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

Frontline Pakistan
officials for a couple of months. His conduct was closely watched as he
performed routine organizational duties. He was supposed to collect
funds, organize propaganda meetings and practise the preaching
of Islam in his home and neighbourhood. Only a select number of
volunteers were chosen for the extended programme. They returned
home completely transformed after the course. They kept their hair
long and stopped cutting their beards. They were identified by new
names, mostly the surnames of companions of the Prophet Mohammed
or of the earliest Islamic heroes. 16 Between 10,000 and 30,000 young
men were trained at LeT camps.
The extended training, however, did not ensure that a volunteer
would be sent for combat operations. Thousands of trained guerrillas
anxiously awaited their turn to cross into Kashmir, but not everyone
was given the chance. ‘I pray to Allah that my turn [to go to Kashmir]
comes soon, ‘said Abu Mohammed, a young college student who had
already completed the second level training. Hafiz Saeed often said
that he would not put a weapon in the hands of any young recruit
who was not secure in his faith. To be a combatant one had to be a
pious person. 17
LeT, unlike some of the other jihadist groups, drew its recruits from
universities and colleges as well as from among unemployed youth.
The traditional Islamic madrasas provided only ten per cent of the
volunteers. 18 Influenced by radical Islamic literature, many university
and college students joined the group. ‘Those coming from educational
institutions are much more motivated and conscious of what they
are doing,’ said Naveed Qamar, an LeT activist and graduate of the
University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. The top leadership
of the group, including Hafiz Saeed, had been on the faculty of that
university. A large number of LeT activists also came from the working
class or were school drop-outs. In the countryside, LeT recruits were
largely from families which were influenced by Wahabi Islam. 19
The majority of LeT recruits came from Punjab, particularly from
Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan where Ahle Hadith had its strongholds.
In some central Punjab district villages LeT had considerable influence
because of support for the Kashmir jihad. Gondlawala, a small dusty
village, is now called Pind Shaheedan (the village of martyrs) because
at least one person from every family had fought or died in the Kashmir
jihad, mainly as an LeT fighter. The group’s increasing influence was
indicated by the fact that the villagers would accept its arbitration in
local and even in domestic disputes. 20 In recent years, LeT had started