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The following is research published today from MEMRI’s Special Dispatch Series.
Special Dispatch No. 3631—Pakistan/Kashmir/Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor
Addressing Kashmir Solidarity Day Rally in Lahore, Jamaatud Dawa Leaders Urge Pakistan to Establish a 'Ministry of Jihad', Say: 'Budget for the Ministry of Jihad will be Provided by Jamaatud Dawa…'; '[It] will Provide One Million Trained Fighters…'; '[Raymond Davis is] a Jewish Agent…'; 'It is Mandatory for Muslim Rulers to Attack the Countries of the Non-Muslims At Least Once in a Year'
On February 5, 2011, several religious parties and jihadist organizations in Pakistan organized public rallies, seminars, and conferences in various cities of Pakistan to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day, an official public holiday in Pakistan. A large public rally was also organized in Lahore by Jamaatud Dawa, the charity arm of Pakistani jihadist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. Both the Jamaatud Dawa and Lashkar-e-Taiba, along with a number of charities associated with them, were banned by the UN Security Council for their involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
The Lahore rally was attended by over 20,000 supporters of Jamaatud Dawa and was addressed by its leaders, among them Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Professor Abdur Rehman Makki, a founding leader of Jamaatud Daw. Saeed is currently the Emir of Jamaatud Dawa. Leaders of other religious parties also attended rally. Based on their speeches at the rally, a report was published by the Pakistani magazine "Politics & Development" on its website www.pol-dev.com.
All speakers at the rally also mentioned Raymond Davis, a CIA official detained in Pakistan over the killing of two Pakistani nationals in a shootout in Lahore. Addressing the protesters, Prof. Makki (pictured above) called for jihad against India in Kashmir, and also noted: "The U.S. is nobody's friend. The friends of the U.S. are losing the war. The friends of Muhammad are winning."
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5055.htm.
To view this report, you must be a paying member of the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor Project (JTTM). For membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.
Special Dispatch No. 3630—Pakistan/Tom Lantos Archives on Antisemitism and Holocaust Demial
Jamaat-e-Islami Ideologue Professor Khurshid Ahmad on the Palestinian Issue: 'Let There Be a One-State Solution; The Zionism and the Military Power which They are Controlling… Should Not Be There'
The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan is a political party and the largest religious organization in Pakistan. Almost on a daily basis, it organizes countless seminars, conferences, and public rallies on national and international issues in different Pakistani towns and cities.
Prof. Khurshid Ahmad, the JI's Vice President, is also its top ideologue. Born on March 23, 1932 in Delhi, Professor Ahmad is the founder of the Islamic Foundation, England; and is currently chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad. He holds a bachelor's degree in law and jurisprudence, a master's in economics and Islamic studies, and an honorary doctorate in Islamic economics conferred by the International Islamic University, Malaysia.
In a recent interview, Professor Ahmad answered a range of questions, including on the 9/11 attacks, Al-Qaeda, the differences in the positions of JI India and JI Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, and the Palestinian issue. The interview was conducted by the Politics & Development magazine (www.pol-dev.com).
Excerpts from the interview formed part of a report posted on the magazine's website. The report also contains a few questions and answers that were not recorded on video.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5054.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 3629—Pakistan/Taliban/Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor
Report on Jihadi Media Publications in Pakistan: 'Militant Organizations Are Putting Out… 18 Weeklies, 40 Biweeklies, and 22 Monthlies'; 'Ummat Studios… Is the Biggest Pakistani Jihadi Organization'; 'The Official Al-Qaeda Media, Managed by Adam Yehiye Gadahn, Is Run From an Undisclosed Location in Pakistan'; 'Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Operates Two Media Houses'
Recently, a report in a leading Pakistani newspaper warned that jihadist organizations in Pakistan are continuing to publish scores of print publications advocating jihad and martyrdom despite a government ban on such magazines.
The report noted: "While all sort of radical ideas and jihadi publications are going viral in Pakistan, the government seems more interested in banning BlackBerry services to foreign diplomats instead of shutting down the propaganda of jihadi organizations within the country."
The report, titled "Jihadi Media is Booming," was published in two parts on January 12 and February 4, 2011.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5053.htm.
To view this report, you must be a paying member of the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor Project (JTTM). For membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.
