Agencies struggle to dismantle Hizb ut-Tahrir network
“Yes, we are at it… making efforts to dismantle whatever means they [HuT activists] are using to communicate with society and within the outfit,” the official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity. “There has not been any major breakthrough yet.”
The official said that the organisation’s presence outside Pakistan was a key factor hindering the country’s spy agencies’ attempts to break links of HuT activists among themselves and with other people.
“It seems that the communication network is being operated from countries like the United Kingdom or some other European states where the outfit is not banned… that makes all the difference,” said the official in an apparent attempt to justify the so called ‘failure’.
The revelation came three months after Brigadier Ali Khan, a serving army officer, and some other unnamed personnel were detained for their alleged links with the HuT — an organisation that seeks to establish a caliphate in Pakistan by overthrowing the democratic government.
Subsequently, intelligence agencies launched a countrywide crackdown on HuT activists and some of its activists – allegedly the masterminds behind its ‘highly sophisticated cyber warfare’ – were picked up from different parts of the country.
The arrest last month of a telecom engineer, Osama Hanif, from Islamabad was part of the campaign to dismantle the organisation’s technological network that still operates freely without any hindrance. The official also confirmed that some of the arrests of HuT activists were linked to efforts to block its communication but refused to give the exact number.
The HuT uses many platforms on the internet, cellular phones and written materials to send their message across despite a ban on its activities.
“Had it been an easy task, Americans would have contained al Qaeda’s cyber jihad… they are still operating freely 10 years after the [9/11] attack,” he explained.
Laxity and incapability
But experts who have been monitoring extremist outfits’ rise and fall in Pakistan appear to be differing in opinion from the official version.
“Their [agencies] focus seems to be countering them through human intelligence… they need to concentrate on modern cyber techniques,” said security analyst Amir Rana, who runs the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), a think tank in Islamabad.
He, however, agreed that the fact that HuT was banned only by Pakistan and not the rest of the world aggravated the problem.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2011.
COMMENTS (40)
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@Pasha: rerrorist ! I think you mean the PK american puppet gove . as for Hizb ut tahrir .. we are for Islam to rule .. is that terrorism > we go about it by Dawah .. Talking and convoncing and standing tall against The Tyrans .. With Bare Hands .. Is that terrorism Happy ramadhan My Bro or Sist
@asdf
If you are a muslim then take a look at this:
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ The Religion before Allah is Islam [3:19]
اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا ۖ لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ They (Jews and Christians) took their Rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah (by obeying them in things wish they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah), and (they also took as their lords) Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and Christians) were commanded (in the Torah and the Gospel) to worship none but one Ilah (God i.e. Allah), La Ilaha Illa Huwa (None has the right to be worshiped but He). Praise and glory is to Him(for above is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him). [9:31]
So in islam the sovereignty belongs to Allah (swt), so there really isn't much space for man-made laws.
If you're a non-muslim, then you should consider an alternative to worshipping what man made, namely the One who made man.
@Covered for Allah "How shamefull that you call yourself muslims and then claim that you can think of a better system to rule by or that Allah swt’s system will not bring harmony into your lands!"
Here is the loophole in your logic. Allah is the creator of all there is. Allah created everything including the secular laws and other religions and other belief systems. No one belief system has a monopoly on Allah.
@Covered for Allah "Islam is good enough for your homes but not your societies? Do you believe in part of the book and reject the rest??"
Yes, this is what is it about. The sooner you will also realize it, the better it will be for society and the world.
The brave government of Pakistan strikes again! they can’t even make their own definitions and have taken western secular definitions as their own, the West tells them, shariah is bad and these so called muslim leaders agree and jump on the bandwagon to badmouth anything and everything Islamic. To those who say that ideas of HT are dangerous for Pakistan I say these half hearted muslim leaders are dangerous for Pakistan and every other muslim country.
Do you turn to America and Britain to teach you the fiqh of salah? Do you turn to them to give you rulings regarding Ramadan? Then why is it that you so called muslims refuse to accept that islam has a political system to offer too? Islam is good enough for your homes but not your societies? Do you believe in part of the book and reject the rest??
