From a calm 'moulvi' to a dreaded militant

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, OCT. 16. None of those present at the media briefing on a chilly day in the winter of 1994 would have thought that a well- built bearded man, seated quietly in a corner, would be the most- wanted in India in 2001.

That day, the chief commander of the Harkat-ul-Ansar, Sajjad Afghani, was produced before mediapersons at the 15 Corps headquarters, along with another Pakistani. Lt. Gen. Arjun Ray, then Brigadier General Staff (BGS), described Afghani, a frail but visibly tough militant who had fought the Russians, as the ``biggest catch,'' given his importance in the militant circles. He was later killed in a shootout in Kotbalwal jail in June 1999.

While all the attention was on Sajjad, the other ``calm and cool'' chubby man with a long beard was described by the officers as an ``ideologue.'' He was Maulana Masood Azhar, who, Gen. Ray said, collected funds throughout the world. The journalists too were not curious about him but did ask him a few questions. ``Main khudai banda hoon'' he told this correspondent and vehemently denied being involved in militancy. He was a writer and had come to Kashmir on a valid passport to see how the situation was, he claimed. Afghani echoed his views and said ``he is my spiritual leader.''

Azhar described himself as a purely religious person which, of course, was quite believable. There was hardly any indication that the man wearing a `pheran' (traditional Kashmiri long coat used during winter) would one day become the most wanted ``militant'' in India.

The Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, has officially asked Pakistan to hand over the then ``calm and cool'' and today's most-wanted Maulana, chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) - the militant outfit banned by the U.S. and the U.K. and responsible for the October 1 attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly - to India.

Azhar had travelled on a Portugese passport and had reportedly been to 12 countries before entering Kashmir in February 1994. Before he could revitalise the pan-Islamic militant network in the Valley, he was arrested along with Sajjad on February 20 in a south Kashmir village.

The spirituality of Maulana Azhar did not wane even after he was jailed in Kashmir. He used to give taweez (amulets) not only to his jailmates but also to the security guards who had problems. ``In jail also he was calm and cool and never took part in any agitation. He was confined to his room,'' a then jail official of Kotbalwal told The Hindu.

The officials believe that Maulana Azhar continued to rule the minds of the Harkat cadres even while in jail. So, when he was released in exchange for the passengers of the IA plane hijacked to Kandahar in December 2000, the response from the militants was overwhelming, leading to the creation of the JeM. A hardliner to the core, Azhar is believed to be close to the Taliban chief, Mullah Omar.

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