US ban spotlights Pak militant organisations

The declaration of the Harkat-ul-Ansar as a terrorist organisation by the United States has once again spotlighted a large network of schools and universities in Pakistan that prepare young boys for jehad or holy war.

The target of this jehad can be both Muslims and non-Muslims. The killing of Shias is also considered part of jehad which has aggravated sectarian violence in Pakistan.

The trained boys also conduct militant activities in countries like Afghanistan and India, particularly in Kashmir. In fact, the Friday editions of some Urdu newspapers carry milli (Islamic) supplements eulogising jehad and indicating the target countries.

The most notable among the fundamentalist organisations that preach religious hatred is that of Markazul Dawat-ul-Irshad in Punjab. Many newspapers have written about its activities and warned the government.

A month prior to the June Indo-Pak talks, the organisation enumerated the reasons why the establishment of friendly reactions with India should be shunned. ''You cannot improve your economic condition by befriending kafirs (non-believers) but by taking loot,'' was its advice to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief.

"We want to explain to you the Islamic viewpoint. The gain you want to make by befriending India is nothing. It may on the contrary yield loss. The real gain will come if you make India's tyranny an issue and declare jehad against it."

By breaking up Hindu unity, Pakistan can get heaps of war booty, claimed the Dawat-ul-Irshad. ''Our military wing has been active in Kashmir for the past seven years.''

Following the Afghan war, such organisations have sprouted all over Pakistan and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had blamed the United States and some Muslim countries for their emergence. Saudi Arabia is reported to be among the countries which continue to fund organisations like the Dawat-ul-Irshad.

Early this month, a German parliamentary group alleged that Pakistan was destablising Muslim majority areas of China and Central Asia through subversive activities. German parliament member Wali Wammur said Pakistan had become a window for Muslim fundamentalists to cross over to Afghanistan and Kashmir as it was alleged that the Pakistani army itself was propagating Islamic fundamentalism.

UNI

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