Is Daesh New Kid on the Block?

By:      Aasef Chauhdry

 

Daesh or ISIS is talk of the town these days. Till few days back they were heard fighting and committing atrocities only in Iraq, Syria. However, recently they have been reported extending their activities in the neighbouring countries as well. It has become a fashion to join or promote any group that surface, taking the name of Islam. These days such groups gain overnight popularity. People would talk about them promote them and even many cases blindly join them, without even going into their background or history. More than a decade back, exactly this thing happened when Al Qaeda came into being. The militants belonging to Al Qaeda were termed as the heroes of Islam who were fighting against anti-Muslim forces. Nevertheless, with the passage of time the group’s follies exposed them and gradually their popularity graph started falling down.

As a consequence of Afghanistan Jihad, following the popularity and effectiveness of genuine Afghan Taliban, the militants in the tribal belt and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa adopted the name of Pakistani Taliban. The masterminds behind them were certainly the forces who had vested interests in Pakistan and categorically the tribal belt to achieve their goals. They purposely and wickedly gave these terrorists the name Taliban just to confuse the world and bring a bad name to the genuine Taliban who attained fame of their just cause and fight for the liberation of Afghanistan. These so-called Pakistani Taliban who were proven playing into the hands of the American, Indian, Iranian, Afghan and British intelligence agencies, started the terrorists activities throughout the country. They killed innocent people and played with the lives of thousands of inopportune Pakistanis. Beside this the blast and suicidal attacks on the military installations and other set-ups left no doubt about their loyalties.

With the passage of time, on the same very issue the differences between various factions within the Taliban organisation developed. There were folks who believed in dialogues and only targeting the military points but there were others also who wanted to disrupt the routine national life. Finally much talked Taliban met their horrible felt. on one hand they were severely punished by the armed forces that made them run from pillar to post, may that was Swat or it is Waziristan while on the other hand they disunited hence lost the control. their horrible fate was a nightmare for the masters who were dreaming to dismember Pakistan. Those ignorant who wanted to fight it as their own battle are doing so and are being punished at the hands of armed forces in operation Zarb-e-Azb whereas, those who are puppets in the foreign hands have found a new cozy lap of Daesh.

Recently, some of the thrown out cases like ex-TTP spokesperson Shahid Ullah Shahid along with five senior commanders of Orakzai Agency, Kurram Agency, Khyber Agency, Hangu and Peshawar announced their allegiance to terrorist group Islamic State of Daesh. I wonder if they know that what this ISIS or Daesh is all about, however, if they know at all then it comfortably exposes their linkage and affiliations. These new ‘faithful soldiers’ of the Daesh State, besides distributing literature / pamphlets, are also wall chalking in Peshawar to join and support the group. No wonder, if in many cases even AbuBakar AlBaghdadi would know even, about these volunteers of the “State”.

A hectic media war is intensely going on to prove Daesh good and prove them bad. Someone recently posted a footage where foreign analysts are bashing ISIS and blaming them to be the agents of Israeli Secret Service. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152619864314262. But ironically the ill informed public unwittingly and without realizing the consequences are playing into the hands of the enemy by doing wall chalking and pasting posters in Daesh’s favour, here and there in the country. There are some authenticated reports that the most controversial organization of Daesh in Mosul want to rewrite the Holy Quran, removing various verses which the organization allege is distorted and incorrect; according to the “Afaq Al-Iraq” channel from private sources. After seeing the clip posted above, no doubt left about the origin of ISIS elements. As reported by the site of “Al-Mowaten” members of Daesh continued by saying the verses they wish to remove we’re placed by corrupt distorted clerics to serve other religions and sects such as Christianity and others. The report stated that the chapters which the organization of Daesh wishes to alter include the chapter of “Al-Kafiroon” and verses of purification.

TTP has been weighed down by bitter internal rivalries over the past year, with the influential Mehsud tribal faction of the group refusing to accept the authority of Mullah Fazalullah. ISIS, in an effort to extend its global reach, could exploit these rivalries to its advantage, wading into a region ripe with fierce anti-Western ideology and full of young unemployed men ready to take up guns and fight for Islam. The vulnerability appears to be dangerous meriting condemnation by the entire nation.

By terming killing of innocent people as anti Islam, Pakistan Ulema Council has appealed to youth not to join extremist organization of ISIS, which promote violence for their vested interests. Saudi Grand Mufti also called these terrorists as Khawarij, calling Muslim leaders to hit them hard. Those who still have any doubt about Daesh’s love for Islam, may like to follow this link and watch the clip. http://tune.pk/video/4263550/daesh-and-real-islam-is-religion-for-violence-and-hurt-humans

The order of the day is that the terrorists are enemies of Islam and all their activities are entirely anti Islam. There are no two opinions about that. Another hard fact is that terrorists are in the state of panic due to successful military operation against them which has broken their back bone. By announcing allegiance with ISIS they intend to muster financial and psychological support. It’s high time that the government of Pakistan must employ their all sources to create awareness among the crowds to make them aware about the reality of this suspicious group. At the same time our media must play its important and vital role to warn people and stop them from playing into the hands of Pakistan’s enemies.

