Aqil Shah December 21, 2001
#65 Posted by Humsab on December 25, 2001 10:02:08 am
Pride, prejudice vanish into thin air here
Sanjeev Bikhchandani
Our business meetings for the day are over. The drive to the Wagah border from Amritsar takes a little over 45 minutes. We are in a hurry for we are likely to miss the Retreat -the impressive ceremonial lowering of the flags of India and Pakistan that takes place every evening at Wagah just before sunset.
The highway is excellent. As we get closer to the border, the traffic gets thinner. The fields are green but empty. Our host Rakesh Gupta, a local entrepreneur, tells us that people have probably been evacuated from the villages close to the border. My mobile screen goes blank as the signal is jammed about 10 kilometres from the border.
An unidentified couple from Pakistan sips tea at the border check-post at Wagah- AP
On the surface, everything looks normal. But if you take a closer look, you see evidence of the army build-up. Camouflage netting concealing tents, trucks and armoured personnel carriers. Rakesh informs us that there is a large increase in Army activity in the area. Normally it is the BSF that is more active but now the Army seems to have taken over many of the positions. Most of the Army movement takes place at night.
At Ambala station, our taxi driver had been a fountain of information. He told us about hundreds of trucks, tanks and rail carriages being sent to the border from Ambala and about anti-aircraft guns being installed not far from where he lives. To a lay person like me, it looks as if the preparations for war are serious. The public morale at Amritsar is high. People also feel that a Pakistan attack will not occur in this sector and that if it does, the Indian forces will win. Pakistan would prefer to attact in Khem Karan or Akhnoor. There is, however, a tinge of worry that if an attack does happen here and the army is forced to pull back to the other side of the Beas beyond Amritsar, the city will fall into Pakistani hands. They needn`t worry. The Indian Army would never let the Golden Temple fall to Pakistan.
We cross the Indian Army`s second line of defence - a smallish nullah with a line of bunkers on the Amritsar side. Within 10 minutes, we cross the first line of defence. A larger nullah with manned bunkers. It is lined with dense growth of Acacia, which provides additional cover to the Army. If it had not been pointed out to us, I would probably have missed it as we drove past. Rakesh duly informs us that this line of defence runs for over 20 km and is heavily fortified. I see the silhouette of a jawan keeping a watchful eye on the road traffic as we drive past.
Soon we reach Wagah. It seems to be a popular tourist spot, second only to the Golden Temple. There are over a hundred cars in the parking lot, several buses and a huge crowd. There are tea and pakora stalls doing brisk business, as well as a beer bar. As we walk towards the border, we see crowds of people returning - we have missed the retreat.
I am disappointed but we go on nevertheless.
As we approach the gate, we see a sign on our left proclaiming a prachin Shiv mandir. The mandir itself is small and looks less than 10 years old. When we get near the border gate, I realise that there is stadium-type seating on both sides of the border, where you can sit and watch the Retreat and the people on the other side. There is still a large crowd on both sides of the border although the Retreat is over. I take out my binoculars from the case and scan the crowd on the Pakistan side. I am somewhat miffed to see several Pakistanis observing us through their binoculars. How dare they do to me what I am doing to them. Clearly, watching the other side is a spectator sport at Wagah. I pass the binoculars to my colleague Vikram, whose trained eye immediately focuses on several beautiful women on the other side. Others in the crowd around us request us for a peek through the binoculars. We duly oblige.
Just then the guards on both sides allow the public to go right up to the border gates. The crowd surges towards the gate. We follow in its wake. To the right of the gate, there is a path that goes along the border. There is a similar path on the Pakistan side. The public on both sides can walk along the border with a few feet separating the two sides. We follow the rush of people along this path.
Is it my imagination or are the people on the other side a dirtier scruffier lot than those on this side? The Indians seem to be turned out in their Sunday best. Perhaps I am biased. I feel glad to be an Indian. The Indians are observing the Pakistanis as if they were animals in a zoo. The Pakistani`s are doing the same to us. A burly sardar next to me remarks loudly, ``Saadi kudiyan jyada soni haingi`` (Our women are prettier). There are hoots of laughter on the Indian side. The Pakistanis take offence and some respond in kind to the sardar. Some minor slogan shouting takes place from both sides - more in fun than anything else.
A man next to me says to his companion that the dress of the Pakistan Rangers makes them resemble chefs and waiters. They both laugh. An uncharitable remark, since the guards on both sides are impeccably turned out. Obviously, the best physical specimens are chosen on both sides for duty here. I don`t see any guard less than six feet two inches in height. The security staff on both sides seem to be buddies as they refer to each other by first name.
I make eye contact with a young man on the other side. He is accompanied by two children. I am reminded of my own two children back in Delhi. I smile at him tentatively - unsure of the response. He smiles back and mouths a hello. I mouth a silent hello back and nod my head. Neither of us speak. There is less than 10 feet of physical distance between us. However, the gulf between our perceptions of each other`s national identities is much larger. We share a few moments of kinship without speaking. Who is this stranger on the other side of the fence with whom I am bonding? What does he do? Where is he from? I will probably never find out the answers to these and other questions. The ridiculousness of the border is hammered home to me very tangibly. We are one people, why can`t we be one nation? A Utopian ideal in today`s times, a mad thought. Why should we be divided by an arbitrary line drawn on a map by an Englishman sitting in a bungalow in Delhi over 50 years ago.
