Asia Times: Pakistan braces for new wave of militants


	February 21, 2002	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Pakistan braces for new wave of militants
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - The monster of militant groups created by the Pakistani establishment is likely to haunt the country for a long, long time to come as even though the wings of the organizations have been clipped, they are far from being eradicated.

According to sources in Pakistani intelligence agencies, there is strong evidence that some members of the recently banned militant groups have joined together to escalate tension in the region. This is aimed at leaving Pakistan with no choice but to end conciliatory efforts with India, as well as its cooperation with the United States and its allies in their war on terror.

Since last month's speech by the Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf, in which he promised to curb extremism, police have taken about 1,200 activists from both sectarian and Kashmiri militant groups into custody following the banning of five organizations. These include the Kashmiri militant groups Lashkar-i-Taiba and Jaish-i-Mohammad, which India blames for the attack on its parliament in December.

Since the speech, several significant events have occurred in Pakistan. US journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and his release was made conditional on the freeing of Pakistani Taliban fighters being held in custody by the US. Pearl remains missing. Then there were attacks on border security forces in North West Frontier Province, with responsibility being claimed by the little-known al-Saiqa group. And on Monday night police discovered four rockets aimed at Karachi airport, where US-led allied forces are stationed.

Sources say that the groups behind these incidents emerged after Musharraf, under US pressure, vowed to stamp out the export of terrorism. While he has been successful in curtailing the activities of the leaders of the groups - Pakistan, after all, helped set them up in the first place - he has not been able to tap into the grass roots from where the new wave of militants has emerged.

The militant groups were the brainchild of the late general Akhtar Abdul Rehman, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. He was killed in a plane crash with then president, General Zia ul-Haq, in 1988. During his time as director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Rehman developed a scheme to set up a civilian army comprising volunteers who would generate their own resources. It was planned that this army, made up of militant groups, would be controlled through the "invisible" hands of the ISI.

Initially, the army was to serve as a reserve force to combat Indian aggression, and the plan was set in motion shortly before Rehman's death. However, instead of acting in reserve, the groups quickly evolved into a front-line army by infiltrating into India, where they have played havoc in Kashmir and other areas for many years. Their huge success excited the military leadership in Pakistan and they were given a free hand. From the mid-1990s, the groups started to draw widespread street-level support. They established their own recruiting offices, opened money collection centers and organized seminars and gatherings to motivate teenagers to give up their lives for religion.

With the emergence of the Taliban the groups further spread their wings. In 1999, Maulana Masood Azahar established the Jaish-i-Mohammed, which broke the power of the Harkatul Mujahideen, which had been firmly controlled by the ISI. In turn, the ISI tried to patronize the Jaish-I-Mohammed, but with little success.

This bitter truth was well illustrated by the Jaish-i-Mohammed setting off a lethal bomb near the State Assembly of Indian Kashmir, an act for which it accepted responsibility. Then came the suicidal attack on the Indian parliament. As a result, in a matter of days, the Indian and Pakistani armies were facing off across the border.

Tension between the two countries escalated, and the US, fearing an all-out war, did its best to ease the situation. But the kidnapping of Pearl has ensured that feelings still run very high, and the lesser-known Pakistani militants are determined to keep it that way.

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