Is Daesh Coming to Pakistan? – I

 

The most notorious and controversial organisation of the history Daesh is a hot topic and talk of the town these days. Rarely it has happened that some organisation or group attain fame and publicity in such a short span of time. However, Daesh, a living example is very much there. The strategists of the organisation ISIS also known as Daesh know well that how to cash the Muslim majority in Mid-East’s sympathies. Hence they carefully worked on most popular attire and props and tried to win the Middle Eastern hearts. The most eye catching prop with them is a black flag having first Kalimah written on it. That’s enough to drive, any simple and straight Muslim, crazy. This is one side of this group who claims to be the flag bearer of Caliphate, while the other side; more horrific and barbaric is shown to the world by western media, surprisingly.  According to the media reports, the organization of Daesh in Mosul wants to rewrite the Holy Quran. According to the “Afaq Al-Iraq” channel, the organization intends to remove various verses which are distorted and incorrect. As reported by the site of “Al-Mowaten” members of Daesh continued by saying the verses they wish to remove we’re placed by corrupt distorted clerics to serve other religions and sects such as Christianity and others. The Lebanese Al-Jadeed Newspaper published an article quoting Iraqi media that states that ISIS is planning to rewrite the Quran and omits verses that it believes have been wrongfully inserted by the enemies of Islam. Similarly, the report stated that the chapters which the organization of Daesh wish to alter include the chapter of “Al-Kafiroon” and verses of purification.
Far from the militants’ self-proclaimed ‘caliphate’ in Iraq and Syria, the name of Daesh has cropped up several times in militant circles in recent weeks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the historic homeland of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The Daesh organisation is starting to attract the attention of radicals in Pakistan and Afghanistan, long a cradle for militancy, unnerving authorities who fear a potential violent contagion. Leaflets calling for support for Daesh were seen in parts of northwest Pakistan, and at least five Pakistani Taliban commanders and three lesser cadres from the Afghan Taliban have pledged their support. Pro-Daesh slogans have appeared on walls in several cities in both countries and in Kabul University, where a number of students were arrested.

Security and official sources strongly insist that these are local, individual initiatives, and at this stage Daesh has not established a presence in the region. But the success of Daesh in the Middle East is a matter of concern for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although due to the peculiar nature of Pakistani political and military structure there is no immediate threat of Daesh to Pakistan however, Daesh is becoming the major inspiration force for both violent and non-violent religious groups in the region.
Recently, Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Agency wrote to a dozen government agencies warning them to be on their guard against the Daesh group. Again not due to any immediate threat but purely because of the organisations successes which are playing a very dangerous, inspirational role in Pakistan, where more than 200 organizations are operational. The letter rightly came at a time when Pakistan army is fighting a major offensive in insurgent fortresses of the tribal northwest and which appears to be weakening its major enemies, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied Al Qaeda fighters.

Following the army offensive, the TTP, a coalition of disparate militant groups, has fragmented into rival factions over recent weeks, fuelling rumours the movement could be overtaken by Daesh. The TTP say they broadly support both the Daesh and Al Qaeda. They also say they have sent 1,000 fighters in recent years to help the militant struggle in Syria – an estimate confirmed by a Pakistani government source – and plan to send 700 more. Currently both the TTP and the Afghan Taliban officially recognise only one leader, Mullah Omar. The Taliban and their supporters say that ‘Amir ul Momineen’ (the commander of the faithful) has already been chosen, hence we reject Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi as Caliph.

So far the Taliban and Al Qaeda’s new South Asia wing have steered clear of criticising Daesh, maintaining a united front against ‘Western aggression’. US officials say the group is generating tens of millions of dollars a month from black market oil sales, ransoms and extortion. This financial heft is proving a big draw – including for the five Pakistani Taliban commanders who announced their support for the Daesh group. To spread in the region, Daesh must also eat away at the authority of the state but, unlike Iraq and Syria, Pakistani state structures look solid and are supported by a powerful army which would proved to be a big hurdle in Daesh’s attempts to make a way in Pakistan.
Afghanistan, much more fragile, is more worrying – particularly Kunar and Nuristan, mountainous provinces on the Pakistani border, which have long been refuges for militants from the hard-line branch of espoused by Daesh and Al Qaeda. Several sources say that in Kunar there is at least one camp training hundreds of fighters sympathetic to Daesh. Hafiz Tahir ul Ashrafi, head of Ulema Council is of the view that the people here face problems with the lack of justice, the corruption and the inefficiency of the state, and therefore they need a counter-narrative, and Daesh provides one with religious content.

The more recent gossip is that Daesh has set up its network in Pashto-dominated areas of Karachi. Even if these are rumours, still the security agencies are taking it very seriously and are on high alert after news surfaced about the presence of terrorist organization Daesh in Karachi and Pakistan. Hence, they have made their best attempt to collect complete information about Daesh presence in the city.

According to different sources people, witnessed graffiti splashed in favor of Daesh in metropolitan city of Pakistan.

There seems to be a big confusion at the government level, where the political elite and the bureaucracy is not at one pitch. On one hand the interior minister Chaudhry Nisar once again rejected reports of ISIS’s presence in Pakistan while some other ministers fear that Daesh militants are making their way in Pakistan.

(to be concluded)

Is Daesh Coming to Pakistan? – II

            

The presence of Daesh in Pakistan may be a hear-say, however, even pro-Taliban religio-political parties admitted presence of Arabs who had arrived during Afghan jihad era and then married and settled here. Many of them were killed and their bodies were also found here. Many of them were arrested and handed over to the U.S. army. It is the moral obligation of the government to clear the mist and her position too because mere verb al assurance about this “Arabic Sand Storm’s” absence inside Pakistan can’t be accepted.

This is one side of the story while on the other side, although there is no concrete evidence of the presence of the Middle Eastern militant group, ISIS, commonly known as Daesh, nevertheless, some sections of international media and experts on terrorism are bent upon propagating theories of new terror nexus between Daesh and outlawed TTP splinter groups. The sections of international media and experts on terrorism are building the theories of nexus between Daesh and on-the-run splinters of outlawed TTP without having any credible information on this serious issue. They are at their free will to propagate as they have no obligation but the national media should avoid playing in to their hands and must avoid being hijacked by the western media. The media should have firm trust in their own premier intelligence agencies who are dealing with the menace of terrorism and have found no indication about the roots of Daesh being fostering in Pakistan.