I feel ambivalent and confused about Pakistan. Do I dislike Pakistan or do I like it? I figure it`s a bit of both. I can understand how my parents, who migrated from Sindh at the time of partition, feel about it.
We reach the convergence point - the place where the paths on both sides meet and where there is no fence - just a white line painted on the ground and a border marker with India written on one side and Pakistan on the other. We pause here. I am seized by an irrational urge to jump across to the Pakistan side for just one minute and then jump back. The BSF guard reads my body language and steps in front of me, indicating that I shouldn`t even think about it. I seek permission to stand next to the border marker while Vikram clicks a photograph. He obliges. I know that the photo won`t come out as it is getting dark and I don`t have a flash. As I stand next to the border marker while Vikram focuses the camera, I slip the heel of my right shoe over the line on the ground and place my left hand on the Pakistan side of the marker. The guards don`t notice; they are busy managing the rest of the crowd. In my own little way, I have bridged the border. I have undone Radcliffe. I have un-partitioned India. I feel a sense of achievement and elation. I am reminded of Stephen Alter`s insightful observation that for the Indians, the partition and the border are a tragedy and a disappointment but for the Pakistanis, they are a source of pride and provides them with a sense of achievement.
I resolve to return to the Wagah border soon with my family. Next time, we will be in time for the Retreat. Every Indian should visit the Wagah border. It is guaranteed to do strange things to you.
I am snapped out of my reverie by the BSF guard who tells me to move on: ``Sahib jaldi kariye humko bhi off duty jana hai``. I tell him that we have come all the way from Delhi so he shouldn`t hustle us. ``Hamara bhi to sochiye,`` he replies. What for me has turned out to be as fulfilling as a pilgrimage is just another day at office for him. Reluctantly, we walk away from the border and head for the car park.
On the way, we pass a section of the border where there are no guards. A man ahead of us expresses his intention to urinate across the fence into Pakistan. Perish the thought, his friend tells him. The fence is electrified. If your aim is not good you could run into some not inconsiderable difficulty. There is laughter all around.
We hear the loudspeaker from the mosque on the Pakistan side as the evening prayers are said. To my untrained ear, it seems to be proclaiming Pakistan`s national identity and making a point to the Indian public gathered there. I am pretty sure there is no spiritual significance to the mosque on the other side and the allegedly prachin shiv mandir on this side. They serve the purpose of making a political statement to the other side.
As we approach the car park, we see a group of five of our jawans going towards a bunker less than 50 yards inside Indian territory. I say a silent prayer for their safety in the days and weeks ahead. Soon enough serious business will be afoot. And this time we are determined to stamp out terrorism decisively. May God help the nation achieve its objectives.
On the drive back to Amritsar we are silent as we feel overpowered by the experience and are lost in our private thoughts.
#66 Posted by Banjaara on December 25, 2001 2:53:30 pm
Jaish e Mohammad # 57
Chowk has a policy for abusive interacts-it does
not allow abusive interaction from any side.What
I read here is far beyond abusive,it is vulgar,it
is inhuman,it is KUFR.
Will the Chowk authorities take note of this hated
propaganda from these creatures (can`t call them
human)and ban their rhetoric?
Regards.
Chowk has a policy for abusive interacts-it does
not allow abusive interaction from any side.What
I read here is far beyond abusive,it is vulgar,it
is inhuman,it is KUFR.
Will the Chowk authorities take note of this hated
propaganda from these creatures (can`t call them
human)and ban their rhetoric?
Regards.
#67 Posted by tahmed321 on December 25, 2001 2:53:30 pm
Jaish-e-Mohammad #57 In this post you call shias and ahmedis kafirs. If you understood the basic message of the Quran, you would know that in passing such judgement, you are arrogating for yourself a judgement that is reserved by God for Himself on the Judgement Day.
And dont disgrace our religion by starting with ``Bismillahi`r - Rahmani`r - Rahim ``. Coming from mischievous hate-filled subhumans like you, these words mean nothing.
Your previous post spewed venom against journalists and Musharaff. This post spews venom against other sects. If anyone wants to understand the mind of a terrorist, all he has to do is read your posts: the mind is empty of anything but hate.
And dont disgrace our religion by starting with ``Bismillahi`r - Rahmani`r - Rahim ``. Coming from mischievous hate-filled subhumans like you, these words mean nothing.
Your previous post spewed venom against journalists and Musharaff. This post spews venom against other sects. If anyone wants to understand the mind of a terrorist, all he has to do is read your posts: the mind is empty of anything but hate.
#68 Posted by sigalph235 on December 25, 2001 3:35:34 pm
re jaish-e-mohammad 57
Somebody give this dude a bourbon and coke. He obviously has nothing to do than read extensively the literature spewed by his arch-enemies, the SHias, from their caves at Qom. In a way it is good: the Sunni nuts declaring war on the Shia nuts and hopefully getting rid of each other; that leaves the rest of us to re-establish civilization in Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia etc.
But seriously, tahmed sahib is right: this is the mirror image of a mind full of hatred and eager for their version of jehad. Nonetheless, they will find it quite a non-starter now to start the grand jehad-e-Hind. India`s much admired patience is running out(it should have ten years ago) and she will strike back like an elephant aroused from slumber. Hopefully India can make an example for generations to come by hanging these culprits in straight line from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
Somebody give this dude a bourbon and coke. He obviously has nothing to do than read extensively the literature spewed by his arch-enemies, the SHias, from their caves at Qom. In a way it is good: the Sunni nuts declaring war on the Shia nuts and hopefully getting rid of each other; that leaves the rest of us to re-establish civilization in Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia etc.
