Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak

Inside Jihad
jihad against the Indian authorities in Kashmir. The LeT announced its
arrival on the Kashmir jihad scene on 5 February 1993 with a ferocious
attack on an Indian military force in Poonch district that killed at
least two soldiers. Two of the guerrillas were also killed. Since then
the outfit has been responsible for hundreds of guerrilla raids in the
disputed territory. Within a short span, LeT emerged as the fiercest
militant organization – it possessed not only thousands of well trained
and highly motivated fighters, but also a huge propaganda network.
Its several publications in different languages had a circulation of
hundreds of thousands. Its main publication, Al-Dawat, had more
than 80,000 copies printed and sold at major bookshops across the
country. 13 . LeT had worked in close coordination with the ISI, which
also provided support to launch the militants across the border.
LeT was an extremely secretive organization. Except for the top
leadership, the identity of its members was not disclosed. Since its
inception in 1990, it has produced thousands of highly trained fighters,
who have given a new dimension to the guerrilla war in Kashmir.
The earliest fighters were trained in various camps in Afghanistan. But
after 1992 the camps were shifted to remote regions of Azad Kashmir
(Free Kashmir) and the mountainous tribal regions of the North West
Frontier Province close to the border with Afghanistan.
The procedure was simple. Any jihadist aspirant could enroll himself
for training at one of hundreds of LeT centres operating openly across
the country. The volunteers, most of them in their teens, were then
taken to various camps for military training, conducted in two stages. At
the initial level they were given basic weapons training for three weeks.
The second stage of rigorous guerrilla training was restricted to those
who were fully committed to jihad and were practising Muslims. 14
At the camp, volunteers began their day with the call to morning
prayers. They were then kept busy in gruelling physical and military
exercise until dusk. Part of the training, included religious instruction,
Qur’anic lessons and adherence to prayers. The trainees learned
to transform their lives in line with the teaching of Islam. To be in
the ranks of the ‘soldiers of Allah’, growing a beard was mandatory,
shalwar (loose trousers) had to be hiked above the ankle, and watching
television and listening to music were banned. Individualism was
curbed, beginning with the sharing of food and drinks from the same
utensils. 15
After the initial training, the would-be mujahid was sent back,
usually to his home town, and kept under observation by senior LeT