Harkat activists ambushed and stabbed: report

By Amit Baruah

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 2 Five Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) activists were ``ambushed and stabbed'' by rival Jaish-i-Mohammad (JM) militants in a recent incident at Athmaqam in ``Azad'' (Pakistan-Occupied) Kashmir as part of a larger turf war between the two ``jehadi'' outfits, The Friday Times reported today.

Earlier, the weekly reported that the organisational network of the HuM in the Pakistani Punjab was taken over by the Jaish, an outfit floated by Masood Azhar, the cleric released by the BJP Government on December 31, 1999, as part of the hostages- for- terrorists deal.

According to the report, the Pakistani Government too is ``split'' over Masood Azhar's activities since the latter arrived in Pakistan after being flown to Kandahar in an Indian aircraft carrying the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh.

``While Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider had ordered Azhar's detention the day he arrived in Karachi, it was only after nearly two months that the (intelligence) agencies moved in to restrict his activities. All this time Azhar continued to issue statements against the US and made stenuous efforts to put his group together,'' the paper noted.

Interestingly, Jaish has got the blessings of Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai of the Binori Town madrassa in Karachi, who is regarded as the mentor of the Taliban. ``We felt that there was a need for a new mujahid force to strengthen the jehad. Already, thousands have accepted Maulana Masood Azhar as their amir,'' Mufti Shamzai was quoted as saying at the launch of Jaish.

According to the weekly, in a bid to sort out the dispute between the Harkat and Jaish, it was agreed that the HuM would pay the JM a sum of Rs. 4 million in return for ``seized assets'' in the Punjab. But the Harkat has not paid, and the Jaish has not vacated the offices.

Like nearly everything else in Pakistan, there is also an ``Indian angle'' to the differences, with Masood Azhar being regarded as an ``Indian agent'' in some quarters. ``He (Azhar) has tried to create dissent among jehadi groups. Maulana (Fazlur Rehman) Khalil went to the extent of resigning from the amarat (top position) but he wouldn't relent. Instead, he wanted Harkat to lose its identity completely and merge with Jaish,'' a Harkat source told the paper.

The report stated that Maulana Yousuf Ludhianvi, a leading scholar whose killing created ripples in Karachi recently, was considered quite close to Masood Azhar and his new outfit.

``However, intelligence officials denied his killing had any connection with the turf war,'' the weekly maintained.

``Sources expressed the fear that the tussle between Harkat and Jaish could take a serious turn. Harkat accuses Azhar of being in contact with Riaz Basra of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (a Sunni extremist outfit) with whom he met in Kandahar after his release....'' the report added.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Putin, Clinton to discuss Taliban, Pak
Next     : Pak. to buy Chinese combat aircraft