Taliban militias gameplan..
Taliban militias gameplan is to gain credibility
Rajesh Ramachandran
The Hindustan Times
December 25, 1999
Title: Taliban militias
gameplan is to gain credibility
Author: Rajesh Ramachandran
Publication: The Hindustan
Times
Date: December 25, 1999
File photo of Mustaq
Ahmed Zargar, chief of now defunct Al-Umer Mujahideen, who is among the
list of three militants, whose release has been demanded by the hijackers.
Photo: PTI The mysterious "Islamic Salvation Front" (ISF) has taken
responsibility for the hijacking of the ill-fated Indian Airlines plane,
but its identity and genuineness remain in doubt.
More important than this
claim is the hijackers' insistence on landing and staying in Afghanistan.
Defence analysts and intelligence sources say this only confirms that the
operation was masterminded by the Taliban and assisted by Pakistan. This
contradicts Islamabad and Kabul's protestation that their countries were
not involved.
Former Intelligence Bureau
chief MK Narayanan argues, "Foreign mercenaries account for 85 per cent
of Islamic terrorists in the Kashmir valley. Their natural habitat is Afghanistan.
The hijackers' choice
of destination only confirms their identity - they could be any of the
mercenary groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba."
Narayanan says the name
of the group matters little. What matters is the Kashmir-Afghanistan-Pakistan
angle to the crisis.
In fact, the Srinagar
police is clueless about the ISF. But the hijackers' reported demand for
the release of Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, the Al-Umar group chief who has been
in the Srinagar Central Jail since 1993, indicates the Kashmiri connection.
Security analyst Brahma
Chellany agrees that the identity of the group hardly matters since its
character is similar to the bands involved in international terrorism after
the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
This is largely because
new groups are often floated to carry out fresh operations to confuse the
government.
"Going to Kandahar means
their identity and motives will remain hidden. It also helps them to melt
away. With no foreign media or international agencies, the Taliban can
replace the initial group with another, and orchestrate the operation the
way it wants," says Chellaney.
The fact that the telephone
call claiming responsibility came only after the aircraft landed in Kandahar
proves this city was all along the terrorists' destination, analysts say.
Bharat Karnad of the
Centre for Policy Research asserts that since hijacking is a serious international
crime, its perpetrators needed shelter in a country subscribing to their
ideology and cause: "It certainly proves that the hijackers' group is an
offshoot of the Taliban."
Islamic internationalist
Osama Bin Laden's statement that India, the US and Russia are his religion's
main enemies strengthens the belief that despite the veneer of responsibility
and co-operation, Pakistan-Taliban sponsored terrorists are behind the
hijacking.
Jasjit Singh, director,
Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses asserts the hijacking episode
is a counter to the mounting US and Indian pressure on Pakistan for its
role in international terrorism.
"This is why Pakistan
and Afghanistan are trying to project themselves as responsible nations,
and prove that the hijacking is a mere manifestation of India's internal
problems. Also, through its 'responsible' behaviour, Afghanistan wants
to show that its actions are not determined by Taliban," he says.
In "brokering" a resolution
to the crisis, Pakistan and Afghanistan hope to gain international respectability.
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