TANZEEM

  TANZEEM

  MUKUL DEVA

  This book is dedicated to Iqbal, the thought, not the man.

  May the spirit endure!

  And to that unknown, often uncared for, and mostly forgotten Indian soldier who fights on… for us.

  Deg Teg Fateh!

  ‘Hatred is the madness of the heart.’

  Lord Byron

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Author’s Note

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Acknowledgements

  Abbreviations

  About the Author

  Praise for Mukul Deva

  Praise for Blowback

  Praise for Salim Must Die

  Praise for Lashkar

  What Readers Have to Say

  Copyright

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  This book is a work of fiction, although some of the events mentioned here may have actually taken place.

  All characters, countries, places and organizations described or mentioned in this book are fictitious or have been fictitiously used and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is unintentional.

  The maps given in the book are merely to facilitate a general understanding of the region where the story is based. In several cases, artistic licence has been taken with the places mentioned in the book, distances between places and the general topography.

  The technical details of the various weapon systems, specifications and methodologies of bomb-making and weaponry, grid references, some geographical locations and descriptions, as well as the tactics and security procedures employed by any police, military, intelligence organization, and/or militant organization, as also all criminal, forensic and investigative procedures, have been deliberately kept slightly vague, inaccurate and/or incomplete to prevent any misuse, accidental or otherwise.

  Several readers have written in or commented on this policy of mine (of not going into the specifics of military operations and terror techniques). However, I choose to retain my approach and not elaborate on these aspects any further than what I feel is required for the narrative since I believe that the possibilities of misuse are high.

  There is no slur or malice intended against any religion, race, caste, creed, nation, organization or people.

  PREFACE

  It is with some regret that I have put pen to paper (rather, finger to keyboard) while writing this book because by now every character that has inhabited space in this four-book series has come alive in my mind. For five years, my daily routine included these characters, and a part of me is loath to put them to rest. But I also realize that I must do this since I feel that the salient aspects of terrorism and how it affects our lives today have been adequately dealt with in this series, as far as they can be in works of fiction.

  I must also confess that I continue to be amazed at the sheer magnitude, intensity and variety of reader responses this series has received. Not to mention the ever increasing pressure of ensuring that not only does each successive book tell a different tale but it also lives up to the expectations of those who have adopted these books as their own.

  There have been some who have accused me of being overtly hawkish about the views in this series. To everyone who feels this way, all I can say is that I have tried to maintain a balance and let facts (which, I stress again, have been fictitiously used) speak for themselves. I have simply tried to profile the times that we (sadly) live in, without allowing any major personal biases to creep in. However, we all have our biases and some are certainly bound to emerge in one’s writing.

  My heartfelt thanks to each one of you who has followed this series and stood by me during this journey. It is the encouragement and, I must add, the criticism offered by you that have made these books possible.

  While researching and writing this story, it became clear to me that this walk down memory lane, into the annals of history, enables us to see how easily and senselessly it all began – this scrooge of religious fundamentalism, which is tearing the world apart today. And now that we can see it, we can also understand how it could have been avoided. Of course, it is a bit late in the day for that; even so, if one were to seek a solution for it or ensure history does not repeat itself, this journey through the past few decades is imperative, for it is only in the roots of a problem that the solutions are generally found.

  I end this note with the hope that you shall find Tanzeem a befitting end to a worthy tale.

  Mukul Deva

  The end of birth is death;

  The end of death is birth;

  This is ordained!

  Bhagavad Gita

  ‘May I please be alone with Tanaz?’ Iqbal’s voice was flat, his gaze fixed on something in the distance. ‘Please!’ The last word was sharper, angrier, more a demand than a request.

  Colonel Anbu nodded. As much as he wanted to help, he knew Iqbal needed to go through this alone, or there would be no closure. He gestured to Captains Mohammed Sami and Vikram Tiwathia and the three Force 22 commandos quietly made their way out of the hospital room. They were hardened combat veterans, but the events of the past few hours had left them subdued. In their hearts, they knew they had let Tanaz and Iqbal down, the young woman whose brutally tortured body now lay still on the hospital bed, and the young man whose body was alive but whose soul seemed to have been condemned to the uncertainty of hate once again. Iqbal stood at the door for a long time after the three men left the room, as though mustering up the courage to do what was expected of him. Taking a deep breath, he finally turned, squared his shoulders and walked up to the battered body on the bed.

  Iqbal had neither the will nor the strength to control the tears that began to flow as he pulled away the bedsheet that covered Tanaz. She looked desolate as she lay unmoving in the middle of the bed. His beautiful Tanaz, who had looked so radiant carrying their baby the past few months, seemed to have withered and shrunk. Deep gashes crisscrossed her face, neck and upper body. He choked back a sob, fearing the sound would draw the others into the room again.

  Iqbal had always regretted not having been able to bid farewell to his mother and sister and look one last time upon their dead bodies. Now he wondered if that had been a blessing in disguise.

