Saudi Arabia, UAE financing extremism in south Punjab
A boy reads verses of the Quran, while studying in a madrassah, January 11, 2011. — Photo by AP/File (Thumbnail illustration by Faraz Aamer Khan/Dawn.com)
KARACHI: A US official in a cable sent to the State Department stated that “financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith clerics in south Punjab from organisations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ostensibly with the direct support of those governments.”
The cable sent in November 2008 by Bryan Hunt, the then Principal Officer at the US Consulate in Lahore, was based on information from discussions with local government and non-governmental sources during his trips to the cities of Multan and Bahawalpur.
Quoting local interlocutors, Hunt attempts to explain how the “sophisticated jihadi recruitment network” operated in a region dominated by the Barelvi sect, which, according to the cable, made south Punjab “traditionally hostile” to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith schools of thought.
Hunt refers to a “network of Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith mosques and madrassahs” being strengthened through an influx of “charity” which originally reached organisations “such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Al-Khidmat foundation”. Portions of these funds would then be given away to clerics “in order to expand these sects’ presence” in a relatively inhospitable yet “potentially fruitful recruiting ground”.
Outlining the process of recruitment for militancy, the cable describes how “families with multiple children” and “severe financial difficulties” were generally being exploited for recruitment purposes. Families first approached by “ostensibly ‘charitable’” organisations would later be introduced to a “local Deobandi or Ahl-i-Hadith maulana” who would offer to educate the children at his madrassah and “find them employment in the service of Islam”. “Martyrdom” was also “often discussed”, with a final cash payment to the parents. “Local sources claim that the current average rate is approximately Rs 500,000 (approximately USD 6,500) per son,” the cable states.
Children recruited would be given age-specific indoctrination and would eventually be trained according to the madrassah teachers’ assessment of their inclination “to engage in violence and acceptance of jihadi culture” versus their value as promoters of Deobandi or Ahl-i-Hadith sects or recruiters, the cable states.
Recruits “chosen for jihad” would then be taken to “more sophisticated indoctrination camps”. “Locals identified three centres reportedly used for this purpose”. Two of the centres were stated to be in the Bahawalpur district, whereas one was reported as situated “on the outskirts of Dera Ghazi Khan city”. These centres “were primarily used for indoctrination”, after which “youths were generally sent on to more established training camps in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and then on to jihad either in FATA, NWFP, or as suicide bombers in settled areas”.
The cable goes on to quote local officials criticising the PML-N-led provincial and the PPP-led federal governments for their “failure to act” against “extremist madrassas, or known prominent leaders such as Jaish-i-Mohammad’s Masood Azhar”. The Bahawalpur district nazim at the time told Hunt that despite repeatedly highlighting the threat posed by extremist groups and indoctrination centres to the provincial and federal governments, he had received “no support” in dealing with the issue unless he was ready to change his political loyalties. The nazim, who at the time was with the PML-Q, “blamed politics, stating that unless he was willing to switch parties…neither the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz provincial nor the Pakistan People’s Party federal governments would take his requests seriously”.
Cable referenced: WikiLeaks # 178082.
Islam is best religion or best system of life of world and hereafter than why Muslims are not the best in world?
Either they are not following true system of Islam or Islam is not true.
Only one option can be true.
And I think first option is true.
Well we all can blame KSA but question is there was no talk of Wahabism or extremism in Pakistan 25 years back who brough them to our countyr, sadly but rightly our own people, the ARMY, Religious Parties and some other people who wanted dominance of one particular region,,,, PLEASE dont blame KSA, UAE or USA blame people of PAKISTAN ONLY
Haha
EVERY BODY KNOWS that these jamat-ul-dawa, Tableeghi jamat, alkhidmat, PMLN, these all Supports TT, Alqaeda and other extreme parties.
But Hamari Awaam hai k kuch sunti Samjti nahi.. Ab Waqt hai k Ahle Sunnat Ulama khare hoo and Islam ka sahi maqsad, Defination and Agenda Pori Duniya ko btai.. Is leak se sab ko pata laga gya hai k ye Deobandi, Ahle hadess and dosre sab loog Islam ko badnaam karne ki kooshisho ma lage hue hai..
Arabs should be Stopped from imposing Wahabism on Pakistan, If they have too much Cash let them spend money on restoring Sufi Shrines. Iam an Indian and its absolutely shameful the way, both of our govts allow the Arabs to mistreat millions of our citizens working in the Gulf.
i was shocked to read the news…how innocent people are being used by these these SAudis funding
Taliban, alqaeda they are wahabi organizations, along with Saudia Arabia and UAE they have killed 34,000 Pakis. We get blamed for everything by the world because they have infiltrated every department in Pakistan including the Army.
