Maulana Masood Azhar’s recent countrywide tour to address a number of widely publicised ’jehad conferences’ surprised many. Particularly those who thought that the days of propagating jehad were over after General Musharraf had declared a ban on militant and jehadi organisations last year, are now having second thoughts. The ban was seen as a major shift in Pakistan’s decades old policy of supporting jehad in Kashmir and Afghanistan. But the recent resurgence of jehadi outfits — even those which were banned — and sudden spurt in their activities has created doubts about the Musharraf regime’s seriousness in taking on the jehadis. Masood Azhar’s tour — widely considered as a major proof of the resurgence of jehadi activity — not only defies President Pervez Musharraf’s claims made in his speech on January 12, 2002, but also raises questions as to whether it could have taken place without the government’s consent. "It’s astonishing that on one hand Musharraf says he is against jehadis and on the other hand he has given Masood Azhar free hand to hold jehad congregations throughout Pakistan," says Iqbal Hyder, former minister for law and parliamentary affairs and executive council member of Human rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). "Masood has been operating under complete patronage of government agencies."
| Comes as a surprise, huh? Yeah. It floored me, too... |
Maulana Azhar, freed from an Indian jail in exchange for a hijacked Indian passenger plane and the chief of now banned Jaish-e-Muhammad, is still considered the most wanted person in India. In his home country, he is treated as a jehadi hero by a section of the society, particularly by those who support jehad in Kashmir and elsewhere in the world.
| That seems to be everybody who owns a turban... |
In Karachi, his jehad conference was held on October 18, 2003. Followed by wide publicity though pamphlets, posters and banners all around the city, the conference was able to attract thousands of people to come and listen to him. Even the city government headed by Jamaat e-Islami’s Naimatullah Khan, which otherwise is very quick in removing unauthorised advertisement banners and hoardings, gave the organisers free hand for the publicity of the conference. Though the banners were removed after the conference ended, the pamphlets and the posters are still there, occupying a large space on the walls of private and public buildings in Karachi. These pamphlets and posters describe Masood Azhar as a jehadi hero and the ’conqueror of Indian Jails’.
| All it took was a hijacked Indian jet to Kandahar, a few dead people, and there it was — Pak heroism. |
Contrary to past practice when Jaish’s functions were closed for many people especially media, Masood Azhar’s jehad conference in Karachi was an open event. The way it was publicised clearly showed that the organisers wanted to draw as many people as they could. Masood Azhar, who has renamed his organisation as Pyam-e-Islam, has addressed similar conferences attended by thousands of people in Hyderabad and Nawab Shah in Sindh and Lahore and other cities in Punjab. The focus of his speech at all these conferences was the ’noble notions of jehad’ in Kashmir. Besides addressing the conferences, Masood Azhar also held closed door meetings with his party cadre on how to make the organisation more effective, says a source.
Analysts believe the tour was aimed at strengthening Masood Azhar’s relationship with the Jaish cadre split in two groups some time ago. The other group being headed by Abdullah Shah Mazhar. Those who believe that allowing Masood Azhar’s tour is a manifestation of the government’s reaffirmation of its undeclared support to jehad in Kashmir, also fear that this policy of ’one step forward, two steps backwards’ will harm Pakistan’s interest locally as well as globally. There are others who think that the government is serious in restricting the activities of the jehadis but at the same time they point out the enormity of the task. "It is not going to be an easy task," says Dr Muttahir Ahmed, professor at the department of International Relations at University of Karachi. "These people (the jehadis) have roots in the society. They have been active for the last 15-20 years. So it’s not easy to root them out immediately," he adds.
| "It takes even longer when you don't do anything at all..." |
Government consent or not, in an international scenario which puts Pakistan in a difficult position vis-a-vis jehad and the jehadis, the resurgence of the jehadi activities is sure to create more problems for the country. |