  Gently, Iqbal started washing the blood stains off Tanaz with large cotton swabs soaked in spirit. As his hands worked on her body, the flood of tears ebbed to a trickle. By the time he finished, he had become numb, as though a dark void had opened up somewhere inside him.

  Mechanically, he covered Tanaz’s body with a clean bedsheet. But he did not shroud her face, caressing it, instead, with one last long look that imprinted her image on his heart. It would sustain him in the days to come.

  Knowing that the Force 22 officers would not leave him alone much longer, Iqbal noiselessly made his way to the French windows at the other end of the room. The second-floor windows overlooked a large, well-manicured garden. There was no one there except a couple of old people strolling at the far end. They turned and looked on curiously as Iqbal hit the ground with a soft thud. Ignoring them, he headed for the gates.

  SITUATION REVIEW

  From: Director RAW

  To: Director NIC

  Security Classification: Top Secret

  Priority: Urgent

  Subject: Review of internal security situation in Pakistan

  American failure to capture or eliminate the Al-Qaeda and Taliban lead
ership has allowed them and hundreds of hardened mujahideen to acquire safe sanctuary in the Pakistani badlands of the Federal Administered Tribal Areas, a natural buffer between Afghanistan and Pakistan, occupied by 4.5 million Pashtun tribesmen.

  This resettlement was facilitated by members of the Pakistan government – mostly, radicalized elements in the army and the ISI. Pakistani connivance with the Afghan Taliban is clear from the manner in which Mullah Omar has openly set up base at Quetta, acknowledged by various Pakistani political and military leaders. The Pakistan Army validates this support as a legitimate means to counter Indian influence in Afghanistan. But since the expiry of the Durand Line agreement in 1993, Pakistan needs to either be in control of the government of Afghanistan or ensure they are so embroiled in internal fighting that they have no time to worry about reclaiming the parts of NWFP and Balochistan, including the port of Gwadar, areas that were originally Afghan territory. Till date, all attempts by Pakistan to get Afghanistan to ratify the Durand Line have failed; even the Taliban refused to do so, despite being beholden to them.

  Due to American insistence, General Musharraf, the then military dictator, made some cosmetic moves to hunt down Al-Qaeda. However, it must be understood that Pakistan views the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban, along with Punjab-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba, as strategic assets and a potentially useful counter against India, both in terms of a future struggle for Kashmir and also to maintain influence in Kabul.

  That is why, despite the havoc wreaked by these terror groups in their own country, Pakistan is reluctant to act against them, as shown by the ease with which the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack have walked away scot-free.

  It merits mention that Pakistan is not a ‘normal’ adversary for India. It came into existence only by its rejection of the idea of an Indian state. Peace with India is a serious threat to well-entrenched interests since it would change the internal power equations in Pakistan, release the military’s grip on politics, reduce the relevance of Islamist groups and allow democracy to flourish.

  This confrontation has helped raise Pakistan’s profile (albeit artificially). Now the world tends to equate democratic, pluralist, law-abiding India with a terrorist-sponsoring failed state like Pakistan.

  Other adversaries like China – which seeks to contain India – are exploiting this confrontation by buttressing Pakistan economically and militarily.

  So, although stabilizing relations with Pakistan will enhance India’s status, it will directly reduce Pakistan’s utility to others. Thus the Indian quest for peace between these two neighbours will never stir Pakistani policy-makers and Pakistan’s policies towards India will remain strategically hostile even though, from time to time, for short-term tactical reasons, it may pretend otherwise. History has repetitively provided evidence of this, ISI’s Project Karachi being a prime example.

  The then Pakistani leadership did not factor in the increasing radicalization of the FATA tribes or of the Pakistani Taliban when Al-Qaeda filtered into the region. Or perhaps this was foreseen and planned for by Islamized elements of the ISI and Pakistan Army and was a part of their agenda for, first, the Talibanization of Pakistan and eventually, the creation of a Greater Pakistan in accordance with the stated goals of their infamous Project M, namely the balkanization of India and establishment of Mughalstan, which is the final phase of General Zia’s Operation Topac.

  With Al-Qaeda now providing covert ideological, strategic, manpower and fiscal support, and with the influx of Afghan Taliban fighters into the region, the Pakistani Taliban has started taking on the Pakistani state openly. Three thousand of their fighters evicted over 12,000 Pakistani troops from the Swat Valley and forced the government into signing a peace accord which allowed the Pakistani Taliban to impose Sharia law in the Swat Valley.

  In keeping with its record, the Pakistani Taliban reneged on this peace deal too and moved forward to seize control of Shangla, Dir and Buner, a mere 60 kilometres from Islamabad, the national capital.

  Buffered by the rapid induction of seasoned gunmen of the Lashkar-al-Zil (the Shadow Army of Al-Qaeda), foreign fighters, Pashtun mujahideen from FATA and jihadis from other ISI-nurtured extremist groups, the Pakistani Taliban’s strength increased to over 8000.

