Jehadi flags stage disappearing act in PoK

ISLAMABAD: Following the objections raised by some top American government officials, the Pakistani authorities have made most of the banned jehadi organisations active in Jammu & Kashmir and carrying out relief activities in the quake-hit areas of PoK drape themselves in an invisibility cloak by removing banners and flags from their relief camps set up in the quake-stricken areas.

When the October 8 quake hit Pakistan the underground extremists, seeking to shore up their standing among the local people, started to compete with the international teams in relief work. At a time when the government was initially slow in its relief efforts, these organisations took the lead by offering their help and services to the earthquake-victims.

This gained them many supporters, which made the West, especially the United States, extremely wary, fearing that these factions would try to recruit more people by gaining their loyalties during relief efforts. Some of the top American government officials, who had visited the quake-affected areas of PoK, took a serious notice of their activities and voiced their concerns over the trend.

However, in the wake of the massive crisis, the Musharraf regime deemed it fit to brush these concerns aside and allow jehadi outfits to continue their work. Though US Ambassador to Pakistan Ryon Crocker’s reservations about jehadis’ engagement in relief work, especially Hafiz Mohammad Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (the parent group of Lashkar-e-Toiba), created ripple to a large extent, the removal of banners and flags took place only after the visit of American President Bush. Following the Bush visit last week, top officials of security agencies, convened a meeting of jehadi leaders in Muzaffarabad to inform them about the government’s  decision.

According to sources in jehadi ranks, the militant groups carrying out releief activities in PoK were conveyed similar instructions following a visit to PoK by American Vice President Dick Cheney. “A majority of the outfits’ leaders showed their readiness at that time to follow the government’s decision while some refused to abide by these directives. “And almost same is the case after the recent instructions. We have removed most of the banners and flags on our own, and others, which were not removed, were removed by the security officials,” the sources said.

According to a senior government official in Islamabad, the US officials also had conveyed the complaints of the western NGOs to the Pakistani officials, who were of the view that banners put up by jehadis also carried their contact numbers.

Although jrhadis believe that contact numbers were meant to facilitate people, trapped in disaster, to get maximum help, the western NGOs interpret this move as an attempt to recruit more and more in jehadi outfits.

The government decision to direct jehadis to remove their flags is justified, the government circles say. “The Jamaat-ud Dawa’s white flag has got inscribed Kalima Tayyabah and a sword displayed over it which was noticed by US and NATO forces.

At a time when it is already being propagated in the West that Islam was spread through the power of sword, the security agencies fear its presence on Dawa’s flag would further strengthen this wide spread assumption,” the sources noted.

“The US and NATO forces often question, first as to why the flag is white, second they inquire about the Arabic words (Kalima Tayyabah) and then about the sword.”