Weekly The News International
June 30, 1991
MUSLIMS RISE AGAINST THEMSELVES
Amanullah Sial
Q: How do you view the situation in Jhang?
A: The present lawlessness in Jhang has been created after the murder of Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. The Shias had no hand in it. In fact, the organization called Anjuman Sipah Sahabah (ASS) has been involved in underground activities for quite some time. It is actually assisted by some foreign power which provides it with financial help and protection.
Our government faced foreign pressure when a few ASS people were arrested, and as a result they were released in spite of murder charges against them. They implicated Shias in Jhangvi’s murder. We had peace meetings but the ASS never allowed peace in the meetings. They charged four persons of Jhangvi’s murder including my brother, Faizullah. We produced them before the police and he is still under arrest, despite lack of proof against him. Officials tell us that it is a political matter and it should be resolved politically.
In the 1990 polls, I lost against Esraul Qasimi. That made me think they would stay off our backs. But they did not.
Sadegh Ganji was killed by the ASS according to a plan. They actually admitted the crime publicly and said they had killed Ganji because he had visited Jhang before Jhangvi’s murder.
Q: Did Ganji indeed visit Jhang at that time?
A: Perhaps, but we do not know about it. Anyway, the ASS said they believed that Ganji was involved in Jhangvi’s murder and that is why the ASS killed him. Haq Nawaz Sheikh, a peon at the District Committee, told his friends before leaving for Lahore that he would return to the city in a Pajero, because he had struck a goldmine. They implicated Shias in all these affairs because this is their way of keeping the issue alive. They create terror to win elections just as they maintained terror in the 1988 and 1990 polls. Before the by-election they refused to cooperate with a peace committee, saying that they would enter into a dialogue after the polling was over.
An activist of ASS, Anwar, was directly involved in a bank dacoity in Jhang, in close cooperation with some criminals from Sukkur. Kotwali police arrested a few ASS persons in that connection but Maulana Esraul Qasimi had them released. He also promised to produce Anwar after the by-election knowing that he was involved in the dacoity.
They have even turned against the present government inspite of the fact that Esarul Qasimi won the elections on IJI’s nomination. They still say that they will not let anyone else win the elections. They also declare that no matter who forms the government, they will avenge the murder. I can’t say whether Sheikh Iqbal really had a hand in Esarul Qasimi’s murder or not. But he has always been a man of the establishment. He became famous for his ‘goondagardi’ in the city. Now the ASS people say they are even bigger ‘goondas’ than anyone else.
Q: Will you take part in the coming by-election?
A: I shall abide by the decision of my party. But I demand that no elections should be held in Jhang until peace returns.
Q: Did Allama Sajid Naqvi really visit Jhang to support Sheikh Iqbal, as alleged by the ASS?
A: He did visit Jhang, but he opposed both the candidates in the by-election. It’s not true that he met Sheikh Iqbal at my place. He has never visited my house. I swear Allama has never even met Sheikh Iqbal. He dislikes Sheikh Iqbal because he had been helping the ASS before. Allama has been implicated in the case to pressurize the Shias with regard to Sadegh Ganji’s murder case proceedings. I believe that Iran is a brother country and it has offered oil and other trade facilities to Pakistan in this crucial hour. I condemn Ganji’s murder and demand justice.
Q: Don’t you think that your being a Shia went against you in the elections?
A: Yes, they fought elections on the basis of the Shia Sunni conflict and they used this card against me. But then, nobody else was prepared to stand against them.
Q: Do you think violence will continue in Jhang?
A: Yes. If the administration thinks it can stop terrorism in Jhang just by arresting a few proclaimed offenders, it is mistaken. The ASS and its general secretary, Yousuf Mujahid, used the proclaimed offenders as long as they could. They financed them and provided them with weapons. Maulana Esarul Qasimi distributed 60 rifles in Jhang city himself. This was admitted by a criminal, Khanu Gadi, before the DC and SP in Mochiwala police station. It is on record. But now many new criminals have been produced by the ASS. And more will emerge if strict action is not taken against them. It is a very organized body and it receives foreign help. They are stronger than anyone can imagine. I am on their hit list, yet I have been facing up to them for the past one year.
Q: Through use of force?
A: Yes, there is no other way to exist here. We do it in self-defense. The administration refused to protect me saying that the police could not operate in the narrow lanes. These days I am almost in hiding in this small village of Kharkan Hassan Khan, where we are now. My house in the city is situated in a very congested locality, surrounded by our “Muslim” brothers. They attacked my house from all four corners.
Q: It is said that some zamindars are also involved in the flourishing business of guns and drugs. Is that right?
A: Not a single zamindar is involved in this business now. Previously, a zamindar of Garh Maharaja Zulqarnain was involved, but he is being detained these days. They also accused me of dealing in guns and drugs, and the official agencies held a thorough probe against me. I told the IG that if he ever got a single piece of evidence against me, I would surrender. The probe was ordered on the complaint of Syeda Abida Hussain. I allowed the officials to check all my assets and offered them full cooperation. I even said I was ready to exchange my assets with those owned by Abida Hussain.
Q: Do you feel unsafe in the city?
A: Yes, if I go there, they will burn my house. Though the administration has already allowed me to take measures in self-defense, I absent myself to enable the tensions to recede. My presence in the city could provoke my people.
Jhang is unsafe for everyone. The ASS has been threatening the local councilors. They demanded that they resign their councilorships in favor of ASS otherwise their houses would be burnt down.
Q: It is said that the Imamia Students Organization also possess illegal arms. Is that correct?
A: I wouldn’t deny that. Yes, the ISO also keeps weapons. But I am ready to demand that the government ban any and all organizations which are involved in terrorism, irrespective of their sect or ideology. A terrorist belonging to Jhang was recently arrested in Mianwali and he confessed that he had received training in Afghanistan on the instructions of ASS.
—Sadiq Jafri