Punjab government supporting militancy?

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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We know Rana Sanaullah hand in hand with the extremist militant Ludhianvi, and then later justifying it.

http://criticalppp.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/shiite_rana_sanaullah_ssp_chief.jpg

Now there is another story that Punjab government is funding Jamatud Dawa, another terrorist extremist organization. Read below.

There is no surprise that Punjab is under attack from these extreme lunatics.
Punjab government is supporting the enemies of Punjab and Pakistan.
So what does it make Punjab government itself?

Pakistani province funds charity on terrorism watchlist
Punjab allocates £650,000 to organisation that many consider to be a front for militant group

The commitment of Pakistan’s provincial government in Punjab to fighting militancy has again come under scrutiny after it emerged that it has allocated £650,000 to a charity on a UN terrorism watchlist.

Budget figures released this week confirm the money was set aside for Jamaat- ud-Dawa, a charity considered to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Punjab allocated £625,000 for its sprawling headquarters outside Lahore, which includes a hospital, school and seminary, and £25,000 for its schools.

The provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah said the funds were for charitable purposes and would be administered by government officials. A spokesman for Jamaat-ud-Dawa said the group had not yet received any official funds.

The allocation of such a large sum has resurrected worries about dangerous ambiguities in the leadership of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, which has suffered a spate of militant attacks in the past 18 months.

In February, Sanaullah, campaigned at a byelection alongside a leader of Sipah Sahaba, a banned sectarian organisation that attacks minority Shia Muslims.

In March the chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, triggered a storm of criticism after he publicly** called on the Taliban not to attack Punjab because his party shared some of the militants’ ideas**. Sharif said his remarks were taken out of context. Sharif is the brother of Nawaz Sharif, whose party rules Punjab province but is in opposition nationally.

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Re: Punjab government supporting militancy?

Govt ambivalent about tackling Punjabi Taliban

In the vast lowlands of Punjab, outlawed sectarian outfits operate openly and with occasional support from officials, says a report in the Washington Post. The groups’ encouragement of violence against rivals and minorities is tolerated, one top provincial official said, because it is part of Pakistan’s political “mind-set,” and confronting it might spawn more radicals.

Authorities insist that the crux of the problem lies in training camps in the Taliban-riddled tribal regions.

But critics say the lines between the Taliban in the tribal areas and extremist organisations in Punjab have long since blurred and that their collusion represents a time bomb. The provincial government has muzzled itself out of fear, political analysts say, because it relies on the backing of religious conservatives who hold great influence, even if their radical views represent a minority.

“The Taliban have people across Punjab, but the government doesn’t want to admit that,” said I A Rehman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. “And these terrorists are not fighting for small stakes. They are fighting to capture Pakistan, including Punjab.”

The growing reach of the Punjabi Taliban is a rising concern to US officials. In April, Robert O Blake, the assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, told reporters in Washington: “We think there also needs to be progress against these Punjab-based groups, many of which, by the way, are targeting Pakistan.That’s a compelling reason for the government to take action.”

South Punjab is the home base for an array of banned organisations, some of which once operated as state proxies. Officially banned militant groups such as Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba run mosques and madrassas that serve as incubators for aspiring jihadis, analysts say. In the aftermath of the Ahmadi attacks, the federal government seemed to agree. Interior Minister Rehman Malik hinted at a military operation in southern Punjab, where he said 44 per cent of madrassas are. With the military occupied in the tribal areas, that is viewed as an empty threat.

Punjab officials and law enforcement authorities say there are no organised terror cells in the province, although Lahore Police Chief Muhammad Aslam Tareem said the Taliban has “infiltrated” it. He said the city police are planning an anti-terror task force and that they, like provincial authorities, actively monitor hate speech and raid madrassas.

Numerous suspects arrested for sectarian slayings have been quietly released, Rehman said. Banners threatening death to Jews, Christians and Ahmadis hung over Lahore’s boulevards before the Ahmadi killings. Jamaat-ud-Dawa staged a major rally in Lahore this month.

