI) officials at the ISI's
headquarters in Islamabad. This resulted in the
crackdown being temporarily suspended, with some
conditions being placed on the JI.
Although the salient features of these
conditions are not known, the normal rhetoric of
JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed was visibly toned down
after the meeting and he categorically mentioned
that JI would not welcome any coup against the
government.
The JI has always been at the
forefront of political initiatives to unseat
Musharraf and has been involved most recently in
laying the groundwork for a joint opposition
alliance including all major liberal and Islamic
parties to oust Musharraf after the end of the
Islamic holy month of Ramadan toward the end of
this month.
Nevertheless, political
campaigns these days in Pakistan and Afghanistan
are not only a center of interest for political
parties and their supporters - they attract other
vested interests, especially militant groups and
disgruntled elements within the armed forces.
At present, the militant groups have only
one obsession, to keep Musharraf's anti-Taliban
convictions at bay and prevent him from taking any
stringent steps that would undo all the Taliban's
gains in the campaign in Afghanistan since the
spring offensive began. This has kept the militant
groups active, and their activities are
complemented by their supporters within the
establishment.
Most important for the
militants is that Musharraf not unleash any
operation in the North Waziristan tribal area on
the border with Afghanistan or in Pashin and Zhob
(in southwestern Balochistan province). These
areas are vital to the Taliban's winter strategy,
in which it lays low, regroups and plans for the
next spring offensive.
Only a few days
remain before the end of Ramadan and heavy snows
rule out any significant military action in the
mountainous region that straddles Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
That means, just a few days
for either side to make a decisive move.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia
Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be
reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
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