Introduction
On February 5, 2009, religious and jihadist organizations, political parties and the Pakistani government marked Kashmir Solidarity Day, in support of the Kashmiri movement for independence from India. A human chain was formed to mark the occasion, at the Kohala Bridge over the Jhelum river, linking Pakistani Kashmir with Pakistan. [1] Protest rallies and seminars were held across Pakistan; government offices, businesses and educational institutions were closed due to public holiday; and human chains were formed in many cities, including Islamabad and Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir. In Islamabad, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami, told the protesters: "We will never accept Indian occupation of Kashmir." [2]
On the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day, senior Pakistani leaders issued messages, committing to the cause of the Kashmiri movement. In their messages, Raja Zulqarnain and Sardar Yaqub Khan, respectively president and prime minister of Pakistani Kashmir, pledged: "The people of Kashmir will continue their struggle for freedom until the entire state [of Jammu and Kashmir] is liberated [from India] and aligned with Pakistan." [3] The two leaders reminded the people that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the former leader of Pakistan, had pledged to fight a thousand-year war to liberate Kashmir.
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif noted in his message that resolving the Kashmir issues is essential to lasting peace in the region. [4] In their messages, President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also pledged to work for a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. [5] On this occasion, Prime Minister Gilani told a meeting of legislators from Pakistani Kashmir in Islamabad: "India continues with violating basic human rights in Occupied Kashmir... The over-700,000-strong Indian army has unleashed a reign of terror on the Kashmiris..." [6] Yasin Malik, a secessionist leader who came from India, was present in the meeting and urged the Pakistani political parties to maintain a unified stand on the Kashmir issue. [7]
The legislative assembly in the Punjab province adopted a resolution calling for a plebiscite to be held in Indian Kashmir. [8] An editorial in the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Khabrain accused India of creating 100 terrorist camps in Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan. [9] In Pakistani Kashmir, the legislative assembly adopted a resolution, urging the United Nations to play its part in resolving the long-standing Kashmir issue. [10] Pakistan's Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir has decided to mark Kashmir Solidarity Week by holding various events. The Committee, chaired by Maulana Fazlur Rahman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) party, has also decided to send a memorandum to U.S. President Barack Obama to remind him of his pledge to resolve the long-standing Kashmir issue. [11]
It should be also mentioned here that the day is mainly marked in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir to extend support to the people in Indian Kashmir. In Indian Kashmir, the secessionist leaders, whose attempts to boycott the November-December 2008 elections were overwhelmingly overruled by voters, issued statements in support of Kashmir Solidarity Day. Syed Ali Geelani, the head of the secessionist groups' alliance All Parties Hurriyat Conference, urged Pakistan to present Kashmir as the basic issue in its relations with India. [12]
In Pakistan, a number of religious and political leaders issued statements in the run-up to Kashmir Solidarity Day.
Militant Commander: Lift Ban on Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaatud Dawa; Jihad will Continue Until Kashmir's Independence [from India]
On February 4, 2009 - a day before the Kashmir Solidarity Day - Pakistan-based jihadist groups held a conference in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir. The conference was addressed by militant commander Syed Salahuddin, chairman of the Muttahida Jihad Council (United Jihad Council), which is a network of over a dozen Pakistan-based Islamic militant organizations active in Indian Kashmir.
The Muttahida Jihad Council, which was formed in the mid-1990s under the patronage of Pakistan's military-led Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), comprises a number of militant organizations such as Harkat-ul-Ansar, Al-Badr, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, Al-Jihad, Al-Barq, Ikhwan-ul-Muslimin and Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen. By early 2000, as many as 21 organizations were affiliated with the Muttahida Jihad Council, though only five of these were considered influential.