Special Dispatch No. 3627—Pakistan
Pakistani Daily Reports Examine the Role of Pakistani Intelligence Agencies and the Government's Inability to Bring Them Under Legal Control
The recent arrest of CIA contractor Raymond Davis in Pakistan over the killing of two Pakistani nationals during a shootout in Lahore has also shed light on the role of the Pakistani intelligence agencies, especially the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), perhaps the most powerful Pakistani institution that rules Pakistan and dictates Pakistan's foreign policy in Afghanistan and in relation to India and the U.S.
Raymond Davis's arrest came amid a series of recent counterattacks launched by the ISI against CIA officials in Pakistan. In recent months, Jonathan Banks, the CIA station chief in Pakistan, and Elizabeth Rudd, an official of the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, were forced to leave Pakistan after their identities were leaked to the press. Lt.-Gen. Shuja Pasha, the chief of ISI, and several Pakistani military officers and militants have been summoned by a court in New York for their role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which several U.S. citizens were killed. Pakistan fears that the New York court could declare the ISI a terrorist organization.
The ISI has emerged as the most powerful institution in Pakistani governance, politics and policymaking. However, not much is known about the extent of its role in Pakistan. The Supreme Court of Pakistan is hearing cases of "missing persons" in which Pakistani intelligence agencies, including the ISI, have been made respondents in an unprecedented case which alleges that the agencies abducted hundreds of Baluchi nationalist political leaders as well as Islamic militants over the past decade.
As the row over the Raymond Davis issue continues, it should be noted that General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani is the first ISI chief to become the chief of Pakistan Army, and therefore he now is the most powerful person in Pakistan. In a measure of his power, the civilian government in Islamabad, which came to power in 2008, was forced to extend General Kayani's tenure for another full, three-year term. General Kayani (right in the above image) was appointed by General Pervez Musharraf to succeed him as army chief.
Recently, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn published two reports examining the complications in bringing the Pakistani intelligence agencies under the ambit of the law. Both reports were written for the Herald magazine of the Dawn media group and reproduced on the Dawn website in view of their relevance.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5051.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 3626—Pakistan/Kashmir
Addressing Public Rally in Lahore, Lashkar-e-Taiba Founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed Tells India: 'Quit Kashmir or Get Ready to Face a War'; 'The Kashmir Cause is Heading Towards a Conclusion and This Year is Very Important; As the U.S. Flees Iraq and Afghanistan, We Will Get Kashmir This Year'
On February 5, 2011, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the founder of the Pakistani jihadist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba and Emir of its charity arm Jamaatud Dawa, addressed a public rally in Lahore marking Kashmir Solidarity Day, an official Pakistani public holiday. The rally was organized by the Jamaatud Dawa.
Addressing nearly 20,000 supporters on the Mall Road in Lahore, Saeed warned that 2011 will be an important year in the Kashmir movement, as the U.S. is poised to leave Afghanistan and Iraq.
Saeed's Jamaatud Dawa and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as well as other charities associated with the militant network, were outlawed by the UN Security Council following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. However, Saeed and his supporters continue to call for jihad in public meetings across Pakistan, as Pakistani authorities avoid prosecuting them.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5050.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 3625—Pakistan/Islamic Reform
Document: A Guide to the Blasphemy Laws of Pakistan
A protest by the women members of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan
Pakistan witnessed a series of mass protests during December 2010-January 2011 against any attempt to change the controversial blasphemy laws of Pakistan. In Pakistan, generally militant Islamists take it upon themselves to implement the blasphemy laws. Several people granted bail or acquitted in blasphemy cases have been murdered in courtrooms, and on January 4, 2011, an elite security guard assigned to protect Punjab Governor Salman Taseer assassinated him for urging amendments to the blasphemy laws.
One of the laws, Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), prohibits Ahmadi Muslims from calling themselves "Muslims" or preaching their faith. It should be noted that Ahmadi Muslims were legally declared as non-Muslims in 1974 by Pakistan for allegedly not believing Islam's Prophet Muhammad to be the final prophet.
Of several blasphemy laws in Pakistan, the Section 295-C of the PPC carries the death penalty for committing an act of blasphemy against Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Following is a guide to various sections of the Chapter XV of the PPC, regarding the "Offences Relating to Religion:"
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5049.htm.
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