But seriously, tahmed sahib is right: this is the mirror image of a mind full of hatred and eager for their version of jehad. Nonetheless, they will find it quite a non-starter now to start the grand jehad-e-Hind. India`s much admired patience is running out(it should have ten years ago) and she will strike back like an elephant aroused from slumber. Hopefully India can make an example for generations to come by hanging these culprits in straight line from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
#69 Posted by Ras Siddiqui on December 25, 2001 6:30:53 pm
RE: #57
One of my rare greetings reserved for people like you. ``P--- off``.
Ras
#70 Posted by jay on December 25, 2001 7:56:12 pm
tahmed 60
Tahmed, why are you using such archiac words like stool to describe pakistan as being suspended in between. The modern word is sh//it and pakistan is held between two piles of it, TNT and the military.
``Perhaps we should clear the baggage off the table. And try not to fall between two stools while doing so.
Baggage=Dispute over Kashmir.
Two stools=Means nothing. I just threw this in for literary affect. :-)
PS: On the two stools, I could have made up some BS about traditional Indian vs. Mideast culture, but I wont since that is not the issue - the issue is how do we adapt to the emerging Global Culture that is replacing traditional cultures anyway. And that completely turns the tables on the metaphor of the table. I better get off the table now.``
Tahmed, why are you using such archiac words like stool to describe pakistan as being suspended in between. The modern word is sh//it and pakistan is held between two piles of it, TNT and the military.
``Perhaps we should clear the baggage off the table. And try not to fall between two stools while doing so.
Baggage=Dispute over Kashmir.
Two stools=Means nothing. I just threw this in for literary affect. :-)
PS: On the two stools, I could have made up some BS about traditional Indian vs. Mideast culture, but I wont since that is not the issue - the issue is how do we adapt to the emerging Global Culture that is replacing traditional cultures anyway. And that completely turns the tables on the metaphor of the table. I better get off the table now.``
#71 Posted by OmarAkram on December 25, 2001 7:56:12 pm
RE: sigalph235 and Tahmed
First an apology of taking you as a NON-Muslim, I must say that your posting did sound as something from a HINDU. I am sorry for that and an unconditional appology for that brother.
I am sorry that you think that no one knows what Allah will ask on the day of Judgment. You have graciously pointed out the fact that ``for you is your religion and mine for me`` it was also stated in Al-Kafiroon I did not say I know all the questions but I am as sure as hell that I do know what is expected of me as a muslim on that day (for instance question about Salat will be among the first)and NO ONE ON THAT DAY, CAN CLAIM THAT ``Allah I was ignorant of this and NO ONE WILL BE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE``.
If Jehad both against oneself(the Nafs) and against the infedels is questinable, who will use any excuse to exterminate Islam regardless of what ever the sect you follow then what The companions of the Prophet did in the wars under the leadership of the Prophet, is that wrong too.....
Ahmeadis are not Muslims thats my opinon since there concept of their leader is 180 degree against the concept and belief of Finality of the Prophet, for me what Jesh-i-Mohammed has said against Sheia sect of Islam is extreemly idotic and stupid and completely against Islam I or infact anyone else I know follows.
``...Okay. Do you have Mullah Omar`s number so I can ask him for his intellectual take on the Qayamah? Seriously, I don`t think that Mullah Omar or you were there when Allah was revealing the mysteries of Qayamah. To think otherwise, ie to claim to decipher the mind of God, is blasphemy to say the least....``
What do you know who might be where on the day of Judgment (i dont like Mullah Omar my self) but that does not give me any right to pass any judgment about any muslim (I am sorry again and may Allah forgive me for taking you as an Infidel),
DID i say I am deciphering ``the mind`` of Allah. DOnt you know what is said in the Surrah Al-Waqiah (section 27 of Quran) or in fact AL-Qariah (the clamity section-30) does it still leaves a doubt in your mind what will happen to me or you that day. I am not sure if I can make it to Jannah with the present state of my ``account``, if you are sure that with your credentials or Aamal right now you will make it then best of luck to you.
What kind of Muslim are we that our brothers and sisters are being butchered in Palestine, Kashmire, but dont feel any pain for them since its a Hadith that a muslims ummah is like a human body if there is trouble in any part the whole body feels it,...
but it seems that some of us feel quite amused at the fact that some where in afghanistan or palestine or even kashmire a muslim bites the dust and we donot feel ANYTHING for them and are happy to put them under ``co-lateral damage`` and siding with the very people who are doing so.
What was done on Sept 11 in the name of Islam was wrong but what is done to us after that is extreemly wrong as well.
It seems to me that you and some others have misunderstood what I said. I am not saying that you are right or wrong but what my grandparents told me as what happened to them in Kashmir back in 40s and when i see the Hindus here in UK i am quite sure that they dont have any good intentions towards us as a hindu towards a muslim.
If they want to live in peace then they have all the right to but they should not opress my brothers and sisters in their land as well and let them have the right of decision as well.
First an apology of taking you as a NON-Muslim, I must say that your posting did sound as something from a HINDU. I am sorry for that and an unconditional appology for that brother.
