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Masood Azhar ban
[DAWN] AFTER an over two-decade-long career piloting Jaish-e-Mohammad...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf bannedthe group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat... , one of the most lethal jihadi outfits in South Asia, the noose around Masood Azhar appears to be tightening, as the holy warrior criminal mastermind has been designated a global terrorist by the UN Security Council. While some segments may see the move as a ’victory’ for India, the fact is that Masood Azhar and his group have caused nothing but trouble for this country. The JeM may have made India-held Kashmire its focus, but its cadres have caused plenty of havoc in Pakistain as well. For example, its turbans form the nucleus of what is known as the Punjabi Taliban ...Arabic for students... , a loose confederation of jihadists, also consisting of sectarian elements. Though the JeM was banned in 2002 by Pakistain, its activities continued and Masood Azhar was largely a free man. Now, with the UN proscription, it is hoped that the group is permanently shut down and its head not allowed to continue his activities. India had been trying for over a decade to get Masood Azhar blacklisted. Each time its efforts would be blocked by China on ’technical’ grounds. What this translates to is that India was using the JeM and its head to project the Kashmiri freedom struggle as a ’terrorist’ insurgency, hence the Chinese and Pak resistance to the move. Now that the "political references" have been removed, as the Foreign Office has put it, China has lifted its technical hold, paving the way for the JeM chief’s blacklisting. Two lessons emerge; first, that India has been trying to conflate the legitimate ‐ and largely indigenous ‐ Kashmiri freedom struggle with terrorism. This false binary must be exposed; India cannot be allowed to link the Kashmiri struggle for justice and rights with terrorism. Secondly, the state must realise that tolerating such groups is a liability for Pakistain. Far from serving any ’strategic depth’, these outfits end up isolating the country internationally. Perhaps if we had put our own house in order, India would not have been able to exploit the situation and associate jihadist groups with Pakistain. It is also hoped that the blacklisting of Masood Azhar will help strengthen the country’s case with FATF, to prove that Pakistain is working hard to eliminate all holy warrior outfits. Ultimately, all holy warrior groups and non-state actors that promote hateful, divisive ...politicians call things divisivewhen when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive,they're principled... and sectarian narratives must be shut down. Their funds must be choked and their organizational capabilities neutralised. All of this ‐ and more ‐ has been highlighted in the National Action Plan; it is just a question of summoning the will to implement it. Posted by: Fred 2019-05-04 |
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