The article is balanced only by the standards of Dawn and the local press.
The History of Afghan Jihad , Saudi funding etc is well known and has been written about in extensive detail but invariably misses out on some of the history of the rise of Khomeinism in Pakistan. Sunni Militancy no matter how violent has been a reactionary force to the allegedly "Revolutionary" aspirations of Khomeni inspired Shia Activism.
This clashed with the earlier model in which Shia-Sunni have coexisted in Pakistan largely peacefully ased on their shared identity in colonial India. Shias have in no way been marginalised in either the government apparatus or the politcs.
Without knowing about this angle you cant understand the whole issue.
ISO was founded in 72 and embraced Khomeniem early only even before the 1979 revolution. Like Basij militia in Iran or Hizbullah it enforces vilyah e Fiqah as the dominant ideology in the heterogeneous Shia community in Pakistan.
Its leader Syed Hasan Zaidi in a interview to Islam times in 2009. states these facts. He also says that Vilayat Fiqah has no boundries and that ISO takes orders directly from the Khameini office in Iran. Infact on assuming power in 1989 Khameni made apoint to address the ISO directly, outlining his vision for Pakistan.
http://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=2105. He also addresed other Paksitnai Shai groups with his vision http://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=2551.
The first community to be radicalised was Parachina Toori Shias. Who have a historic reputation for being fiercely independent and militant.
Ali Akbar Omid-Mehr Iranian Diplomat in Pakistan who later defected to the west is on record saying it was Khomeinis policy to use Parachinar as a "Spring board" into Pakistan. The reason for Khomeis fixation on Parachinar was that he fell under influence of Syed Arif Hussein al Husseini a cleric from Parachinar visiting Khomeini in exile in Iraq in the 1970. He later followed Khoemi in Qom and became his clerical representative to Pakistan.
The Shia Militants followed well established models in Iraq and Lebanon. The two main militants organization in the Kurrum valley called the "Mahdi Militia" and the "Hizbullah" respectively. They are led by clerics who received religious instruction in Qoma nd further military experience in camps in the Bekaa Valley.
In 1984 in a convention Arif Al Huseini was elected as the chairman of TNFJ. This led to a group of traditional Shia leaders to leave the group being wary of the disruptive Iranian Influence.
In an Interview to Maliha Lodhi published dint he thrid world quarterly April 1988. Arif Husseini minces in no words and said that the goal was to make Pakistan a Shia Theocratic state modeled on Iran.
A hint at the radicalisation of Shia groups in the eighties can be gauged by Khameini visit to Pakistan in 1986.(Detailed in Wikileaks cable:86ISLAMABAD1587). Iran per policy wanted to stoke Anti Americanism that had receded in the Muslim World after Americans started funding the Afghan Jehad project. So the rallies for his arrival were virulently anti American and Pro Libya(Qadhafi was being bombed by the Americas for the Berlin Disco Bombing etc).
Zia car was surrounded by Shia activist and obscene gestures were made. Activist were brought in from the entire country to Lahore and Islamabad to welcome Khameini.
Shia activism included proselyting and settling,conversion in Mastung by Quetta based activist. And militancy in Gilgat Baltistan that nec necessitated operation in the eighties.
Its in this climate that the reactionary Sunni militant groups started forming primarily in Central punjab. They used the unique class conflict to their advantage. i.e the large landowning class or Pirs are mostly of Shia extraction. The landless tenants are Sunni. Hence LeJ,SSP, Riaz Basra wtc and most of the sectarian Sunni militancy can be traced to the district of Jhang.
The third aspect is how the Shia all seminaries(Around a hundred or so) in Pakistan with 15,000 students and 4000 clergy (Figures from BBC farsi service Harun Najifzada) all have fallen into direct Iranian Influence.All are linked to the seminary in Qom through their international outreach office (
The Daftar-e Tabliqat-e Eslami-e Howzeh-e Elmiyeh-e Qom). While the traditionalist earlier were linked to Najaf ,Karbala prior the revolution.