I am sorry that you think that no one knows what Allah will ask on the day of Judgment. You have graciously pointed out the fact that ``for you is your religion and mine for me`` it was also stated in Al-Kafiroon I did not say I know all the questions but I am as sure as hell that I do know what is expected of me as a muslim on that day (for instance question about Salat will be among the first)and NO ONE ON THAT DAY, CAN CLAIM THAT ``Allah I was ignorant of this and NO ONE WILL BE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE``.
If Jehad both against oneself(the Nafs) and against the infedels is questinable, who will use any excuse to exterminate Islam regardless of what ever the sect you follow then what The companions of the Prophet did in the wars under the leadership of the Prophet, is that wrong too.....
Ahmeadis are not Muslims thats my opinon since there concept of their leader is 180 degree against the concept and belief of Finality of the Prophet, for me what Jesh-i-Mohammed has said against Sheia sect of Islam is extreemly idotic and stupid and completely against Islam I or infact anyone else I know follows.
``...Okay. Do you have Mullah Omar`s number so I can ask him for his intellectual take on the Qayamah? Seriously, I don`t think that Mullah Omar or you were there when Allah was revealing the mysteries of Qayamah. To think otherwise, ie to claim to decipher the mind of God, is blasphemy to say the least....``
What do you know who might be where on the day of Judgment (i dont like Mullah Omar my self) but that does not give me any right to pass any judgment about any muslim (I am sorry again and may Allah forgive me for taking you as an Infidel),
DID i say I am deciphering ``the mind`` of Allah. DOnt you know what is said in the Surrah Al-Waqiah (section 27 of Quran) or in fact AL-Qariah (the clamity section-30) does it still leaves a doubt in your mind what will happen to me or you that day. I am not sure if I can make it to Jannah with the present state of my ``account``, if you are sure that with your credentials or Aamal right now you will make it then best of luck to you.
What kind of Muslim are we that our brothers and sisters are being butchered in Palestine, Kashmire, but dont feel any pain for them since its a Hadith that a muslims ummah is like a human body if there is trouble in any part the whole body feels it,...
but it seems that some of us feel quite amused at the fact that some where in afghanistan or palestine or even kashmire a muslim bites the dust and we donot feel ANYTHING for them and are happy to put them under ``co-lateral damage`` and siding with the very people who are doing so.
What was done on Sept 11 in the name of Islam was wrong but what is done to us after that is extreemly wrong as well.
It seems to me that you and some others have misunderstood what I said. I am not saying that you are right or wrong but what my grandparents told me as what happened to them in Kashmir back in 40s and when i see the Hindus here in UK i am quite sure that they dont have any good intentions towards us as a hindu towards a muslim.
If they want to live in peace then they have all the right to but they should not opress my brothers and sisters in their land as well and let them have the right of decision as well.
#72 Posted by sigalph235 on December 26, 2001 2:28:13 am
re omarakram
You live in the UK and promote jehad against the infidel! It is the same infidel, in the person of Her Majesty`s Geovernment, that provides you with safety and security. Why don`t you put your money where your mouth is and head over to conduct that jehad of nafs in some forlorn Islamic country like Maurtania or Niger?
I belive in the pluralist, secular, representative systems that civilization stands for. Always have. Anything else is anathema. Specially the stuff you guys espouse because it means, ultimately, a religious theocracy ruled by turbaned zealots. And we will resist that kind of cancer till the very end.
Yes, I too have a grandparent who, bless her soul, was a Kashmiri.So what? That hardly means that I have to support every terrorist in every corner of the world. What Muslims suffer today is brought upon themselves by the abject refusal of their leadership to play by the rules of the modern world.
Chechnya and Kashmir would have been free sometimes ago had they not imported the personnel and tactics of terrorists. And for Palestinians, well they perfected the tactics and definition of terrorism and hijacking. None of that means that innocent Palestinians should suffer but then it`s a tough world.
You live in the UK and promote jehad against the infidel! It is the same infidel, in the person of Her Majesty`s Geovernment, that provides you with safety and security. Why don`t you put your money where your mouth is and head over to conduct that jehad of nafs in some forlorn Islamic country like Maurtania or Niger?
I belive in the pluralist, secular, representative systems that civilization stands for. Always have. Anything else is anathema. Specially the stuff you guys espouse because it means, ultimately, a religious theocracy ruled by turbaned zealots. And we will resist that kind of cancer till the very end.
Yes, I too have a grandparent who, bless her soul, was a Kashmiri.So what? That hardly means that I have to support every terrorist in every corner of the world. What Muslims suffer today is brought upon themselves by the abject refusal of their leadership to play by the rules of the modern world.
Chechnya and Kashmir would have been free sometimes ago had they not imported the personnel and tactics of terrorists. And for Palestinians, well they perfected the tactics and definition of terrorism and hijacking. None of that means that innocent Palestinians should suffer but then it`s a tough world.
#73 Posted by Trojan Horse on December 26, 2001 2:28:13 am
http://www.telegraphindia.com/
TROOP BUILD-UP ON BANGLA BORDER
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
Sheikhpara (Murshidabad), Dec. 25:
Tension is rising along the border in the Raninagar police station area following a massive mobilisation by Bangladesh Rifles since last night.
The troops concentration began after a miscreant, who crossed over from Bangladesh, was shot dead by Border Security Force jawans yesterday. Residents fear a retaliation any moment.
Domkal sub-divisional police officer Ajay Thakur said Rapid Action Force and State Armed Police personnel have been deployed to assist the border troops.
