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

Inside Jihad
attracting an increasing number of volunteers from Pakistan’s southern
provinces of Sindh and Balochistan where Wahabi influence had
increased. Muslims from other countries, including Britain, had also
joined LeT. Shamshur Rehman, an Afghan, was the chief commander
of LeT when he was killed in Badgam district in Kashmir in May 1995
in an encounter with Indian security forces. 21 Several foreign militants
were believed to have received training at LeT camps in Pakistan.
Among them were Guantanamo Bay inmates David Hicks and French
terrorist suspect Willie Brigitte, who were accused of planning attacks
in Australia. 22
LeT gave a new and more violent dimension to the Kashmiri
struggle by launching Fidayin raids against Indian forces and military
installations. The term ‘Fidayin attack’ was used by the LeT leadership
for target operations well inside the Indian military bases. 23 ‘A Fidayin is
one who must complete his mission even in the worst circumstances,’
explained Abdullah Muntazir, an LeT spokesman. He insisted that the
concept of Fidayin was different from that of a suicide bomber, who
blew himself up to kill others. ’We consider suicide attacks un-Islamic.
Many Fidayin come back alive after completion of their missions,’ said
Muntazir. The Fidayin attacks had brought an unprecedented ferocity
to the Kashmir jihad.
A Fidayin is chosen from among the best and most courageous
fighters and not every guerrilla meets the tough criteria. An otherworldly
level of devotion to the cause is required, as I discovered
when I met a Fidayin recently returned from his mission. His thin
frame, gentle eyes and polite manners gave not the slightest indication
of his being a guerrilla fighter. The young bearded militant, who used
the nom de guerre of Abu Ukrema, had just returned from Kashmir
when I met him at the LeT headquarters in Lahore in January 2001.
Abu Ukrema walked with a limp because of a bullet wound, received
during an encounter with the Indian troops. ‘I will return to the
fighting as soon as the bullet is removed and the wounds are healed,’
he told me. ‘It is my desire to become a martyr.’ His face lit up as he
narrated how he and his fellow guerrillas had destroyed an Indian
army post after a fierce gun battle which lasted several hours and left
many soldiers dead.
Martyrdom is not mourned as it is considered to be the sole
guarantee of entry to paradise. LeT local officials visit the house of the
martyr to offer congratulations to the family. Sweets are distributed to
celebrate the death. The occasion is also used to solicit new recruits.