'Pak. reluctant to curb militancy'

By Amit Baruah

ISLAMABAD, MAY 5. The Musharraf regime, ``while adopting a secular posture and verbally condemning religious extremism has been seen to give militants more room to breathe than their predecessors'', the Herald magazine reported in its latest issue.

In an article entitled ``Militants versus the Military'', the magazine stated: ``Quite clearly the (military) Government is reluctant to take any decisive step to curb the proliferation of militancy on Pakistani soil because of the Pandora's box that such measures could throw open.''

In a related piece, ``Losing control'', an analysis of the relationship between sectarian and ``jehadi'' groups in the country, the Herald said: ``The rise of religious militancy presents a stark contrast to the decline in the political fortunes of the religious parties. Rather than any mass support, this rise is a natural outcome of the Afghan jehad and the State's continuous patronage.''

``From the days of General Zia-Ul-Haq's martial law, members of hardline religious groups have enjoyed the support of the establishment. What is worse, perhaps, is the fact that slowly and steadily these militant outfits have created a political space for themselves in the country. Starting from the Kargil conflict, these organisations have scaled up their political activities in the country....'' the article said.

It stated that the hijack of the Indian Airlines aircraft to Kandahar in December last year led to the creation of the Jaish-i-Muhammad, an outfit created by the released cleric, Masood Azhar.

Referring to groups like the Sunni extremist Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, the article provides an insight into the links between these groups and the ``jehadi'' parties operating in Kashmir.

``Perhaps the most alarming fact about these militant organisations is that they are organised along sectarian lines. It is an open secret that most sectarian terrorists are trained at the camps of militant groups. In recent years, militants belonging to such groups have operated more or less unhindered across the country. Police give preferential treatment to religious militants and there appears to be a gentlemen's agreement between the administration and these organisations: the latter would not target law enforcement personnel as long as the former refrained from conducting any serious investigation into the affairs of such organisations,'' the article said.

``The real strength of the sectarian militants was exposed during Mr. Shahbaz Sharif's stint as Chief Minister of Punjab,'' it added.

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