Book review : Inside the Web

Mir and Rana give an authentic and disturbing account of the nature of the Pakistani state.
The True Face of Jehadis: Inside Pakistan's Network of Terror, Amir Mir, Roli Books, Rs. 395.
The Seeds of Terrorism, Mohammed Amir Rana, New Millennium, £15.
THERE have been several prominent Pakistanis like Tariq Ali, Hussain Haqqani, and Hassan Abbas who have in the past written critically and honestly about their country, Pakistan's politicians and military leaders. But they wrote from the relative safety of a life abroad and away from the long arms of a very touchy establishment in Islamabad/ Rawalpindi. This is not to detract from the excellence of their critical works but what two young Pakistani journalists, Amir Mir and Mohammed Amir Rana, have done is to write from Pakistan, not just about Pakistan but about that hallowed institution, the Army, along with its handmaiden, the ISI, and their role in spreading and nurturing terror in the region.
Actually, Rana's latest book, The Seeds of Terrorism, is a follow up to an earlier book, The Gateway to Terrorism — both had originally been written in Urdu but the translated versions were brought from the U.K. Mir's book, The True Face of Jehadis: Inside Pakistan's Network of Terror, was originally published by Mashal in Pakistan. Both have relied mostly on Pakistani sources — published and otherwise. Rana quotes extensively from earlier published articles, so portions of the book may not be very surprising to those who have been watching Pakistan closely.
Frightening accounts
Mir, a prominent investigative journalist, unravels each jehadi organisation by jehadi organisation while Rana, another journalist with The Friday Times, gives descriptions of a huge jehadi phalanx moving against civil society in Pakistan and the neighbourhood. Both the books put together, or even by themselves, provide the reader with a frightening account of the nexus between Pakistan's intelligence agencies, jehad's leaders and the terrorists masquerading as freedom fighters. The intricacies of the webs that have been woven over time and space, the reach and the plans would astound any reader.
Mir worries that Pakistan's involvement in the two jehads in Afghanistan and Pakistan has damaged Pakistani civil society. He says that given all the jehadi activities, "Pakistan's tentative quest for a non-discriminatory liberal democracy continues to unravel. Indeed, the ideology of fundamentalist Islam appears to remain at the heart of the Musharraf establishment strategy of national political mobilisation and consolidation, despite the talk of enlightened moderation". He is right and as a neighbour, India should worry and not get surprised each time talk of peace is accompanied by a retrograde step.
Rana's book traces events from September 11 onwards and the anger and resentment in the higher echelons in Rawalpindi following the famous American ultimatum and yet there are claims made by some jehadi organisations like Al Badr that the Americans were encouraging some of the jehadis to do a tour of duty in Chinese Xinjiang along with the Uighurs. So much for the global war on terror.
Mir has referred to the famous Javed Hashmi episode. Hashmi, President of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, is doing a 23-year prison term for having the audacity to circulate a letter, in 2003, written by a group of Army officers in which they expressed resentment against the top Army leadership. Hashmi had done the unthinkable yet one year later Mir and Rana had the courage to publish their books. They have both been harassed but not yet imprisoned. The question then is — has the Army lost its grip in the space of a year, or is this a grand confessional from a strong group within the Army that wants the murky details to be exposed and feels it can challenge traditionally held views? Does this have Musharraf's approval? Or, is it that the establishment just does not care any more?
Long journey ahead
Both these books and Rana's first book ought to be read not only by those in the business of countering Pakistan's designs on India but also by the average Indian, especially those who feel that peace with Pakistan is at hand. Mir and Rana give an authentic, readable and disturbing account of the nature of the Pakistani State as it has become under successive military dictators or where foreign policy has been hijacked by the Army. It is when one reads these books and possibly re-reads them that it becomes clear that merely wishing for peace with Pakistan is not enough. The journey away from jehad and hatred is long and arduous and for the present any talk of peace emanating from across the border is more an opportunistic call from the junta that rules.
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