LAHORE: A set of guidelines for militants, called a hidayat nama (or book of instructions), that was recently seized from a Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Alalmi (HMA) militant, instructs them not to divulge information if they are arrested, avoid meeting family members, not keep organisational literature and militantsâ addresses on their person while they travel, always use code names, not to discuss operational matters with family and not to rely on Punjabis, among other directions.
| I always make it a point not to trust Punjabis, too. Or Sindhis. And certainly not Pashtuns or Baluchis... |
The booklet in Urdu and Arabic, Daily Times learned, was seized from HMA militant Murtaza, who was arrested from Karachi a few weeks ago. Murtaza was reportedly in charge of supplying weapons to militants in Pakistan and was in contact with Al Qaeda. The booklet also instructs militants on how to conduct themselves in public and what measures to take before and after they are arrested. It starts with the Islamic concept of martyrdom and says this should be every Muslimâs foremost goal.
| Not enough of them make the trip to suit me... |
âDonât discuss personal matters with your companions. You are chosen in the way of Allah and family relationships and friendships should become insignificant in the way of Godâ, the booklet directs. The intriguing direction to militants - especially Arab and Afghan â against trusting Punjabis is thus explained; âDonât rely on Punjabis if on mission or in transit, because most intelligence officials are from Punjabâ. The booklet also instructs militants to be law-abiding, especially as far as vehicular documents are concerned, and not to quarrel with traffic police and police at check posts. The booklet also instructs militants not to lose their temper if lawmen insult members of their family, a routine tactic the booklet says law enforcement officials employ. An observer told Daily Times the instructions seemed similar to standard operating procedures that intelligence agents followed. |