[nukkad] [Fwd: FW: Militants Train for War Vs. India]

[Ninad Chhaya <ninad@bom4.vsnl.net.in>]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip of the day:  No personal attacks and abusive behavior.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

dkhanna@nse.co.in wrote:
> >
> > http://www.meadev.gov.in/opn/kargil/ap0106.htm
> >
> >
> > Militants Train for War Vs. India
> > Associated Press
> > 30 May 1999
> >
> > Amir Zia
> >
> > MUZAFARRABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- In the mountains of Pakistan, thousands of
> > Islamic militants are preparing for a holy war next door in India.
> >
> > They crawl on their bellies, plant land mines and practice marksmanship.
> >
> > Their enemies are the Indian soldiers trying to crush a decade-old
> > insurgency in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, the only Indian
> > state that has a Muslim majority.
> >
> > Last week India launched its strongest assault yet on insurgents, using
> > warplanes and helicopter gunships to pound their mountain positions along
> > the border with Pakistan. India charges that the militants are mercenaries
> > from Afghanistan helped by Pakistani soldiers.
> >
> > The Pakistani government called the accusation ``rubbish,'' and Afghan
> > diplomats said their citizens were too busy in Afghanistan's civil war to
> > fight elsewhere.
> >
> > But in the mountains that divide Kashmir between India and Pakistan,
> > militants are training at dozens of camps on Pakistani territory.
> >
> > The fighters give little thought to international worries about a
> > large-scale war erupting between longtime foes India and Pakistan, both of
> > which exploded nuclear devices in underground tests a year ago. For the
> > young militants in training, the war already is raging.
> >
> > Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, chief of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, one of the most
> > militant fighting groups, said there is no shortage of recruits.
> >
> > The mother organization of his group, Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad, runs
> > 2,200 religious schools across Pakistan where its students learn Islam and
> > prepare for ``jihad,'' or holy war, he said.
> >
> > ``We train 600 to 700 men every month in the summer, and we have to turn
> > many more away because we just don't have the facilities,'' said Mohammed
> > Azam, an instructor at the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba training camp.
> >
> > Lakhvi, who met with a journalist on condition that the location of his
> > hideout and training camps not be revealed, denied that Pakistan's
> > government provides any material support for the militants. But he said
> > authorities did not interfere with the mountain training camps.
> >
> > ``Only Pakistani people help mujahedeen (religious fighters) through
> > donations, and many join their ranks for jihad against India,'' he said.
> >
> > Politicians in Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir openly acknowledge
> > the presence of militants on their soil. A lawmaker in Pakistan's Kashmir
> > Parliament, Mian Ghulam Rasool, said thousands were ready to cross into
> > Indian-controlled Kashmir.
> >
> > ``The Indians punish us for this by pounding our villages,'' he said.
> > ``But this is the price we have to pay for the Kashmir jihad.''
> >
> > Discipline is tough at Lakhvi's camps. The men espouse a philosophy
> > similar to the strict ways of the Taliban religious militia that controls
> > most of neighboring Afghanistan.
> >
> > They preach a restrictive and austere interpretation of Islam. Most forms
> > of light entertainment, including music and television, are banned. The
> > men, all in untrimmed beards, don't allow photographs. They wear the
> > traditional baggy pants and long shirt; Western clothes are forbidden.
> >
> > Their training includes instruction on sabotage techniques, shooting
> > skills and hit-and-run raids as well as hours spent studying the Muslim
> > holy book, the Koran.
> >
> > At one camp, 200 young militants with Kalashnikov assault rifles learned
> > how to conduct an ambush. Metal containers were set up about 70 yards down
> > a hill to simulate a convoy of Indian army trucks.
> >
> > ``Be alert, the Indian vehicles are coming. Closer. They are in range. ...
> > Fire! Now!'' the group leader shouted.
> >
> > A young boy screamed ``God is great,'' and the trainees charged toward the
> > cans, pumping bullets into the imaginary convoy below. When they reached
> > the containers, three young men planted bombs.
> >
> > They raced back up the hill, firing over their shoulders as they scampered
> > for cover. Explosions shook the forest, destroying most of the metal
> > containers.
> >
> > The fighters, generally ages 17 to 25, are often from poor families and
> > some join despite objections from their relatives.
> >
> > ``My parents opposed me when I decided to come here for training,'' said
> > Wali Mohammed, 21, son of a poor day laborer in Muzaffarabad, the capital
> > of Pakistan's part of Kashmir. ``But Indians are committing extreme
> > atrocities on our Muslim brothers. This makes jihad mandatory for all
> > Muslims. That's why I am here.''
> >
> > Over the next three months, Mohammed, who dropped out of school before
> > eighth grade, will learn how to raid Indian army posts, plant bombs, read
> > maps, climb mountains and survive in the wilderness for days with neither
> > food nor water.
> >
> > "There are so many difficulties, dangers and hardships in Indian Kashmir,
> > there is nothing except a firm faith in Allah that gives courage and
> > motivate people to go on fighting,'' he said.
> >


-- 
http://www.mumbai-central.com <-- Creating a Bombay without borders.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Subscribe [Unsubscribe] send a blank message to 
        nukkad-list-request@mumbai-central.com 
with the word 'subscribe' ['unsubscribe'] (without quotes) in the Subject 
of your message.
The list is archived at  http://www.mumbai-central.com/nukkad/archive.html