War against terror: Pakistan plays Jekyll & Hyde
Pakistan is at it again - playing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, speaking two languages in its alleged war against terror. And the doublespeak (also seen in actions) has been exposed in the way it deals with extremist elements.
PAKISTAN IS at it again - playing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in its alleged war against terror and its perpetrators. And the double speak (also translated to actions) can be seen in the way the State is dealing with the two faces of extremism - one against neighbour India and the other aimed at Western countries. Mandarins in the ISI and other defence establishments apparently classify them as Taliban on one side and LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad on the other, the former being largely anti-West and the latter being purely anti-India. This is seen by the fact that even as US drones pound the Kabaili and other rural areas in Pakistan, the state has turned a blind eye to the speeches of JeM and LeT leaders and chieftains against India.
This is despite the commitment of Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani to Manmohan Singh that the soil of Pakistan would not be used for anti-India activities. Two days ago, Pakistan banned 25 religious and other organisations, including the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashker-e-Taiba and put Sunni Tehrik on its watchlist. Among the organisations included in the list of outlawed groups are JuD, LeT, JeM, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muahammadi, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Al-Akhtar Trust, Al-Rasheed Trust, Tehreek-e-Islami, Islamic Students Movement, Khair-un-Nisa International Trust, Islami Tehreek-e-Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Islam, Balochistan Liberation Army, Jamiat-un-Nisar, Khadam Islam and Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan.
While Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the federal government had banned the 25 organisations and entities under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 and promised stern action against those which indulged in objectionable activities - double standards here are more than obvious. Earlier this month, Pakistani prosecutors charged the head of a pro-Taliban group and seven of his associates with treason, incitement to rebellion, terrorism, waging war, and conspiracy against the country. The charges centre around a speech made on April 19 by Maulana Mohammad aka Maulana Radio for his use of FM broadcasts to spread his message. Mohammad, the Pakistan government alleges, told his followers in the town of Mingora that there “is no room for democracy in Islam” and demanded Shariah law across the country.
Pakistan’s stern action against the Taliban-linked cleric stands in stark contrast to its refusal to prosecute Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, despite the fact that he has been near-same-vitriolic in recent years. Saeed’s speeches off and on have been hateful, anti-Islamic, anti-democracy, anti-India and have selectively targetted the Pakistan government. According to the Jamaat-ud-Dawa website, Saeed was reported to have asserted that "the real objectives for the establishment of Pakistan will be achieved when the original Islamic system, established in Mecca 1400 years ago, is implemented here.” His language closely mirrored the proclamations of Sufi Mohammad.
“We hate democracy,” the pro-Taliban cleric said on February 2009, soon after the government of Pakistan signed a peace deal that imposed Shariah across North West Pakistan. “We want the occupation of Islam in the entire world. Islam does not permit democracy or election.” Maulana Mohammad and two of his sons were arrested in Peshawar on July 25. He was earlier held in May, but was quietly released. The only difference between the two is that Saeed’s invective was largely directed at India and Hindus. In a 1999 article, he said that “the Hindu is a mean enemy and the proper way to deal with him is the one adopted by our forefathers, who crushed them by force.” Later, in December 1999, Saeed told an interviewer that Kashmir was “only our base camp.” “The real war,” he asserted, “will be inside India. Very soon we will enter India via Doda and unfurl the Islamic flag on the Red Fort.”
On the eve of the Mumbai attacks, Saeed told followers that the “only language India understands is that of force, and that is the language it must be talked to in.” Despite such pronouncements however, Saeed remains the most pampered ultra of the Pakistani establishment. After booking him post-Mumbai attacks under pressure from the US and UK, the man has been languishing under house arrest and has been lately given a long leash with the Pak government saying it has been given precious little evidence of his complicity in the Mumbai attacks.
Is Dr Manmohan Singh listening?
While Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the federal government had banned the 25 organisations and entities under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 and promised stern action against those which indulged in objectionable activities - double standards here are more than obvious. Earlier this month, Pakistani prosecutors charged the head of a pro-Taliban group and seven of his associates with treason, incitement to rebellion, terrorism, waging war, and conspiracy against the country. The charges centre around a speech made on April 19 by Maulana Mohammad aka Maulana Radio for his use of FM broadcasts to spread his message. Mohammad, the Pakistan government alleges, told his followers in the town of Mingora that there “is no room for democracy in Islam” and demanded Shariah law across the country.
Pakistan’s stern action against the Taliban-linked cleric stands in stark contrast to its refusal to prosecute Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, despite the fact that he has been near-same-vitriolic in recent years. Saeed’s speeches off and on have been hateful, anti-Islamic, anti-democracy, anti-India and have selectively targetted the Pakistan government. According to the Jamaat-ud-Dawa website, Saeed was reported to have asserted that "the real objectives for the establishment of Pakistan will be achieved when the original Islamic system, established in Mecca 1400 years ago, is implemented here.” His language closely mirrored the proclamations of Sufi Mohammad.
“We hate democracy,” the pro-Taliban cleric said on February 2009, soon after the government of Pakistan signed a peace deal that imposed Shariah across North West Pakistan. “We want the occupation of Islam in the entire world. Islam does not permit democracy or election.” Maulana Mohammad and two of his sons were arrested in Peshawar on July 25. He was earlier held in May, but was quietly released. The only difference between the two is that Saeed’s invective was largely directed at India and Hindus. In a 1999 article, he said that “the Hindu is a mean enemy and the proper way to deal with him is the one adopted by our forefathers, who crushed them by force.” Later, in December 1999, Saeed told an interviewer that Kashmir was “only our base camp.” “The real war,” he asserted, “will be inside India. Very soon we will enter India via Doda and unfurl the Islamic flag on the Red Fort.”
On the eve of the Mumbai attacks, Saeed told followers that the “only language India understands is that of force, and that is the language it must be talked to in.” Despite such pronouncements however, Saeed remains the most pampered ultra of the Pakistani establishment. After booking him post-Mumbai attacks under pressure from the US and UK, the man has been languishing under house arrest and has been lately given a long leash with the Pak government saying it has been given precious little evidence of his complicity in the Mumbai attacks.
Is Dr Manmohan Singh listening?
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