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Hizbut Tahrir and the army
Army is loyal to ideology of Pakistan, few officers may be led astray because of their insulation from civil society.
Brigadier Ali Khan
The Pakistan Army has taken the right course by deciding that officers owing allegiance to banned organisations cannot be tolerated. A military court has sent to jail five military officers, including a brigadier, for membership of a terrorist organisation called Hizbut Tahrir (HUT) and for attempting to overthrow the political order in the name of religion. Brigadier Ali Khan got five years while Major Sohail Akbar, Major Jawwad Baseer, Major Inayat Aziz and Major Iftikhar have been jailed for three years, two years, and 18 months each, respectively. Brigadier Khan came into the focus of army investigators after al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad in May 2011. He called for the resignation of army and ISI chiefs over bin Laden’s killing and wrote letters to army generals on how to become self-reliant and cleanse the army of American influence.
The army is a part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Anyone who arrogates to himself the right to work towards overthrowing the constitutionally established military institution in favour of whatever personal programme is guilty of treason and cannot be allowed to operate freely.
UK-based HUT and its sister outfit al Muhajirun were allowed into Pakistan in the early 2000s under former General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s government. Their founder, Umar Bakri, a Syrian Arab preacher, has since been exiled from the UK. Among his followers were many Pakistanis belonging to the largest Muslim minority in Britain.
According to a former HUT activist, Majid Nawaz, the HUT was set-up in Pakistan in the early 1990s by Imtiaz Malik, a British Muslim and in 1999, a call was sent to British HUT members to move to Pakistan, which prompted the movement of some of the UK’s top quality activists to South Asia. At least 10 British activists were planted in each of Pakistan’s main cities. Egypt, Libya and Pakistan banned the HUT which was proscribed by Pakistan in 2004, following an alleged plot to assassinate former president Pervez Musharraf.
More recently, on October 22, 2009, the HUT was banned in Bangladesh for allegedly trying to destabilise the country. The home secretary of Bangladesh said the government “feared the HUT posed a serious threat to peaceful life”.
In his book, Islam under Siege: Living Dangerously in Post-Honour World (Polity Press 2003) Akbar S Ahmed, a former Pakistan’s High Commissioner in the UK, wrote:
“In Britain, Sheikh Umar Bakri’s Khilafah, the journal of the Hizbut Tahrir, attacked Jinnah as a kafir and an insult for a Muslim. Moreover, it accused Jinnah of being an enemy of God and of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) because Jinnah supported women, Christians and Hindus, and advocated democracy. Why, I asked myself, did they pick on Jinnah? Because, I concluded, Bakri saw him as a major ideological opponent. Significantly, after the American strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998, Bakri emerged in the media to claim that he represented Bin Laden in Europe” (P 113).
It is common knowledge in Pakistan that non-state actors have decided to shift their allegiance from Pakistan to terrorist organisations like al Qaeda. The Pakistan Army is fighting them in parts of our tribal areas and offering sacrifices in the shape of casualties to save Pakistan from the clutches of these terrorists. One deserter army officer, Major Haroon Ashiq, is in jail for working for al Qaeda, putting the nation on notice about the kind of danger Pakistan faces.
Misguided officers were moved more by blind emotion than by reason and information, otherwise they could not have joined an outfit that condemned the founder of Pakistan and the idea of Pakistan on the basis of which Pakistan has given itself a constitution. The army is overwhelmingly loyal to the ideology of Pakistan but a few officers may be led astray because of their insulation from civil society. In Pakistan, despite its efforts, the HUT has not won any support from an electorate that accepts democracy and votes for parties that accept the representative system operating in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 5th, 2012.
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Reader Comments (26)
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Let me quote a tweet I read today: “Brigadier Ali got 3 years in Jail for trying to overthrow his Army bosses. Silly fellow.. If he had overthrown the civilian government he could have gotten 9 years as President.”
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Hizb is islamic politcal party not terrorist organisation
Its Palestine based not UK based
Umar Bakri was chucked out of the party
Brig Ali only fault was that he questioned American Attack on Pakistani Soil…
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The writer is misguiding people with false and maligned information. HuT is working to establish the islamic system given to us by Our Prophet pbuh and anyone can be influenced by that idea, whether it be army men or a taxi driver or a school teacher. In Pakistan we have Anglo Saxon British constitution which has got nothing to do with islam.