The top secret services have assessed that Shahid Ullah Shahid who was formerly a spokesman for one faction of the TTP made an announcement pledging allegiance to Daesh chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi along with some other militants was a ploy to seek publicity. The Interior Department contacts, confirming the secret services’ source, told The Nation that not a single intelligence agency came up with concrete evidence of presence of Daesh or ISIS on Pakistani soil. The days of terror of Shahid Ullah Shahid and his likes are over for now on Pakistani soil and one big proof is that he is at large and instead of sticking to his so-called stronghold in tribal belt, is believed to be in Kunar (Afghanistan). Otherwise also his careless boosting was not approved by the Taliban high command hence after his video message in which he had pledged allegiance to Middle Eastern militant group, Daesh, he was sacked and is no more on the spokesperson’s position.

The sudden rise of the Islamic State (IS or “Daesh”) in the urban areas of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan has set the alarm bells ringing for the Pakistani security establishment, especially when an IS-linked jehadi group has already claimed responsibility for the November 2 suicide attack at Wagah border post that killed 65 people. The latest reports about the emergence of the IS campaign pamphlets and display of posters on the boundary walls of Lahore and Karachi, should not come as a surprise for the law enforcement or intelligence services because a similar campaign had first been launched in Peshawar almost two months ago in September 2014. The development was seen as an attempt by the IS sympathizers to expand the ideological boundaries of the lethal jihadist organisation to Pakistan after extending its area of influence in the Middle East. The pamphlets distributed in Peshawar declared that the caliphate led by Abu Bakr Baghdadi, was planning to expand its boundaries from Iraq and Syria, to Khorasan [which includes Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of India]. The booklet titled ‘Fatah’ (victory) was published in Pashto and Dari languages while its logo carried the Kalma, the historical stamp of and a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Introducing itself as Daulat-e-Islamia (Islamic State) in the pamphlet, the IS made an appeal to the local people to support its struggle for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate.

The distribution of the IS pamphlets in Peshawar – the capital of KPK – indicated that the ultra-radical Islamist group was trying to inspire militants even in the strongholds of Taliban and al-Qaeda. Following the rise of IS in the Middle East and its proclamation of a Caliphate, the al-Qaeda leadership has clearly distanced itself from the group, chiding it for its violent and brutal expansion. But it now appears that both al-Qaeda and Daesh are competing for the backing of Pakistani jihadis, majority of whom is largely based in the huge lawless tribal belt of FATA and are already facing a massive military operation in North Waziristan on the Pak-Afghan border.

About graffiti in support of Daesh in Sindh’s provincial capital, Karachi, tribal areas and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the security services officials stated that it was just a ‘bluff’ to create an impact on the general public that the destroyed terror network could still pose a serious threat. It’s otherwise a psychological war tactics to cash anything which is hot selling, may that be some organisation or outfit, product or personality. The miscreants and their agents have found it very convenient to come out of their holes at night and paint the walls black just to scare the general public. Just imagine about a peaceful citizen who watches a horrifying video about Daesh’s brutality a little ago and for some reason the moment he comes out of his house, find his wall painted with Daesh’s logo and the slogans.

The Balochistan government and the provincial IG Police have tried to downplay the contents of a report prepared by the Balochistan Home Department and sent by the provincial government to the federal agencies, after it became public. The report contains a warning that the IS plans to attack government buildings, military establishments, as well as target people based on the sects they belong to. However, according to the new stance the senior provincial officials are suggesting that there is no real IS threat in Pakistan, at least in Balochistan.

The authorities in all the provinces have launched a manhunt to track down the elements behind the launching of an “Daesh Promotion Campaign” after discovering distribution of pamphlets and display of posters on the boundary walls in parts of Lahore and Karachi. The agencies have been directed to trace the elements who had distributed the banned material and written slogans on the walls of Lahore and Karachi on the night of November 10. The pamphlet’s logo features an AK-47 assault rifle and calls on youngsters to support the militant group, as had been the case with Peshawar. The intelligence agencies are trying to ascertain if the same elements are involved in the “IS promotion campaign” in Lahore who had masterminded the November 2 Wagah suicide bombing.

The fact is that a terrorist is a terrorist, may he be from Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaeda or Daesh. Only the objective, which one terrorist takes along, differentiates him from other Taliban. Hence the need of the hour is to concentrate on eliminating terrorism from the country without sweating for who is who.

From ISIS to IS (Da’esh)

(Presentation given by Brig retired Asif Haroon Raja at Thinkers Forum Pakistan on November 29, 2014, chaired by Air Chief Marshal retired Kaleem Sadat, Gen retired Mirza Aslam Beg as chief guest and Lt Gen Abu Saeeduz Zafar in attendance).



I shall be dwelling upon the newly emerged threat of Da’esh, which is also known as Islamic State of Iraq & Sham (ISIS), which later morphed into Islamic State (IS), also called Da’esh. Its emergence has further disturbed the security situation of Middle East. It has created a stir and fears are expressed all over the world. Claims of the US and its strategic partners to degrade and destroy the ISIS are dubbed by many as a cover up to achieve their hidden objectives in Middle East.

Motives of US in Iraq

The prime motivation to annex Iraq in 2003 was oil, but the other compelling reason was Israeli security concern.

Tel Aviv viewed Baathist Iraqi armed forces under Saddam Hussain as the biggest strategic challenge to its security and a bottleneck in the path of its ambition to establish ‘Greater Israel’. Division of Iraq into three States was Israeli ambition and not that of USA.

