By Theodore Shoebat
Islamist terrorists in India, members of the Jamaat-e-Islami jihadist organization, are recruiting Islamists to fight against the Indian government. One recruit even declared:
“We Muslims will set India on fire … We will kill them and blow them up. I hope we will win this fight InshaAllah.”
As we read in a report from Samaa:
Eleven-year-old Aamir Khan is homeless, doesn’t know who his parents are and doesn’t remember much of what happened to him when he was younger. But of one thing he is certain: the future. He is going to fight a war against India.
“We Muslims will set India on fire,” he said. “We will kill them and blow them up. I hope we will win this fight InshaAllah.”
Aamir is one of hundreds of men, women and children, young and old, who have signed up as volunteers to fight, at a registration camp set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami religio-political party in Karachi.
These volunteers are reacting to a series of events triggered on February 14 which nearly brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. Tensions were ratcheted up when a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian soldiers in Indian-Administered Kashmir’s Pulwama. This was deemed the deadliest attack since 2002.
In response, Indian planes violated Pakistani airspace. A day later, Pakistan shot down two Indian planes. One plane crashed in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir and its pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, was captured. However, in an attempt to de-escalate, Pakistan returned the pilot to the Indian authorities as a “gesture of peace” and Prime Minister Imran Khan urged for talks.
This fortnight’s riveting and nerve-wracking developments were significant for the Jamaat-e-Islami for whom Kashmir has long been a cause and a rally cry.
At the JI registration camp at Hasan Square, an office-bearer, Kabir Ahmed, took down the names and phone numbers of volunteers. “We need women and blood donors,” he explained. “Women have given their names as volunteers to protect buildings, bridges and defense installations.” They were preparing people with medical and rescue training in case war broke out with India. People who signed up were told that the party would contact them for training and they may be asked to work with rescue teams if the need arose. Of course, he added, it was fine if India “freed” Kashmir through dialogue but if the war were necessary, then they were ready to fight.
“Over 30,000 people have registered in Karachi alone,” said Hafiz Bilal, the president of the youth wing who happens to be a former student of the University of Karachi. The youth wing, with over 10,000 members, had organized the volunteer drive and set up camps in the city. “We take their names, cell numbers and they all are ready to protect the country with Jazba-e-Jihad (passion for jihad) and Jazba-e-Shahadat (passion for martyrdom).”