Earlier this year, Punjab’s law minister campaigned in the southern city of Jhang by riding in a convertible alongside the purported leader of the banned sectarian outfit Sipah-i-Sahaba.

Rana Sanaullah defended that move in an interview. He said that up to 20 per cent of banned organisations’ members might be terrorists but that they are in the tribal areas. The remaining members should be encouraged to participate in Pakistan’s democracy, he said, and going after them for waving a prohibited group’s flag would only encourage radicalism.

That is a dangerously naive idea to critics, who note that the suspects in many gruesome attacks in Punjab have been tied to Punjabi militant organisations and that the Taliban and sectarian groups share loathing for people whom they consider infidels. Pakistani intelligence officials say wings of Punjabi organisations have found haven in the tribal areas.

“We have to have a zero-tolerance policy,” claims Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer. “Whether they come from the frontier or Afghanistan, they come and get based here in these sympathetic organisations. They are all hate organisations.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2010.

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Jamaatudawa was running many charity organisations like schools, hospitals, clinics etc. After it was banned, government either had the option of closing down all these schools, hospitals and clinics OR to take over their administration. Government rightly did the later.

The amount allocated in the budget is to run these charity schools and healthcare facilities. This was reported clearly on the BBC urdu website but you might have chosen to ignore that.

PML-Q cadidates were also getting this Ludhianvi guy’s support and joint posters of Sheikh Yaqoob and Ludhianvi were seen all over the place. There are also reports of PPP getting support from SSP to get votes.

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That may very well be the case, but that doesn’t make JUD any less terrorist organization, and the fact that terrorists in Punjab are under the patronage of Punjab govt. The day we start separating good terrorists from bad terrorist is the day we might have chance of beating these killers. For now, many of us are still in denial…

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/21-data-darbar-attack-370-sk-08

Lahore came under attack yet again on Thursday. This time the militants targeted devotees at the shrine of Hazrat Ali Hajveri, popularly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh, one of the earliest saints to introduce this land to Sufism and its spirit of brotherhood. It is tragic that the safety of devotees at the shrine of one revered as Lahore’s protector should be dependent today on the little security the administration can provide in these dangerous times. No less disappointing has been the response that some can still come up with, even in the wake of continuous terrorist strikes. The most common reaction on the streets in Lahore a day after the Data Darbar tragedy was that this could not have been the work of ‘one of our own.’

People, in a desperate attempt to disown the terrorists and their acts, were again eager to point fingers at anti-Pakistan, anti-Islam elements outside the country. A similar pattern of thought was reflected in the statements of some officials. Their attitude does not stem from apathy, criminal negligence or incompetence. It is part of a deliberate policy. Perhaps there is a fear of the consequences involved in the identification of the terrorists. Surely it is part of a strategy which says that the only way we can survive is by pretending that we have no enemies at home.

Just how much data do we need to unearth the truth? Mounting evidence points to the monumental flaws in our theories of self-preservation. The clues to local involvement provided by terror incidents of the past aside, the attack on Data Darbar should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind just how expansive the designs of the terrorists are and how easy it is for them to find recruits in the vicinity of a planned strike anywhere in Pakistan. While details are coming in and ‘investigation is under way’, initial reports say one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up at Data Darbar belonged not to Waziristan nor to southern Punjab but to a suburb of Lahore. He apparently belonged to the Barki Hadiara area which makes him as much a Lahori as the large number of people killed in the blast. His involvement is indicative of the expanse governments in the country themselves need to cover once they have decided to fight terrorism in earnest. The government action — call it operation or whatever — will have to go much beyond Waziristan or southern Punjab or any particular region. It will have to be a campaign that covers the entire country.

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Re: Punjab government supporting militancy?

^JUD is a terrorist organisation, allocation of funds is to the schools and healthcare facilities under control of Punjab government. This should be not used to vent anti-punjabi sentiments.

There are much more artciles on the web accusing Pakistani government (which mean PPP, MQM and establishment) to be supporting Taleban. Does not mean its correct. And tahts also amazing for me that khoji never mentions those articles, only the ones incriminating Punjab government.

