Jehadi factory working flat out RAJAT PANDIT
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2005 11:53:27 PM ]
NEW DELHI: With the jehadi factory in Pakistan once again coming under the arclight after the London and Egypt bombings, General Pervez Musharraf is facing international heat yet again to tackle the menace. If he needs help in detecting the terror camps, here it is in full detail.
The lowdown on the 55 camps is based on impeccable intelligence from RAW, Intelligence Bureau and Military Intelligence, with supporting evidence in the form of photographs, radio intercepts, interrogation reports and the like. Significantly, the list of camps, accessed by TOI, shows they are spread all over Pakistan, not limited to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
While 29 such camps are located in PoK, 15 or more are in the North West Frontier Province. Another seven are in Punjab, three in the Northern Areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, and one in Sindh. "Some of these camps are make-shift and can quickly be translocated to other parts to escape international scrutiny. Many of these camps had gone into hibernation after the US operations in Afghanistan. But they have now been revived," said an official.
These training camps send out jehadis to not only Kashmir and other parts of India, but to terror targets worldwide. For instance, one of the London suicide bombers — Shehzad Tanweer — is believed to have got his training at a camp in Muridke, near Lahore.
The well-established camps in PoK include those in Kotli, Khuiretta, Rawlakot, Bagh, Halanshumali, Garhi Dupatta, Nikial, Sensa, Aliabad and Deolian.
Moreover, some "new" camps have sprung up at Palani, Palak and Kund, apart from the "re-opened" camps at Samani, Dudhinial and Fagosh. "While some of these have a mix of cadres from JeM, Laskhar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, al-Badr, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, al-Barq and other tanzims, others are restricted to one outfit," he said.
The NWFP is another hotbed. The densely-forested hilly Manshera region, in particular, houses several madrasas, which also act as training camps. The Jangal Mangal camp, for instance, is a relatively large one, housing over 150 militants. Camps in Punjab are located in Muridke, Tilla, Shakergarh, Jhelum and even in and around big cities like Rawalpindi (Chaklala), Gujranwala (Zaffar Iqbal Baiwa) and Lahore (Changa Manga).
Indian intelligence agencies have all information about terror camps in Pakistan. Northern Areas have camps in Gultari, Tarkuti and Skardu, while the Tanda Allabyar camp is located in Sindh. "Reports show the Gultari and Tarkuti camps have 30 to 40 trainees of Hizbul Mujahideen each," he said.
Authorities feel the list signifies a breach of the anti-terror pledge that Musharraf had signed on. Though they continue to maintain that they would still like to persevere with the peace process, the disappointment with Pakistan has already sapped New Delhi's enthusiasm and might force it to tread the path with excessive caution.
India has conveyed its concern to Pakistan about the drastic spike in infiltration along LoC over the last two months. In July, Army killed over 50 ultras trying to sneak into J&K.
"The number of terrorists in these camps is estimated to be between 2,000 and 2,500. Apart from training jehadis for J&K these camps often also house terrorists headed for other parts of the world," said a senior official.