  The Pakistani Taliban now systematically destroyed the Awami National Party, which had been voted in by large numbers of Pashtun just one year ago and posed a clear counter to the Talibani claim that all Pashtun are pro-jihadi extremists. It was critical for the Taliban to cow down the ANP since its version of Pashtun-wali (the tribal code of conduct) is nationalistic but moderate and favours democracy. As on date, all state institutions in the Swat Valley have been paralysed.

  This has given the Taliban control over the emerald mines and timber businesses that abound in Swat and added to their already substantial drug income. There is also evidence to indicate increase in fiscal support from right-wing charity organizations based in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

  Although the leadership of the Pakistani Taliban is split between several warlords, each commanding a few thousand fighters, there are increasing reports of a still-to-be-identified man known as the Ameer-ul-Momineem, who is trying to bring the groups under one operational umbrella. He is supposed to have the blessing of Al-Qaeda and Quetta Shura. Efforts are being made to identify this man based on the Identikit photograph provided by Force 22. Indications are that he may be Jalaluddin Haq, a Waziristan-based warlord who has historically enjoyed the patronage of the ISI and Mullah Omar’s Quetta Shura, thus giving him credible standing with both the Pakistani and the Afghan Taliban. Known to be a sound strategist, Haq has maintained a low profile until recently. He is a ruthless hawk and will be a formidable foe should he succeed in consolidating the other groups under one banner.

  With the Afghan Taliban as their role model, and possibly due to the efforts of the Ameer-ul-Momineem, several of these groups have already begun to morph into one operational entity. They have been further strengthened by strategic, tactical and operational alliances with over forty other terror groups, some of which have had no known links with either Al-Qaeda or the Taliban until now. The results of these efforts have already surpassed earlier attempts made by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, that is, the Movement of the Pakistan Taliban, to unify the struggle against America and its allies.

  As on date, there is irrefutable evidence of 157 terrorist training camps in the Swat Valley, FATA and the North Western Frontier Province. A number of these camps are training people with foreign passports for strikes against select targets in America, Europe and India.

  Their increasing strength and resolve is evident from the geometric increase in attacks on the American-led ISAF in Afghanistan and on select soft and high-value targets in Pakistan, and their openly declared resolve to ‘liberate’ Pakistan from the clutches of ‘un-Islamic’ democracy and convert it to a ‘pure’ Islamic state where the Sharia would apply. As opposed to the ten major cross-border attacks on the ISAF in Afghanistan last year, there have already been thirty-seven such strikes this year, over seventy terror-bombing strikes into the Pakistani heartland, the attack on Mumbai, the Jakarta bombing, as well as the recent unsuccessful strike on the airliner in America by the ‘underwear bomber’.

  At the time of compilation of this report, almost 11 per cent of Pakistan is either directly under the control of or contested by the Taliban. Another 10 per cent of Baluchistan, in the south-west of the country, is a no-go area due to a raging insurgency by Baluch separatists. Karachi, the port city with a population of 17 million, is an ethnic tinderbox just waiting to explode and the Taliban are now penetrating Punjab, Pakistan’s economic and political heartland where 60 per cent of its population resides.

  Despite this, the civilian government in Islamabad and the Pakistan Army are showing no signs of taking on these groups. All their attempts have been half-hearted and show a clear lack of any comprehensive counter-insurgency strategy.

&nbs
p; The Taliban, backed by Al-Qaeda, has taken advantage of the vacuum in governance and the failing Pakistani economy. They have had significant success in inciting fear in the populace and subverting large numbers of the unemployed, largely marginalized and ignored youth, thus enhancing their firepower, support base and area of influence.

  Due to a lack of development and government control of the education sector, national literacy levels in Pakistan are abysmal. There are currently about 20 million youngsters below the age of seventeen who are not in school. Also, most of the approximately 23,000 madrassas functioning in Pakistan are firmly under the influence of the Saudi-funded Wahhabi and Salafi right-wing fundamentalists. These madrassas generate approximately 1.5 million subverted and indoctrinated jihadis every year. This massive, ever increasing support base provides the strategic depth the AlQaeda-Taliban combine needs to seize control of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

  The Americans have finally woken up to the fact that they cannot bring the situation in Afghanistan under control unless Pakistan is tackled first. They are now also aware of the different dynamics that exist in both countries.

  In Afghanistan there is only one ethnic group that opposes the American-backed government – the Pashtuns. Hence the fighting is largely restricted to southern and eastern Afghanistan. The others in the north and west are strictly anti-Taliban. In fact, even a number of Pashtuns support the constitutionally elected Afghan government. Having suffered three decades of war and the horrors of Taliban rule, the people of Afghanistan are tired and now want peace and economic development. However, they are also a fiercely independent people and do not want to see their country divided or occupied.

  There is no such broad national unity or identity in Pakistan. The gap between various ethnic identities and the rich and the poor is a major divisive force. Most major ethnic groups show strong tolerance and sympathy for the Pakistani Taliban. Even in areas where they may not be popular, the Pakistani Taliban generates terror in people.