The Chasm
between Rhetoric and Reality
G. Parthasarathy
Pakistan's Foreign
Secretary Riaz Khokhar was in New Delhi for the "Composite
Dialogue Process" between India and Pakistan during the weekend
commencing June 26. The last round of talks between the Foreign
Secretaries, in 1998, had been anything but cordial. When India's
then Foreign Secretary K. Raghunath referred to the growing
terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by the Pakistani
jihadi group the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), his Pakistani counterpart
Shamshad Ahmad claimed that he was not even aware of the existence
of such an organization in his country. This assertion came despite
the fact that the then Governor of Punjab, Shahid Hamid, and the
then Information Minister, Mushahid Hussain, had paid a highly
publicized visit to the Headquarters of the LeT at Muridhke near
Lahore. Much water has since flowed through the Ganga and the Indus.
The LeT has proclaimed its intention to plant the green flag of
Islam in Washington, Tel Aviv and Delhi. Its cadres have been
apprehended while preparing for acts of terrorism in places as far
away as Washington and Sydney. It has made no secret of its support
for the Taliban and Al Qaeda and was belatedly declared a terrorist
organization by the Americans, British and others.
General Musharraf reacted predictably to western actions declaring
Pakistani jihadi groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the LeT
as terrorist organizations. He pretended to act against these
groups, but allowed them to function under new names. He, however,
acted firmly against elements in groups like the
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), who were involved in plots against him
personally, or joined the Al Qaeda in its moves to unseat the
royalty in Saudi Arabia. The LeT functions under its new name -
Jamaat ud Dawa - in Pakistan. Its cadres now carry arms more
discreetly than in the past. And its communications networks
actively give instructions to hundreds of its operatives, who have
been infiltrated across the Line of Control (LOC) in J&K. More
importantly, the LeT has evidently been assisted and tasked by the
Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to carry out terrorist strikes all
across India, targeting both strategic installations like the Bombay
Stock Exchange and political leaders who are accused of abetting
communal violence. The political objective of such moves is clear.
By targeting political leaders, the LeT is aiming to incite communal
violence and create a deep communal divide within India. This is
similar to earlier ISI attempts to create a Hindu-Sikh divide in
Punjab by targeting innocent Hindus in the state. The indictment of
cadres of the LeT in last year's bomb blasts in Mumbai and the
recent gunning down of its cadres in Gujarat has confirmed the role
the Lashkar intends to undertake across India.
What makes the Lashkar different from other ISI backed terrorist
groups operating in India? While other groups have confined their
activities to wresting the Kashmir valley from India and
occasionally pretending to be champions of Muslims in India, the LeT
avers that its objective is the liberation of Muslims in India by
the destabilization and unraveling of the Indian Union. Hence its
determination to establish its presence all across India, from
Kashmir to Kerala.
On June 29, the day after the talks between the Foreign Secretaries
of India and Pakistan ended, Kashmir's Police Chief Gopal Sharma
made some very interesting disclosures. Sharma indicated that his
force had broken up a complex LeT network in the State. Two of its
top leaders, both Pakistani nationals, had been gunned down. Twenty
of its cadres had been arrested. Sharma also disclosed that the
group was planning to eliminate politically high profile persons and
some police officers. They were even planning to destroy economic
centres like the Bombay Stock Exchange and concentrate their
activities in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Srinagar. He added that the
group was acting under the directions of the LeT leadership based in
Pakistan and that it had amongst others, killed Moulvi Mushtaq
Ahmed, the uncle of prominent All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC)
leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. It was also revealed that the LeT group
was in close touch with its associates and Indian contacts, who were
killed recently by the Gujarat Police. The LeT makes no secret that
its cadres do indeed operate not only across the LOC but also
elsewhere within India. A large number of LeT leaders and cadres,
who are Pakistani nationals, have been killed in recent years in
anti-terrorist operations within J&K.
