The Hindu : Jaish behind Parliament attack: ex-ISI chief

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 07, 2004

International

International - India & World

Jaish behind Parliament attack: ex-ISI chief

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, MARCH 6. The former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has surprised observers by his statement on the floor of the Pakistan Parliament that the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad was behind the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack as well on attempts on the life of Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf.

Participating in the debate in the Senate on the motion of thanks to the address of Gen. Musharraf to Parliament, Lt. Gen. (retd) Qazi said the ISI had nothing to do with the extremist and sectarian outfits in Pakistan and there was no truth in the allegations that they were patronised by the establishment.

``We must not be afraid of admitting that the Jaish was involved in the deaths of thousands of innocent Kashmiris, bombing the Indian Parliament, Daniel Pearl's murder and attempts on President Musharraf's life,'' said Senator Lt. Gen. (retd.) Qazi. His speech triggered ripples in the Treasury as well as the Opposition benches.

There is little doubt that this is the first admission by any senior functionary in the circles close to Gen. Musharraf about the activities of the banned Jaish though Lt. Gen. Qazi is clearly trying to make a case that Pakistan is as much a victim as India.

But there would be few takers for the line advanced by Lt. Gen. Qazi who was a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Gen. Musharraf. Maulana Masood Azar, one of the three militants released by India in exchange for passengers aboard the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft in December 1999, founded the Jaish in 2000.

Reports in the Pakistani media freely talked about the help Mr. Azar got from the establishment of the Jaish. Thanks to the generous state help and oratory skills of Mr. Azad, the Jaish emerged as one of the top jehadi outfits in Pakistan. Prior to 9/11 it was reckoned as one of the two main jehadi organisations.

In the wake of pressure from the international community and India, Gen. Musharraf banned the Jaish in the wake of the Parliament attack. But Pakistan insisted that the ban had nothing to do with the Indian demand and was purely related to the sectarian activities of the Jaish.

That the ban did not work on the ground was evident when the Government deemed it necessary in November 2003 to re-ban it after it had taken a new name. For Lt. Gen. Qazi to claim now that it was behind the Parliament attack would only raise the obvious question. Why did not the Pakistan Government concede the Indian demand for action against the Jaish?

The former ISI chief told the Senate that the banned sectarian outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi too was a product of hatred. ``They are producing zombies to kill their Muslim brothers,' he said. About the Quetta attack, he said that Muslims were used to kill Muslims. ``We arrested people who were ready to kill anyone for just Rs. 200'', he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

Blair advocates pre-emptive strikes

Shia concerns delay signing of Iraqi Constitution

China hikes defence budget by 12 per cent

Kerry, Bush tied in opinion poll

Pardon of Khan only conditional, says U.S.

Many nations may miss U.S. visa deadline

A born-again strip club is now open

Agitation turns violent in Bangladesh

Pakistan, Iran sign pacts to strengthen relations

Jaish behind Parliament attack: ex-ISI chief

`China will be glad to help improve India-Pakistan ties'

Indologist dead

Held for alleged murder of Indian diplomat