According to a report in the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Jasarat, the conference was attended by "thousands of people, including the representatives and leaders of Pakistan's banned organizations Jaish-e-Muhammad, Harkat-ul- Mujahideen, and Jamaatud Dawa, in addition to the leaders of the Muttahida Jihad Council." [13]
The importance of the jihadist groups' February 4 conference lies in the fact that for the first time since the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, a number of militant organizations publicly came together to hold a conference. Following the crackdown on militant groups after the Mumbai attacks, the Muttahida Jihad Council had gone underground, temporarily dissolving itself, closing down its offices, and removing all signs and nameplates. In fact, a militant commander of the Council told the Pakistani daily The News: "Following the Mumbai attacks and the subsequent tension between Pakistan and India, the United Jihad Council has decided to remain silent." [14]
Therefore, the Muzaffarabad conference marks the re-emergence of the jihadist organizations in Pakistan. Addressing the conference held February 4, Syed Salahuddin criticised the previous Pakistani government led by then-president Gen. Pervez Musharraf for its "cowardice and criminal policy on Kashmir" and asked the current Pakistani government led by President Asif Zardari to lift the ban on Lashkar-e-Taiba and its front organization Jamaatud Dawa charity. [15]
Both organizations were banned by the UN Security Council after the Mumbai terror attacks. Under international pressure, Pakistan has taken control of the Taiba Markaz, the headquarters of Jamaatud Dawa in Muridke, near Lahore. The Pakistani government has also shut down or taken control of a number of offices, madrassas and hospitals operated by the Lashkar-e-Taiba militants across Pakistan.
Syed Salahuddin told the Muzaffarabad conference that the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaatud Dawa are actually "the local organizations of the occupied Kashmir," acknowledging that these organizations are active in Indian Kashmir. He added: "The movement of Kashmiri freedom is a movement for the security of Pakistan; and the war in Srinagar [the capital of Indian Kashmir] is being waged for the defense of Pakistan." [16]
Urging the Pakistani government to adopt a "policy of aggression" vis-à-vis Kashmir, the militant commander warned: "If there is a setback to the war [in Indian Kashmir] due to the cowardice of the government, then this war will need to be fought in Islamabad and Lahore. Jihad will continue till the independence of Kashmir [from India]." [17]
Syed Salahuddin also added that there is discrimination against the Kashmiri families who migrated into Pakistani Kashmir in early the 1990s, as the Pakistan-sponsored jihadist militancy began in Indian Kashmir at the end of the Cold War. He warned: "If there is any discrimination against the Kashmiri migrants, then the mujahideen will not allow the government offices to function [in Pakistani Kashmir]." [18]
According to the report in Roznama Jasarat, "the jihadist organizations announced that notwithstanding the Pakistani ban, jihad will not stop in the occupied Kashmir." [19]
The government of India was left wondering how Pakistan could allow the jihadist organizations to organize a conference publicly just two months after the Mumbai attacks. Vishnu Prakash, a spokesman of India's Foreign Ministry, said: "We strongly condemn the licence that banned terrorist organisations continue to enjoy in territory under Pakistan's occupation.... No effort was made by Pakistan authorities to curb the activities of these groups." [20]
Lashkar-e-Taiba Re-Emerges as Tanzeem-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir (Organization for the Independence of Kashmir)
A few months after the 9/11 attacks, the Lashkar-e-Taiba militants attacked the Indian parliament, on December 13, 2001. The organization had been working under its mother organization called Markaz Dawa Wal Irshad, headquartered in Muridke, near Lahore. After the attack on the Indian parliament, these organizations were banned by the government of General Pervez Musharraf. However, soon they began functioning under a new name - Jamaatud Dawa charity.
After the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the UN Security Council banned both the Lashkar-e-Taiba and its all front organizations, including the Jamaatud Dawa. However, On February 5, 2009, in the city of Lahore, where the Lashkar-e-Taiba and its front organization Jamaatud Dawa have strong presence, the militants appeared in large numbers to be part of the Kashmir Solidarity Day rallies notwithstanding the ban on the organizations.
According to a report in the Pakistani daily The Post, the Lashkar-e-Taiba militants waved the Jamaatud Dawa flags during the rallies and processions in Lahore, participating under the name of a new organization called Tanzeem-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir. The report added that a number of religious and political parties, including Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League-N, and Tehrik-e-Insaaf Pakistan were also part of the rallies in Lahore, but that the number of their activists was not that high.