BSF assistant commandant Rajinder Singh said a gang of miscreants from Rajshahi in Bangladesh had crossed over into Indian territory yesterday to smuggle sand from the chars of Padma at Harurdanga village under Raninagar police station yesterday. “The miscreants, who had come in four boats, were challenged by our patrol party. Our boys, who were in a small boat, were outnumbered by the Bangladeshi criminals who tried to snatch the boat,” Singh said. The BSF jawans then opened fire, killing one miscreant on the spot.
He was identified as Mehmuddin Sheikh, 26, of Rajshahi district. Another intruder, who is Sheikh’s brother, was arrested. Two others, who suffered injuries, managed to escape across the border to Bangladesh.
The administration is concerned over the mobilisation of forces along the border in Bangladesh after the incident, said Raninagar II block development officer Pankaj Mukherjee. “We are taking no chances. We have beefed up security along the border. Raids from the other side of the border have become a regular feature these days,” he added.
TROOP BUILD-UP ON BANGLA BORDER
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
Sheikhpara (Murshidabad), Dec. 25:
Tension is rising along the border in the Raninagar police station area following a massive mobilisation by Bangladesh Rifles since last night.
The troops concentration began after a miscreant, who crossed over from Bangladesh, was shot dead by Border Security Force jawans yesterday. Residents fear a retaliation any moment.
Domkal sub-divisional police officer Ajay Thakur said Rapid Action Force and State Armed Police personnel have been deployed to assist the border troops.
BSF assistant commandant Rajinder Singh said a gang of miscreants from Rajshahi in Bangladesh had crossed over into Indian territory yesterday to smuggle sand from the chars of Padma at Harurdanga village under Raninagar police station yesterday. “The miscreants, who had come in four boats, were challenged by our patrol party. Our boys, who were in a small boat, were outnumbered by the Bangladeshi criminals who tried to snatch the boat,” Singh said. The BSF jawans then opened fire, killing one miscreant on the spot.
He was identified as Mehmuddin Sheikh, 26, of Rajshahi district. Another intruder, who is Sheikh’s brother, was arrested. Two others, who suffered injuries, managed to escape across the border to Bangladesh.
The administration is concerned over the mobilisation of forces along the border in Bangladesh after the incident, said Raninagar II block development officer Pankaj Mukherjee. “We are taking no chances. We have beefed up security along the border. Raids from the other side of the border have become a regular feature these days,” he added.
#74 Posted by AAmir on December 26, 2001 4:05:34 am
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#75 Posted by Humsab on December 26, 2001 4:35:21 pm
Beware the General across the border
Wilson John
Let us not underestimate Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. After finding himself cornered within his country by jihadi Generals and militant mullahs and from outside by the rampaging forces of the Northern Alliance and the United States, Musharraf ran to Beijing for shelter. That`s what he did when he engineered the Kargil War. He was sitting pretty when his troops intruded into the Indian territory. This time around too, the Chinese welcomed him, shook hands with him, heard him out, put arms around his shoulders and told him not to worry. The Chinese are his good friends; they have so much at stake in Pakistan. So when India and the United States began making loud noises about terror groups and involvement of his country, Musharraf, with the Chinese at his side, decided to act tough and ordered freezing of bank accounts and assets of Lashkar-e-Toiba, told Lashkar chief Prof Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed to shut shop on his own. He made similar requests to Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Azhar Masood. Maybe the Americans would be willing to accept his actions as bona fide; we should not make that mistake. Musharraf is too clever a General to go on his knees and even if he feigns to do so, it is just another strategic retreat.
It is important to understand Musharraf the man to make sense of his quicksilver swings. He is a Mohajir from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh but had settled down in Gujranwala in Punjab. He got commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 1964 and was just one of the officers who waited for their promotion boards till General Zia-ul Haq spotted him. General Zia never hid his liking for devout officers and in Musharraf he found a pious Deobandi. Leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, a fundamentalist political party, made it known to the General that they too preferred Musharraf. Musharraf proved to be a right choice for both of them. The first task he was assigned by General Zia was to train mujahideens recruited by various religious organisations to fight the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. It was during those days that Musharraf first met a Saudi civil engineer who was keen to help the cause of jihad with money and muscle. The Central Intelligence Agency had brought this contractor to construct bunkers for the mujahideens. The contractor, with whom Musharraf had close working relationship, is today known as the most wanted man in the world, Osama bin Laden. It was at this juncture that Musharraf developed two other key links that would stand him in good stead-the CIA and the narcotics syndicate operating in the North West Frontier Province.
The only reason why I am re-visiting the history of Musharraf is to understand the factors that shaped his psyche. For instance, his close ties with General Zia ul Haq. It was General Zia who planned Operation Topac, a long-term plan to dismember India through both covert and overt operations. Musharraf was part of this plan. One of the elements of Operation Topac was to annex the Siachen area that somehow remained unmarked when the Line of Control was being re-drawn after the 1971 war. For his Siachen plan, General Zia raised a Special Services Group headquartered at Khapalu in the Siachen area in 1987. Musharraf was then a Brigadier and was asked to command the unit. The same year, an acolyte eager to please his master, Brigadier Musharraf attacked an Indian post in Siachen that was promptly repulsed. Within a year, Brigadier Musharraf got another critical assignment from General Zia. This time, his mission was to suppress a revolt in Gilgit. The Shias, a majority community in the area, had risen in revolt against their continued neglect at the hands of the rulers in Islamabad. Musharraf sought out bin Laden for his mission. Laden was by then known to be an effective leader of mujahideens. It is said several hundred Shias were massacred in the operation. After the revolt was brutally suppressed, Musharraf, on the orders of Zia, began settling Punjabis and Pakhtoons in Gilgit and Baltistan to reduce the Kashmiri Shias to a minority. The Kashmiris who swear by Musharraf today would do well to read about his exploits in Gilgit and Baltistan.
