Sipah Sahaba and Taliban are two names of the same Deobandi militant organization
Critical analysts of terrorism and terrorist ideology in Pakistan, Afghanistan and broader South Asia are aware of the fact that Pakistan army-sponsored Taliban militants (who later occupied Kabul in Qandahar) originated in Deobandi seminaries (madrassas) of Akora Khattak (of Maulana Sami-ul-Haq), Karachi (of Mufti Taqi Usmani and Mufti Naeem), Multan (of Maulana Hanif Jalandhri) and D.I.Khan (of Maulana Fazlur-Rehman).
They are also aware of the fact that Deobandi militant group Sipah Sahaba (that currently operates as Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ASWJ and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi LeJ) is an offshoot of Deobandi political party Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam. Sipah Sahaba’s founder, slain terrorist Haq Nawaz Jhangvi Deobandi, used to be provincial head of Fazlur-Rehman’s JUI Deobandi party in the Punjab province.
While Taliban have a proper organization in Afghanistan under the leadership of Mullah Omar and also in tribal areas of Pakistan (FATA) under the leadership of Hakeemullah Mehsdu and Jalaluddin Haqqani, Taliban do not have such organizational structure or presence in other areas of Pakistan, i.e., Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, Kashmir etc.
However, that does not mean that the Taliban are not present in those areas. Hundreds of attacks in Karachi, Quetta, Gilgit Baltitsan, D.I.Khan, Peshawar, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad etc have been carried out by Takfiri Deobandi militants against Sunni Barelvi (Sufi) shrine, Shia processions and mosques, Ahmadis, Christians, Pakistani army, police, political leaders etc. How’s that possible if the Taliban are not present in those areas? The answer is simple but it blatantly and most dishonestly ignored or twisted by Pakistani and international media. In all cities and towns of Pakistan, there are Deeobandi mosques and madrassas. At least one Deobandi madrassa and mosque in each town or city is owned or controlled by Sipah Sahaba. In other words, organizational structure, mosques, madrassahs, members of Sipah Sahaba provide the much needed structure and resources to the Taliban in settled areas of Pakistan.
I other words, for all practical purposes, Taliban and Sipah Sahaba represent one and same organization, with overlapping membership, and shared goals. The groups is known as Taliban in Afghanistan and FATA, however, the same group operates as Sipah Sahaba (or ASWJ & LeJ) in settled areas of Pakistan.
For further discussion of this topic, read Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa’s thought provoking analysis: Sipah-e-Sahaba and Taliban: Brothers in arms – by Ayesha Siddiqa https://lubpak.com/archives/19450
Recently, The Economist too has published an article on this topic: The growing links between Taliban and Deobandi Sipah-e-Sahaba in Pakistan – The Economist article https://lubpak.com/archives/231967
Also, refer to Fahd Khan’s excellent piece which shows that Takfiri Deobandis are responsible for more than 90% of terrorist activities in Pakistan. https://lubpak.com/archives/231552
All of us are aware of the fact that Taliban is an affiliate, in fact a sub-group, of Al Qaeda. It is, therefore, no surprise that Sipah Sahaba Deobandi militants too treat Mullah Umar, Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zwahiri as their leaders. For example, see this report in Express Tribune which describes how Deobandi leaders of Sipah Sahaba mourn the death of Takfiri terrorist leader of Al Qaeda Osama bin Laden:
KARACHI/LAHORE: Senior clerics, mostly belonging to the Deobandi sect, have come out strongly against reports of al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden’s death. Chief of the proscribed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), which has been renamed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi has strongly condemned what he called “illegal interference into Pakistani territory” by American military forces and termed Bin Laden’s death an “act of martyrdom”. Ludhianvi questioned the need for killing Osama when he could ‘easily’ have been captured alive. He said that, like every other Muslim in the world, he too supported Osama’s declared opposition to “Dunya-e-Kufr” (land of infidels).
Jamia Binoria Karachi’s senior Deobandi cleric Mufti Muhammad Naeem said that individuals die but the movement they leave behind continues on. “I think Sheikh Osama’s death won’t have any effect on his movement,” he said.
Senior Deobandi cleric and leader of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) Maulana Asad Thanvi said one shouldn’t forget the sacrifices that Bin Laden made in the global jihad against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, adding that Bin Laden’s role in the 9/11 attacks was never proved.
Meanwhile, in Lahore, proscribed Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) of Salafist/Wahhabi Muslims also condemned the killing and termed it “martyrdom after a courageous retaliation” with US forces. JuD head Hafiz Saeed also held a funeral in absentia for Bin Laden at Markizul Qadsia in Lahore, in the presence of hundreds of JuD activists.