And those who think the Khilafah is but a word; I suggest you check you Imaan, the khilafah is the Quran and sunnah in implementation, how can the quran’s implementation JUST be mere words then? How shameful that you instil so much faith in man made laws, and yet you reject the very laws of the Creator who gave you life! How shamefull that you call yourself muslims and then claim that you can think of a better system to rule by or that Allah swt’s system will not bring harmony into your lands!
Albeit a weak but we do have a democracy ... If any one want the so called Khilafat (which is not more than just a word and has no practical usage) they can have a political party and go to election and as its a Muslim country IF they get voted they are then free to change what ever system we have .. If these criminals (HuT, JuD, LJ etc etc) want to impose things on rest of us they should be dealt with iron hand .. Let there be shoot on sight order for all these criminals who form such organizations against the constitution. Either vote to change the system or sit aside and feed your family. These crooks don't even know how economy works .. and how they will run the government and pay millions of employees working in govt departments let alone working for development ... They just want to destroy our country and when they start killing innocent people rest of the world will come to get them and just like TTP they will run to another neighboring country to take refuge and then destroy them too.
Unless you undo the 2 nation theory and change the character of the Pakistani nation from a Islamic one to a Secular one, like India and Bangladesh are today, you will not be treating the root cause.
@Realist, my post was for you.
The level playing field doesn't exist. One can propagate the teaching of prohet muhammed (pbuh) and not vice versa. There is another option to "Deleting islamic history" to those who can think only black and white. Look at islamic history in context and with critical reflection.
I guess some comments are being thrown out for no reason. I had written earlier. That in a society if glorification of certain concepts (like infalliblity of Quran and prohethood of Muhammed(pbuh) ) is allowed , then the criticism of these concepts should also be allowed to have a level playing field. You can not censor the criticism and just accept the other point of view. That is just propaganda.
Islam; an idea who's time has come. Hizb-ut-Tahrir is working for the noble cause of 'working to establish Islam' on earth. Insha'allah with Allah's(swt) help, we will implement this obligation, an obligation which is long overdue. In the absence of Islamic system we cannot claim that we worship Allah(saw). This reality requires Muslims to work for the complete implementation of the laws of Islam. We cannot remain in denial and pretend that things will change by themselves. In addition some people think our condition is bad but we are an independent nation atleast. Iqbal's poem put things in perspective:
Mullah ko jo hai Hind mein sajde ki ijazat Nadan yeh samjhta hai ke Islam hai azad! [Iqbal]
Indeed Allah(swt) will not change the condition of any nation until they(collectively) work to change themselves. It is time to join this noble struggle, a struggle which Rasul(saw) undertook after the naboowat(revelation).
I would suggest them to monitor social media.
Our facebook feeds are filled with HT propaganda to revolt and rise up against the very idea of Pakistan.
Postman is so right!!
Wow....HuT members and fanboys flood the comments section. The importance of a destructive idea or philosophy can not be downplayed. This organization advocates a revolt to bring about a Khilafat system which has never been explained, except that magically everything is going to be great, and rivers of honey will start to flow once their "khalifa" is in place. And since they target colleges and schools, they have a good internet presence. So, yes, it won't be easy to stop them, but it's very necessary.
Can you name me a single militant group that was dismantled by the agencies in Pakistan ?
I met some Hut activists and i found this organization as non-militant..
Bringing revolution in Pakistan while sitting outside :D
seems like pakistan getting closer to egypt.
Why try to dismantle hizb ul tahrir? what did they do? I guess they're a big threat to apostates.
Clearly Hizb ut Tahrirs ideas and objectives are becoming a REAL threat and a reality to Muslims world, only when this is the case would a desperate government attempt to ban and dismantle a peaceful group. Ideas from Islam are just too much to handle for the dictatorial and weak government of Pakistan. The more you suppress the truth, the stronger it's message becomes!
Dear All ! There is no issue at all why HuT is operating in Pakistan or rest of the world. The issue is no uniformed personnel is allowed to join any sort of organisation what may come. If these officers were so interested in bringing a Khilafa Movement they should have left the Army and contested for the right path (so called right for them). In no circumstances any military establishment (including US,UK etc) allows its uniformed men to be part of bringing mutiny in their country. If this HuT is on the right footings then why they are preaching under cover through SMS and brochures and not openly declaring their intentions. If someone is serious in bringing this country on right path then first fight with the evils which are more lethal like corruption,poverty,education etc.
