What President Musharaf wants to Convey to Indians about recent blasts at Mumbai and else where?

Question

Just some hours back I was watching a channel of the Indian TV and in the news there was an item; in that President Musharraf is asking for the valid proof for the particiapation of Pakistan based terrorists in the recent bomb blasts in the suburban trains at Mumbai & elsewhere. He has to find it out from his inteligence ISI to identify the group involved in these activities. Once an Indian Airlines flight was highjacked to Afghanistan and the passengers were exchanged for criminals in the dress of the clergy! They are still at very large at Pakistan and are leaders of the so called freedom movement out fits. Why they are not conducting their liberation activities inside Pakistan as there are a number of problems are felt by local Muslims themselves. Why they teach Islam to Indians in India?

Answer 1

For a long time, security experts have been pointing out that terror in India has a global connection; 7/11 has proved just how deep-rooted it is.

Experts say ISI hand in terror acts can be traced back to Zia ul-Haq's time. However, jehadi terrorism in Indian territory outside Kashmir is a post-1992 (after the Babri demolition) phenomenon.

"But in real terms, terror in India went global since March 2006," says B Raman, former additional secretary, Cabinet Secretariat. Investigations into recent terrorist attacks and subsequent arrests and seizures in different parts of India, particularly Aurangabad, have shown a growing alliance between jehadi groups operating from Pakistan and Bangladesh, and ideologically extreme groups in India.

"In fact, the Mumbai blasts are identical to the Madrid train blasts. Almost the same pattern was followed in both places," says Raman. It signals a new phase of terrorism in India, where international groups like LeT and HUJI are exerting influence over small and diffused groups of people to take up arms against the State in the name of religion.

As Ajai Sahni, executive director, Institute of Conflict Management points out, all these groups have an ISI link. "There is clear evidence that ISI controls LeT, Jaish, Al Badr et al. The Taliban and the Al-Qaida too are its creation. It's a complex relationship."

Sahni likens Al-Qaida to a virtual corporate. "There is a leadership but no centralised control, all groups operate like franchisees. They have a common vision, share the same motivation and follow similar modules to secure their objectives. What's more, anyone can become a member at will." It's the perfect example of a decentralised, autonomous corporation. And it uses modern communication deftly to achieve its goals.

The core group consists of 300-400 Arabs and Afghans. Their job is to chalk out objectives and mastermind catastrophic acts like 9/11 . "But they don't bother with micro-management of groups under them," Sahni says. If the same methods were used to run a corporate, Osama bin Laden would have been lauded as a clever capitalist.

While terror networks in India are linked to the ISI, they may not be based in Pakistan anymore. After the war on Afghanistan, and increased US military presence in Pakistan, they are shifting base to Bangladesh and Nepal.

Brig Arun Sehgal (retd), Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation, United Service Institution of India, cites an example: "Three years ago, an ISI cell was busted in Jaisalmer and was traced to Kathmandu. The cell was recruiting people from the Alwar region," he says. "Of late, ISI has 'outsourced' terror to various linked outfits. These include the banned al-Umma group responsible for the Coimbatore bombings. Links between terrorists groups of the north-east, LTTE, HUJI etc, are also emerging now,."

Who are the local recruits? "Disgruntled youth who are available for a fee. They come from all strata, the uneducated, unemployed boys to the well-educated ones with angst," says analyst Bharat Karnad. According to Wing Commander R S Shukla (retd), author of The ISI Connection, the recruits are from three sources: fundamentalists; the confused and marginalised with an axe to grind; and those seeking pecuniary gains.

And these elements are found everywhere, from the villages of UP to Tamil Nadu, the slums of Mumbai to the illegal Bangladeshis of Delhi. Even among educated professionals of the white-collar world.
As for funds, Saudi charities and humanitarian organisations play a disturbing role. "Either they take the hawala route or use conduits to smuggle money in," says Gen R K Sawhney (retd). Of late, they even have fund managers.


Local modules work independently and most use pseudonyms. No two members know each other, so even if they are caught, not much information is revealed. The mastermind may have a regular job, with no evidence to connect him to the module. Sahni says, "Modern technology has made mass movements irrelevant. A few dozen can keep a terrorist movement alive perpetually."

Says Raman, "Al-Qaida, LeT, Dawood's mafia group and others involved in such terrorist strikes live under the protection of the ISI. They would not have been able to carry out a sophisticated operation like 7/11 without the ISI's knowledge.

But it's difficult to say whether ISI was actively involved in the planning and execution." Everyone, including Gen Musharraf, is waiting for the final evidence.