Word: pakistans
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Qasab does not say in his confession if he ever robbed the house. It doesn't really matter. Crime and terrorism are intertwined - illicit weapons-trading, drugs, smuggling and kidnap-for-ransom schemes fund terrorist networks all around the world. In Pakistan, the connection is deeply ingrained. "When someone commits a crime," says Asghar, "there are so many hands to support him but so few to pull him out. And if I feel guilty for what I have done, I go to mosque. There I am invited to jihad, and I am given a license for paradise. That is where...
...after Sept. 11, 2001, everything changed. Pakistan, given no choice by the U.S., stopped supporting the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which had allowed jihadi training camps to flourish on its soil. On Dec. 13, 2001, a band of Pakistan-based fighters attacked the Indian Parliament. Two weeks later, the U.S. government placed LeT, one of the jihadi groups thought to be behind the attack, on its list of proscribed organizations. The next month, Pakistan's then President, General Pervez Musharraf, bowed to international pressure and declared that no Pakistan-based group would be allowed to commit terrorism in the name...
...Banality of Terror It would be convenient to think of Qasab as a psychopath, exploited by cynical handlers who corrupt young men in the name of religion. In fact, his origins are ordinary. In his confession, Qasab, now 21, says he was born in the village of Faridkot, in Pakistan's Punjab province. He is said to have been a typical teenager, not especially religious, albeit with a reputation as a troublemaker. His family is poor - his father sells fried snacks at a bus station - but owns its own house. Qasab attended the local primary school; at 13, he left...
...evolving strengths of different strains of Islam in South Asia provide an important context for Qasab's tale. In 2007 the Rand Corp. suggested that such groups as Pakistan's Sufi-influenced Barelvi sect - which does not have a jihadist bent - be encouraged in order to combat extremism. But since the anti-Soviet war, Wahhabi groups, drawing their influence from Saudi Arabia's austere brand of Islam - together with the Wahhabis' South Asian counterparts, the ¬Deobandis - have gained ground in Pakistan. Soheil decries the Wahhabi focus on jihad. "Here we teach peace and love...
...growth of Wahhabi institutions in traditionally Barelvi parts of Pakistan is not limited to Muridke. Punjab province has seen an explosion of radical mosques, madrasahs and schools, many around the southern cities of Bahawalpur and Multan. A resident of Bahawalpur describes a visible expansion of jihadi infrastructure, unchecked by government supervision. Camps modeled on the one at Muridke are being built in the city, and photographs of the construction sites show young men with AK-47 logos on their shirts. Graffiti on village walls in the region declare, "Jihad against unbelievers is mandatory. Break their necks and shake every bone...