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Pakistan's Military Regime Has Mixed Feelings On "Islamization"
CAIRO, Feb 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Pakistani military regime vowed on Monday to take tough measures against religious activists and "radical" Muslim groups.
"No one will be allowed to display arms whether he belongs to a jihad or religious group, or force people to give donations for the purchase of weapons in the name of jihad," Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider told news agencies.
Haider said the Pakistani regime would not allow Islamic groups to call for jihad or to initiate a holy war in Karachi, or in Pakistan as a whole, and that it would take steps to restrict fundraising activities by Muslim activist groups.
"I am giving clear orders to the police that if they see anyone displaying arms, stop them, warn them, and if they don't listen, just shoot them," he said.
Haider, who held a meeting on law and order after the eruption of a recent round of cultist violence, told reporters he has ordered the removal of all banners urging Muslims to donate money for jihad, adding that, "The government will ensure strict enforcement of the ban."
Several Kashmiri groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir often ask for donations from local people in Pakistan for pursuing their struggle.
India has refused to resume talks with Pakistan to resolve a 53-year dispute on Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority province, unless it halts what it calls "cross-border terrorism" initiated from Pakistan.
India blames Pakistan for militarily supporting a 12-year resistance campaign in Kashmir that has claimed more than 34,000 lives since 1989. Pakistan rejects the charge, saying that it only offers moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris' "legitimate struggle for self determination."
In an interview with Newsweek International published online Monday, Pakistan's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, signaled out his willingness to hold talks with Indian leaders in a bid to solve the dispute over Kashmir.
"I am prepared to go to Delhi for talks if invited by the Indian government," Musharraf said. "I keep hearing noises through sources that they want to talk. But I will go only if I have a formal invitation. We want peace, but peace with honor and dignity."
The Newsweek interview went on to address other current issues within Pakistan.
Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in October 1999, also said that he is "committed to the transfer of power" to civilian control, stating that elections in Pakistan would be held in 2002.
"If you think our reforms can be completed by 2002, I say certainly they can't ... The [goal] is to put reforms in place, set the direction right, and then ensure that nobody reverses the process that you've set in motion. I'm very sure that by 2002, we will be able to set the direction right," he said.
When asked his opinion concerning expelling Islamic activist Osama Bin Laden from neighboring Afghanistan, Musharraf said a "middle way can be found".
"He can be sent to any third country. [That said,] it will not be a good idea to send him to Pakistan."
Musharraf sent a message to Afghanistan's Taliban leader Mullah Omar discussing matters indirectly related to bin Laden, including "terrorism" and religious extremism. Other issues in the message included those related to gender, drugs and the U.N. secretary-general's representative's mission. Musharraf said these five issues could change the image of Pakistan.
Speaking on the role of the U.N., Musharraf said, "They must not abort that [U.N. peace mission] just because the sanctions have been imposed. These are important issues."
Musharraf's government follows 10 years after the last martial government under Zia ul-Haq ended in 1988. Since then, four elected governments have collapsed on corruption charges.
"Every 10 years, when there's some kind of democratic upheaval, the Army comes in and says they will set everything right," says M. Ziauddin, the Islamabad bureau chief for the Dawn newspaper.
Newsweek magazine described Musharraf's goals as "profoundly practical".
Musharraf is to carry out reform on two levels, one at the national level, while the other is before the international community.
"That makes running Pakistan a challenge," Newsweek reported.
In addition to the host of problems above, Musharraf has got to pay off $38 billion in foreign debt, and build a tax base in a country where normally less than one percent of the people pay tax.
Moreover, Musharraf has to settle with India over the Kashmir dispute, which is an intensive financial and psychological pressure.
"Militant organizations have been training people, acquiring arms, and now are threatening to dictate to the state in almost all spheres of life," says I. R. Rehman, director of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission.
"This is a major threat," he said as Newsweek commented that conservative groups were aimed at the Islamization of Pakistan.
"If that happens, it won't be through the ballot box: the Jamaat-i-Islami, the country's oldest and largest Islamist party, has never won more than 3 percent of the vote," reported Newsweek.
"There's not a single [secular] political party that exists today with any ideology at all. The Islamists have a vision for Pakistan, and they've been working, slowly, to execute it," said Nighat Khan, head of a women's aid group.
In December, the Tanzeemul Ikhwan, an Islamic movement with hundreds of thousands of followers, vowed to march on Islamabad if the military government didn't implement Sharia'.
"Instead of taking them on, Musharraf's government sent a minister to talk with them; the group has now moved the deadline for Sharia' to March," Newsweek reported, hinting at Musharraf's tolerance towards Islamic movements.
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