Admit one son to madrassa or pay Rs0.4m: Lahskar-i-Islam

[dawn_news]

PESHAWAR: The outlawed militant group Lahskar-i-Islam (LI) has warned tribesmen in northwestern Bara district to admit at least one of their sons to “a madrassa of LI school of thought” otherwise the family elder would have to pay Rs0.4 million in compensation.

Local tribesmen and eye witnesses said that the militant outfit had displayed wall posters in streets and bazaars in Nala Malikdin Khel area asking the locals to get at least one of their sons to the madrassa (Islamic seminary).

The posters also warned parents that children should be admitted only to the madrasas of Ishat-o-Tauheed and the admission in other madrassas of Deobandi, Barelvi or other school of thoughts would not be acceptable to them.

The posters, according to sources, had been issued on the directive of LI chief Mangal Bagh and have also warned that those who failed to admit their kids before Eid-ul-Fitr would have to pay Rs0.4 million to the militant outfit.

Ayaz, a local tribesmen from Malikdin Khel confirmed that the pamphlets have been displayed all over in the area.

Another tribesman Riaz Afridi said that the LI was again trying to gain ground and these posters show that they were using pressure tactics to get hold of the area.

The political administration officials of Bara said that they had also heard about such pamphlet in the area but had not found one yet, but the administration said it was investigating into the incident.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Nighat Orakzai also took up the issue in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly earlier on Tuesday.

She said that it showed the government’s failure to protect the people’s lives and they were left at the mercy of the militants who are calling the shots.

“The government must stop the drama of talks and take concrete steps to stop the militants’ onslaught,” she added.


Time to send some F-16 again

 

[Raja.Pakistani]

Suicide training camp is probably right word..they are giving bad name to madrissa...how many laskar are there..lashkar e jangvi....lashkare Islam..laskar this..lashkar that

 

[dawn_news]

Suicide training camp is probably right word..they are giving bad name to madrissa

The good news is that they are getting desperate to the point of asking for money or child to brainwash him. Now its army job to protect tribesmen and kill these bastards.

 

[Raja.Pakistani]

The good news is that they are getting desperate to the point of asking for money or child to brainwash him. Now its army job to protect tribesmen and kill these bastards.

yea if tribes also don't mind to get rid of these laskars ..i mean tribes men are also strong people who don't like to get dictation from others..why they dont stick together and fight with these lashkars

 

[tarrar]

Time for Pak Army & PAF to go in, I would love to see Pak Army & PAF use their armed drones against these rented bastards.

 

[HRK]

Drone Attack on Lashkar-e-Islam Base 14 May 14

 

[dawn_news]

Drone Attack on Lashkar-e-Islam Base 14 May 14

 

[CENTCOM]

What a choice given to poor parents. Either get your children radicalized to kill innocent people or pay a huge sum. This is totally ridiculous. These terrorists are so desperate now that they are forcing parents to send their children to join their team. This clearly proves that their charm is all gone and people have realized who they really are and not willing to join them. Children are any nation’s future and it is important that the children of the region get a chance to education so they can make a mark in this competitive world. There is no denying that Pakistani children have the will to go to school and earn good and honest education. Time is ripe to stand up to the terrorists and send a message that our children would not be radicalized at the hands of haters and killers. They are the future and they will be cared for. We stand with the Pakistanis who have wish for their children to have good education and so through USAID we invest in schools, books and teachers for those children.


Abdul Quddus
DET-United States Central Command.

 

[ziaulislam]

Rs400,000, or hand over your son to the madrassa
Murtaza Haider
Updated about 4 hours ago




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It is one of the weirdest school enrolment drives ever: Surrender a son to the madrassa (religious seminary), or pay 400,000 rupees (US$4,000) instead.

The militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas are openly coercing families to hand over their sons, or buy out their freedom.

Only a few miles from Peshawar, posters have appeared on walls in the Bara district asking parents to enlist at least one son with a seminary affiliated with Ishat-o-Tauheed, a subsidiary of Lashkar-i-Islam (LI), an outlawed militant group headed by Mangal Bagh Afridi.

The directives are clear. Only those enrolled in seminaries affiliated with LI will count.

The militants perhaps are running short on beachheads or suicide bombers. The Taliban’s rank-and-file are made up of orphans or children abandoned by parents because of abject poverty. Militancy, devastating floods, and the earthquake in October 2005 forced the poor affected households to give up their children to religious seminaries.