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How come other officers having close contacts with banned terrorist organizations like LET, JEM, LEJ, HUM and TTP have not been touched ? Why are former Generals who are closely allied with terror groups not being touched ?
Trials should normally be held in open Courts so Public knows a sham trial when it sees one.
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What proof do you have that HT are a terrorist org?
HT is not based in UK, it has a wilayah in the UK.
HT has no ‘sister’ outfit, once again provide proof of this.
The rest, just like the above cited points, is a load of salacious crap, spouted by someone who lacks grammatical skills as well as lacking in historical context the work of a movement lead by evidence which is insurmountable to say the least.
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When are u going to cleanse the LeT followers ?
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Even though 3 years is not much for treason but it is a first in Pakistan’s history. Most military officials get away with multiple acts of high treason and live happily thereafter. It is about time the two elected houses of parliament bring the judges out on the stand and try them for aiding and abetting high treason. Once this is done, no judge or general would dare do that again.
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HUT is a terrorist entity that promotes violence to take over muslim countries.
Violence creates chaos which ultimately brings a country to its knees.
HUT is actually demanding something which has never existed. There many self proclaimed break away Caliphates through the Islamic history.
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@ Khan Jr
Its serious matter. No time to joke, our country is already under the occupation of US in the form of Zardari
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Great move by the army. Army need to expel all officers whose alliegence is to some mythic ummah and not to Pakistan. Why are all these discredited and terror prone organizations finding refuge in our country , be it Al Qaida , HUT etc etc .Recommend
to so called cobra commander: what are u talking abt. we r muslims first, our history is islam. And its the people who implement the devastating capitalists system who have taken refuge in our muslim country. in this muslim country everyone wants islam to govern their life. so to the alien factor in our society, get out from our country and let the sincere people come to the power.
And by the way do you think the army has the same respect as it has in the past? make an survey and get shocked.
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Well i just want to say one line for writer
Recheck your Research… false claims and stats
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@ET
Seriously? And tabbing it under ‘editorial’? One thing is misrepresenting facts that your readers have become accustomed to, a whole other deal when you start deliberately printing cooked up stories with gross factual fallacies. Quoting Omer Bakri from a book penned in 2003, at the very least your research staff could’ve looked up facts and dug out quotes from Bakri before 1996 because that’s when OB was kicked out by Hizb. If the intention was to malign HT, could’ve done a much better job by giving a spin to this party’s stance that ‘they are calling for an END to intelligence, military collaboration with US’ ‘They are calling for unification of muslim lands’ ‘They are advocating for a progressive, modern Islamic state’ and ‘They are mobilizing all spheres of society including army to attain these objectives’… A spin to these underlying rallying calls of the party will better appeal your audience, at the very least you’ll only be misrepresenting positions and not cooking up facts.
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Another, but perhaps more dangerous and fanatic Hamid Gul in making
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This is good and long due step by mallitary establishment
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@Musab:
@Nouman Younas:
@romey:
@[email protected]:
@Aamir Saleem:
@Abdullah:
Why don’t you all kindly book your next flight to Palestine and leave Pakistan alone! Us 180 million people are alhamdullilah Muslim and we do not need any more of you to tell us how to be a BETTER MUSLIM or a REAL MUSLIM. We will prefer Allah to be our JUDGE, not YOU!
That said, there are posters/stickers all over Islamabad and Lahore calling on Army men to rise up against their GHADDAR and KAFIR leadership. What do you think that is? Isn’t that calling for anarchy and fitna? And since it is your brand of people are nothing but lunatics which this land has to be cleansed off.
And it is funny how HT is allowed to operate in Western countries, I wonder where you get all the support from :) !
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@Usman Malik:
For your information according to many surveys more than 90 percent of Pakistanis see solution of all problems in Islam contrary to democracy and socialism…
And it’s minority who doesnt want Islam in there life’s…
So don’t tell majority to go… Learn to discuss and be tolerant.
As for HT not banned in some western countries is because of freedom of speech in there countries which again proves HT is not a terrorist organization…
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@Usman Malik:
Nicely put..
HT is a so called political organization. I thought all political organizations are local and takes part in their respective local systems. But HT has no electoral strength in any Muslim country and does not take part in any local system of government. They are shadowy militant organization which wants to violently overthrow Muslim governments so that they can implement their twisted ideology. Luckily in the global Muslim community they are not taken seriously and have no following . Anyone who creates mischief against Pakistan or it’s armed forces should be thrown into jail just like the discredited brigadier and his merry men.
