A set of guidelines for
militants, called a hidayat nama (or book of instructions),
that was recently seized from a Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Alalmi
(HMA) militant, instructs them not to divulge information
if they are arrested, avoid meeting family members, not
keep organisational literature and militants’ addresses
on their person while they travel, always use code names,
not to discuss operational matters with family and not
to rely on Punjabis, among other directions. The booklet
in Urdu and Arabic, Daily Times learned, was seized from
HMA militant Murtaza, who was arrested from Karachi a
few weeks ago. Murtaza was reportedly in charge of supplying
weapons to militants in Pakistan and was in contact with
Al Qaeda. The booklet also instructs militants on how
to conduct themselves in public and what measures to take
before and after they are arrested. It starts with the
Islamic concept of martyrdom and says this should be every
Muslim’s foremost goal. “Don’t discuss
personal matters with your companions. You are chosen
in the way of Allah and family relationships and friendships
should become insignificant in the way of God”,
the booklet directs. The intriguing direction to militants
- especially Arab and Afghan – against trusting
Punjabis is thus explained; “Don’t rely on
Punjabis if on mission or in transit, because most intelligence
officials are from Punjab”. The booklet also instructs
militants to be law-abiding, especially as far as vehicular
documents are concerned, and not to quarrel with traffic
police and police at check posts. The booklet also instructs
militants not to lose their temper if lawmen insult members
of their family, a routine tactic the booklet says law
enforcement officials employ. An observer told Daily Times
the instructions seemed similar to standard operating
procedures that intelligence agents followed. amir rana.