BTW, it was none other than SSP deputy leader Rao Javed addressing PPP rallies and gathering support for their candidate. For me the last sentence of the article you posted sums it up

[QUOTE]

The government action — call it operation or whatever — will have to go much beyond Waziristan or southern Punjab or any particular region. It will have to be a campaign that covers the entire country.

[/QUOTE]

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If JUD is terrorist organization than people in JUD should be prosecuted and locked up, and not given official protocol. The fact is, NS and his bother and Punjab CM are sympathetic to terrorist's cause. Noone can deny that.

And why allocated huge sum of money to terrorist cause, even if its a good cause? Whatever charity work JUD was doing providing funds to them gives them legitimacy. You don't take over illegitimate organization and provide it legitimacy. In civilized society, you are suppose to prosecute them and liquidate them, and not legitimize them.

Btw, how is this anti Punjab sentiment? Compare KP and Punjab govts actions against terrorists and you'll know who is backing them and who is fighting them.

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Re: Punjab government supporting militancy?

Iconoclast, it is very unfortunate to see you calling it "anti-punjabi sentiments", when all I did was to condemn links I see between terrorists and Punjab government.
You can disagree with me completely on such links. But calling it "anti-Punjabi sentiments"? How can you even think about it?

I have never said anything "anti-punjabi" anytime anywhere. And condemning PMLN is not equivalent to condemning Punjabis in general.

I consider it an insult from you.

I am not raising this issue because I am "anti-Punjabi". If that was the case then I should have started multiple threads against Punjabis (astaghfirullah, I will never do it).
The only reason I have this thread is because PMLN's support to militancy is concerns me extremely. Two reasons. Firstly, its tolerance of militancy cause troubles in other areas in country, including Karachi and PK. Because these terrorists who have safe haven in various parts in Punjab can then have ability to operate effectively all across the country.
Secondly, PMLN is probably the only party besides PPP which has the potential to form government in Islamabad. So if militancy is getting stronger due to PMLN's Punjab government's tolerance then PMLN government in Islamabad can cause even more rise of militancy throughout the country.

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I am surprised you can use such a logic. I am tired of repeating this thing about two rights not making a wrong. How dare you justify Sanaullah's actions instead of condemning it?
If PMLQ and PPP members do it then they are as much guilty of support of terrorism as Punjab government.

I don't care about what some candidate from PMLQ or PPP do. There is a difference between those people doing it and PUNJAB LAW MINISTER doing it. A law minister doing it gives the impression of OFFICIAL SUPPORT of terrorism.

Problem is that people like you don't even acknowledge the problem, let alone solve it. There is no way a problem can be solved if one refuses to even consider it a problem in the first place.
Shahbaz Sharif gets agitated when someone mentions problem of militancy in Punjab. Till this day he refuse to consider militancy a threat for the province. He refuses to take any action against these fanatics.
And ordinary people of the province have to pay for his reluctance by their lives.

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[quote=“Iconoclast”]

I think in you have not read all that I posted in the first post. It does say exactly what you are saying.
But do you trust a government official distributing funds only to this terrorist organization’s charities alone, when the government itself works hand-in-hand with terorrists? How can you trust a chief minister who publicly says that he shares some aims with Taliban, and begs them to stop attacking his province?

Secondly, the administrator was originally assigned by the government, but now it is JuD itself that is running these charities.

He said the institutions in question were now being managed by the charity.

"When restrictions were initially imposed upon us, the Punjab government did appoint an administrator but it was neither liked nor accepted by our people.

“By the grace of God, now everything is running exactly the way it was running under the Jamaat’s system.”

Thirdly, these are huge amount of money. Rs. 80m (~ $1m). I wonder how many other charities are receiving similar amount besides JuD? I am not aware of anyone but JuD.

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Re: Punjab government supporting militancy?

Iconoclast:

[quote]
And tahts also amazing for me that khoji never mentions those articles
[/quote]

What articles?
If you know of such articles, and if you consider them to be true then you can start a thread on them.