The earlier our "Arab brothers" cease interfering in our affairs, the earlier will we have a chance of sanity returning in our country's affairs.
Why do we believe blindly on US report. It is their plan to divide us on sectorian bases which was done in iraq. Funds are coming for madardas which r educational as well as charity organisatiin best working in pakistan.
Well I dont believe its a leak its an open fact that has been well in knowledge of all agencies including american and to add more its basically the tableeghi jamat that acts as a recruitment agency they hire first some people stay and some people who are bit courageous join militant organisations like sipahe sahaba lashkar jaish etc. but I am confident 100% of the activists in these organisations have been first hired from mosque by tableeghi jamat or some other form of Deobandi movement. I am just surprised why tableeghi jamat is not banned if not atleast in western countries.
That's what we can expect from our so called Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE
not stunned at all. it is known by all Pakistanies.
Guys……if you still can't see it that Wikileaks is a CIA/ disinformation and false flag operation, then nobody can help you.
Many governments have thoroughly rejected Wikileaks as a psyops unit actively supporting the agenda of the United States.
Wiki leaks, Alqaeda and Taliban is all disinformation. Nothing else.
Ah, we are not left with anything good or productive to discuss….
Darn it!
Yes, its all disinformation and none of it is real. Suicide bombers are simply cases of spontaneous combustion.
Absolutely brilliant !!!
Is this news? EVERYONE knows the Saudis in particular are using our youths as footsoldiers for their wars. Saudis dont send Arabs to fight, they use Pakistanis because they think we're dogs. And they dont even cover it up! Look at those jihadi flags that bear a striking resemblance to the Saudi flag with the same font and sword for the kalima. And odd how those jihadis dress like Saudis? Where is the news in this?
of course. wikileaks is disinformation. alqaeda is disinformation. and saudis are innocent angels descended from heaven. to suggest that they would actually fund terrorists is blasphemy.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are good friends since long time. This is the propaganda of our enemies to damage our relationship.
Another conspiracy theorist. Wake up mister…. 35,000 people dead and majority by fellow Pakistani suicide bombers and killers…. where do they come from. USA, INDIA or Israel? haha! Ignorance is bliss i swear! How come none of the mullahs stage protest against these kilings? Kuwait recently stopped issuing visas to Pakistanis. I would love to see the protest on that. Can u imgaine if some western country had done that?
but am surprissed that USA knew all about pmln mian brothers regarding their link with TTP and Alqaeda, but why they are supporting Mian brothers????///
Oh! what a pity!!!! Those innocent children being butchered in the name of religion. Does anyone involved think for a moment it could be your sons?.
Before making up our mind about the news if it is true or falls, one must look into the source of information. Have we all forgotten that before invading Iraq who spread news of MSW (mass destruction weapons)? And later on, it turned out falls and by that time thousands of human lives were lost.
THINK BEFORE YOU LEAP
But that was CIA and this is wikileaks. these are the communications between two offices. If the same wiki leaks talks against politicians and Army generals, it is accepted, and when Saudi Arab + Deobandi sect comes under daylight, caution is suggested. All of us know that the whole terrorism in Pakistan in by the Deobandi School of thought. All the banned groups, TTP , Lashkars etc belong to this only and one sect. Accept the facts……………………
Dont try to justify the Taliban butchering of fellow Muslims. You are saying that this not true only because US has said it.
Dont pretend and fool yourselves and the world by denying existence of extremism in Pakistan. Accept the reality and deal with it, else even Allah can't help you out.
DONT FOOL URSELF!!!
I guess it is bliss to live in denial while the rampant indoctrination of the young minds continues unabated.
it's a very sad reality in our country and we all know it but still like to live in denial or better yet blame the west.
Wake up sir, thatd the attitude of Pakistanis which has destroyed the country. Militancy exists in our backyard and leades turn a blind eye to this menace.
This info is from WikiLEAKS…what should I think here? this info is genuine dude. wake up bro and save pakistan.
Perhaps you mean false not falling?
HAHA! Did u know that more than half the people in UK AND USA didnt believe those WMD reports (RIGHTFULLY SO) and Millions came out on the street to protest the war. Wake up…. where did all the Amunition came from in Laal Masjid? It was suppose to be a religious school. Did the Americans planned it there to fight with the Pakistani forces? Ignorance is a bliss!
Lets us not be surprised. As a matter of fact, US establishment wants us to fall within the two groups, I think it is time to think loudly to come out of this philosophy and support honest people.
