Singer Mallika Pukhraj’s son admits he is LeT member

ISLAMABAD: The son of Pakistani singer Mallika Pukhraj, who carved a niche in Indian hearts with numbers like Abhi to mein jawan hoon, has shocked people by admitting he was member of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, a Pakistan-based militant outfit blamed for most terror attacks in India.

 

Retired Major Tanveer Hussain, holding the key post of Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, hit the headlines by disclosing his links during a debate in the National Assembly on a Pakistan Army attack on a madrassa. He is one of six children of the ghazal singer.
 
Pukhraj died in Lahore in 2004 and her death was mourned by her fans in India. Such was the impact she made back home that Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani briefly sang her song Abhi to mein jawan hoon (I am still young) in a television interview during his visit to Pakistan last year.
 
"I want to inform the House that I have been a member of this (LeT) organisation," Hussain revealed during the emotionally-charged debate last week.

 

After his speech, Hussain told The Post newspaper here that he was still a member of LeT even though it was banned in Pakistan.

 

"I am still a member of LeT. I go to its congregations and deliver speeches," he said, adding that he has no hesitation being part of the militant outfit even though he was in government.

 

Hussain was earlier an activist of Benazir Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party and won the 2002 National Assembly polls on a PPP ticket. He later teamed with several other PPP members of Parliament, who defected to the government ranks to provide stable majority to the ruling pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q.

 

Hussain is one of the 87 retired military officials fielded by all the major political parties, including PPP, and former premier Nawaz Sharif's PML-N, who recently issued a Charter of Democracy that promised to minimise the role of Pakistan military in politics.

 

In addition to this, 40 retired military official had contested the polls as independents, some of whom having open links with militant groups they came in contact with during their career.

 

The Post, which interviewed him after his speech, in an editorial, has sought Hussain's removal as Parliamentary Secretary of Defence and wanted him to be replaced by someone with "impeccable credentials".

 

The LeT was banned in February 2002, after it was named by India of being involved in the attack on Parliament. LeT founder leader Hafeez Sayeed has disbanded the group and formed an NGO called Jamaat-ud-Dawa, that which was on the watchlist of Islamabad.

 

The United States has banned JUD but Pakistan has defended the organisation as being an NGO. Washington's efforts to get JUD declared banned by UN Security Council have not succeeded so far because China has asked for more details to substantiate the allegations of JUD's terror involvement.

 

The Post said "although Pakistan decided to side with the US in its war on terror following 9/11, purging its establishment of those harbouring extremist views overnight was not an easy task. It is the first instance when an important functionary in the government has made a loud statement in favour of LeT in the apex national forum".

 

The presence of others cannot be ruled out, who may have muted their support for 'jihad' when the official policy was changed, it said.

 

"Apparently, Hussain was comparing the banned LeT with those who had carried out the suicide attack on the Army training camp in the NorthWest Front Province. His assertions could be no more than a political harangue to attract attention, but holding a parliamentary post associated with security and issuing irresponsible statements sounds rather absurd".

 

Hussain was elected to the National Assembly on PPP's ticket but was awarded the post of Parliamentary Secretary for Defence for throwing in his lot with the PPP-Patriots (name of the new party after defections). "It was desirable that due intelligence procedure had been followed before appointing a person of Hussain's convictions to this sensitive position," the newspaper said.

 

"Even if we take the most generous view that it was the result of an oversight and Hussain was not appointed after proper assessment, it is cause for embarrassment for the government, which has been bending over backwards to prove that it is taking out jihadis.

 

"Statements like these point towards an inconsistency in policy. It appears that LeT is not considered a threat to our security, since it has been permitted to operate under the new name of JUD. It would be in the fitness of things if the government considered replacing Hussain with a person enjoying impeccable credentials", it added.