Saddam kept Iraq United. Notwithstanding the fact that Saddam Hussain was a ruthless dictator, none can deny that he had kept ethnically diverse Iraq united and economically and militarily strong. Today Iraq is rived in sectarian/ethnic war and is at the verge of splitting into three States of Kurds, Sunnis and Shias. Iraq urgently needs another Saddam type leader to re-unite the country.

Baathist Army Disbanded. Sunni heavy well trained/equipped Baathist Army was disbanded in 2003 and in its place Iraqi National Army was raised essentially for counter terrorism purposes. $ 20 billion was spent to train/equip 800,000 strong Iraqi security forces.

Iraqi Sunnis Marginalized. War in Iraq was primarily against Iraqi Sunnis since Iraqi Shias in the south and Kurds in the north had been befriended. While the Shias and Kurds were empowered, 5-6 million Sunnis who had ruled Iraq for centuries were sidelined and persecuted by Nuri-al-Maliki’s Shia heavy regime installed by the US in 2006

Reaction of Iraqi Sunnis/Al-Qaeda

Deprived of power and subjected to gruesome repression, several militant Sunni groups sprouted in Iraq to wage a guerrilla war against the occupation forces and the US installed regime.

Al-Qaeda joined the fray and soon became the leading resistance group. Jihadist Salafism found fertile ground among the Sunnis of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Zarqawi –Al-Qaeda Connectivity

Iraqi Sunni groups Ansar al-Sunna and Iraqi Islamic Army fought the occupation forces from August 2003 onwards. Jamaat al Tawhid wa al-Jihad under Abu Masab al Zarqawi swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden in 2004 and became an affiliate of al-Qaeda. In January 2006, al-Qaeda in Iraq merged with several groups under Mujahideen Shura Council.

Sectarian war in Iraq

Zarqawi, who was Abu Bakar Baghdadi’s guru, was the most ruthless leader. He organized bombing of both Sunni and Shiite mosques/Imabargahs under guidance of CIA. Bombing of one of the holiest Shia shrine al-Askari in Samarra in February 2006 triggered sectarian war. Zarqawi was killed in June 2006, but CIA and Mossad kept pouring oil on sectarian conflict.

In response, Moqtada al-Sadr established Iraqi Shias Army of 50,000 fighters. Inflammation of sectarian conflict between two sects which peaked in 2006-07, became the root cause of birth of Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).

Sufferings of Iraqis in War. War in Iraq followed by sectarian war in Iraq caused over one million deaths, displaced two millions outside Iraq and 2.7 million inside Iraq and made 870,000 children orphans.

Formation of Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Zarqawi’s group formed into ISI on October 13, 2006 under Abu Abdullah al-Rashid Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri. It claimed authority over Baghdad, Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Salahuddin, Ninawa and parts of Babel. After Rashid Baghdadi and Masri were killed in an operation in early 2010, ISI was taken over by 43 years Abu Bakar Baghdadi in April 2010.

Arab Spring. By that time Arab Spring was fomented in Middle East in 2011 to weaken the militaries of powerful Arab and North African States as well as to affect regime changes wherever required. Tunisia, followed by Egypt became the immediate victims. Qaddafi was murdered and a regime change took place in Libya, while Syria got engulfed in sectarian war in 2011. Sudan was bisected, while regime change took place in Yemen in 2012. From that time onwards, the Middle East continued to descend further into the abyss of war, ravaged by a terror seemingly animated by blood and violence.

Training of FSA Rebels in Jordon. Reportedly the ISI fighters in Iraq proceeded to Syria via Jordon in 2011 and joined the civil war. Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels led by Salim Idris were trained by Jordanian and Israeli commandos along Jordan-Syrian border. British Special Forces, MI-6 and French were also involved in imparting training and in use of chemical weapons.

Support to Rebels in Syria. FSA and Al-Nusra Front – an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, were fully supported by USA, NATO, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and UAE to bring down Bashar al-Assad regime. Turkish Army trained, equipped and sent across the anti-Assad rebels.

ISI to ISIS

By early 2013, ISI established itself as a strong force in Syria. On April 9, 2013, ISI’s name was changed to ISIS. Sham envisages territories of Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Clash between Jihadi Groups

In April 2013, Al-Nusra Front leader Jawlani didn’t agree to Baghdadi’s proposal of merging his group into ISIS. Zawahiri who wanted Baghdadi to accept Jawlani as Emir in Syria also opposed the merger and in October he ordered disbanding ISIS and put Al-Nusra in-charge of Jihad in Syria. When Baghdadi paid no heed, in February 2014 al-Qaeda disavowed any relations with ISIS.

Objectives of Jihadi Groups. Whereas FSA and al-Nusra Front want overthrow of Asad regime and establish new Sunni Emirate in Syria, ISIS want to establish its own Caliphate on conquered territory. Al-Qaeda aspires to change the US run international order to Islamic system.

Offensive in Syria. Once ISIS captured series of towns including Raqqa in Syria, many fighters from FSA and Nusra started joining it.

Offensive in Iraq

ISIS then crossed into Iraq in December 2013 and captured Fallujah in Anbar province next month. All efforts by INA to retake Fallujah failed. The Da’esh Jihadists then launched a major offensive on June 9, 2014 and within days captured five provinces in northwestern and central Iraq that are Sunni inhabited. Mosul, second largest city with a population of two million people and defended by 30,000 troops was also captured.

The entire defensive structure built by Maliki regime to save Sunni dominated regions from the onslaught of Sunni militants crumbled. Large amount of armaments, helicopters, planes, vehicles and cash was also seized by the militants.

