As General Pervez Musharraf moves following his January 12 speech to curb religious extremism and take control of seminaries that provide religious groups with their cadres, indications are the clerics may not go down without a fight, howsoever feeble. Intelligence agencies have reported to the government that efforts are on by clerics running the seminaries and controlling various outfits to instigate seminarians into declaring a holy war against General Musharraf, branded a traitor, and his government.
Wifaq-ul Madaras, the highest body regulating Deobandi seminaries in Pakistan, controls over 5,000 seminaries and had deep linkages with the Taliban militia in Afghanistan. There is no doubt that General Musharraf is the bete-noire of the religious right-wing. Even before the US campaign against terrorism, the general had moved in to dismantle, brick-by-brick, the edifice that another military dictator, General Ziaul Haq, had constructed for his own self-serving purposes. September 11 and its aftermath just give a fillip to General Musharraf's own campaign to move against the Islamist-jihadi combine.
Two factors go into the general's favour at this stage. One, the silent majority across Pakistan. moderate Muslims, have supported his agenda. Two, the Taliban rout in Afghanistan has gone a long way in discrediting the jihadis.
Intelligence agencies, warn that implementation of these policies may not be as easy as announcing them. “The state erected this structure over a period of two decades. It will take, at least 3 to 4 years before things calm down," says an analyst. Some observers also, apprehend that these groups would change their nomenclature and become active again, though most concede that without active support from the establishment they will not be as effective.
"What is worrisome is their ability to resort to subversive activities. The government will now have to be very careful about that," says a former intelligence officer. General Musharraf's personal security has already been beefed up. “That they might try to assassinate hint (,Musharraf) or members of his cabinet, is a clear and present danger. We have seen this happen in Egypt, Algeria and even in India. So, he has to be very careful" says this officer.
(The Friday Times)