Jamaat-i-Islami Chief Munawar Hasan condemned Prime Minister Gilani’s statement endorsing the US action and said this only showed how rulers were happy on being US slaves. “Islamabad’s reaction is totally ignorant of the nation’s mood as the nation is in a state of shock,” he said. http://tribune.com.pk/story/160786/ssp-jud-call-osama-bin-laden-a-martyr/
Note: Copy of conversation on a Deobandi website between two Deobandi supporters of Sipah Sahaba in which they admit that Sipah Sahaba have given most sacrifices in Jihadist terrorism in Kashmir and Afghanistan. The exchange also shows that Deobandi militants hate both Shias and Sunni Barelvis.
Viewpoint from Overseas
Published on 31 Aug 2012
Discussion on Kamra base attack, genocide of Shias, and migration of Hindus in Pakistan. Sabahat Ashraf, Faraz Syed, Riaz Haq, and Ali H Cemendtaur discuss reasons of growing extremism in Pakistan
http://youtu.be/rLN6-ZdVLBs
TALIBANS is the name of a mind-set ,the cancer of society in this era .
پشاور میں دیوبندی مذہبی اسکالر کی جانب سے پرنٹنگ پریس پر ایسا مواد چھاپا جا رہا تھا جس کا مقصد شیعہ اور سنی مسلمانوں میں تصادم کروانا تھا۔شیعت نیو زکے نمائندے کی رپورٹ کے مطابق پشاور میں دیوبندی مولوی نے اپنا ایک پرنٹنگ پریس لگا رکھا تھا جہاں پر شیعہ مسلمانوں کے نام پر متنازع مواد چھاپا جا رہا تھا جس کا مقصد ملک بھر میں شیعہ و سنی مسلمانوں کے درمیان تصادم کروانا تھا۔
پشاور کے علاقے لالہ رخ میں پولیس نے چھاپہ مار کر دیوبندی مولوی صادق کو گرفتار کر لیا ہے جو کہ گھر کے اندر پرنتنگ پریس لگا کر شیعہ مسلمانوں کے نام پر اسلام مخالف کتابیں چھاپ رہا تھا تا کہ شیعہ و سنی مسلمانوں کے درمیان فرقہ واریت کو ہوا دی جائے۔
پاکستان میں اس نوعیت کا یہ پہلا واقعہ نہیں ہے بلکہ سنہ 1990ء میں بھی اسی طرح کا ایک پرنٹنگ پریس پکڑا گیا تھا جس کو ناصبی تکفیری عناصر چلا رہے تھے اور شیعہ مسلمانوں کے نام پر ایسا مواد چھاپا جا رہا تھا جس سے شیعہ و سنی مسلمانوں کے درمیان تصادم کروایا جائے۔واضح رہے کہ یہ پرنٹنگ پریس کالعدم دہشت گرد گروہ سپاہ صحابہ کے زیر انتظام چلایا جا رہا تھا جس میں ایسی کتب چھاپی جا رہی تھیں جس میں سنی مسلمانوں کے خلاف باتیں لکھی گئی تھیں ۔
Deobandi militants of Sipah Sahaba are the new face of Al Qaeda in Pakistan
13 December 2012
The New Face of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan
Baine Baba Ziarat, the highest point in Swat valley
Pakistan has recently experienced a dramatic upsurge in sectarian violence against its Shia Muslim minority. According to Gohar Abbas, many observers attribute this spike in violence to top-level personnel changes in the Pakistani wing of al Qaeda.
By Gohar Abbas for ISN Security Watch
The recent upsurge of sectarian violence in Pakistan not only poses a renewed and serious threat to this most fragile of states, it also suggests that the domestic leadership of al-Qaeda is undergoing a paradigm and ideological shift. As the Arab leadership of al-Qaeda gradually relocates to Yemen, vacant positions in the organization are increasingly being filled by local Islamist militants.
The latest wave of sectarian attacks
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 320 members of the Shia community were killed (by Deobandi militants of Sipah Sahaba) in Pakistan between January and September of this year, with this number increasing every day. For instance, at least five people were killed and several others injured after a bomb attack on a Shia Imambargah (Mosque) in Karachi on November 21 during the holy Shia month of Muharam. Later that day, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a Shia procession in the city of Rawalpindi – home to the General Headquarters of the Pakistani army – killing 23 people and injuring many more.
In response, the government subsequently suspended mobile phone services across Pakistan for two days in a bid to avert further terror attacks on Shia commemorations. However, terrorists still succeeded in attacking a Muharam procession in Dera Ismael Khan, leaving five people dead and dozens injured. The Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) an al-Qaeda offshoot, claimed responsibility for all the attacks.
Large, well-organized attacks on Shias now also take place in regions that have previously been considered more stable such as Gilgit-Baltistan. In August, over a dozen gunmen wearing Pakistani Army uniforms stopped a number of buses between Gilgit and Rawalpindi. After identifying the Shias among the travelers, the gunmen forced 19 these passengers off the buses and shot them at point blank range. This was the third such incident in six months on the Karakorum Highway. Similar execution-style attacks by Deobandi militants had previously taken place in February of this year. The TTP and Jandullah, another militant group affiliated with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for these attacks.
