Changing the battlefield

[RAENORTH]

A serious topic of conversation in Indian political circles is the very real possibility of Pakistan breaking up, the tenor of the discussion being not "if" but "when". If it happens, it is felt that a key element will have been the proliferation of Taleban groups beyond the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and into the Pakistani heartland. This issue is discussed in a recent edition of the Hindustan Times, where it was noted that the attack on Pakistan Army Headquarters on 10 October, as well as other recent suicide bombings in Lahore and Islamabad, involved two Punjabi "militants", Commander Iqbal and Gul Muhammad.

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[therewaslight]

Quote from your link

Initially made up largely of Pashtuns, the Taliban movement in Pakistan is now largely dominated by Punjabi militant groups created by the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment with a view to ’liberate’ Jammu and Kashmir. However, like Frankenstein’s monster, these jihadi groups, which are mostly based in Punjab, have joined hands with the Taliban and al-Qaeda to take on their creator.
...
But fresh recruits for most of the Sunni Deobandi sectarian-cum-militant jihadi groups come from the religious seminaries of Jhang, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh.

also interesting

Despite reports regarding the existence of Tehrik-e-Taliban Punjab, analysts say the existing network of the Punjabi Taliban lacks any organisation or command structure and operates as a loose network of elements from distinct jihadi and sectarian organisations

Will that change? Are they simply victims of brainwashing giving themselves up for someone else's war, or do they have political goals for the Saraiki people?

Having switched from the freedom struggle in Jammu and Kashmir to the Taliban-led resistance against the NATO forces in Afghanistan, Kashmiri established a training camp in the Razmak area of Waziristan and shifted most of his warriors from his Kotli training camp in Azad Kashmir.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease...


Other link says

Al Qaeda is slated to play a significant role in the Taliban’s resurrected Caliphate. Incredibly, they have already jointly set up a new central bank. During one session of the Taliban’s and al Qaeda’s shura majlis (executive council) in northern Pakistan, the terror masters established the Bayt al Mahl, or “House of Wealth.” This bank was set up in a region called Jani Khel, within the Northern Pakistani district of Bannu. The Bayt al Mahl, according to a former senior US intelligence official, is the official treasury of the Caliphate. As the Leader of the Faithful, Mullah Omar is entitled to 20 percent of the wealth. Osama bin Laden is authorized to approve withdrawals, and has Mustafa Abu Yazid, al Qaeda's emir in Afghanistan, complete the transactions.

It says much about al Qaeda’s and the Taliban’s joint territorial aspirations that the two have already a central bank to fund their venture. The idea that al Qaeda can be treated as a separate enemy that can be carved off the insurgency is therefore a fallacy.

just 20% of the wealth...? the Arabs are tempting Mullah Omar's Ghilzais with bribery. If that is the price of the bond between Ghilzai Taliban and foreign Al Qaeda it doesn't sound much for us to compete with.

how can we check the report's authenticity? could the source be someone with an agenda? it's a little too "incredible".

Another link to a previous post suggested Pakistani military knows the location of Mullah Omar's hideout outside Quetta but are not going to touch him. Why if he's now paid up to Al Qaeda's cause?

[RAENORTH]

...how can we check the report's authenticity? could the source be someone with an agenda? it's a little too "incredible".

Nothing is trustworthy ... all we can do is record, analyse and triangulate. Interesting issues are raised. We shall see how they develop.

[Daffersd]

Excellent information thanks for that and very worrying though I must admit to seeing the possible breakup of Pakistan for some time. TWL, I really do not think that you can buy them off, note the madrassas.

[therewaslight]

I'm not convinced about the Pakistani break-up idea - these Punjabis are not fighting for a political structure of their own.

The louder the Pakistani government squeals the more US military aid it gets and the fewer concessions the ruling class will have to make.

[ivan the yid from bradford]

TWL quotes from a 'link' : 'But fresh recruits for most of the Sunni Deobandi sectarian-cum-militant jihadi groups come from the religious seminaries of Jhang, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh.'

This is somewhat interesting and I wonder how accurate the original source is ! Yes many of the 'jihad' supporting groups, both those who just 'talk' about jihad and those who actually take 'action' to promote jihad are 'deobandi'. 'Deobandi' is a hard line strain within 'Wahhabi' society. That's the whole reason for my querying this report. The Wahhabi sect is the dominant sect inside Saudi Arabia ! Yes I can imagine jihad supporting groups who are deobandi. That sect is violently hard line and their are plenty of Saudi petro-dollars to fund such groups. But are such groups very successfull at recruiting in Pakistan ? Pakistani's particularly in the North of Pakistan are predominantly Barelvi - a moderate grouping who follow a rather mystical implementation of Islam. Yes some barelvi's may be impressed by the money and access to education that signing up to a Saudi financed deobandi group can give them but I cannot imagine that a large number of the Pakistani population which be willing to betray hundreds of years of their history.