 |
||
|
||
|
||
They are mercenaries trained by ISI to fight the proxy war
The Afghans inhabit areas adjoining Kashmir in the north west and both had a common past under the Shahi dynasties of the pre-Islamic times. As a race, the Afghans made an appearance in history later. Ibn Batuta, the traveller from Morocco in the 14th century mentions them as dreaded looters and his caravan had a narrow escape from them as it passed through their lands to the Punjab. In the Moghul period, Akbar and Aurangzeb both sought to subjugate them but were not successful. In the eighteenth century the Afghans raided the Punjab repeatedly under Ahmad Shah Abdali. They retreated under Sikh pressure but remained in Kashmir and ruled there till 1819 when Raja Ranjit Singh defeated them and took over the state. While in the Valley, the Afghans earned notoriety as rapacious and cruel. The experience of ruling the valley enamoured them of the place and as Olaf Caroe puts it, it was as a result of this "love affair" the Afghans raided Kashmir in 1947, with the support of the newly formed Pakistan. They looted and plundered during this raid, particularly in Baramula, and after that they packed up and went home with the loot, leaving the war in Kashmir to be carried on by the Government of Pakistan.
In 1980's Afghanistan was under invasion by the USSR and during that period as many as four million Afghans took refuge in the trans-border areas of Pakistan, specially around Peshawar and also in Baluchistan. These refugees were recruited by the ISI (Inter Service Intelligence) of Pakistan to fight in Kashmir, as part of a plan to carry out a guerrilla war. Thousands of young refugees were trained to fight in this proxy war. They reinforced the other guerrilla elements and became a prominent part of them. They have formed a specially ferocious and ruthless part and indeed do not hesitate to burn even holy, religious places like Charar-i-Sharif. They also abducted some foreign tourists and killed them to the horror of the western world. They mindlessly killed helpless people like bus passengers and labourers working in forest camps, choosing only Hindus and Sikhs.
In the 90s, these Afghan refugees were organised to lead, under the title Taliban, a civil war in Afghanistan, as well as fighting in Kashmir, and other remote places like Russian Chechenya and in Yugoslavia. The ISI armed and guided them. From their base in Kandhar the Taliban invaded Jalababad and Kabul and established their rule there. The Taliban Government of Afghanistan and the Government of Pakistan have become partners in organising guerrilla wars. These ISI-trained Afghans have also infiltrated in to Central Asian Republics like Uzbekistan to aid the cause of fundamentalism. In Kashmir they have become the leading players in outfits like the Lashkar-i-Taiba. Their wide-ranging operations are financed by funds received from Governments in the Middle East, and their arms are the ones supplied by USA in the eighties to Pakistan for the war against the Russians in Afghanistan. The Pak ISI and the Taliban Government of Afghanistan raise funds also from the sale of heroin from opium grown in areas around Kandhar and in the transborder areas.
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has given shelter to Osama-bin-Laden the anti-Saudi leader of terrorism for "Jihad" against USA and in Kashmir, Chechenya and elsewhere. The phenomenon of anti-western hate, and of waging "Jihad" in all parts of the world has led to a strong reaction against them. In Pakistan however the Taliban have gained acceptance and public favour. Osama-bin-Laden has become a cult figure, so much so that the western-oriented elements in Pakistan are unable to speak up against him. The position is so favourable to the Taliban that new training camps are being started by the religious fanatics in Pakistan besides those in the trans-border areas and Pak-occupied Kashmir. We must also realise that the Pakistan economy has been permeated by the Afghan elements who have, instead of going back home, settled down in areas like Karachi and Baluchistan and in business like motor transport of goods. They are suspected to be involved in trade in arms and narcotics and thus have a key role on the Pakistan scene.
The Afghan militants and terrorists
continue to be a prominent element in the anti-people guerrilla attacks
even today. Being a foreign element they are unmindful of any local sentiments
or any move for cease-fire or settlement. A mercenary force like them is
unmindful of any need to end the war. They have been recruited to kill,
burn and destroy, not to work for a settlement. After the Kargil war of
1998, they caused mass murders among the religious pilgrims going to Amarnath
as well among as the Kashmiri Sikhs in their village. They have been asked
to fight a Jihad, a gross misnomer for acts of wanton mass murders. The
human rights situation is of no concern and their only mission is to cause
maximum terror. How long will the people of the state stay silent against
this war of mindless killers who are tainting the valley in the name of
religion?
|
||
|
||
|
||