One stellar quality in Musharraf, as the world by now must have realised, is rank opportunism. He is not the typical officer and a gentleman as the Britons trained their officers to be. He is an officer and a politician, always looking for the first opportunity to network with those who can propel him further. While in Gilgit and Baltistan, Musharraf became close to Lt.General Javed Nasir, who was then the Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence and Justice Mohmmad Rafique Tarar, both of whom played a key role in his becoming the Chief of Army Staff. Nasir was an adviser on intelligence matters to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief and Tarar was the President. Another factor that linked the three together was their religious belief-they were Deobandis and had a good standing with fundamentalist parties and terrorist groups like Harkat ul Mujahideen, earlier known as Harkat ul Ansar. One of the splinter groups of Harkat is today known as Jaish-e-Mohmmad. Another reason for Sharief to choose Musharraf superceding two of his seniors, Lt.Gen. Ali Kuli Khan, the Chief of General Staff, and Lt. Gen. Khalid Nawaz, the Quarter Master General, was his hatred for Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a Mohajir rebel group. Musharraf, acting on the orders of Sharief, set up special courts to try MQM activists, Shias by caste, as terrorists. This anti-Shia operation helped Musharraf in more ways than one, the most crucial being the wide appreciation and support he got from the rabidly anti-Shia terrorist groups that were funded by the ISI via Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious fundamentalist party that has immense clout across the country.
It was therefore no surprise that first thing Musharraf did on throwing Sharief out (incidentally he was once again out of the country, this time he was teeing in Colombo) was to let the fundamentalists have a free run of the country, drawing support from them to stabilise his hold over Islamabad. He openly courted them, allowing them to open offices in respectable commercial and residential complexes; letting them recruit men for terrorist training, arming them with modern weapons to kill civilians and security men in Kashmir. Within two years, Musharraf is turning once again, this time against the very forces that created him and made him the Emperor. It is not exactly easy to trust him when he makes a sound and fury about banning terror groups operating in his country. He is a man with a thousand faces. A few months down the line, after he has lulled the Americans and the Western world into believing in his anti-terrorism charade, he is quite capable of bringing together the vanquished Al Qaida, the Taliban and the terror groups that pull his strings and create another invisible network of terror. Till then, I am sure he has already told Jaish and Lashkar leaders to lie low, change nomenclature, shift office and cooperate with him for achieving their common interest-inflict a thousand cuts on India. Beware. India needs to keep a close watch on this General who has a history of switching sides and using religion for military goals.
Wilson John
Let us not underestimate Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. After finding himself cornered within his country by jihadi Generals and militant mullahs and from outside by the rampaging forces of the Northern Alliance and the United States, Musharraf ran to Beijing for shelter. That`s what he did when he engineered the Kargil War. He was sitting pretty when his troops intruded into the Indian territory. This time around too, the Chinese welcomed him, shook hands with him, heard him out, put arms around his shoulders and told him not to worry. The Chinese are his good friends; they have so much at stake in Pakistan. So when India and the United States began making loud noises about terror groups and involvement of his country, Musharraf, with the Chinese at his side, decided to act tough and ordered freezing of bank accounts and assets of Lashkar-e-Toiba, told Lashkar chief Prof Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed to shut shop on his own. He made similar requests to Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Azhar Masood. Maybe the Americans would be willing to accept his actions as bona fide; we should not make that mistake. Musharraf is too clever a General to go on his knees and even if he feigns to do so, it is just another strategic retreat.
It is important to understand Musharraf the man to make sense of his quicksilver swings. He is a Mohajir from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh but had settled down in Gujranwala in Punjab. He got commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 1964 and was just one of the officers who waited for their promotion boards till General Zia-ul Haq spotted him. General Zia never hid his liking for devout officers and in Musharraf he found a pious Deobandi. Leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, a fundamentalist political party, made it known to the General that they too preferred Musharraf. Musharraf proved to be a right choice for both of them. The first task he was assigned by General Zia was to train mujahideens recruited by various religious organisations to fight the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. It was during those days that Musharraf first met a Saudi civil engineer who was keen to help the cause of jihad with money and muscle. The Central Intelligence Agency had brought this contractor to construct bunkers for the mujahideens. The contractor, with whom Musharraf had close working relationship, is today known as the most wanted man in the world, Osama bin Laden. It was at this juncture that Musharraf developed two other key links that would stand him in good stead-the CIA and the narcotics syndicate operating in the North West Frontier Province.
