The Hindu : Other States / Jammu & Kashmir News : On a different jehadi mission

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Thursday, Sep 02, 2004

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Other States - Jammu & Kashmir

On a different jehadi mission

By Luv Puri

SURANKOTE (POONCH), SEPT. 1. It is a return journey from Saudi Arabia to Surankote for a jehad, but of a different kind. The Saudi expatriates have traversed through a path of thorns, but they have held their ground for more than a year and become a vital link in the counter militancy operations.

This was proved in an operation started by the security forces to eliminate the militants responsible for killing 13 Village Defence Committee personnel on the intervening night of 25\26 June this year. Forces were able to eliminate the three militants including the mastermind with the support of Saudi expatriates. Starting with four non-resident Indians who came from Saudi Arabia to fight militancy in their native place, the group has now enlarged to 20 and more are to follow. Each of them has a tale to tell -- the reason to leave their prosperous job in Saudi Arabia where they earned Rs.30,000 to Rs.40,000 every month.

Mohammad Qasim (48), left his job as a marble contractor in Riyadh, the Capital city of Saudi Arabia, after his close relative was killed by the militants some years back. He says: "I could have taken all my family members to Saudi for their safety but I decided against it. To live and die in your own land is a different feeling and I decided to stay." Altaf Hussain, another expatriate, came back to his village to take revenge for the killing of elder brother Mohammed Arif.

The expatriates appointed 46-year-old Mohammad Aslam as their leader and contacted senior security officials who provided them with arms to take on militants. The group felt demoralised after the massacre of 13 members of the village committee two months back. Mohammad Aslam said: "We were shaken by the massacre, but we have learnt from our mistakes. The killing of mastermind Abu Zubair, a top militant, has encouraged us to finish militancy here to live a life of freedom like other country men. They (militants) are defaming the great religion (Islam) by killing innocent people. We have lived in the holiest of places and nowhere it is written that any one should be killed. Our jehad is against the people who are misinterpreting the religion."

A number of youths are waiting for the citation promised to them which they richly deserved. Mushtaq Ahmed, a 22-year-old youth who had taken part in 12 operations from 2002 onwards in which 26 militants were killed, remains to be rewarded.

Most of the youths continue to work for the State police at a salary of Rs.1,500 per month which according to them is a paltry sum. The families of these young men are the prime targets of the militants. For instance few days back, the militants in Surankote town attacked Javed, one of the SPOs. Luckily he survived as the nearby police post was alerted and militants ran away.

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