Taliban trains terrorists to fight in India

A B Mahapatra in New Delhi

In a distressing development for India, international terrorists and Pakistani mercenaries are being trained by the Afghan Taliban to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir at the end of the winter.

According to Indian intelligence sources, nearly 13 Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence units, assisted by some 200 Taliban guerrillas, have begun training fresh recruits in jungle and urban warfare since November. This information came to light when Indian security forces arrested terrorists who admitted to being trained in these camps.

"Many of them," says an IB official, "have confessed that they were trained in Afghanistan. One of them was Sheikh Nazir, a former London School of Economics student who kidnapped two Europeans in New Delhi three years ago."

These terrorist camps, sources say, are part of the Taliban's fundamental assurances given to the Afghan people, when the group was formed some two years ago. The Taliban had then said that it would protect Islam in neighbouring countries.

Since then, they have reopened three training camps. Al Qadr, located somewhere near Jallalabad, holds roughly 500 trainees -- mainly Pakistani recruits, who are trained to fight in Kashmir for terrorist groups such as Al Jehad and Harkat-ul-Ansar, the Pakistan-based militant outfit. Al Barsque and Tehrik-e-Raffique, both just across the Pak-Afghan border in Khost province, are, on the other hand, used to train up to 400 foreign Arab and Sudanese mercenaries, who will later be unleashed on Europe.

"Al Qadr," says a senior intelligence official who does not wish to be named, ''is a new camp with sophisticated infrastructure. It even trains the recruits in techniques of mine sweeping, as they flee away from the battlefield." The camps use nearly 150 ultra brand M series assault rifles and Russland mortars left behind by the deposed Burhanuddin Rabbani forces and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar soldiers.

The Khost training centres are clandestinely operated with the help of some former ISI and Afghan war veterans, But the basic training is provided by the Taliban. By the time the trainees are ready, they comfortably handle all AK and M series rifles and are well-versed in the techniques required by the improvised explosive system. "They are also briefed about psychological behaviour," say sources, "particularly on how to mingle with people in strange situations."

It is learnt that many of the long evenings are spent listening to recorded cassettes of Quranic texts or watching instructive videos films on guerrilla warfare. "Sometimes," say sources, "instructors brief new recruits on lives of great guerrilla fighters like Che Gueverra."

Besides, week-end language programmes in languages like Urdu, Arabic and Persian take place during the Friday namaz gatherings. These programmes are aimed at familarising new recruits with the languages of the region where they are expected to carry out their operations.

The camps are also fitted with world class communication networks, such as hand-picked wireless sets and heavy, micro and ultra frequency transmitters to enable contact with guerrillas who are fighting against Rabbani forces, north of Kabul, as part of their target-practice session.

"Interestingly," say sources, "they never fight alongside the Taliban, since they don't want to share the credit with them. Besides, they also believe the rustic Talibans to be less devoted to the jehad movement. Ninety-five per cent of the recruits are highly educated and demand special treatment during their stationing in the battlefield."

With the Taliban victory last summer, a number of terrorist camps -- earlier used by fundamentalists like Hekmatyar and Rasul Sayyaf -- were reopened in south Afghanistan. "These camps," say sources, "receive millions of dollars in aid from the Middle-East and European countries, particularly from the migrant Muslim community."