The only reason why I am re-visiting the history of Musharraf is to understand the factors that shaped his psyche. For instance, his close ties with General Zia ul Haq. It was General Zia who planned Operation Topac, a long-term plan to dismember India through both covert and overt operations. Musharraf was part of this plan. One of the elements of Operation Topac was to annex the Siachen area that somehow remained unmarked when the Line of Control was being re-drawn after the 1971 war. For his Siachen plan, General Zia raised a Special Services Group headquartered at Khapalu in the Siachen area in 1987. Musharraf was then a Brigadier and was asked to command the unit. The same year, an acolyte eager to please his master, Brigadier Musharraf attacked an Indian post in Siachen that was promptly repulsed. Within a year, Brigadier Musharraf got another critical assignment from General Zia. This time, his mission was to suppress a revolt in Gilgit. The Shias, a majority community in the area, had risen in revolt against their continued neglect at the hands of the rulers in Islamabad. Musharraf sought out bin Laden for his mission. Laden was by then known to be an effective leader of mujahideens. It is said several hundred Shias were massacred in the operation. After the revolt was brutally suppressed, Musharraf, on the orders of Zia, began settling Punjabis and Pakhtoons in Gilgit and Baltistan to reduce the Kashmiri Shias to a minority. The Kashmiris who swear by Musharraf today would do well to read about his exploits in Gilgit and Baltistan.
One stellar quality in Musharraf, as the world by now must have realised, is rank opportunism. He is not the typical officer and a gentleman as the Britons trained their officers to be. He is an officer and a politician, always looking for the first opportunity to network with those who can propel him further. While in Gilgit and Baltistan, Musharraf became close to Lt.General Javed Nasir, who was then the Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence and Justice Mohmmad Rafique Tarar, both of whom played a key role in his becoming the Chief of Army Staff. Nasir was an adviser on intelligence matters to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief and Tarar was the President. Another factor that linked the three together was their religious belief-they were Deobandis and had a good standing with fundamentalist parties and terrorist groups like Harkat ul Mujahideen, earlier known as Harkat ul Ansar. One of the splinter groups of Harkat is today known as Jaish-e-Mohmmad. Another reason for Sharief to choose Musharraf superceding two of his seniors, Lt.Gen. Ali Kuli Khan, the Chief of General Staff, and Lt. Gen. Khalid Nawaz, the Quarter Master General, was his hatred for Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a Mohajir rebel group. Musharraf, acting on the orders of Sharief, set up special courts to try MQM activists, Shias by caste, as terrorists. This anti-Shia operation helped Musharraf in more ways than one, the most crucial being the wide appreciation and support he got from the rabidly anti-Shia terrorist groups that were funded by the ISI via Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious fundamentalist party that has immense clout across the country.
It was therefore no surprise that first thing Musharraf did on throwing Sharief out (incidentally he was once again out of the country, this time he was teeing in Colombo) was to let the fundamentalists have a free run of the country, drawing support from them to stabilise his hold over Islamabad. He openly courted them, allowing them to open offices in respectable commercial and residential complexes; letting them recruit men for terrorist training, arming them with modern weapons to kill civilians and security men in Kashmir. Within two years, Musharraf is turning once again, this time against the very forces that created him and made him the Emperor. It is not exactly easy to trust him when he makes a sound and fury about banning terror groups operating in his country. He is a man with a thousand faces. A few months down the line, after he has lulled the Americans and the Western world into believing in his anti-terrorism charade, he is quite capable of bringing together the vanquished Al Qaida, the Taliban and the terror groups that pull his strings and create another invisible network of terror. Till then, I am sure he has already told Jaish and Lashkar leaders to lie low, change nomenclature, shift office and cooperate with him for achieving their common interest-inflict a thousand cuts on India. Beware. India needs to keep a close watch on this General who has a history of switching sides and using religion for military goals.
#76 Posted by saminashah on December 26, 2001 4:35:21 pm
#57
I am guessing that you live in the U.S..
I am guessing that you live in the U.S..
#77 Posted by saminashah on December 26, 2001 4:35:21 pm
Yahuda,
Since you seem to have overlooked my last post...are you familliar with Havdallah? I just did a research paper that encorporated this ceremony...any thoughts?
Another interesting piece of unreported news; two firebombings in Staten Island during this monthes; one of an Arab owned grocery, the other of a Pakistani deli. No-one was hurt thankfully, but sure makes you think.
Since you seem to have overlooked my last post...are you familliar with Havdallah? I just did a research paper that encorporated this ceremony...any thoughts?
Another interesting piece of unreported news; two firebombings in Staten Island during this monthes; one of an Arab owned grocery, the other of a Pakistani deli. No-one was hurt thankfully, but sure makes you think.
#78 Posted by tahmed321 on December 26, 2001 4:35:21 pm
OmarAkram #68 I second the point made by Sigalph to your post. In addition, here are a few comments:
You write ``First an apology of taking you as a NON-Muslim, I must say that your posting did sound as something from a HINDU. I am sorry for that and an unconditional appology for that brother.``
My comments: This sentence indicates a deep-seated bigotry against Hindus. This bigotry has no basis in the Quran. It is based, rather on the backwardness of our people. Please try to use your mind and realize the stupidity behind your assumption that all muslims are your brothers and sisters and all non-muslims are not. And have the decency to treat all people with respect and affection, not just muslims. The Quran itself comes down very strongly against the concept of the Chosen People, and emphasizes that there is nothing special in being a muslim - we will all be judged by our deeds. So, your apology should be directed to all people on chowk, and to God Himself, for drawing this nasty and stupid distinction between hindus and muslims.
You write ``Ahmeadis are not Muslims thats my opinon since there concept of their leader is 180 degree against the concept and belief of Finality of the Prophet, for me what Jesh-i-Mohammed has said against Sheia sect of Islam is extreemly idotic and stupid and completely against Islam I or infact anyone else I know follows.``
My comments: What business is it of yours what Ahmedis or Shias think?
