EDITORIAL: Jihadi camps: what is the truth?
EDITORIAL: Jihadi camps: what is the truth?
It would have been easy to dismiss India’s allegations but for a few other developments. A comprehensive report in a Pakistani magazine confirms the existence of some camps and the training being imparted there. These camps, according to the story, are being run by Hizb ul Mujahideen, Al Badr Mujahideen and the Harkat ul Mujahideen. These groups, according to the Pakistani magazine, have started reorganising and among them are running at least 13 camps in the Mansehra region of the North West Frontier Province.
Then there is the blowback of the London bombings which have been traced back to young men of Pakistani origin, at least two of whom, Shahzad Tanveer (22) and Haseeb Hussain (18) were in Pakistan for some length of time not long ago and took “religious training”, a euphemism for a combination of indoctrination and some basic combat training. But that’s not all.
Last month, two Pakistanis, father and son, were arrested in California and charged by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations with having links with Al Qaeda. The affidavit said that the son, Hamid Hayat, had admitted undergoing “training at an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan near Rawalpindi”. While many US experts remain sceptical about the contents of the first affidavit and point out that the second affidavit eschews the claims made in the first document, there is still cause for worry for the Pakistan government.
The plot thickens when we recall a story last week by the BBC. The BBC correspondent said that the Pakistani authorities had freed some leaders of banned religious groups in order to monitor them and reach the big Al Qaeda fish through them. The story claimed that some of them had set up training camps again, though they were being watched by the Pakistani intelligence agencies. If this is correct it is not surprising that Pakistani security agencies might have resorted to this high-risk tactic. It is an old trick in the book to use someone as bait to catch the big fish. However, there is always the risk that the subject could develop means to deceive the agents or that some rogue elements in the agencies might help them do so. We now know that some suspects of the London bombings had been detained for questioning by British security agencies but allowed to go in order to monitor them for a bigger catch. But these suspects managed to execute their plan.
The point really is that it is difficult to dismiss India’s allegations outright, especially if the government is in fact embarked upon a strategy to allow some rope to some groups as part of a plan to flush out the big fish and ultimately put them down. Presumably, Pakistan has not told India that it is following such a script. So if Mr Singh says that he has evidence of the existence of some camps, he might be referring to the camps that are now being run by the activists of those groups which the Pakistan government is monitoring as part of a grand plan. The FO spokesperson says Pakistan has told the UK that it will fully cooperate with London in the ongoing investigations into the London bombings. Is it possible for Islamabad to also take New Delhi into confidence, especially if it is accepted that the two sides are serious about peace and, as principals on both sides said not so long ago, the process has become irreversible?
Of course, if the camps have been reopened with some other purpose as part of some political-military geo-strategy, then we need to seriously question such a strategy in light of two salient facts: it failed in the past, forcing Pakistan to pay a high price; and it will fail again in view of the current international alignment of forces and compel Pakistan to pay an even higher price than before. *
It would have been easy to dismiss India’s allegations but for a few other developments. A comprehensive report in a Pakistani magazine confirms the existence of some camps and the training being imparted there. These camps, according to the story, are being run by Hizb ul Mujahideen, Al Badr Mujahideen and the Harkat ul Mujahideen. These groups, according to the Pakistani magazine, have started reorganising and among them are running at least 13 camps in the Mansehra region of the North West Frontier Province.
Then there is the blowback of the London bombings which have been traced back to young men of Pakistani origin, at least two of whom, Shahzad Tanveer (22) and Haseeb Hussain (18) were in Pakistan for some length of time not long ago and took “religious training”, a euphemism for a combination of indoctrination and some basic combat training. But that’s not all.
Last month, two Pakistanis, father and son, were arrested in California and charged by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations with having links with Al Qaeda. The affidavit said that the son, Hamid Hayat, had admitted undergoing “training at an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan near Rawalpindi”. While many US experts remain sceptical about the contents of the first affidavit and point out that the second affidavit eschews the claims made in the first document, there is still cause for worry for the Pakistan government.
The plot thickens when we recall a story last week by the BBC. The BBC correspondent said that the Pakistani authorities had freed some leaders of banned religious groups in order to monitor them and reach the big Al Qaeda fish through them. The story claimed that some of them had set up training camps again, though they were being watched by the Pakistani intelligence agencies. If this is correct it is not surprising that Pakistani security agencies might have resorted to this high-risk tactic. It is an old trick in the book to use someone as bait to catch the big fish. However, there is always the risk that the subject could develop means to deceive the agents or that some rogue elements in the agencies might help them do so. We now know that some suspects of the London bombings had been detained for questioning by British security agencies but allowed to go in order to monitor them for a bigger catch. But these suspects managed to execute their plan.
The point really is that it is difficult to dismiss India’s allegations outright, especially if the government is in fact embarked upon a strategy to allow some rope to some groups as part of a plan to flush out the big fish and ultimately put them down. Presumably, Pakistan has not told India that it is following such a script. So if Mr Singh says that he has evidence of the existence of some camps, he might be referring to the camps that are now being run by the activists of those groups which the Pakistan government is monitoring as part of a grand plan. The FO spokesperson says Pakistan has told the UK that it will fully cooperate with London in the ongoing investigations into the London bombings. Is it possible for Islamabad to also take New Delhi into confidence, especially if it is accepted that the two sides are serious about peace and, as principals on both sides said not so long ago, the process has become irreversible?
Of course, if the camps have been reopened with some other purpose as part of some political-military geo-strategy, then we need to seriously question such a strategy in light of two salient facts: it failed in the past, forcing Pakistan to pay a high price; and it will fail again in view of the current international alignment of forces and compel Pakistan to pay an even higher price than before. *
posted by India News Watch at 3:41 PM
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