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Terrorist cause?

You probably havent understood the situation.

The schools, hospitals and clinics being run by JUD have been taken over by Punjab gobvernment and these funds are to run schools and hospitals, nothing else.

What did the government of KP did that Punjab government was supposed to do?

Terrorist cells cannot be broken by Thana Gawalmandi's SHO, nor can these cells be infilterated by constable of thanas. This is job of intelligence agencies and army. Which are

Intelligence Beaurue ----- controlled by PM
FIA ----------------------------controlled by Rehman Malik
MI-------------------------------Army
ISI------------------------------Army

None of this is under Punjab government. It may not be, but singling out Punjab government for the mess we are in, seems double standards to me.

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Re: Punjab government supporting militancy?

Here is another proof the NS is a taliban sympethizer if not lover. Read the highlighted part and one can infere that he is refering to the Army’s operation again talebans.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/metropolitan/16-terrorism+directly+linked+to+foreign+policy+says+nawaz-hs-03

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s chief Nawaz Sharif on Saturday pointed out that terrorism was directly linked to Pakistan’s foreign policy. He proposed to hold a national conference on the issue.

During a press conference in Lahore, Nawaz said that he has recommended Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to form a force to curb militancy and terrorism.

Nawaz said that the federal ministers’ statements against the Punjab government in the wake of the Data Darbar attack were reprehensible.

It appears that the federal ministers are happy about the attack.

Nawaz said neither mosques nor the army headquarter were safe anymore. He said the reputation of Pakistan was getting worse internationally due to terrorism.

He said it was not difficult to identify the causes of terrorism and that ten years ago there was no terrorism in the country. — DawnNews

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Re: Punjab government supporting militancy?

Iconoclast:

This is old news. JuD itself says that there is no administrator looking after its charities anymore.

(JuD spokesman) said the institutions in question were now being managed by the charity.

"When restrictions were initially imposed upon us, the Punjab government did appoint an administrator but it was neither liked nor accepted by our people.

“By the grace of God, now everything is running exactly the way it was running under the Jamaat’s system.”

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That is a lame excuse by Nawaz, used by every Talibanic fanaticism supporter.
There was no terrorism in Pakistan ten years ago because Pakistan government itself was supporting terrorism.
But that does not mean that this status-quo would have persisted without government allowing itself to be overrun by the likes of Fazlullah and Mehsud.

Their ultimate aim throughtout this time has been to impose their version of twisted un-Islamic khilafat on both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Anyone disagreeing with it is considered an enemy of Taliban but also an enemy of Islam. And therefore worthy of being slaughtered.

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No terrorism in country 10 years ago?? Yeah, there was no Nawaz Sharif in the country 10 years ago, now we know.

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captain1 sahib & khoji bhai...did u read what i had said..that NS is a taleb sympethizer and quoted/highlighted the article that suggests the same!
If i had misunderstood ur comments, please disregard.

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Re: Punjab government supporting militancy?

I was commenting on Nawaz's statement that you quoted. Nothing to do with you.

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I agree with you, I am not holding anything against you, it was just the statement from ganja sharif that I was responding to.

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Re: Punjab government supporting militancy?

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\05\story_5-7-2010_pg7_2

Clerics demand Sanaullah’s sacking over terrorist ties

LAHORE: Tahafuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat, a consortium of religious clerics from different Sunni organisations, on Sunday announced a complete boycott of the Punjab government unless they sack Law Minister Rana Sanaullah for his ties with banned terrorist organisations. The consortium made these comments during a seminar organised on the Qul rituals of those who lost their lives in the Data Darbar attack. The clerics said terrorists were able to operate freely in Punjab due to their ties with Punjab government officials, especially Sanaullah. Peace could not prevail in Punjab unless the terrorists’ network is busted, and the first step to do so is to remove Sanaullah from office, they added. Separately, a private TV channel reported the Punjab chief minister has rejected the demand to remove Sanaullah from office, terming it “unrealistic”, according to APP. staff report/app

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You support a party that thrives on ethnic including punjab hatred.