An Islamist leader who had a $10 million American bounty placed on his head this week has been helping Pakistan de-radicalise militants under efforts to stabilise the strategic US ally, a top Pakistani counter-terrorism official said on Friday.
Hafiz Saeed, suspected of masterminding an attack by Pakistan-based gunmen on India’s financial capital Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people, including six Americans, met government officials from the Punjab province and pledged his support for the drive, the official said. “Hafiz Saeed has agreed with the Punjab government programme of de-radicalisation and rehabilitation of former jihadis and extended full cooperation,” the counter-terrorism official told Reuters. The counter-terrorism official said that Saeed had not been paid for his de-radicalisation activities.
A senior police official in Punjab province, who is closely involved with investigations into militant activity, confirmed that Saeed and his supporters were helping efforts to transform militants into law-abiding citizens. “Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) were consulted, and they approved the de-radicalisation plan. They assured us of their intellectual input and resource materials. They also offered teachers,” he told Reuters, referring to the charity Saeed heads. Yahya Mujahid, the JuD spokesman, said the group had not participated in the de-radicalisaton programme.
Hafiz Khalid Waleed, another senior JuD member, declined to comment on whether the Islamist leader had been directly assisting the government in de-radicalisation. But he said Saeed and his followers were promoting non-violence.
“Hafiz Saeed was one of the first religious leaders to denounce militancy and suicide bombings,” said Waleed. “Our schools and madrassas (religious seminaries) are urging peace.”
SPOTTING IDLE MILITANTS: Under the programme, former militants are urged to develop technical skills that could give them long-lasting employment to keep them from taking up arms against the state again. Experts also try to reverse what Pakistani officials call brainwashing by militants who preach holy war against the West.
To help the deradicalisation programme, Saeed identifies former militants who may still be recruited for jihad because they are jobless and idle and he helps steer them toward the programme, said the counter-terrorism official. Waleed mocked the decision to place a bounty on Saeed. “President Barack Obama’s election symbol was a donkey and his government is acting like one. They have no evidence against Hafiz Saeed and are scrambling to make up stories,” he told Reuters. Saeed agreed to support de-radicalisation because he felt that former militants should find jobs and re-join mainstream society, said the counter-terrorism official, who has been at the forefront of efforts to fight militancy in Punjab.
The counter-terrorism official, who engineered the project, said 200 former militants had participated this year in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, including some from Saeed’s militant group. Another 100 will be completing the programme by June.
