Page 2 of 2 ON THE MILITANT TRAIL, Part 4
Taliban ideology echoes in the valley
especially the intelligentsia, that Islam is a complete code of life. If Islam
is a complete code of life, then what is the need to import education from the
United Kingdom?
ATol: This is an ideological and academic debate. You might be
right or wrong in your argument. However, the issue is violence. The Taliban
are said to have bombed schools and destroyed them. What do you say about that?
MK: Very true. Nobody can prove that we bombed any school
building during phase one of the military operations in the Swat
Valley. [Sarcastically] Why did the "well-educated" and "very qualified"
Pakistan army set up military bunkers in the schools? This is my question.
If the security forces can set up military bunkers in order to fight against us
and against the cause of Islamic laws, we also have the right to retaliate and
destroy those schools in which they have set up bunkers, or bridges for that
matter.
These are the "well educated" and "very qualified" people of our security
forces who bombed our villages and destroyed them. We have, therefore, the
right to destroy those schools which brought up this generation, sold out to
foreigners and sold their own people to foreigners.
On [the basis of] just one phone call, they handed over our air bases to the
enemy. We hate this system and this system of education. As far as school
buildings are concerned, I can guarantee you that we can rebuild those
buildings within a month [once military operations are over] and at the same
time I tell you that not a single child was hurt in our attacks. But I ask you,
why was the Islamic seminary Jamia Hafsa targeted in Islamabad [in 2007] and to
add salt on the wounds, even female students were killed. Why did they do that?
That was also conducted by "very well-qualified generals". Why?
ATol: How do people view you? Do you think the Taliban are
popular?
MK: People do like the Tehrik-e-Taliban [Taliban movement]. We
don't care about individuals. Our people and the Taliban sacrificed a lot for
the cause and this should be written in gold in history.
ATol: Are you loyal to the state of Pakistan?
MK: If we are 100% loyal to Pakistan, our leaders and rulers are
200% disloyal to Pakistan and its subjects. They rule us against the ideology
and the constitution of the country. When Pakistan came into being in 1947,
they did not implement Islamic laws. This was a betrayal against the nation,
religion and God. Then in Malakand division, when the government promised us
the implementation of Islamic laws - we have the documents to show this - why
did they betray us? Why were Islamic laws not implemented? Therefore, our
struggle is justified and those who oppose Islamic laws, they are outlaws.
ATol: How can two different systems coexist at the same time?
Islamic laws could be enforced in the whole country, and then they would be
applied in Malakand. But how can these laws be applied in a particular region
when the whole of the country is governed by separate laws?
MK: If the system of panchait [a system of arbitration]
can coexist with civil laws in Punjab, if the jirga system [tribal
councils]) can coexist in the provincially administered tribal areas [like
Malakand] with the civil laws, why can't Islamic laws coexist with civil laws?
However, we say that we should not run two system. Being Muslims, we should
implement only Islamic laws.
ATol: Your movement is touted as no more than a local movement.
Yet it is believed to have connections with al-Qaeda and the Taliban in
Afghanistan. What is the reality?
MK: Al-Qaeda was the same as the mujahideen and the Taliban only
a few years back when they were fighting against the Soviets [1980s] and they
were supported by the Americans. Everybody boasted of them as the mujahideen,
including the Western media.
My question is how yesterday's mujahideen can became the terrorists of today?
Today, they are declared as terrorists only because the way they threw the
Russians across the Amu Darya [Oxus River], they are aiming to throw the
Americans across the Atlantic Ocean.
Therefore, the jihad is against their interests, and that's why they are
against us. They are here to grab the resources of Muslim countries and
therefore whether it is the Taliban or al-Qaeda or Muslims, they are against
their [the US's] cause. Since they have great influence on our rulers, their
cause is justified. Their rulings are ratified by our rulers. Having said all
these things, I tell you that our fight is for a change of the system in
Malakand. We are branded as Indian RAW [Research and Analysis Wing] proxies.
Let me tell you that once Islamic laws are implemented, then you will see our
real face. Let us tackle the issues of Palestine, Afghanistan and Kashmir, and
then it will be shown whether we are Indian proxies or not.
ATol: The Pakistani establishment has consistently accused your
movement of being an Indian proxy. They claim to have arrested men who were
Hindus and cannot even speak the local dialects and languages. In some cases,
the government claimed to have found men who had not been circumcised, which
proved they were non-Muslim.
MK: This just shows the government's weaknesses as well as
propaganda. It is baseless. Just present five examples and we will leave the
movement.
ATol: You movement is connected with [Pakistani Taliban leader]
Baitullah Mehsud, and his command stretches all over. It is said that the
movement aims to separate the North-West Frontier Province from Pakistan.
MK: This is an international conspiracy against the Pashtun
territories. Pashtuns are very much attached to the religion, whether they live
in Pakistan or in Afghanistan or elsewhere. They are always ready to sacrifice
their lives for Islam. Some are bad people, but as a whole they serve the
religion.
This is just propaganda against us by the Pakistani intelligence agencies and
this is also their mental weakness. They are the people who have not been able
to liberate Kashmir from India in the past 60 years. They propagate us and mint
money from the Americans and the European.
Propaganda against the mujahideen is their source of income. Now, to justify a
war against their own people, they propagate such things that we want
separation and that we are Indian proxies. Killing the mujahideen and selling
them out is a means of earning for our generals. This is also the way to avoid
confrontation with American troops. If our forces cannot fight against cowardly
Hindus, how come they can face American troops? Whether it is Kargil [the war
with India in 1999] or Afghanistan, the mujahideen were used. Is there any
Muslim country which can claim to liberate Palestine? No. Maybe God does not
want to use these people for his cause because every officer is a pharaoh in
his character.
ATol: You mentioned the Pashtuns. The Awami National Party [ANP]
in North-West Frontier Province represents Pashtuns. However, the Taliban have
killed some ANP members and the noose is tightening around them.
MK: Indeed. I said that the majority of Pashtuns are loyal to the
religion. The others are Pashtun by name, but practically they are traitors.
They deserve such treatment. They were given government after 40 years, but
they did not thank God. If they have said it once, the Taliban have said it 10
times, that killings in this region should be stopped.
We sat with them and held talks. They made many commitments, but they could not
fulfill them. Real Pashtuns always fulfill their commitments, but these are
Pashtuns who were sitting in the Soviet Union's lap for money and now they are
in the American lap. They are the Pashtuns who sell their beliefs and the
nation. They are a stain on the name of Pashtuns. They are traitors of the
nation and to religion.
ATol: That gun of your's, it's not locally made, and it is not
the kind used by the Pakistan army. Where did you get it?
MK: These are the fruits of jihad, which are in the hands of the
mujahideen today. This is manufactured in Austria. Those infidels gave them to
our army to use against our mujahideen. There is a police station called Dewale
in Swat. We snatch them from there from the Pakistani security forces. I am
surprised when people ask us from where we get modern weaponry. These are the
fruits of jihad. Whoever manufactured this and for whatever cause, now it is in
our hands and for our cause.
Apart from this, our army used a spiritual guide [pir], a religious
leader, to fight against us. We not only killed that pir, but recovered
20 best-quality light machine guns, besides 20 other guns that had been
supplied to that pir by the Pakistan army. Now these guns are in our
possession.
ATol: How many Taliban are there?
MK: The more we are oppressed, the more we spread. Yesterday, if
they were 10, now there are several times more.
ATol: I thank you Muslim Khan for your time and your efforts to
leave your place in the mountains and come to meet me.
MK: It is a pleasure, and thank you for coming all the way to
Swat.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can
be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
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