Pakistan is a land that is torn by ethnic differences and is seemingly unable to achieve unity within its diversity. It was founded on the principle that Islam, as the great leveler of class and caste, was a sufficient force to tie the Sindhis, the Pathans, and the Balouchi tribes, and also the Bengalis together with the dominant Punjabis to form a cohesive and stable national identity which would supersede regional loyalties and ethnicities. Through the years, this mission to create a strong centrally controlled government has been pursued by various methods including realignment of political associations between its minority groups, usually based more on gains for provincial party bosses than nation cohesion, and by the use of military coercion, which as in the case of the Bengali majority, resulted in the split up of the original country.

Post Independence - A Legacy of Political Strife

Breeding Terrorism

Pakistan has been a breeding ground for Islamic militants for the past two decades. Until the 1980s, religion remained largely a personal matter. It was perhaps deeply ingrained in the national identity, but was kept apart from the day-to-day functioning of the state and the life of the general public. However, with the advent of General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law and the entry of the Soviet forces into Afghanistan, the clergy became powerful. This was in no small measure owing to the flow of funds from Saudi Arabia and of funds and arms and support in the form of training from the United States. Many international developments, especially the entry of Soviet forces into Afghanistan and the Iranian revolution, gave a boost to extremist politics. Pakistani youth, stirred by the call for jehad, went to Kashmir, Afghanistan, Sudan and Algeria to join militant groups. Some of them have gone to Sinkiang province in China to lend support to Muslims whose relations with the Chinese central authorities are increasingly becoming hostile.

In recent years, scores of Pakistanis from different social backgrounds have joined the "struggle" for Kashmir's independence which, they believe, is the first stage of their goal of making Islam dominant over other civilisations. A senior leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen said in Karachi: "There are countless trained youth who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the lasting glory of Islam."

In the earlier stage of jehad, the majority of militants came from impoverished families. They used to be recruited from religious schools known as madrassas. Nearly three million young people study in thousands of madrassas in Pakistan. Militant Islam is at the core of the curriculum of most of these schools. In the last few years, which have seen a surge of Islamic militancy, recruits have come from diverse backgrounds, including from highly educated middle-class and upper-class families and even from among highly qualified expatriates. They have trained youngsters of Pakistani origin who are born in the United Kingdom, the U.S. and other Western countries.

The militants share the conviction that Western countries, particularly the U.S, and Russia, India and Israel are Satan's agents. They believe that Islam is in danger and that it needs their services.

The strong links that U.K.-based Muslims have with the jehadi outfits and their involvement in terrorist activities have prompted the British Home Ministry to declare as terrorist groups 21 outfits, at least half a dozen of them operating from Pakistan. These include the Al-Qaidah, the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Islamic Jehad and the All-Jamatul Islam.

Despite international pressure on the Pakistan government, the jehadi organisations continue to recruit militants brazenly. The process is simple. These organisations set up stalls in all 106 districts of the country. The organisers use catchy slogans to attract the youth. They speak about the "deplorable state" of the Muslim ummah (Muslim nations) in various parts of the world and exhort the youth to come forward to participate in jehad. Some organisations announce their recruitment drive through newspaper advertisements, wall writings, posters and banners, which carry among other things the organisers' phone numbers and addresses.

The jehadi organisations have vast, effective networks to collect funds. Donations pour in from all segments of society. Donation boxes are kept in shops and restaurants and mosques all over the country. The recruits are taken to training camps, most of them located in the northern parts of Pakistan and Pak Occupied Kashmir. Al Akhwan Academy, located in the mountainous region of Chakwal, about 110 km from Islamabad, can train a batch of 750 recruits at a time. Markaz-e-Toiba, which can train 400 recruits at a time, meets the needs of the Lashkar-e-Toiba. Al-Badar-I and Al-Badar-II in Muzaffarabad specialise in commando operations. The staff comprises Pakistan Army personnel, both serving and retired, and veterans who have spent a good part of their lives fighting in Kashmir and Afghanistan.

About 18 organisations - including the Jaish Mohammed, the Hizbul Mujahideen, the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the Al-Badar and the Jamait-ul-Mujahideen - are engaged in terrorist activities in Kashmir, and most of them have a similar training programme for militants.

The basic training lasts six to eight weeks. It starts with a process of indoctrination, in which the recruits are made to read Islamic literature and be psychologically prepared for jehad. They are asked to climb mountains in the dark, carrying on their shoulders bags weighing 20-30 kg. The "night walk" is a crucial part of the training because most of the time militants have to walk for hours mostly in the night to sneak into the Valley. During this session, the trainees are constantly watched, and only those who are found committed and physically fit are selected for the next stage of training. Those who fail to qualify are sent back to either their native places or their colleges or universities with a brief to prepare other youth for jehad. The selected ones are sent for 'the special task force (STF) course', after a short break of two to three weeks. During this session the recruits are trained in handling guns, firing methods, dismantling and assembling weapons, the mechanics of bombs, detonation techniques and maintaining arms and ammunition. They handle all kinds of weapons - from pistols to Kalashnikovs to rocket launchers to rocket-propelled grenades. They are also trained in planning operations, collecting maps and diagrams, handling communication systems, deciphering codes and other operations relating to terrorist activities. Methods of ambush and camouflaging form part of this course, which normally lasts 12 to 14 weeks.

The STF course is followed by a winding up session during which tests are conducted to assess the trainees. Certificates are sent to the heads of the organisations to which the youth belong.

The best candidates are sometimes recalled for commando training, which lasts about three months. The recruits are sent to jungles or deserts and made to do physical exercises. They are also taught survival methods, which include eating leaves and snakes.

When a militant organisation decides to carry out an operation, it usually forms a group consisting of a guide and five to ten militants (the strength depends on the nature of the mission). The group members are given new names in order to conceal their identities. These names are usually those of "Islamic warriors" of the past - Jahangir, Abu Hamza, Abu Huraira, Salahuddin, Osama, Talha, Hasan Bana, and so on. These names are given to them not only to conceal their identities but also to create a jehadi spirit in them.

Each militant carries 10 to 15 kg of weapons and stores and usually crosses the border at night. This is seen as the most difficult part of the operation because they have to traverse a rough terrain. For this reason the Mujahideen do not take heavy weapons with them. Instead they carry weapons that would be useful in situations of emergency. 

All the jehadi organisations are supported by the Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI). Fed up with its meddling in jehad affairs, some militants have even quit their organisations. But those who are dejected form a minority. Thousands of youth are ready to die for "the glory of Islam". 

Thousands of innocent lives have been claimed in Kashmir and the other parts of India due to jehadi terrorist activities and there seems to be no end to the violence. The churning out of more and more Islamic terrorists by the madrassas implies that Indians should not get carried away by the pseudo friendship talks and should get ready to save their country, religion and civilization.