Pakistan has always been a safe-haven for takfiri terrorists despite official ban

News Analysis

By Eye Ali

Not a single takfiri outfit has ever been banned in Pakistan as far as reality is concerned. They continued practically and ban on them imposed by the government of Pakistan was enforced theoretically in the world of imagination.

Now, the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has asked all the provinces to conduct a social audit of all the banned takfiri terrorist organisations to find out which of them are working under new names so that the law and the latest decisions announced by the prime minister after parliamentary parties meeting can be implemented.

“Not only all the 63 organisations (three were placed under observation in 2012) mentioned in the NACTA list of proscribed organisations as available on its official website are banned, their affiliates cannot work with any other organisation or with a new organisation using different names. Also, these persons can’t freely move. So, we have issued instructions to police heads across the country to immediately restrict the movement of all such people who have ever remained associated with any of these 63 banned organisations,” NACTA chief Hamid Ali Khan said in an interview.’

Mother of all takfiri terrorist offshoots, banned Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi continued under that name alongside a formal new name ASWJ. Malik Ishaq, co-founder of the LeJ is now deputy chief of ASWJ that is led by Ahmed Ludhianvi, the successor of Azam Tariq.

Election Commission under military ruler General Pervez Musharraf allowed notorious takfiri ringleader of outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba namely Azam Tariq to contest parliamentary election from inside jail. Fine-tuned controlled democracy of the General Mush, the Darling of Bush and the West, was invented with one vote win for Mir Zafarullah Jamali as Prime Minister of Pakistan after 2002 Elections. That one vote was from Azam Tariq who General Mush himself imprisoned after ban on his outfit.

I may recall that Azam Tariq had threatened to break the legs of army generals if they changed their pro-Taliban policy but he too forgot his threats and switched loyalty from Taliban to lick the legs of General Mush. That was the time when twice elected Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were not allowed legally to contest Elections.

Pro-takfiri ideology of “Strategic Depth” made takfiri terrorist outfits as strategic assets. In the larger “national” interests orchestrated by pro-takfiri patriot security establishment, we don’t discuss the names of all takfiri terrorist outfits because they were allowed to flourish for proxy wars.

We focus only banned Sipah-e-Sahaba and its different names such as ASWJ and LeJ. You cannot differentiate between them and outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammad of Masood Azhar, Harkat ul Mujahideen of Fazal Ur Rehman Khalil, Harkat Jihad ul Islami of Qari Saifullah Akhtar. Police and intelligence has recently reported some Deobandi seminaries/mosques sheltering terrorists in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and among them at least one belonged to Fazal Ur Rehman Khalil too.

After the brutal and ferocious Peshawar massacre of innocent school children and female teachers, model terrorist ringleader Ahmed Ludhianvi and Fazal Ur Rehman Khalil were projected by Pakistani electronic media as pro-peace clerics. It was unpardonable disservice to the cause of journalism. But, they were brought on news channels and talk shows to convey the message to the “strategic assets” they should not be scared and continue as usual what they did at Peshawar Army Public School. Was it not so?

Hanging some convicted takfiris can never frighten the takfiri fanatics if such friendly gestures continue to be given to them. Judiciary too helps takfiris. They take no suo moto notice of takfiri fanaticism. Courts order release of notorious takfiri terrorists such as Malik Ishaq. Police and security officials fail to provide proofs before courts because of soft corner for takfiris or under threat.

Deobandi clerics have failed to disown the takfiris and they largely attend Raiwind’s Tableeghi Ijtima. Takfiris are taught at Deobandi seminaries. Deobandi clerics and politicians always tried to protect the terrorists and fanatics of outlawed takfiri outfits. They opposed tit-for-tat action against the takfiris. So-called liberals and progressives always served the takfiri interests by equating the victims of takfiris terrorism with the takfiris. They never recognized Shia Genocide but covered up by distorted notion of Sunni-Shia conflict. Why did they not say other killings as religious conflict between Sunni Muslims and non-Muslim minority? This biased and partial mindset of the intellectuals and journalists also promoted the takfiris in Pakistan.

Hence, Shia Muslims don’t believe that counterterrorism doctrine of State or Government of Pakistan could be trusted. This trust-deficit is also shared by Sunni Bralevis because alongside Shia genocide and destruction of Shia mosques and Imam Bargahs, said takfiri terrorists also bombed sacred shrines of Sunni saints and assassinated eminent Sunni clerics such as Mufti Sarfaraz Naeemi and religio-political leaders of Sunni Bralevis across Pakistan. Making itself credible and building confidence among estranged anti-takfiri masses of Pakistan require incessant actions-oriented counterterrorism course instead of wasting time on debates and discussions. Security establishment, government of Nawaz Sharif and the entire polity need to change their mind about “strategic assets” they needed for their “strategic depth” because they have brought strategic death for Pakistan. Inaction against takfiris made Pakistanis believe Deobandi-takfiris have become “behind-the-scene” rulers of Pakistan.