Cash Held. Before Mosul, Da’esh total cash and assets were $875 million. Cash was obtained through sale of oil from oilfields in eastern Syria in late 2012. Today Da’esh claims to be in possession of over $2 billion. 3/4^th of the cash was seized from Mosul.

Oil Sale. Da’esh has control over most of oil and gas fields in eastern and northern Syria.  Till recent, it was in control of biggest oil refinery Baiga near Baghdad which has been retaken by Iraqi forces backed by air. Da’esh is selling bulk of oil from Syria and Mosul through Turkey. Oil from northern Iraq is being shipped to Texas Gulf of Mexico.

ISIS to Islamic State (IS). On June 29, the first of Ramadhan, the ISIS was named Islamic State and its chief Baghdadi was declared Caliph and leader of Muslims everywhere. They asked the Muslims worldwide to pledge allegiance to their chief. Hailing from Quraish decent, devout, sane and physically whole, he qualifies to be a Caliph. Osama bin Laden didn’t meet the pre-requisites and so is the case with Mullah Omar. The Caliphate map encompasses Syria, Iraq, Jordon, Israel, Palestine, parts of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Cyprus and southern Turkey.

Urge for Caliphate

After the demise of Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, it was revived by the Taliban by declaring Mullah Omar as Emir and Afghanistan as Islamic Caliphate. TTP too has been toying with the idea of Caliphate and so is Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al-Nusra in Syria, Al-Shabab in Somalia, Abu Sayyaf in Philippines, IMU in Uzbekistan, Uyghur in Sinkiang and al-Qaeda.

Islamic Caliphate/Daulat-e-Islamyia

The current span of Islamic Caliphate called Daulat-e-Islamyia extends from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala in Iraq and its capital is Raqqa. This stretch of territory is under complete control of Da’esh.

Da’esh – Strongest Jihadist Group

Today, Da’esh has become the strongest Jihadist group, both militarily and financially the world over. It has inflicted successive defeats to Iraqi Army, Syrian Army, Al-Nusra, FSA and Peshmergas and is a force to reckon with. Reportedly, it has 31,500 fighters but some put the figures to 200,000. 16000 are from foreign countries. Besides Sunni rebel groups in Syria, Boko Haram and Abu Sayyaf group have declared support to IS.  Jihadis from Algeria, Morocco and Yemen also want to join Da’esh.

Enforcement of Shariah laws in captured cities by Da’esh has dropped crime rates. Public restaurants providing free food have been opened in Raqqa and residents are given free fuel. $400 monthly salary is paid to each member. Unlike al-Qaeda, it has a sound organizational structure. Baghdadi has three deputies and 12 governors thereby establishing proper chain of command. Most of the appointment holders are ex Iraqi Baathist Army and ex Syrian Army officers and are well trained.

Da’esh Product of Bucca Camp

Majority of IS leading leaders were the products of CIA run Bucca camp in Baghdad from 2003 until 2009. Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, who earned a doctorate in Islamic law in Baghdad, also remained imprisoned in Bucca Camp from 2006 to 2009. His original name is Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarri. Some say Bucca Camp was a terrorist academy than a prison.  At that time the Iraqi Sunnis were trained and brainwashed to fight al-Qaeda. Reportedly, large numbers of IS mercenaries are convicted criminals, with many on death row, released from Saudi prisons on condition they will join IS.

Quick in Uptake. Da’esh fighters are motivated and they fight until death.  They are proficient in using modern techniques of warfare and psy warfare and are best snipers. They learned the use of captured American tanks, artillery, helicopters and other heavy equipment in Mosul with amazing speed and put them to quick use. Same thing happened in Syria where they captured Russian origin arms.

Use of Social Media

Da’esh is also employing the weapon of social media very effectively to reach out to the Muslim youth. It is using 12000 Twitter accounts called ‘Twitter Bombs’. Da’esh has appealed to the senses of educated Muslim youth in Muslim world and in the west, who are well cognizant of ills of capitalist system and US-western-Israeli dangerous designs against Muslim world.

The educated youth is aware of their intrigues aimed at weakening Muslim Ummah by creating misgivings and inflaming sectarian war to divide the targeted Muslim countries into smaller States. They feel that Muslim rulers are primarily responsible for executing the agenda of the west and hence must be removed and replaced by God fearing Muslim leaders and imposing Islamic system of governance.

Because of IS’s rapid gains and Baghdadi’s charisma, a continuous stream of Jihadists both men and young girls from Europe, USA and Asia are joining Da’esh in Syria and in Iraq. British girls are marrying Da’esh fighters.

Extremist Ideology

Battle of Siffin fought at Raqqa along the banks of Euphrates in 657 AD between the forces of Caliph Hazrat Ali and Emir Muawia, known as ‘First Fitna’, split Islam into two factions and fuelled sectarian violence across the ages. Kharijis who believed that any Muslim committing a sin became a non-Muslim and was unpardonable, continued to trouble both the Ummayyads and Abbasids and it took the two dynasties 300 years to put down Kharijites.

Today, we are witnessing the unraveling of centuries of bad blood and religious distortion. Da’esh is known for its harsh interpretation of Islam and violence and follows al-Qaeda ideology, which emerged from Kharijis and Tafkiri ideology. Anti-Da’esh lobbies say Da’esh draws inspiration from Kharijis and Emir Muawia and is dubbed as the ‘Second Fitna’.

Da’esh believes its Army is fulfilling an Islamic prophecy and is waiting for arrival of Imam Mahdi. It wants revival of golden period of Islam under Prophet Muhammad and four Caliphs of Islam who ruled from 632 to 661. But it has adopted practices of Kharijis and Salafis and aim at establishing Salafist model Islamic State initially in Iraq and Syria and later expanding it.

