Pak. 'jehadi' outfits protest crackdown

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 24. The reverberations of the Sindh Government's crackdown on sectarian outfits and enforcement of a ban on collection of `jehadi' funds continued to be felt across the length and breadth of Pakistan.

For the first time since Sindh enforced the ban and arrested 300 or so activists (to be released later) of various militant outfits, the `jehadi' organisations today rose in unison against the Musharraf Government and dubbed its actions as ``anti- Islamic'' and undermining the ``freedom struggle in Kashmir''. The deputy supreme commander of the Hizb-ul- Mujahideen, Maulana Muhammad Javed Qasuri, urged the Government to refrain from making statements that conveyed a negative message across the Line of Control.

A meeting of representatives of the outfits at Lahore preceded the statement. A spokesman of the United Jehad Council (UJC) said the meeting adopted a unanimous resolution against the actions of the Sindh Government. The resolution said the ``freedom fighters'' were sacrificing their lives to fulfill the incomplete agenda of partition and were fighting a heroic war against the highly-armed Indian security forces. It urged the Musharraf Government to standby `these freedom fighters instead of undermining the movement by such acts'. It termed the ban as against the teachings of Islam and a conspiracy of Jews. ``We started this fight for the dominance of Islam and support of suppressed Muslims of Indian-occupied Kashmir and would not stop this under any pressure.''

In a related development, the police is believed to have raided the offices of Zarb-e-Moman and Atlal, newspapers charged with interpreting the philosophy of some `jehadi' organisations and confiscated the copies. The raids followed even as the authorities released 400 workers of various militant outfits after confiscating their signboards, pamphlets and fund collection boxes.

Curiously, the militant outfits denied the Interior Minister, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Moinuddin Haider's statement, that their representatives had given an assurance for surrender of weapons. The central secretary of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Maulana Fazal Rehman, denied any deal with Mr. Haider and termed the Minister's statement as contrary to facts. He challenged Maj. Gen Rashid Qureshi's statement that donation in the name of `jehad' was misappropriated.

Meanwhile, another `jehadi' outfit engaged in operations in Kashmir, has announced that it would defy the ban on collection of `jehad' funds. In a statement, the organisation said it would continue to collect funds through charity boxes at mosques, shops and streets. ``If the Government does not desist from its anti- jehad policies, the people of Pakistan will never forgive it.''

`Release leaders'

Pakistan today accused the Indian security forces in Kashmir of having stepped up `violence and brutalities' in Kashmir and urged the Indian Government to immediately release the recently- arrested Kashmiri leaders.

In a statement here, the Pakistan Foreign Office referred to the arrest of Mr. Saadullah Tantray, chairman, Jammu & Kashmir Movement, and Mr. G.A. Mir, chairman, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Movement, and condemned them as violation of international humanitarian laws.

``The Government of Pakistan has noted with grave concern that since the extension of the Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1990 to the entire Jammu region, there has been a sharp increase in incidents of violence and brutal use of force against the unarmed civilian population protesting illegal Indian occupation of the Jammu & Kashmir State. The Government of Pakistan calls upon the Government of India to release Mr. Saadullah Tantray and Mr. G.A. Mir without further delay, end its repression in occupied Kashmir and fully respect the norms of international humanitarian laws''.

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