This is very sad affairs.Our leaders for the sake of their personal interest playing with the life of common peoples. These leaders are also getting their big share for this type of actvities.
They will get good treatment at the day of judgement for all their activities. They must learn from Saddam Hussain, how much cruel he was and how God finish his life.
me too not surprized.
why are people so upset or surprized? im originally from bahawalpur and its common knowledge for people there that there are madarsas and centers where terror training is routine and its done very openly. so whats the big deal. our military establishment has to be in agreement with it to let it exist and grow. or maybe they use these recruits for there own wars .. god help us!
Same is going on in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan. Madressas, training centers are not in open but in private homes. Pretty sure with backing of Military.
why do we always expect our intelligence agencies to do something good for the country. its our fault not theirs. they are busy in minting money so let them be. there is no country left now all that remains is to be finally distributed and then these generals will vanish from the scene and we will wait for their help as it happened with the people of Iraq. our Agencies can only create (so-called) political parties, fake leaders like Imran (who has a very good track record of Politics when he was a cricketer), creating (so-called) religious parties to promote their own interests, the whole LAL MASJID issue was created under the nose of ISI headquarter…isnt it a joke? as a common citizen of karachi, i know the particular madraSSas where these terrorists are being recruited and trained, howcome these agencies dont know? the people of my country are either very simple or Stupid that they dont know or they willingly ignore what is happening. Let it all be my dear fellows, HUM ROTAY REH JAENGY OR HOGA WOHI JO YE SUB LOG CHAHTAY HAIN. even the clerics during friday prayers, speak only whatever they have been asked by CIA or ISI….so what are we hoping for? just wait for a Natural Disaster to take us all….sorry if anyone dislikes my comments but there is no hope left my dear fellas.
We need to identify the real enemies of our country. The real enemies are those who are involved in spreading violance, hatred, extremisim and exploit people for their vested interest. If this information is correct then these countries and organizations are hurting and bleeding our country/people and are real enemies of our country.
With US and Military hunting people and Arabs hunting our animals.
Indeed. But what are YOU willing to do about it?
I seriously doubt the authenticity of these papers and their motives…I think we should start using our brains and stop the media do the thinking for us…its shocking how easily we get into the trap set for us happily…plz. stop cursing our intelligence agencies that are the eyes and ears of our beloved motherland.
Until they knock on your door, or take your neighbor away. Until your brother disappears. Blind faith in a corrupt system, and inability to appreciate that one can be a dissenter as well as a patriot.
I have personally experienced this in 2008 on my trip to Bahawalpur where I went for Friday prayers at a local village mosque and the sermon was nothing, but full of hate and stressing on going for Jihad although it did not surprise me at first but the same evening I saw a Suzuki van full of young kids around 8 to 10 packed together with a "loud speaker" driving down the street chanting "Al Jihad Al Jihad" and reading their message in a melodious manner. It struck to me how this Jihadi doctrine has
en rooted itself among those young lads. SAD and TRUE
Who are you? an ISI agent?
Which Intelligence Agency? the ones that could not stop terrorists from blowing up expensive survailence aircrafts in thier own base?
If you want an insight into this problem. Please get a historical view of "why and how saudi arabia was formed".
P.S I totally agree with Dr. Faisal Rehman
this the true face of deobandi and wahabi's
What a double standard of these sauidi and UAE govts. They show that they are our friends and on the other hand de stabilizing us. These people use religion to secure their governance and they are responsible for bad name to our be loved religion islam. But the god will is that what you sow shall your ripe. So its not long they will see the result of what they have done.
our friends?? whata a load of crap. Tell me one muslim country that made protest against the US invasion in Iraq and Afghanistan along side Pakistan. More Americans and britishers came out in the streets to protest against the war…. how many of muslim world voices their rage?? not many! Pakistani's are treated like crap in the Arab world…. UAE of all the places torture the labor class from bangladesh and pakistan. Saudi govt is no less. WAKE UP!
The fact is that federal authorities are not interested to live in pakistan therefore are busy in 'extra curricula' activities and adheres to principal of indifference. Why the Saudi. UAE have selected south punjab, is cz of rampant poverty and weak Barelvi sect despite in majority. Their leadership say they believe in non voilence.
Wow,
Again where is our intelligence agencies. If the cables knew so much what do our intel know?
And if they did , what did they do about it?
I have failed to understand whats our internal or foreign policy?
The core existence of Pakistan in danger if these extremist elements are given freedom to have rallies and fund raising events.
We need secular and Jinnah's Pakistan
Time to change 80's jidadist and religious based policies that is eroding our country from within.
Pakistan Zindabad
I am not surprised and amazed at Saudi Arabia and UAE