While captured Shias are being killed, Christians and Yazidis are given the choice to either convert to Islam, or pay Jiziyah, or exit or die. Even 20 Sunni Ulema disagreeing with the ideology of Da’esh, or refusing to pledge allegiance to the Caliph were murdered. In Samarra, 1000 Sunnis were killed. It resorts to Khariji style throat slitting or stoning of sinners.

Destruction of Holy Places. After destroying the holy shrine of Prophet Yunus (AS) on July 24, the Nabi Shiyt shrine in Mosul was also dynamited on July 26th. The Da’esh leadership has vowed to head for Najaf and Karbala and destroy sacred shrines. Da’esh has also threatened to capture Mecca and Madina since it is against House of Saud.

Halaku Strategy in Play. Da’esh is operating on the pattern of Halaku Khan to strike terror into the hearts of the people and make them flee. When Mongols had sacked Baghdad in 1258, Halaku’s men slaughtered about a million Muslims in a week. Da’esh believes in spreading Islam by the strength of sword and is mapping its campaign based upon Emir Muawia’s campaigns.

Response of Kurds. As you know, Kurdistan was divided in 1916. The Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq, aspiring to establish independent Kurdistan took control of oil producing Kirkuk and vowed to fight the IS fighters. Likewise Syrian Kurds and Turkish Kurds have resisted fall of Kobane in Syria. Efforts of Kurds received a shot in the arm as result of NATO air intervention. But for air support, Kurdish capital Arbil was almost lost to IS. Likewise, Kobane would have fallen by now.

Response of Iraqi Shias. Shia militias in Iraq at the call of Moqtada al-Sadr have united to fight the IS. They are also killing captured Sunni militants. They are not so much concerned about the preservation of united Iraq but are more anxious to protect Baghdad, holy shrines of Shias and southern Iraq.

Da’esh viewed as Biggest Threat

Till its emergence, Israel was viewed as the foremost threat to the Arab States. The security spectrum has now changed. As long as Da’esh was fighting the security forces in Syria, Israel was quite content since the iron was cutting the iron.

Now that Da’esh has grown into a big monster and has published a map of its future caliphate which includes Israel as well, Tel Aviv changed course and expressed its willingness to jointly fight the common enemy. Taking advantage of fears of Arab rulers, Netanyahu suggested an impractical idea of establishing a joint HQ to confront the challenge.

Guns of Da’esh Silent against US/Israel

Intriguingly, neither any militant group operating in Middle East is poised against Israel or its western backers, nor any Arab country funding dozens of groups to fight Shiasm/terrorism diverted any group to come to the rescue of people of Gaza when they were being mercilessly slaughtered in July this year. None of the known Jihadist groups has fired a single bullet against US military or Israeli forces.

US 3rd Intervention in Middle East

After creating the desired turmoil, the US and its western allies have once again jumped into the oil-rich Middle East under the pretext of fighting the biggest threat to the world peace posed by IS. This time, western powers have decided not to send ground troops but only airpower, technical and intelligence support and to muster ground forces from the affected Arab countries. Several Arab countries, Turkey, Iran and Albania have joined the coalition and China is also being convinced to fight the menace.

Belated US Response. Quite surprisingly, the US didn’t show much anxiety when the Da’esh was moving ahead like a hurricane, capturing vast territories and slaughtering people from mid 2013 onwards in Syria. It remained engrossed in destabilization of Assad regime and in Ukraine crisis. It was only after the Da’esh fighters killed Christians and Yazidis in Sinjar and beheaded two US journalists and two British aid workers, and there was uproar in the western world that Obama woke up and decided to hit the IS. Another worry was western Jihadis return to their respective countries.

Air action in Iraq. To start with airstrikes in August were aimed at preventing fall of oil-rich Kirkuk and Arbil, capital of Kurdish region which houses US Consulate and also to help the marooned Yazidis. Dilemma on Syrian Front for USA

Syria has become a transit ground for jihadists from all over the globe. They are pouring in with bulk coming from Europe to fight Asad forces. The US wanting to strike Da’esh in Syria, remained indecisive whether Da’esh or Assad regime was a bigger threat.

From June to August, Syrian regime was viewed as a lesser evil by the US and Arab States. It was contemplated to assist Syrian Army to fight IS. But this view changed in September and now it is again treating Assad regime as a foe.

Egypt’s lack of Response. Egypt is being pressed to spare troops to fight the IS but Egyptian Army is busy fighting the supporters of Morsi in northern Sinai and as such is no position to get entangled elsewhere.

Iranian Support. The US remained in two minds whether to ask Iran to combat IS threat in Iraq or not since it could further enhance its influence in Iraq and also strengthen Hezbollah-Syria-Iraq-Iran nexus. Ultimately Iran was given a green signal and it supplied some Army units, military equipment and artillery to support three main Iraqi Shia militias.

Catch-22 Situation for Turkey. Notwithstanding Turkey’s ire against Asad regime in Syria, the IS has posed a bigger threat to its security because of the involvement of Kurds from Syria, Iraq and Turkey in the fight against the IS, and the IS busy recruiting militants from Turkey. The catch-22 situation for Erdogon is whether to aid FSA to bring down Asad regime or to fight the IS in Syria. Both options are counterproductive and so is the option of acting neutral.

Da’esh Linkages in Pakistan

Tehrik-e-Khilafat, part of TTP was the first group in South Asia to declare allegiance to Da’esh on July 12, 2014. Jamaatul Ahrar, splinter group of TTP, led by Omar Khalid Khurasani was the second group to declare support to Da’esh on 4 September. On 8 October, six key commanders of TTP belonging to different tribal agencies pledged allegiance to Baghdadi. They all had sworn allegiance to Mullah Omar as their Ameerul Momineen in 2008.

