The Jamaatud Dawa (JD), believed to be
Pakistan’s largest pro-jihad party, has split, with
violent clashes likely over party assets.
The breakaway faction, which has taken
the name Khairun Naas (KN), consists largely of members
of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT). Some of them have
taken an oath to kill Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the head of
the JD, sources told Daily Times.
Both sides are now plotting how to take
control of party assets, such as the Markaz-e-Taiba in
Muridke, Markaz Qadsia in Lahore and other valuable properties.
The leaders of the breakaway faction have
accused Hafiz Saeed of nepotism, diverting the party from
its original objective and the unfair distribution of
funds. The Khairun Naas was also unhappy at Saeed’s
second marriage to a fallen comrade’s widow.
The differences within the JD arose five
years ago when Hafiz Saeed appointed his brother-in-law
Maulana Abdul Rehman Makki, then a teacher at Medina University
in Saudi Arabia, the foreign affairs head of the party
as well as his second-in-command.
Prof Zafar Iqbal, one of the founders
of the JD and head of its education department, felt he
deserved the post as the most senior member. Prof Iqbal,
an Arrain, also accused Hafiz Saeed of promoting the “Gujjar
baradri” from which he belonged. Hafiz married his
son Talha Saeed to Makki’s daughter.
Members of the JD also complained that
Hafiz Saeed’s son-in-law Khalid Waleed, the media
head of the party, had relations with car smugglers and
was damaging the party’s image.
Hafiz Saeed married the 28-year-old widow
of Abu Musa, who was killed in Srinagar, two years ago.
They had three daughters and two sons. Abu Musa was a
Shia who was persuaded to convert to Ahle Hadith by Hafiz
Saeed’s speeches.
When Prof Iqbal and other JD council members
objected that the second marriage did not suit the party
head, Hafiz Saeed objected to Prof Iqbal’s second
marriage to a young Baltistani girl.
“The dispute was personal, but spilled
over into party affairs,” sources said, adding that
Hafiz Saeed’s second marriage seemed to usher in
a trend, with several other party members marrying a second
time, including Yahya Mujahid.
Hafiz Saeed also came under fire in December
2001, when he renamed the Markaz Dawatul Arshad the Jamaatud
Dawa from and separated the Lashkar-e-Taiba infrastructure
from the party.
Many of his colleagues including LT chief
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi disapproved of the decision because
this put the JD in control of all funds collected from
abroad and locally.
The dissenters felt that since donations
were collected in the name of jihad and the mujahideen,
the JD, which would only be a preaching organisation,
had no right to the money. However, Pakistani jihadi groups
were under intense pressure from the government at the
time because of the September 11 attacks and the invasion
of Afghanistan, and the opposition was muted.
The Khairun Naas was established with
the support of most the Lashkar-e-Taiba and a majority
within the party. The KN’s leadership consists mostly
of LT commanders including Mr Lakhvi, JD Lahore head Abu
Shoiab, Punjab head Abu Naser Javed, Abdul Qadir and Saifullah
Mansoor. Prof Iqbal, publications chief Ameer Hamza, and
JD seminaries head Maulana Abdul Sallam Bhatvi are also
supporting them.
A JD member said Abu Shoiab was once a
favourite of Hafiz Saeed’s. “When Abu Shoiab
was accused in a murder case, it was the Hafiz who paid
the qisas and had him released,” the JD member said.
According to sources, Prof Iqbal is currently
in Saudi Arabia seeking the support of Saudi clerics and
the party’s structure will be announced when he
returns, probably with him at the top.
“Khairun Naas and Lashkar-e-Taiba
are basically the same, but the LT is banned in Pakistan
so we adopted the name Khairun Naas,” a member of
the new party said.
He claimed that the Markaz-e-Taiba in
Muridke and the party’s assets in Azad Kashmir were
under KN control. He said the Al-Dawa Model Schools, seminaries,
hospitals, health centres and all property in Sindh were
also under their control because the heads of those institutions
were with them.
The sources said that the KN’s claim
to the centre at Muridke was strong because of Mr Lakhvi.
Mr Lakhvi had close ties with the Arab Mujahideen and
his sister was married to an Arab, Abdul Rehman Sherahi.
It was Mr Sherahi who purchased the land on which the
centre is built and gifted it to the JD. Mr Sherahi was
arrested in Renala Khurd two years ago for connections
with Al Qaeda. “No one can claim the Muridke Markaz
except Lakhvi, because it was established by his efforts,”
an aide of his said.
“There is no one left in the JD
with practical experience of jihad,” a KN leader
said.
Hafiz Saeed retains the support of Maulana
Abdul Rehman Makki, Saifullah Qasoori, Yhaya Mujaheed
and party officials from the NWFP.
A JD leader, requesting anonymity, claimed
that the KN was established by the agencies to weaken
the party. He said Hafiz Saeed was under pressure from
the government not to preach jihad and minimise his activities
but had not compromised even though there was the threat
that the JD would be banned.
“The government might now ban the
Jamaat because all its agents have left the party,”
he said.
According to the sources, Hafiz Saeed
and his close aides are currently in Dewal Shriaf near
Muzaffarabad and meeting with militants to recruit. The
sources said Hafiz Saeed’s top priority was to form
a new militant organisation, not only for jihad, but also
to compete with his former colleagues.
