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PAKISTAN: Is Musharref's Regime Behind Sectarian Attacks?
SHI'ITES KILLED in KARACHI, SUNNI LEADER KILLED IN ISLAMABAD
Diversion from Musharref's Offensive Against Islamic Refugees/Taliban
By Buut Shikan (Idol Breaker)
Pakistani coup leader Pervez Musharraf faces a dilemma. The people are
united against him. He is not welcome anywhere in the country and has not
spoken to a public meeting in a year. Three major forces are at work
against him:
1. The Islamic coalition led by Jamaate Islami, JUI, JUP, etc which wants
to remove the Washington-backed general by peaceful means. Shias and
Sunnis are united in this movement which launched million-man marches
throughout Pakistan.
2. The Jihad movement led by Jamat ad-Da'wa [organized by Hafiz Saeed]
which helps the struggle in
Kashmir
and sympathizes with the Taliban.
3. Secularized and semi-secularized political parties like Muslim League,
led by Nawaz Sharif, and the PPP led by Benazir Bhutto.
[Nawaz Sharif is Pakstan's elected Prime Minister. Musharref forcibly
removed him.]
Musharref is kept in power by the top military generals. These generals
are funded by the
U.S.
and live in luxury in cantonments cut off from the dust and toil of the
masses of people.
Musharref, after two visits to the U.S., has been coordinating military
operations against the Taliban with American troops in
Afghanistan.
He referred to this coordination as the "pincer movement against the
Taliban." In recent days, Pakistani military forces under Musharref's
orders have launched a military offensive against Islamic refugees and
Taliban who had been given security by Pakistani tribesmen living very
near the Afghan border. At least 12 Muslims were martyred by Musharref's
mercenaries in this attack. Across the border, the U.S. launched an attack
and killed another 12 Taliban including a Taliban commander.
These attacks led to widespread revulsion in Pakistan and an upsurge of
hatred against Musharref. [In the meantime,
Egyptian
Islamist Ayman al-Zawahiri issued a statement probably smuggled out of
Afghanistan which named Musharref as a traitor and called on Pakistanis to
overthrow the
CIA
agent living in Islamabad.]
IN THAT BACKGROUND, THE SECTARIAN ATTACKS WERE LAUNCHED TO DESTROY THE
UNITY OF THE PAKISTANI PEOPLE. Both attacks were carried out with military
precision and showed careful planning. The assailants got away in broad
daylight.
In Karachi, the scenario was as follows: A minibus owned by an
organization called SUPARCO takes Sunni and Shia employees to prayers on
Friday (juma'). The bus dropped off the Sunnis to a masjid and then took
the Shias to their imambargah. Just when the Shias were getting down, they
were attacked and gunned down. It was obviously an inside job organized by
someone who knew the exact operation of the SUPARCO bus. The killers were
crack shots and did not miss.
In ISLAMABAD, the attack was even more blatant. A SUNNI member of
Parliament, from a group known for its hatred of Shias, was gunned down
along with his bodyguards in broad daylight in Pakistan's capital city. He
had taken the precaution of putting a government number plate on his jeep
but this did not fool the assassins. It was very obviously an inside job.
Sectarian Sunnis went on the rampage in Islamabad to attack businesses,
cars and Shia places of worship. It appears that the regime's security
forces made NO ATTEMPT TO STOP the rioting.
At this time,
India
and Pakistan are at peace. As NEW TREND had pointed out long ago,
Musharref, Vajpayee and
Bush
are working together. It has become a quartet now with the open collusion
between Sharon and Vajpayee and Musharref calling for recognition of
Israel.
The SECTARIAN violence seems to be a last desperate attempt by Musharref to
disrupt the people's unity. Sectarian slogans are very hurtful for the
people. Most Shias and Sunnis have no problems with each other. A fringe
group among Shias, backed by
Iran,
insults the Sahaba and provokes the Sunni backlash. A similar fringe group
among Sunnis, known as sipah-e-sahaba extols the "virtues" of Muawiya and
Yazeed. These tactics are condemned by the Islamic coalition (MMA) and the
Jihad movement (ad-Da'wa), both of which encourage unity with Shias.
We urge the Pakistani people to institute an independent inquiry into the
murders. The only gainer from fratricidal attacks is General Musharref and
Pakistani generals [backed and funded by the U.S.]
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2003-10-12 Sun 05:47ct