The clerical power of the Marjah broke down and was replaced by the Irani theocratic state radicle Vilayat e Fiqah Aagenda.
This can be gauged by statements of prominent clerics like Syed Jawad Naqvi who liozie Khameini. He also follwed the regime line in denouncing the Green movement protest in Iran writing a small book on it(Book about the Defeat of the velvet Revolution:
http://www.hawzah.net/FA/NewsView.html?NewsID=81069.). He regularly speaks in Iran at various forums, the state controlled iranian press has called him Pakistan Hassan Nasrullah)
Syed Sajid Naqvi of TJp has been even more effusive in his praise to Khameni policy.Speaking in the Internation Islamic Awakening conference in Iran. He is on record as saying the Khameni would trnasform the region in the Arab srping.(Ahle Bayt News Agency
http://www.abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=266215.)
So any mosque constructed or Seminary has to get approval and funding from the office of Qom.
Here is an example for an application fo ra mousqe in Quetta and a Smeinary elsewhere
http://farsi.khamenei.ir/sahifeh-content?id=14855
http://farsi.khamenei.ir/sahifeh-content?id=13759.
On the Conflict in Kurrum the narrative in the press is one sided. Its tribal war based on limited resources etc fuelled by outside forces on Both sides.
The Sunni Bangash and Parcham Kani tribes control Lower and central Kurrum while the Shia toori control Upper Kurrum.
The Shia Toori receive funding an training from Iran and NA faction sympathetic to their cause.
Iran clergy as detailed above have historicle ties and use the lopsided account of Kurrum as a potent proparganda tool(Khameni and the official press have compared it to Gaza), NA and the Afghan govt see them as useful and effective proxies in the otherwise unsympathetic tribal areas. Also the Toori living on the Border region help secure it from inflitrators. Kurrum border being close to Kabul.
The two Shia militias as stated above are well equipped. and well motivated called the Mahdi militia and Hizbullah.They are led by radical cleric Adil Hussein al Husseini.
The Sunnis turned to TTP militants. These Wikileaks cables detail the entire conflict which is pretty vicious on both sides by now. Thanks to the govt non intervention in 07 when Sunni villages were attacked(around Sadda and Baghazi) and the Sunni enclave of Bushera was cut off from the rest of kurrum.
THe non intervention probably stems from the Colonial era policy of keeping the Levies (Kurrams police force ) and Kurrum Militia a predominantly Shia force. At tit for tat response followed that included TTP and Hafiz Gul bahadur group supporting the Bangash tribes. The intrest of TTP is that Kurrum is 60 km from Kabul and so control of the Agency is an enticing prospect. (
09ISLAMABAD1671,ISLAMABAD 1464 ,KABUL 1733,PESHAWAR 11 ,PESHAWAR 477 ,PESHAWAR 248 )
The most dangerous flash point though is Karachi. With a large Shia population that has become increasingly militant and radical Both PPP and MQM have pandered to the radical sections of the society to instill a siege mentality that would benefit them electorally The govt failure of the setting up of Sunni sectarian militant outfits in the city and not able to stop the large scale murder of clerics on both sides can be understood when this political objective is known.The tit for tat killing have gone unchecked for 6 years.
The sense of siege is utilized for political ends. So opponents of PPP whether CJ,PTI PML N are made some how complicit in the failure of the govt in stopping the killing. (See any interview of Abdi)The other side is not engaged and banned as to marginalize it into radicalization and increasing violence.As this serves the ruling coalistion putpose quite well.
This is just the Religious side . On the secular Shia side as discussed else where is the increasing Shis tilt of PPP one of the countries largest political parties. This can be judged by one of its main blogs Critical PPP run by the activist Abul Nishapuri. Recent rally at Beanzir Shrine where PPP leader Aitazaz used the imagery of Kerbala to pay homage to BB is just a taste of this internal party narrative. He subscribes to the Shia Ascency(Shia Revival) framework developed by the likes of American intellectual Vali Nasr.
Which has been discussed else where in this forum.