In contrast, the activists of Jamaatud Dawa and Lashkar-e-Taiba came in large numbers, in more than 50 buses and trucks, all organized under the banner of the newborn Kashmir freedom organization Tanzeem-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir. The name of this organization had not been heard before, but its activists carried the flag of Jamaatud Dawa. [21] The report noted further: "It seems that they wanted to send a message to some quarters by showing this strength [of] carrying the... [banned] organization's traditional flag that was once being used by another banned organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba." [22] The reference here clarifies that the Tanzeem-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir, the new organization, uses the same flag of Jamaatud Dawa that was used earlier by the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The Lahore-based newspaper Daily Times too reported that the Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were back in business on Kashmir Solidarity Day. The daily reported that despite the UN Security Council ban, thousands of Jamaatud Dawa activists arrived from different districts, carrying the black and white flag of the organization, but under the banner of a temporary name of Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir.
The February 5 rally was the first public gathering of supporters of the banned group since the ban by the UN Security Council. During it, activists from the organization collected donations from public, handing out receipts bearing the name of Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), a trust set up by the Jamaatud Dawa: "The FIF is a Jamaatud Dawa trust but it has not been banned." [23] One FIF activist, identifying himself as Hamza, said the foundation was not linked to the banned charity and had been working for the independence of Kashmir for a long time, but did not respond when asked why he was carrying a Jamaatud Dawa flag. [24]
Roznama Ausaf Salutes Militant Commander for "Waging Jihad against Indian Occupation Troops;" Sees Martyrs' Place in Heaven
On February 5, 2009, the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Ausaf, which is published from London and Pakistan, issued a message to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day, stating that Kashmir's "martyrs have a place in the Heaven." [25]
A message titled "Salute to the Kashmiris' Struggle for Freedom" greeted the "parents, brothers and sisters of the martyrs from Roznama Ausaf" and added: "On this day, we would like to first pay tribute to those whose sons and brothers shed their blood for the freedom of the nation and sacrificed their youth on their land. All martyrs have a place in Heaven, but the mothers who gave birth to these youth... for them too there is good news [willed] from Allah." [26]
Roznama Ausaf 's message was also unique in that it praised two individuals: Syed Salahuddin, the militant commander based in Pakistani Kashmir; and Syed Ali Geelani, the leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of secessionist organizations that are fighting for independence in Indian Kashmir.
The message lauded Syed Ali Geelani for "keeping the flag of freedom movement flying [and] standing by the slogan of La Ilaha Illallah [There is no God, but God]." [27] It also praised Syed Salahuddin for "keeping the morale of his people high despite the worst Kashmir policy adopted by [General Pervez] Musharraf and waging the jihad against the Indian occupation troops." [28]
The newspaper also lauded former Pakistani prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for seeding the Pakistani nuclear program, reminding the people that India would have attacked Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks had there been no nuclear weapon in the Pakistani military's possession. It noted:
"[Zulfiqar Ali] Bhutto had sensed how crafty and dangerous enemy India is. Because of this, he invited Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan from Holland and laid the foundation of the atomic program... Time has proved his thinking to be right. Today, every person in Pakistan is forced to admit that if we had no nuclear deterrence, India would have launched attacks..." [29]
Attempts by Pakistani Leaders to Link Kashmir and Palestine
There have been efforts by Islamist organizations in Pakistan and internationally to link the issue of Kashmir to the Palestinian issue.
In late January 2009, the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is seen as the mother of all jihadist organizations in Pakistan, issued a statement urging its members to mark February 5 as "Kashmir Palestine Day." While announcing a series of programs for February 5, Syed Munawwar Hasan, secretary-general of Jamaat-e-Islami, accused the U.S., India and Israel of working to sabotage "the Kashmir freedom movement, disarm Pakistan of its nuclear assets and put the Kashmir issue on the backburner like the Palestine issue." [30]
On Kashmir Solidarity Day, the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Jasarat, a Pakistani daily aligned with Jamaat-e-Islami, wrote an editorial in which it questioned Pakistani President Asif Zardari's statement that Kashmiri fighters are terrorists. It added: "Terrorists are those who have occupied the big parts of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine, as well as Kashmir." [31]
On February 4, the women's wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami organized a big rally in Karachi which was addressed by senior leaders of the organization. Professor Ghafoor Ahmed, deputy emir of Jamaat-e-Islami, told the rally while lauding the Kashmiri militants: "The time will come soon when the occupied Kashmir will become India's graveyard."