Posters, pamphlets and wall chalking and book titled ‘Fatah’ in Pashtu/Darri languages concerning IS have been found in different cities. Suicide attack on Wagah on 2 November was claimed by IS linked Ahrar.

Reportedly, Baghdadi intends extending boundaries of his Caliphate to Khurasan, which in its prime time included northeastern Iran, parts of Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This has triggered an urge among militant leaders in Pakistan to add Khurasani to their names. Fazlullah is one example.

Raison d’être. Reason is that as per Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, armies of Islam carrying black flags would march to the Arab heartland for a final showdown and victory against Jews and their allies in end times. Jihadis believe that Great War is an inevitable occurrence and thus draw inspiration from Khurasan.

Largest Reservoir. Largest reservoirs of well-trained and motivated Jihadists are found in Afghanistan, Central Asia, Chechnya, Caucasia and Pakistan.

Competing Interests

Al-Qaeda, which has indicated its intention to open its offices in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and Da’esh are competing for winning the support of Pakistani Jihadis which in their view will tilt the balance in their favor. Da’esh has overshadowed Al-Qaeda.

The IS has created a ten-member ‘Strategic Planning Wing’ with a master plan how to wage war against Pakistan military. It claims to have recruited 10-12000 recruits in FATA and Hangu district. However, Operation Zarb-e-Azb has upset their plans and pushed their timeframe.

Skepticism Expressed

Many western analysts led by Michel Chossudovsky, Noam Chomsky and Fuller are selling the idea that Da’esh is CIA creation supported by MI-6, Mossad and Saudi Intelligence and is funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar to break up the Iran-Iraq-Syria-Hezbollah alliance and bring down Assad regime in Syria. Baghdadi is dubbed as US agent trained in Tel Aviv. They draw strength from the fact that wounded soldiers of IS are treated in Israeli hospitals. They say that the Muslims are being conned by a sophisticated scheme drawn up by Zionists to fragment Middle East and pave the way for establishment of ‘Greater Israel’.

Questions Asked

There may be some truth in what is being said since the US has been supporting Islamic terror network since Reagan administration. Why did McCain meet the rebels in Syria and why are they called moderates? If the US wanted to eliminate Da’esh, why didn’t it carpet bomb their convoys of Toyota pickups when they crossed from Syrian Desert into Iraq in June 2014. When Americans could bomb, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, why couldn’t they do so against Da’esh in open Syro-Arabian desert with latest state-of-art jets? A stitch in time would have saved nine. How can Da’seh ship oil from Syrian and Iraqi oilfields through Turkey and how come oilfields have remained safe? Why can’t their websites be blocked?

Where Lays the Problem?

The problem is, what face the advanced world led by USA has to lecture and show mirror to the IS and demonize their acts when the champions of human rights and democracy are the biggest violators of their own laws. To avenge the deaths of about 3000 Americans, they have killed over two million Muslims who had no connection with 9/11. In fact, 9/11 was instrumental in formulation of GWOT.

The imperialist powers go to any lengths for the realization of their geo-strategic and geo-economic interests. Muslim world has been turned into a killing field and life of a Muslim has become as cheap as a stray dog.

Willful effort has been made to demonise Islam and to put all the ills of the world in the basket of Muslims. Religious extremism in the Christian, Jewish and Hindu worlds has been ignored. Existing ethnic and sectarian tensions and religious divides among Muslims have been cleverly intensified to make Muslims fight among each other, keep the Muslim countries weak, dependent and subservient and thus facilitate their grand objective of neo-colonizing the Muslim world and harnessing their resources. The US creates a monster for achievement of its short-term objectives and then tries to kill it when it starts defying the master.

None can deny that Da’esh cannot operate and achieve spectacular successes at its own. Whoever is behind Da’esh, one thing is clear. Muslims are bleeding each other and it suits the imperialist powers.

How can we overlook Adid Yinon and neo-cons plans to divide and rule Middle East, Col Ralph Peter’s map and Pentagon’s Memo listing 7 Muslim countries as targets?  Ongoing chaos is in line with those insidious plans. Rather than failing the plans, we are helping them to succeed.

Everyone is suggesting application of force to crush the new threat not realizing that 13 years of war on terror has failed to control terrorism. Rather, it has spread out like wild fire. Today it is Da’esh; tomorrow some other outfit will emerge. Khurasan group in Syria is one example which has been described more dangerous than Da’esh. Even Haqqani Network and Lashkar Tayyaba are portrayed as monsters.

Root Causes

No one is interested in analyzing the root causes of mounting hatred of the deprived class against the privileged which has led to growth of intolerance, religious extremism and terrorism, what to talk of taking remedial measures. Militants are the product of lower classes, having no stake in the country and have nothing to lose.

Palestinian issue, Israeli belligerence, Gaza turned into open prison, desecration of Al-Aqsa mosque, double standards of the west, involvement of Iran’s increasing involvement in Arab countries, Maliki’s revengeful persecution of Sunnis, forcible change of regime in Libya, willful destabilization of Syria, when seen in context with weakened welfare system within Arab world, unemployment, misrule of Arab rulers, hatred against Hamas, their pro-western policies all put together, have bred discontentment among the Arab youth and they are fatally getting attracted towards Da’esh.

Remedy

In Pakistan, no effort has been made by our rulers to put our house in order, and to win hearts and minds of have-nots. Religious extremism and intolerance can be checkmated if the elite class changes its feudal mindset and lifestyle, gets rid of hypocrisy, revives pristine ethics and moral values, treat the poor as human beings and gain their trust by genuinely alleviating their sufferings by way of providing them basic amenities of life, equitable opportunities for education and social growth, cheap and evenhanded justice, creating in them sense of belonging and integrating the society by making Pakistan a true Islamic welfare State.

