Who is Major (Retired) Mohammad Aamir?

Wednesday Jan-29-2014, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told parliament that he would give Taliban militants “one last chance” to halt their spree of killings and bombings and join peace talks. Adding to his comments, he has constituted a 4-member committee to facilitate the peace talks with Talibans. Committee includes Irfan Siddiqui (Journalist) , Rahimullah Yousafzai  (Journalist) and Rustam Shah Mohammed (Former Ambassador to Afghanistan) and “Famous” retired ISI Major Mohammad Aamir.

We all have an extensive knowledge about Irfan Siddiqui, Rahimullah Yousafzai and Rustam Shah Mohammed but who is Major (retired) Mohammad Aamir ?

Major retired Aamir belongs to a religious family from Panjpir, a town in Sawabi district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. His father Maulana Muhammad Tahir, a cleric who belonged to the Panjpiri “Sect of Wahabism” and founder of “Jamaat-e-Ishaat-e-Tauheed Wa Sunnah”(JITS). Main objective of the organization is to preach Islamic faith in the Oneness of Allah and tradition of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), as a code of life and also to alienate them from polytheism (Shirk), fabrication in Islam (Bida) and un-Islamic rites and rituals, from the Holy Quran, according to their website (http://www.panjpir.org/).

After the death of Maulana Muhammad Tahir, his son Maulana Tayyab (Brother of Major Aamir) became the chief of  JITS organization who also manages a huge religious seminary (Madarsa) in the town of Panjpir.

This madrassa was an important recruitment camp that also performed the role of a think tank for strategic planning during the Afghan war of the 1980s.

Tehrik-Taliban-Pakistan chief Maulana Fazlullah and Sufi Muhammad, chief of the Movement for the Enforcement of Shariah in Malakand (TNSM) are also loyal followers of the Panjpiri organization. Maulana Fazlullah and Sufi Muhammad received their religious education from Maulana Muhammad Tahir (father of Major Aamir).

(left to Right) Major Amir, Maulana Tayyab (Brother of Major Aamir) and Imran Khan 

at Jamaat-e-Ishaat-e-Tauheed Wa Sunnah”(JITS) headquarter. 

Major Aamir was not only famous for his religious affiliation but also his profession services in ISI (Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence). Operation Midnight Jackal was a cold war military intelligence program operated by the ISI to topple the first government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1989 through a no confidence vote in parliament. Two key players of Operation Midnight Jackal, Brigadier Imtiaz Ahmed alias Billa and ISI Major Mohammad Aamir were caught on video and audiotapes influencing some PPP parliamentarians. Funds for buying votes were allegedly provided by Osama Bin Laden. Both were arrested by the Pakistani military police and the espionage case against was filed in the special military courts.

According to the court documents Major Aamir testified that “Nawaz Sharif was more acceptable to the Pakistan Army than Benazir Bhutto."

The former ISI operative Major Amir was awarded by Nawaz Sharif during his second term as a Prime Minister. Major Amir used to be a special adviser to former NWFP chief minister Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, a close aide of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during (1997–99)

In 2009, A luxurious 600 square yards plot in Sector I-8 of Islamabad given to Major Aamir by then PPP Zardari government from the quota reserved for “People facing extreme Hardship”.. According to Major Aamir “he got this plot, as it was his right as he had served in the FIA in the 90s.

On February 24, 2012, FIR was lodged at the Paharipura Police Station against Major Aamir, his son and his gunmen for opening fire at a tuck shop in Neelab CNG station resulting in the killing of Khan Muhammad and injuring Sangeen and Imran. Arrest orders were issued by Sessions court but later on set aside by a division bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC).

Once again Nawaz Sharif is Prime minister, Major Amir his trusted aid in peace talks and Mullah Fazalluah is a chief of Opposition (Taliban). All the top guns know each other and have had good relationships in the past. Not sure what will be the outcome of these peace talks/negotiations be but one thing is certain that People of Pakistan will not accept any peace deal like the one had in Swat or self-created Shariah.