Looks like this post is under-attack from HuT as well . . . under the cover of "peaceful" activity HuT provies ideological and intelletual cover to TERRORIST org in PAK and around the world. They spread hate in a cleverly cloacked text , pamplets and at other cyber platforms.
Wow, the Traitor Govt. really doesn't learn do they. Why don't they look at countries that have fought and harassed Hizb ut Tahrir from the beginning. It has only made HT bigger and stronger. HT's strenghth lies in its Islamic Ideology and Discipline. No one on earth can ''crackdown'' Hizb ut Tahrir.
Why? Because then you'll have to ''crackdown'' Islam.
As an Indian I can clearly see HT's ideology is threat to any country. It's slow death poison currently mixed with sugarcoated peaceful movement. HT does not believe in constitution of pakistan so it's biggest threat for pakistan. Just read carefully about HT's views. Don't get carried away as innovative. Try to understand the ground realities and current civil structures. Find out the weakness. You will see HT's ideology is just like drug. They have purposefully targeted educated people to get the massive gateway. Every educated person does not have complete knowledge of civil studies. Leave this job to the expert I am sure they will thrash the HT's ideology. Just because in your country, democracy is not allow to settle does not mean democracy is worst system.
Can you ever dismantle or subjugate ideas with force? Ideas can only be countered through other ideas, a department in which the government machinery lacks miserable.
Huh! What a non-sense! an organisation working in more than 40 Muslim states in the world and you are trying to stop them through arrests! Don't you know there history in Tajikistan, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Jordan and Libya! These guys are peaceful and they carry the idea in the very core of their hearts. You can arrest them, you can kill them, you can torture them .. But you can't stop them !!
Our agencies have a forte in creating monsters (Lashkars, political splinter groups, etc) and mess (operations against its own innocent civilians), how is it expected from them to dismantle a trouble making entity.
They are experts in picking & roughing up civilians, all their might, resources, power and competence is meted out at the Pakistani commoner. God save us from their artificial intelligence.
Bees are attracted to the Honey, HIZBees to the Nuclear Bombs.
Bees are attracted to Honey, Hizbees to the nuclear bombs. HT's strategy is to stay peaceful as long as it gives them protection from persecution..the day they get the power is gonna be the day they give up peace.
HuT is deemed a terrorist organization because it terrorizes the establishment (red the feudal-army-biradari nexus).
Mr. Amir Rana, the so called security analyst, What is your problem, is that what your crap democracy has thought you? If stopping Islam was that easy Islam would have died in Makah. Despite efforts of people, like you, at that time, they could not do it and failed shamelessly. Hence rulers who are following the footsteps of Quraish-e-makka will face the same disgrace as they did.
It is the right to bring the idea of khilafah on the table and discuss it objectively then to suppress it brutally!!!!!
“… and khilafah will re-establish on the method of prophethood” (Masnad Ahmed)
allegedly the masterminds behind its ‘highly sophisticated cyber warfare’
"You are forgetting the idea that every single unit works as a whole"
What nonsense. Someone should tell this government - you dont fight ideas by banning them, or arresting them or torturing them or deleting them. You fight ideas with ideas and if you do not have a better idea then let the other idea take place. Step aside You the government of Zardari!
...there is a saying in Punjabi, that sometimes you cannot open (a knot) with even your teeth, which you tied with your own hands....this is a similar exercise
After all the cowardly tactics and terrorism these mercenaries have failed, they think they can do anything and everything through any means necessary.
i agree with realist to some extent. HuT have not been really known to be linked with the terrorists. One can only be coutered by COUNTER ARGUMENTS and not by force. I dont agree with HuT at alot of points, but i still believe that they should not have been banned as atleast they have the right vision to unite Islam. No matter how vague the idea or the vision is..
"HuT was banned only by Pakistan and not the rest of the world aggravated the problem." I think this precisely is the problem. Just let them be. They are not known to be linked to any kind of terrorist organization; so why ban them in the first place? Just because they are voicing an opinion? An opinion that does not in any way goes against the teachings of the majority's religion? Counter them through arguments. Banning them would not suppress their voice. Their message is after all right their in Islamic history. What is Pakistan going to do? Delete Islamic history?
What a useless exercise. How can you ban 'thoughts' and 'ideas'? HuT pales in comparison to the hate-filled propaganda that our sectarian based organization spew out. Stop that. If you can.