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A revolution is indeed the need of the hour, but such ways and means are never workable and beneficial as were adapted by these fellows. Every person having a heart of true Muslim is concerned about the current pathetic state of their Muslim brothers in all over the world. But Islam is a religion of peace and an Islamic revolution is not possible unless this peace enters into every body’s hearts and minds, unless there is a realisation from within every Muslim of what and where we are and what and where we should be? Till then such efforts whether guided or misguided are not going to be entertained.
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@ Usman Malik
Seems like you have little or no knowledge about HT’s working, it’s methodology and modus operandi! HT is not a preaching group that cultures Muslim how to become better or real Muslim, rather it is a political party that aims at unifying the Muslim world under Islam. HT doesn’t enforces it’s views rigidly, rather initiates and interacts with society for a meaningful dialogue on practicalities of the way forward and presents it’s views addressing the pressing issues of the time. This struggle is purely intellectual and political, where ideas are it’s weapons and thoughts, its shield. Before jumping onto any conclusions, kindly go through the literature!
Plus, on the posters, kindly do your research and get the facts right. HT doesn’t declares anyone kafir that you wrongfully ascribed, though it does holds rulers accountable and call the people in power ‘traitors’. And if that’s something you don’t approve off, use other mediums to find out the rationale of HT for using this terminology!
It is funny that though a handful people may point fingers on HT as to why it is allowed to work in western world, whereas the ruling elite they cherish so much openly works in cahoots with the Yankees and Brits be it intelligence-sharing, funds-raising, jointly-operating and so forth…
Seems like you should book a flight back to your cocos island with your imaginative land of the self-proclaimed righteous nationalists, having not a clue about the political reality or the logical rationality.
All being said, you’re right; only Allah is the one to judge!
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Usman Malik is posing like gilani who said in interview to british journalist why not more than half of the population leave the country… I have a suggestion for Usman to leave for US to enjoy the fruits of democracy and capitalism and leave us to implement Islam here.
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@ usman malik
Y ru so confused man ?? who has funded you hahaha??
HT is global and it was founded in Palestine. It is not a party for Palestinian but all Muslims.. & all the commentators here who support it are purely Pakistani by lineage.. It operates in around 50 countries.. It’s not banned in Lebanon, Indonesia, Tunisia, Malaysia, Sudan, etc… Now start wondering again.. who supports HT.. Indonesia or Lebanon?:D
Anarchy and fitna is what the current leadership is creating.. uprooting them and replacing with islamic system is renaissance… I wonder if thieves kill/drone children and innocents alike.. operate and weaken u clandestinely (reymond davis), install a system breading agents and still you say its fitna to stand against those people who let these thieves (U.S, etc) into ur house and ROB ur everything.. “EITHER UR PART OF CHANGE NOW OR PART OF PROBLEM”..Current system (capitalism) has failed..Caliphate is coming insha allah… & we say to those who are doing propagandaRecommend
@observer
A basic requirement for any political and governance system is a well defined and peaceful mechanism of transfer of power and preventing itself from being transformed into monarchy. where Caliphate stands on this basic requirement !!??
Do you want Pakistan to have a system where every transfer of power is followed by assassination and anarchy and eventually transforms into monarchy which exactly what happened in the history. then what would be the difference from now and then!!???
The glory of Islam in the time of Caliphate was not because of an stable system but it was four individuals who were sincere, dedicated and applied their utmost efforts to run the country. once those four were assassinated the system collapsed into monarchy.
Before being deceived and mislead by some religious baboons like HuT one should first look into the history.
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@The Facts:
It must be clear that system is the problem…. Read history again….
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“The Khilafah is the mother of all obligations” – Imam Abu Hanifah
Seeing as Khilafah is compulsory in Islam, and these other man made systems are failing, perhaps we should support such movements so long as they remain peaceful and do not threaten innocent civilians.
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@EVERYONE
supposedly Caliphate is created, based in Pakistan, from where you will find the Caliph? Only in Pakistani there are Deobandis, Beralvis, Ahl-e-Hadees, the green turbans, the brown turbans, the rainbow turbans and Shias. Now if you look at the international picture you will find atleast 5 more sects. Most of the fanatics, including those from HuT won’t agree that Shias are Muslims. So what’s more important than enacting Caliphate is finding a person who is acceptable to every one.
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