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Jamaat-e-Islami trains, abets separatists in Indian-Kashmir
Chris Blackburn speaks to DOT :
Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in Kashmir has run Hizbul Mujahideen and Al-Badr groups for years. The original Kashmiri separatists got pushed out by Jamaat figures who wanted to Islamize the conflict and get people to want to join Pakistan.
Pakistan’s dreaded spy agency ISI funded those efforts. On the other hand, ISI didn’t support other separatists groups in disputed Indian Kashmir.
ISI funded the Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front – JKLF but then decided they wanted Jamaat to take over the Jihad. So they used Jamaat to side line JKLF.
The fate of JKLF has splits into splintered groups. There are some good quotes about Pakistani groups hijacking the struggle. JKLF are mainly secular and don’t like Pakistan’s interference.
JeI continued their hidden agenda with the blessings of ISI in Indian Kashmir. They even setup a splinter elite cell of Hizbul Mujahideen called Al-Badr, named after the death squads of 1971 bloody war of Bangladesh independence.
Al-Khidmat, Jamaat’s charity workers often overlap with Hizbul Mujahideen cadre. When they have rallies or there is a national emergency they work in tandem.
ISI in Pakistan administered Kashmir has aided and abetted jihadists like Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) and its the political arm Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and others. They all work together on the United Jihad Council terror network.
After the first Afghan jihad in the 1980s, Pakistan General Hamid Gul, chief of ISI sent the Arab-Afghans into Kashmir to fight proxy war.
Fortunately they had to withdraw after global pressure. They ended up back in Afghanistan, Sudan and Bosnia.
In Kashmir there is unlikely any foreign fighters. The ISI have kept the conflicts separate, like business and terrorism.
After the international pressure, they got in the 1990s they compartmentalized to stop bad press and diplomatic outrages.
International pressure do not include China doesn’t like to get involved. It’s mainly the US and others.
Jamaat has a weird relationship with China. It used to finance militancy there however in 2009 they signed a memorandum of understanding with the Communist Party of China.
The Uighurs has often been used by Jamaat to cause trouble. However China and Pakistan have grown close.
Saudi pressure by Prince Mohammad bin Salman regarding disputed Kashmir is not understood well. The Saudis have said they want to stop supporting Jihadi groups. They claim the Rabita Al Islam (Muslim World League) is going to start promoting toleration and peace.
It depends on many factors. The Saudis are fixated on Iran. If that flashpoint gets hot, Pakistan will be expected to become a right hook in any conflict. Iran has also said that militants are coming from Pakistan to hit it hard.
The crackdown in Pakistan against Kashmiri separatist and jihadist outfits is not genuine. They’ve done it before. They always build up the tension until the international community steps in. It’s sad, because they have got away with it for 30 years now. No accountability for their behavior.
So who knows what will happen in future!
Chris Blackburn, is a political analyst based in England and specializes on Jamaat-e-Islami political agenda.
Interviewed by Saleem Samad