State-sponsored sectarian conflict
Sectarian conflict in Pakistan has blighted the country since independence. It was partly embedded by the state in its attempts to forge a national identity based on a rigid form of Islam, replacing the Sufi tradition and teachings with the Salafi school of thought. During the dictatorial regime of Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1988), Pakistan’s sectarian divide reached a new height, when Haq introduced his controversial Islamization policies. The Iran-Iraq war further heightened sectarian tensions as both Iran and Saudi Arabia started financing armed groups from their respective sects inside Pakistan to counter each other’s influence.
State support for Deobandi Mujahideen fighters engaged in conflict with the Soviet Union in Afghanistan further impeded mutual coexistence in Pakistan. Sectarian conflict and the targeted killing of Shias in Pakistan also continued throughout the 1990s with impunity. Yet after the US invasion of Afghanistan the number of incidences of sectarian killing inside of Pakistan declined, as new fronts opened for militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, over the past two years sectarian violence has returned to Pakistan, most notably in Baluchistan, where targeted attacks on Shias have now become a daily phenomenon.
The latest upsurge in sectarian violence (Shia genocide by Deobandis is the right term) is primarily attributed to Deobandi members of anti-Shia sectarian outfits like Sipahe Sahaba (SSP) and Lashkar Jhangvi (LeJ) joining the ranks of al-Qaeda. These organizations now dominate the higher ranks of the terrorist group in Pakistan, while the Arab leadership of al-Qaeda has largely relocated to Yemen. SSP and LeJ are among the groups that Pakistan once provided moral and material support. These outfits have also been sponsored by Saudi Arabia to counter a possible spillover of Iran’s Islamic revolution into Pakistan.
The new leaders
Multiple sources with access to al-Qaeda and its offshoots confirm that leadership has been transferred to local fighters at the operational level. An al-Qaeda member based in Miranshah, North Waziristan, said Moulana Asmat Ulla Maviya, a Punjabi fighter, has been appointed head of the operational command of al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Maviya had previously been associated with Jaishe Muhammad (JeM), a jihadi organization based in Kashmir. In 2010, when the Punjabi Taliban was formed he became the main recruiter for the group in South Punjab. Maviya is also suspected of the kidnapping of three Western aid workers and the abduction of Shahbaz Taseer, the son of late Salman Taseer, a Pakistani businessman and former Governor of Punjab.
Unlike his peers, Maviya is more interested in strengthening different militant groups cooperating with al-Qaeda in Pakistan’s urban areas than recruiting fighters for the organization’s global agenda. An al-Qaeda commander based in Miranshah who fights under the command of Asmat Ulla Maviya (and who wished to remain anonymous) said: “There is no difference between SSP and us. We both are fighting for the same cause, and it’s easier and more effective to have people in their native areas than having all of them in the tribal areas.”
The commander went on to explain that for the Punjabi speaking people belonging to SSP and LeJ it was naturally easier to operate in their hometowns rather than other areas.
“The cause should be the same, it never matters what name or organization you choose as a label,” he told the commander.
The growing influence of sectarian outfits in the metropolitan areas of the country has also been recognized in various segments of the Pakistani press. An official from the leading civilian intelligence agency also confirmed that sectarian outfits like SSP and LeJ were becoming stronger in the cities.
Sources also report that Ustad Ahmed Farooq, who was previously responsible for al-Qaeda’s operations in Pakistan, has been placed in charge of the group’s media wing, Al Sahab. Farooq previously headed Harkat-e-Jihad ul Islami, also known as 313 Brigade. This group was the most feared wing of al-Qaeda in Pakistan and behind some of its biggest attacks, including the attack on Pakistan Navy’s Mehran air base in Karachi in May 2011.
From asset to liability
After the US invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan’s jihadists shifted focus from Kashmir to Pakistan’s tribal areas. However, the wider movement seems to be going through another phase of transition and is establishing itself in the urban areas of the country with the aim of waging a war against the minority Shia population. These changes will inevitably pose a major challenge to the state, which had itself sponsored the militants for decades.
Once used to pursue Pakistan’s “strategic depth” in Afghanistan and Kashmir, the jihadists are now weakening the very roots of the state by undermining the already fragile co-existence between different Muslim sects. After the scheduled withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2014, Pakistan will be especially vulnerable to the returning militants.
“The Shias and other Muslim minorities are more prone to violence in the months ahead”, says Mohammad Raashid, an expert on al-Qaeda and the Taliban. “The transition of al-Qaeda from…a terrorist organization with a global agenda to becoming a sectarian organization is due to the new mindset…at the operational level in Pakistan.” The new breed of al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan is taking the sectarian divide to new heights, thereby pushing the country closer to the brink of being a failed state.
With a weak government in power, an increasing deterioration of law and order and a fast collapsing economy, the new trend of sectarian violence might be a final step to the complete disintegration of Pakistan.
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Security-Watch/Articles/Detail/?lng=en&id=156054