--- begin forwarded text Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 12:24:30 -0500 To: Philodox Clips List <clips@philodox.com> From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com> Subject: [Clips] US on the scent of terror money in Pakistan Reply-To: rah@philodox.com Sender: clips-bounces@philodox.com <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GL06Df01.html> Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan Dec 6, 2005 US on the scent of terror money in Pakistan By Syed Saleem Shahzad KARACHI - Beyond the tragedy of more than 70,000 lives being lost in the October 8 earthquake that devastated large sections of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the disaster alerted US intelligence to the fact that the financial conduits that feed militancy and terror remain very much intact. At very short notice, millions of dollars poured into the coffers of the jihadi group Jamaatut Dawa (formerly Lashkar-i-Taiba), allowing it to immediately take over relief operations in Kashmir while the Pakistan government dallied. As a direct consequence of this realization, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) once again prevailed on Islamabad to launch an offensive against al-Qaeda-linked foreign elements sheltering in the country, notably in the North and South Waziristan tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan. Over the past few years, invariably under US pressure, Pakistan has undertaken similar offensives, with varying degrees of success, beyond whipping up tribal animosity by sending troops into the semi-autonomous regions. In the latest initiative, according to security contacts who spoke to Asia Times Online, the US insisted that Pakistan authorities conduct across-the-board checks and arrests, while simultaneously US operatives would go after specific targets in an effort to search out illicit financial arteries. One Pakistan move involves Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz of the famous Lal Masjid Islamabad. They issued a controversial religious edict during one of the previous operations in South Waziristan calling on people not to pray at the funerals of Pakistan Army personnel killed in action in the area. The two religious leaders have had their movements restricted. On the US side, they appear to have scored a hit with the elimination of al-Qaeda number three, Hamza Rabia, in North Waziristan, apparently through missiles fired from a CIA drone. However, the body has not been found and al-Qaeda has denied that he is dead. During the latest crackdown, the activities of the Jamaatut Dawa are also under the spotlight. A high-level Washington-based source told Asia Times Online: "Like prayers, zakat [compulsory charity - 2.5% of an individuals's annual reserves/savings in Sunni Islam and 5% among Shi'ites] and pilgrimage, jihad is also an integral part of the Muslim faith, that is why there is a trend that those Muslim philanthropists who build mosques, seminaries and donate money to Islamic relief operators also send money to those they view as mujahideen. That is the reason decision-makers in Washington are convinced that those who contribute money to Islamic groups in Kashmir are also involved in supporting the resistance in Iraq and Afghanistan." The current operations in Pakistan are being supervised and controlled by US intelligence. The role of the Pakistani forces is to do the supporting "donkey work". A case study Dr Dawood Qasmi, a graduate of the Dow Medical College in the port city of Karachi, works at the National Institute of Child Health in the same city. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is in hot pursuit of him. His father, brother and two nephews were arrested, and the women of his family were threatened with arrest if Dawood did not give himself up. However, a hue and cry raised in the media forced government agencies to release the men and lay off the women. Dawood is a former commander of the banned Laskhar-i-Taiba in Sindh province. His role was to recruit civilians to join the Kashmiri movement. He was closely associated with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Kashmir cell. The ISI provided him with ample funds to recruit youths, beside giving him expensive vehicles and armed guards. Laskhar-i-Taiba was one of the most active militant groups in Kashmir. But post-September 11, 2001, events changed Dawood's life (Asia Times Online wrote a detailed account of his life Confessions of a failed jihadi , although he was not identified by name in the story). Disillusioned, he gave up his activities with Laskhar and returned to his quiet life in the medical world. "Dr Dawood Qasmi fully realized it [operations in Kashmir] was not a jihad but a Pakistan Army operation for which it was only using civilians as gun fodder. So he set himself aside. Initially he was working with an online medicine research firm and later on he joined the National Institute of Child Health," said his daughter, Dr Hania Dawood Qasmi of the Baqai Medical University in Karachi. "Three months ago a colonel approached Dawood and tried to prepare him to work again for Laskhar, but Dawood refused. He said to me that he knew that as he had already been tracked by the FBI, an association with Laskhar was essential as it was the only way to get government protection. But he said that his conscience was not ready for him to become a Laskhar member again, as it would mean being an ISI proxy," Hania Dawood maintained. Dawood was then left alone. But once the relief operation started in Kashmir, he was contacted by the Jamaatut Dawa to help as a doctor. He agreed, and was quickly provided with huge sums of money to purchase medicine and surgical equipment to be taken to Kashmir to establish mobile hospitals, and even an operating theater. A week ago, as a result of the US-inspired campaign to track money sources, all senior police officials were asked to update their information on jihadis, especially those active in their areas. Dawood would probably not have been targeted, had not his friend from Laskhar days, Arif Qasmani, been involved. Arif Qasmani was a part of a high-level November 14 meeting in Islamabad held to initiate a process for peace between the Afghan resistance and coalition forces led by the US. Apparently, Arif Qasmani spoke about Dawood and his involvement in the relief operations, and also about how he had quickly received cash. Ears obviously pricked up. Soon after, a joint team of the FBI, the army and the police raided Dawood's home in the early hours of the morning, explained Hania Dawood, but her father was out. "We were the ones who suffered from the hands of the police," said Dawood's 75-year-old father, Abdul Rauf. "They handcuffed me, my son and my grandson. They called us names and forced us to tell where Dr Dawood was. They threatened us that if we didn't tell them the whereabouts of Dr Dawood, they would humiliate all our family members and detain the women and humiliate them in front of our eyes. They did not properly feed us. I was the first person who was released because my health deteriorated." Later, after the media got onto the case, all family members were released. Dr Dawood Qasmi's whereabouts are still unknown. Syed Saleem Shahzad, Bureau Chief, Pakistan Asia Times Online. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' _______________________________________________ Clips mailing list Clips@philodox.com http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'