Jamaat-ud-Dawa Chief Mr Saeed says, "Allah has told us to make atom bombs. America is telling us not to. Who should we listen to O Muslims, Allah or America?" Mr Saeed continues to urge all Muslims to give of their assets and themselves to the cause of jihad against India. "Kashmir will not be solved by talks, not by American arbitration, not by its division but only by jihad, jihad, jihad!" He said jihad was once used to save the Christians and that the murder of Hindus is not only justified, it is nearly a holy duty. "The Hindus were terrorists yesterday, they are terrorists today and they will remain terrorists tomorrow. We are right in seeking revenge from these spawns of evil."
Such fiery sentiment may all be bluster, one analyst points out to TFT. "However, (Mr Saeed's) point about allegations of cross-border infiltration not been provable in a court of law, or justice as he called it for some symbolic reason perhaps, is interesting. He is either bluffing, simply making these statements to rile the public. Or he is actually pursuing action aware of how the law works and circumventing it."
Mr Saeed, a former engineering professor, is of keen mind. The mosque address, even in taped form, is not permitted under law (see Maintenance of Public Order law, Article 16) and sources in the government claim Mr Saeed had "promised" not to make any such statements following his release from house arrest late last year and would stay muzzled. Sources close to Mr Saeed say, however, that no laws are being broken: "He is entitled as a citizen of Pakistan to freedom of speech under Article 19 of the Constitution."
Article 19 states: "Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression ... subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence."
Spy In The Spotlight
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In the wake of Mumbai's carnage, India handed Islamabad a list of 20 terrorists suspected to be hiding in Pakistan—including one who had phone contact with the gunmen during their attack. Now the nearly impossible role of orchestrating the arrests will likely fall to one man: Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the new head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency.
A known moderate, Pasha spent the past three years leading scorched-earth offensives against extremists as head of the Army's military-ops command. Ideologically, he's "totally against" jihadists like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), thought to be behind Mumbai, says retired Pakistani Lt. Gen. Talat Masood.
Now Pasha will have to appease Pakistan's leaders (under heavy international pressure to comply) while easing tensions with top Army brass, who think the politicians are kowtowing to India and who have threatened to redirect 100,000 troops from the extremist-plagued Afghan border to Kashmir if India gets too aggressive. Pasha must also root out sympathizers in his own organization, which has historical ties to LeT and has been suspected of covertly supporting the extremists.
It's a thin line to walk: Pasha must keep distant from the U.S. and India, but also make cooperative gestures. But is the new spy chief—and his country as a whole—up to the task? Pasha may be, but he doesn't have a free hand to act, because of the civilian-military divide. "Left to himself, he may be more proactive," says Masood. "But he has to tread carefully."
© 2008
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