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| Lal Masjid standoff: Experts keenly watching Kashmir fallout | | |
ET REPORTER
Jammu, July 10: With the Lal Masjid stand off refusing to end and Pakistan being caught in its own web, the security experts are watching with keenness the fallout of the present crisis and future trends of the import of terror into Jammu and Kashmir .
The events unfolding over the last few days have given the security experts here a better idea about the identity of the various militant organisations inside the sprawling complex which have obvious Kashmir connections for being a Jehad factory,
It is now generally held that some members are affiliated with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, formerly known as Lashkar-i-Taiba. Few of the militants also belong to the now defunct Harkat-i-Jihad-i-Islami of the controversial Jihadi leader, Qari Saifullah.
The biggest grouping of militants belongs to the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed as the complex always has always had close links with the group headed by Maulana Masood Azhar. Moulana Masood Azhar, it may be mentioned here, was one of the chief terror operatives in Jammu and Kashmir and was cooling heels in the Kotbhalwal Jail before released in exchange of the IA hijacked passengers in Kandhar.
Analysing the standoff, a top security expert said, " violence in Kashmir has been engineered by these groups in the past. But if the establishment is firm and focused on putting down these elements, then I don't think they are going turn on the Kashmir tap".
Unless Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf shows resolve, the storming of the Lal Masjid would be only a small manifestation of the bigger game that will play out in the coming weeks, resulting in the disintegration of social structures, say Indian strategic experts.
'For the last two months, there have been attacks on the security establishment and the police and all this is directly connected with the Lal Masjid,' Ajay Sahni, director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi was quoted as saying by the agencies.
'The Islamist radicals are trying violently to renegotiate the distribution of power and in turn challenge the status quo. This uprising may be put down, but more violence is bound to accompany this action. 'We will have to see how far Musharraf goes to crack down on these elements,' Sahni said.
Troops stormed the Lal Masjid in the heart of the Pakistani capital after talks with Islamist radicals there broke down early Tuesday. Reports say that eight Pakistani Rangers and at least 50 militants were killed in the assault.
Another expert in Jammu said that the army action in Islamabad would have no significant fallout on India and there would be no increased levels of violence in Kashmir . He added, "I don't think violence is going to be stepped up. On the other hand, the Pakistan establishment is getting a taste of its own medicine like the way we suffered through various terrorist acts".
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