In the same breath, Ahmed went on to talk about the Palestinian issue, stating: "Israel has massacred unarmed Palestinians with the assistance of the U.S. Despite the [UN] Security Council resolutions; attacks on Gaza continue even today. The oppressors will lose." [32] Another Jamaat-e-Islami leader Hafiz Naeemur Rahman told the participants why they were there: "The women of Karachi have come out in the streets today to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir and Palestine." [33]
Liaqat Baloch, another key leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, told a rally in Karachi on February 5: "The connecting of freedom movements with terrorism is a conspiracy to deprive the Kashmiri and Palestinian people of their basic rights." [34] He described Kashmir as the jugular vein of Pakistan. The rallyists carried placards that read: "Earth's three Satans - India, U.S. and Israel"; "Yours, my desire - martyrdom, martyrdom"; "Kashmir is Pakistan's jugular vein"; "We support Kashmiris and Palestinians." [35]
In an editorial marking Kashmir Solidarity Day, the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Express, which circulates in 11 Pakistani cities, said that the United Nations was losing its credibility because of its inability to resolve the Kashmir and Palestinian issues. It added: "Because of not fully paying attention to Kashmir and Palestine, and [because of] showing haste in protecting the interests of the U.S. and Britain, questions are being raised about this institution [UN]." [36]
Another Pakistani leader Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sought to link the Palestine and Kashmir issues, arguing that resolution of the two issues is critical to bridging the gap between the West and the Islamic world.
Speaking in connection with Kashmir Solidarity Day, the Pakistani senator noted that there is a wind of change following the election of Barack Obama as U.S. president, and added: "[T]he Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, should prepare a joint memorandum and present it to Obama, focusing on the lingering issues of Kashmir and Palestine." [37]
Kashmir Solidarity Day was marked by seminars and rallies across Pakistan. An editorial in the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Mashriq noted that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had clarified the status of Kashmir by describing it as "the jugular vein of Pakistan."
In an illustration of what drives the Pakistani leaders in their thinking about Kashmir, Tariq Mahboob, a religious leader and deputy secretary-general of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, noted that the geographical status of Pakistan is incomplete without Kashmir as a part of it. Addressing a meeting in connection with Kashmir Solidarity Day in Karachi, Mahboob added that the agenda of India's 1947 Partition is still incomplete and Pakistan's geography too is incomplete. [38]
*Tufail Ahmad is Director of Urdu-Pashtu Media Project at The Middle East Media Research Institute (www.memri.org ).
Endnotes:
[1] Associated Press of Pakistan, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[2] Dawn.com, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[3] Roznama Express, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[4] Roznama Express, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[5] Roznama Express, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[6] Associated Press of Pakistan, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[7] Roznama Express, Pakistan, February 6, 2009.
[8] Nawaiwaqt.com.pk, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[9] Roznama Khabrain, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[10] Thenews.com.pk, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[11] Daily Times, Pakistan, February 4, 2009.
[12] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 6, 2009.
[13] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 6, 2009.
[14] The News, Pakistan, December 13, 2008.
[15] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[16] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[17] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[18] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[19] Roznama Jasarat, February 6, 2009.
[20] Hindu.com, India, February 6, 2009.
[21] The Post, Pakistan, February 6, 2009. This sentence has been slightly edited.
[22] The Post, Pakistan, February 6, 2009.
[23] Daily Times, Pakistan, February 6, 2009.
[24] Daily Times, Pakistan, February 6, 2009.
[25] Dailyausaf.com, UK/Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[26] Dailyausaf.com, UK/Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[27] Dailyausaf.com, UK/Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[28] Dailyausaf.com, UK/Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[29] Dailyausaf.com, UK/Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[30] The News, Pakistan, January 22, 2009.
[31] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[32] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[33] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[34] Roznama Jang, Pakistan, February 6, 2009.
[35] Roznama Jasarat, Pakistan, February 6, 2009.
[36] Roznama Express, Pakistan, February 5, 2009.
[37] The News, Pakistan, February 4, 2009.
[38] Roznama Jang, Pakistan, January 29, 2009.