You write ``What kind of Muslim are we that our brothers and sisters are being butchered in Palestine, Kashmire, but dont feel any pain for them ``
My comments: Why do you think that you feel the pain of the suffering muslims in Palestine and Kashmir more than others? The issue is: how do you bring peace to these people? You bring peace not by more violence but by working towards peace for everybody. Millions of muslims live peacefully in parts of India outside Kashmir. If the violence were to end in Kashmir tomorrow, there is no reason to believe that muslims in Kashmir would also find peace. Same for Palestine. And also remember that the poor people who are suffering are not just muslims but of all religions - pain and suffering are not the monopoly of the muslims.
You write ``Hadith that a muslims ummah is like a human body if there is trouble in any part the whole body feels it,... ``
My comments: Read the Quran. Where does it tell you that it is supplemented by Hadith? Where does it tell you that the Prophet is anything more than a Messenger of God? In fact, it clearly states the opposite.
You write ``What was done on Sept 11 in the name of Islam was wrong but what is done to us after that is extreemly wrong as well.``
My comments: In Afghanistan, people clearly rejoiced being freed from the evil rule of the taliban. If this is ``extremely wrong`` to you, I suggest you leave your cozy home in UK and go to Kabul and tell the Afghans that. I think you will find yourself in for some rough treatment.
You write ``when i see the Hindus here in UK i am quite sure that they dont have any good intentions towards us as a hindu towards a muslim.``
Comment: Be brave. Treat people as people, not as hindus and muslims. Overcome your prejudices. You will live a better life that way, and you will be living according to the Quranic instruction (completely ignored by so many of us) to be not just tolerant but affectionate to people of other faiths.
You write ``First an apology of taking you as a NON-Muslim, I must say that your posting did sound as something from a HINDU. I am sorry for that and an unconditional appology for that brother.``
My comments: This sentence indicates a deep-seated bigotry against Hindus. This bigotry has no basis in the Quran. It is based, rather on the backwardness of our people. Please try to use your mind and realize the stupidity behind your assumption that all muslims are your brothers and sisters and all non-muslims are not. And have the decency to treat all people with respect and affection, not just muslims. The Quran itself comes down very strongly against the concept of the Chosen People, and emphasizes that there is nothing special in being a muslim - we will all be judged by our deeds. So, your apology should be directed to all people on chowk, and to God Himself, for drawing this nasty and stupid distinction between hindus and muslims.
You write ``Ahmeadis are not Muslims thats my opinon since there concept of their leader is 180 degree against the concept and belief of Finality of the Prophet, for me what Jesh-i-Mohammed has said against Sheia sect of Islam is extreemly idotic and stupid and completely against Islam I or infact anyone else I know follows.``
My comments: What business is it of yours what Ahmedis or Shias think?
You write ``What kind of Muslim are we that our brothers and sisters are being butchered in Palestine, Kashmire, but dont feel any pain for them ``
My comments: Why do you think that you feel the pain of the suffering muslims in Palestine and Kashmir more than others? The issue is: how do you bring peace to these people? You bring peace not by more violence but by working towards peace for everybody. Millions of muslims live peacefully in parts of India outside Kashmir. If the violence were to end in Kashmir tomorrow, there is no reason to believe that muslims in Kashmir would also find peace. Same for Palestine. And also remember that the poor people who are suffering are not just muslims but of all religions - pain and suffering are not the monopoly of the muslims.
You write ``Hadith that a muslims ummah is like a human body if there is trouble in any part the whole body feels it,... ``
My comments: Read the Quran. Where does it tell you that it is supplemented by Hadith? Where does it tell you that the Prophet is anything more than a Messenger of God? In fact, it clearly states the opposite.
You write ``What was done on Sept 11 in the name of Islam was wrong but what is done to us after that is extreemly wrong as well.``
My comments: In Afghanistan, people clearly rejoiced being freed from the evil rule of the taliban. If this is ``extremely wrong`` to you, I suggest you leave your cozy home in UK and go to Kabul and tell the Afghans that. I think you will find yourself in for some rough treatment.
You write ``when i see the Hindus here in UK i am quite sure that they dont have any good intentions towards us as a hindu towards a muslim.``
Comment: Be brave. Treat people as people, not as hindus and muslims. Overcome your prejudices. You will live a better life that way, and you will be living according to the Quranic instruction (completely ignored by so many of us) to be not just tolerant but affectionate to people of other faiths.
#79 Posted by Pardesi on December 26, 2001 11:48:31 pm
Humsab # 72
Great article. Can you please provide some link or reference to the article that tells us more about the author?
Regards.
Great article. Can you please provide some link or reference to the article that tells us more about the author?
Regards.
#80 Posted by ali1 on December 26, 2001 11:48:31 pm
sigalph,
bada gora saab, jaan ki amaan ho to kuch arz karooN?
Why do you insist on deporting any desi who does not agree with you 100%? Not just from the US but from Britain too!
If push comes to shove (e.g. during an orifice search at the airport), do you think your chowk posts will save you?
bada gora saab, jaan ki amaan ho to kuch arz karooN?
Why do you insist on deporting any desi who does not agree with you 100%? Not just from the US but from Britain too!
If push comes to shove (e.g. during an orifice search at the airport), do you think your chowk posts will save you?
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