Also Published at:
ARY News Blogs
http://blogs.arynews.tv/who-is-major-retired-mohammad-aamir/

Twitter ID: @fawadrehman

The Mass Media: The Terrorists' Battlefield

Terrorist groups have lately realized that violence alone is not  the best recourse to gaining an overall victory for their cause. Sophisticated terrorists organizations like TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and  Al-Qaeda, realize that in addition to violence, propaganda is needed for the successful orchestration of their activities. Whether it is television, radio or the internet, terrorist organizations understand that these instruments are valuable in instilling fear, panic and devastating psychological effects on a governments and citizens.

Recently, three workers associated with ExpressNews television were killed when unidentified attackers of Tehreek - e- Taliban Pakistan opened fire on a DSNG (digital satellite news gathering) van in Karachi’s Nazimabad area.

“We (TTP) accept responsibility. I would like to present some of its reasons: At present, Pakistani media is playing the role of (enemies and spread) venomous propaganda against Tehreek-e-Taliban. They have assumed the (role of) opposition. We had intimated the media earlier and warn it once again that (they must) side with us in this venomous propaganda,” TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told Express News.

Terrorist attacks are useless if no one knows about them. As the old saying goes: "a picture is worth a thousand words".  Images, especially video images, of bombed buildings, bloody corpses and frightened hostages are much more memorable than print or audio reports of the same incidents. Committing and claiming responsibility for a terrorist attack is one of the most effective ways to obtain free global publicity for one's cause.

Other than the internet and printed material, terrorist have sought out other means in broadcasting their ideologies. All terrorist organizations need a large audience, and they have learned to exploit the media's own procedure to maximize their reach. In executing violent acts, terrorist organizations hope to draw attention through news media which broadcasts their violent activities across the country and as well as across the globe.

Media also gives a twisted version of a celebrity status to these individuals. Broadcasting their names and pictures across the screen and giving them credit for these heinous acts serves only to inflate warped egos. If the media stops giving credit and attention to the perpetrators and instead focuses on the heinous nature of the attack and the plight of the families of the dead and injured, it might take away from the terrorists inherent need for publicity.

The aim of the terrorist organizations is to be treated like regular, accepted, legitimate world leaders. According to the TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan “the media must mend its behavior and do balanced reporting, which is impartial, which is transparent and not tainted with propaganda”

The media may directly or indirectly serve the interests of terrorists by simplifying stories for the viewer to the point that it has little to do with the actual events. Repeating the traumatizing scenes and stories may also serve terrorists, as the goal of the terrorists is to be in the media as often and long as possible.

The one thing that is indisputable is that Pakistani media feeds on the violence of terrorism acts; whoever can tell the most violent story wins the audience. This is not really about freedom of speech, but rather a morbid desire to acquire the biggest audience and consequently harvest the capitol benefits.

In a nation where the government maintains tight control of the media like China or North Korea, terrorist tactics are nearly useless.

Following recommendations can be implemented to minimize the media-related effects of terrorism:

●       News coverage with less repetition of horrific scenes, less traumatization, less sensation and more information are essential in the first place

●        The media should present story to the audience fairly and accurately without bias, so that the audience can make their own opinion of the news and/or story.

●       To avoid panic in audience, Media should use plain language that everybody can understand.

●       Since no terrorist group is alike, the media should differentiate between different types of terrorism and terrorist groups

●       Government-media partnership should be formed for better and accurate background of any terrorism-related act.

Terrorist attacks are designed to create an atmosphere of fear or a sense of threat. In any case, the terrorists’ need for media publicity and media’s need for a greater audience and profits.

Also Published in
PASHTUN WOMEN VIEWPOINT
http://pashtunwomenvp.com/index.php/2013-01-28-03-21-27/social/398-the-mass-media-the-terrorists-battlefield

The Daily Times
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/23-Jan-2014/terrorism-and-the-media-s-role

Pakistan Press Foundation
http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org/views-and-opinions/74936/terrorism-and-the-medias-role/

ARY NEWS
http://blogs.arynews.tv/terrorism-and-media-role/

Twitter ID: @fawadrehman