Also read: The walking wounded of Waziristan: Suffer the children

Some children were turned into religious mercenaries, who became fodder in the war on terrorism. As militants continue to fight against the State and amongst themselves, fresh blood is needed. Hence, the conscription.

After decades of sustained neglect and fuelled by anger against the Nato intervention in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s tribal areas have become willing breeding grounds for religiously inspired orthodoxy and militancy.

The rise of militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas is partially due to the State’s failure to extend the same privileges of citizenship that are enjoyed by others in settled parts of Pakistan.

Political representation, franchise, and protection under the constitution are some examples of a discounted citizenship afforded to residents of tribal areas. An access to education, healthcare, and judicial redress have remained remote.

The recent drive for conscription by the Mangal Bagh-led LI raises several concerns and questions.

The brazen attempt to recruit in the name of madrassas suggest the absence of the State’s writ in the tribal areas. The presence of posters on walls in the Bara District confirms that the militants have a free hand in running their operations in the tribal areas.

Knowing that poor households do not have access to $4,000, militants are certain to expand their ranks with young conscripts whose parents would have no other option, but to comply.

Mangal Bagh’s ascent to leadership in just a few years’ time is a remarkable story. Most accounts of Mr. Bagh’s early life suggest that he was raised by his mother after his father passed away. There are no records of education for Mr. Bagh. His last known profession was that of a cleaning assistant for a truck. He had spent time fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

He took over LI from its founder and through carefully crafted alliances over the years, Mr. Bagh now commands a force whose strength is disputed between 10,000 and 100,000. He settles disputes for people and collects taxes in areas under his control. In 2008, he collected an $11,000 fine for malpractice from Dr. Shakeel Afridi, the doctor who led the CIA to Osama Bin Laden.

Mr. Bagh is schooled neither in religious text nor in humanities. His fluency with armory though enables him to recruit the young to madrassas from where they would likely graduate as militants.

While many madrassas are directly involved in militancy, most are not. Most madrassas do impart religious knowledge to students.

There are challenges even with those madrassas that do not condone violence. Their graduates are not ready to join the real world where a different set of skills and knowledge base is required.

The oversupply of madrassa graduates is imposing huge burdens on Pakistan. While some madrassas have tried to modernise their curriculum, most are stuck in the curriculum devised centuries ago to meet the religious needs of South Asian Muslims.

The madrassa-based messaging has played a huge role in radicalising the entire society. It is no longer the madrassa alumni who depict a fundamentally regressive world view. The entire society, with some exceptions, has embraced fundamentalist ideals. The goal should be to eradicate the fundamentalism that promotes militancy in Pakistan.

The State should step up and prevent the LI from conscripting in the Bara district. The government must open schools and colleges to allow the next generation of tribal area children a decent chance at a decent living.

Otherwise, the State should dispense with $4,000 per household to prevent children from being forced into militancy.

A small price to secure an entire generation against violence.

 

[Backbencher]

Must be happening with a small portion of the population in a remote area although I doubt whether any authority will do anything positive for it .

 

[Dubious]

already posted ....there was a thread running..

Admit one son to madrassa or pay Rs0.4m: Lahskar-i-Islam

@WebMaster @Aeronaut @nuclearpak @T-Faz @Manticore @Jungibaaz @Oscar @jaibi @Emmie can we merge this thread with an already on going one:

Admit one son to madrassa or pay Rs0.4m: Lahskar-i-Islam

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

yea if tribes also don't mind to get rid of these laskars ..i mean tribes men are also strong people who don't like to get dictation from others..why they dont stick together and fight with these lashkars

Only against other tribes and external forces, you are forgetting that lashkar e islam is not a tribe. It is not inter-tribal but intra-tribal issue, how can they they stick togather on tribe's basis against lashkar e islam whose members are not from any specific clan of Afridis?. I have talked with some Afridis , they are sick of mangal bagh's thugs but are helpless as individuals. Some of these Afridis have tried and are trying to get rid of this janjal-pura through plateform of ansar ul islam.
Mangal bagh is a typical badmash that you see in mafia movies, he is using islam to establish his power. His men are charsh addicts, some low lives who have kept long beards and are pretending to be mujahideen.

 

[nana41]

Suicide training camp is probably right word..they are giving bad name to madrissa...how many laskar are there..lashkar e jangvi....lashkare Islam..laskar this..lashkar that

Agree 100%.