 THE TRUE FACE OF JEHADIS: INSIDE PAKISTAN'S NETWORK OF TERROR
By Amir Mir
Roli Books
Price: Rs 395; Pages: 310
| Any Indian visitor to Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi or Islamabad instantly realises that there are many Pakistans within Pakistan. There is the Pakistan of the feudal elite, who have remained by and large unaffected by decades of political instability that has plagued the country. There is the Pakistan of the new businessmen and corporates, who are beaming with new confidence drawn from a soaring Karachi Stock Exchange. There is the Pakistan of the think-tanks, the NGOs and the media: expanding the country's civil society day after day. There is, of course, the Pakistan of the bureaucracy and the armed forces and finally there is the Pakistan of jehadis and extremists. Will these different Pakistans unite one day? And will Pakistan move towards enlightened moderation or will it fall prey to the jehadis? The True Face of Jehadis is a study of this most disturbing Pakistan.
 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | PAYBACK TIME: The Pakistani establishment created the jehadis | | It is the story of a monster created by the Frankenstein state which is now out to devour its master. As Amir Mir points out: "Pan-Islamism is their creed and they do not believe in the nation state." Their ideology runs counter to Musharraf's changed policy of 'Pakistan-first'. It also militates against the state policy of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. But the jehadis were conceived and nourished by the establishment itself, of course, with active American assistance during the Afghan war. But having changed personal course, slowly but surely after 9/11, President Musharraf now faces a dilemma. There are those in the establishment who believe that he will not be able to fundamentally change the nature of the relationship between the militants and the military overnight, even if he sincerely desires this. Remember the murder of the journalist, Daniel Pearl, which, as the book confirms once again, was carried out because Pearl was about to establish a link between the ISI and al-Qaeda. What will happen next? Amir Mir suggests that, "rivalries among the Pakistani and the US security and intelligence agencies have brought the search for al-Qaeda leaders in Musharraf's present day Pakistan to a virtual halt." And that the breaking point will come "either with a misstep by Musharraf that destroys the political balance he has tried to maintain within Pakistan or a decision by the Bush Administration that delay, obfuscation and overt obstructionism will no longer be tolerated and it will have to move on its own." The real challenge, over the long term, however, is the ideological war and it has to be fought from within the Islamic tradition. And for that it is critical to empower the moderate Islamic voices within Pakistan. For India and Dr Manmohan Singh, the challenge is clearly to strengthen the Pakistan that sees the growing relationship with India in its interests, while campaigning against the jehadi Pakistan. The recent Indian offer of a treaty of peace, security and friendship to Pakistan is perhaps the most imaginative diplomatic initiative by Delhi in recent years. But will the treaty ever translate into reality? Will India and Pakistan ever be able to overcome their shared history of bitterness and violence and move on to a new era? Only if the jehadis are marginalised, and the establishments change their mindset. As one insider put it: "Most people of India and Pakistan have made peace, the leaders want to make peace, but the two establishments and the extremists are working against it." This is a remarkable book: insightful, readable and frightening. Amir Mir is a well known Pakistani journalist, and the original version of this had been published in Urdu. But it is further evidence of the plurality of Pakistan that Amir Mir continues to live and work in Lahore, safely and successfully. |