The Ulema, thinkers and media have to play a big role in lessening religious, sectarian and ethnic tensions and promoting climate of tolerance. Operation Zarb-e-Azb will prove productive only if civil administration, judiciary and media remain in step with Army.

To conclude, I would say that unity of Muslim Ummah in these testing times is absolutely essential for survival. The age of continuous conflict is upon us; and Muslims are on the menu. The Muslim countries must reduce their excessive dependence upon the west and should hasten to get out of the destructive magic spell of the US.

Does ISIS Exist in Pakistan?

 By Sajjad Shaukat                      

Recently, propaganda intensified that the militant outfit Daish or ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) has its presence in Pakistan. Besides some newspapers and media anchors of some TV channels also misperceived that ISIS has penetrated into Pakistan. In fact, they made their observation on the basis of media announcements by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders and Indian media.

Although ISIS does not exist in Pakistan, yet Pakistan government, law-enforcing agencies, media and civil society must exercise high degree of vigilance against any possible ingress by any elements like ISIS. Despite this, existence of ISIS in Pakistan needs special analysis, as its presence can not merely be propagated on the basis of wall chalking or media announcements of the TTP leaders and India.

As regards this militant outfit, on 29 June 2014, ISIS proclaimed a worldwide caliphate by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, based in Iraq. It claims religious, political and military authority over all Muslims, while ISIS’s actions have been widely criticized around the world, with many Islamic communities judging the group to be unrepresentative of Islam. One of ISIS’s goals has been to establish a radical Sunni Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant region, which covers Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine etc., and southern region of Turkey. It is widely known for its violent propaganda which includes Internet videos of beheadings. The UNO and Amnesty International have held this group responsible for human rights abuses and war crimes. ISIS group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the UNO and the European Union.

Some reports suggest that as part of the double game, American CIA has also been supporting the militants of the ISIS to overthrow the Shia regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Another aim is to spread sectarian violence in the Islamic countries.

However, besides some Islamic countries, a majority of the religious extremists from the Western World and especially India has joined the ISIS. In this context, a deliberate oblivion on the part of the West about ISIS recruits from their countries also exposes their duplicity and hypocrisy.

It is notable that although various kinds of terror attacks in Pakistan have been conducted by the TTP and its banned affiliated groups in the past few years, yet the massacre of 132 school children at Army Public School and College in Peshawar on December 16, 2014 proved a watershed, as it has given a final wake up call to the nation to unite against these ruthless terrorists.

In this respect, the armed forces of Pakistan have conducted several successful military operations against the terrorists; the most recent one being operation Zarb-e-Azb, which has successfully broken the backbone of militants. Frustrated by their failures, these insurgents are resorting to coward acts like attack on innocent children in Peshawar.

Taking note of the school attack, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif has himself started supervising the military action against terrorists, and as part of the operation, several terrorists have been killed during air strikes. Gen. Raheel stated, “We are extremely saddened, but our resolve has taken new height”, and added “We will continue to go after the inhuman beasts, their facilitators till their final elimination.”

Undoubtedly, as a result of ongoing operations in Waziristan and Khyber Agency especially operation Zarb-e-Azb, militants are finding no place other than Afghanistan to flee and save their skin.

In this context, Gen. Raheel accompanied by the DG of Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), rushed to Kabul on December 17, 2014. During his meeting with his Afghan counterpart, President Ashraf Ghani and the ISAF commander, he presented evidence of the Peshawar massacre’s linkage with TTP sanctuaries in Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. He also asked the extradition of TTP chief Mullah Fazlluah, and handing over to Pakistan. In response, they assured him to take action against the TTP.

In fact, Afghanistan has become a hub of anti-Pakistan activities from where external secret agencies, especially Indian RAW are sending logistic support to Baloch separatist elements and TTP insurgents in Pakistan. Posing themselves as Pakistani Taliban, these enemies have joined TTP and other banned extremist outfits. In the recent years, especially TTP’s insurgents and its affiliated banned groups conducted many terror-activities in various regions of the country like suicide attacks, ruthless beheadings of tribesmen, assaults on security personnel and prominent figures including Shias, Ahmadis, Sufis, Christians and Sikhs as part of the scheme to create chaotic situation in the country.

It is of particular attention that spokesman of the Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Usama Mehmood and some other militant groups have also condemned the TTP in relation to the massacre of innocent children at Peshawar school.

Nevertheless, after Peshawar incident, strong public reaction against extremism/terrorism and dislike for Taliban/TTP elements—has been equally condemned by the political leadership as a national policy, showing solidarity with the armed forces. In this connection, on January 2, this year, political and military leaders agreed on a draft of legislative measures which would pave the way for establishment of special military trial courts. The participants also reiterated the commitment for dismantling and destroying all forms of terrorism and terrorist networks operating within the country. It was unanimously resolved that the 20 points enunciated in the All Parties Conference (APC) Resolution of December 24, 2014 shall be acted upon expeditiously—the bill as 22nd (Constitutional) Amendment, will be enforced soon after its approval from the parliament.

Meanwhile, media has reported that an Indian person namely Mehdi Masoor of Banglore remained affiliated with ISIS, and is running a pro-ISIS tweeter account. So question arises as to how India justifies its propaganda of ISIS linkage with Pakistan?  As a matter of fact, New Delhi has been frustrated by the successes achieved against the Taliban/TTP insurgents by Zarb-e-Azb. Therefore, sinister aim of Indian false propaganda about the presence of ISIS in Pakistan is to distort country’s image in the eyes of international community, while ISIS does not exist in Pakistan.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com