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Donations for the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Peshawar

PAKISTAN'S PRESIDENT, Pervez Musharraf, is confronted with a monumental task in ridding Pakistan of the militant elements with a pan-Islamic agenda. His Government's attempts to tackle the problem can be categorised in three phases.

The first phase pertains to the period before the terror strikes on American cities. The second phase post-September 11 and the third after the December 13 attack on the Indian Parliament.

Phase I: October 17, 1999. In his first speech to the nation, Gen. Musharraf promises to ensure law and order and pleads with the clergy to present Islam in true light. It is followed by a programme aimed at collection of an estimated 1.2 million unlicensed weapons. June 2000 to July 2001. Ban on forcible collection of funds in the name of `jehad' and public display of weapons. Ordinance for establishment of model religious schools with a syllabus which is a blend of Islamic and modern subjects. Proposal for compulsory registration of seminaries and survey to document their source of funding and foreigners on the rolls. August 14, 2001. In his address to nation on Independence Day, Gen. Musharraf bans two sectarian outfits and puts another on a watch list.

Phase II: September 11 to December 13. Extends support to the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism. Replaces the ISI chief known for his pro-Taliban leanings and supercedes three senior Generals involved in the Kashmir policy. Orders arrest of leaders of three major religious leaders (including Jamaat-e- Islami and Jamaat-Uelama-Islami) for inciting people to protest against Government support to the U.S. against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. They continue to be behind the bars. Follows the example of the U.S. and freezes assets and accounts of Pakistan- based organisations operating in Afghanistan. Two former nuclear scientists accused of helping Osama arrested and interrogated.

Phase III: December 13 onwards. Freezes assets of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Arrests leaders of the two militant outfits along with hundreds of their cadres and their offices are shut down in different parts of Pakistan. Orders ISI to withdraw support to Pakistan-based militant outfits engaged in Kashmir and announces a national committee on Kashmir under the chairmanship of the former PoK Prime Minister and President, Sardar Qayyum Khan, known for his moderate views.

In a joint press meet with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Gen. Musharraf announces that Pakistan denounces terrorism in all forms and manifestations and unveils a `wholesome plan' to tackle extremism. He also promises to look into the list of 20 wanted persons given by New Delhi.

It is not only a gigantic but also a very complicated task for anyone in Pakistan. No doubt Pakistan was born as a Muslim nation with Islam as its ideology. But what the founding father of Pakistan had envisaged was a `modern, progressive and liberal' Islamic country. As several contemporary historians testify it was one, at least in the first two and half decades of its existence, notwithstanding the complete feudal character of the society.

Religious extremism, bigotry and intolerance surfaced first in the mid-1970s under the stewardship of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. His decision to give in to the demand of the religious parties and name the Ahmadi sect as a minority was the starting point. And ever since it has been one downhill journey for Pakistan.

Zia-ul-Haq played a significant role in giving it momentum through his programme of Islamisation. The process he set in motion became irreversible, with every successive civilian and military government thereafter pandering to the religious zealots for their own partisan ends. The power wielded by the religious parties is in total contrast to their following among the people. Barring the 1970 election, fought under extraordinary circumstances, all the religious parties in Pakistan put together have never managed to poll even five per cent of the popular vote! And yet year after year they dictated the national agenda and the rulers merrily danced to their tunes.

At the end of the cold war (marked by withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan and its subsequent disintegration) Pakistan society was inundated with lakhs of sophisticated guns and thousands of youngsters trained in warfare. They were made to believe that it was their jehad that led to the collapse of the superpower.

The warriors were on the lookout for yet another cause in the name of Islam and what better than Kashmir. The establishment in Pakistan turned a blind eye as the country witnessed a mushrooming of militant outfits espousing the cause of Kashmir. The entry of foreign organisations into the Kashmir Valley changed the very complexion of the fight being carried on by outfits such as the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen whose cadres were mostly Kashmiris. Among the important Pakistan based militant outfits that began dominating the Kashmir valley were the Harkat- ul-Mujahideen and LeT. By 1993, the so-called `guests' began dictating to the hosts and Pakistan began orchestrating the militant campaign in the Valley with the help of its proxies.

Involvement in Afghanistan also affected Pakistani society in a major way. The kalashnikov and drug culture transformed the very fabric of society. Sectarian and ethnic terrorism raised its head like never before.

The civilian governments that came to power after the demise of Zia-ul-Haq never came to grips with sectarian and ethnic strife. They were afraid of their nuisance value and the threat they could pose to their own stability. As a result, they thrived and prospered with every passing year.

Gen. Musharraf was conscious of the havoc caused by these outfits when he took over as the Chief Executive of the country after a bloodless coup. But even his Government never went beyond pronouncements and cosmetic steps to contain them.

Part of the problem was the Musharraf regime did not want to touch those engaged in Kashmir and earn the wrath of them for `harming the Kashmir cause'. After all, `safeguarding the Kashmir' was one of the reasons cited by Gen. Musharraf in support of the decision to back the Americans in Afghanistan.

But then December 13 happened. With mounting international pressure and the two nuclear powers on the brink of a war, Gen. Musharraf has little option but to re-think the strategy of his Government on Kashmir.

The enormity of the task Gen. Musharraf faces in cleaning up at home can be gauged from the simple fact that there are an estimated 12 lakh unlicensed kalashnikovs in Pakistan. No one has an idea of the number of religious seminaries. The estimates wary from 15,000 to 40,000. Some of them definitely fall in the category of `jehad factories'. If international community in general and India in particular wants to extend a helping hand to Pakistan's ,President in dealing with militancy, it will have to also push for an early resolution of the Kashmir problem.

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