Despite much talk of a fall in infiltration across the LOC in J&K,
terrorists did strike on a number of occasions just before the
composite dialogue with Pakistan commenced. These attacks included
the killing of four Indian tourists on June 12, the brutal murder of
an Indian railway Engineer and his brother on June 25, and the
gunning down of 11 members of the Gujjar community, including women
and children in the Jammu Region on June 26. They follow careful
targeting across J&K of candidates and others taking an active part
in the General Elections in April - May 2004. The ISI strategy in
J&K is clear. They will use terrorist violence to disrupt political
and economic life across the State. At the same time, they will
target political activists who seek to distance themselves from
Pakistan's ambitions, either by attacking them directly, or by
killing their close relatives and associates. The assassinations of
Abdul Ghani Lone and Moulvi Mushtaq Ahmed are a part of this
strategy. It is significant that not a single leader of the APHC or
the ruling People's Democratic Party in J&K has yet issued a single
statement categorically condemning acts of terrorist violence and
pointing out that Pakistani nationals involved in such activities
have no business to enter the State. More importantly, a message has
been sent across the Valley by the terrorists that they will not
hesitate to target tourists and others who provide employment and
earnings for the people of the State.
Gopal Sharma also made another interesting revelation. He indicated
that the predominantly Pakistani LeT was now working in close
coordination with the largest Kashmiri group operating in Jammu and
Kashmir, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM). Both the Hizb and the LeT are
associated with the ISI-sponsored United Jihad Council that operates
out of Muzaffrabad. The ISI evidently realized that the Punjabi
speaking cadres of the LeT were no longer welcome in the Kashmir
valley. They are, therefore, endeavoring to ensure that they receive
a measure of support by coordinating their activities with the
cadres of the Hizb, who have widespread local contacts. The ISI
establishment has also been concerned by the split in the Hurriyat.
They are uncomfortable with exclusively supporting the faction led
by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Hence the frantic efforts of Foreign
Secretary Riaz Khokhar to persuade separatist leaders and groups to
close ranks during his meetings with them in New Delhi. The effort
will be to coax the various factions of the Hurriyat to fall in line
through a judicious mix of fear and incentives. Security agencies in
India have estimated that there are around 2,500-3,500 armed
terrorists operating in J&K. Roughly sixty percent of these
terrorists are estimated to be Pakistani nationals. With hundreds of
trained terrorists having moved to staging areas for infiltration
across the LOC, it should be evident that Pakistan has no intention
of ending its use of violence and terrorism as instruments of State
Policy.
It is interesting that on the very day that that Foreign Secretary
Khokhar was meeting the Prime Minister and other leaders in Delhi
two important security related meetings took place in Islamabad and
New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his colleagues in the
Cabinet Committee on Security received a detailed briefing on the
security situation from the Army Chief, General Nirmal Vij, the same
day. General Musharraf also addressed a meeting of his senior army
colleagues, including the Pakistan Army's nine Corps Commanders on
June 28. The main focus of this meeting was on the situation on
Pakistan's western borders with Afghanistan, though the situation on
the LOC and the internal situation, including the attacks on General
Musharraf and the Karachi Corps Commander also figured in the
discussions. General Musharraf now has his hands full, with his Army
and Air Force attacking and laying siege on their own countrymen in
North and South Waziristan, along the Pak-Afghan border. General
Musharraf has little choice in this matter as George Bush
desperately needs to "get" Osama bin Laden before the US
Presidential elections. The meeting of the Corps Commanders took
place just before a visit to Pakistan by the American CENTCOM Chief
General John Abizaid. The United States obviously wants General
Musharraf to devote full attention to the operations against the Al
Qaeda and not fritter away his energies on tensions with India.
General Musharraf has little choice but to fall in line, in much the
same manner as General Zia was all milk and honey and even proposed
a "No War Pact" with India, when the US commenced its jihad against
the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Hence the sweet talk and soft
approach of Mr. Khokhar.
New Delhi obviously has to embark on a process that enhances
cooperation, builds confidence and seeks to resolve differences with
Pakistan. But it would do well to remember that even as it treaded
softly on issues like Pakistan's membership of the ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF) and its readmission to the Commonwealth, the Musharraf
dispensation spared no effort to fulfill its ambitions on the
Kashmir issue at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Foreign Minister's Conference in Istanbul. The vicious propaganda
against India on the State run Pakistan television and radio
continues. But far more dangerous than all this is the ISI supported
effort by the LeT to exacerbate communal tensions and target
political leaders and economic centres across India. Has any thought
been given to how the costs for Pakistan can be raised, if it
persists with these efforts?
G.
Parthasarathy
is a
Columnist and former Indian
High Commissioner to Pakistan. |
