Monday, November 30, 2015

What will the ADF's Strategic Adviser on Islamic Cultural Affairs advice when Australian national interests are threatened by Islamic forces?

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Captain Mona Shindy, RAN, is the Royal Australian Navy's Strategic Adviser on Islamic Cultural Affairs. The RAN statement announcing her appointment stated: 
As part of her role as Strategic Adviser on Islamic Cultural Affairs, Captain Shindy works to help create a better understanding among Defence members of the Islamic faith, traditions and cultural sensitivities. Captain Shindy explained how this work helps to improve Defence capability.‘It gives our people, particularly when working with our close Muslim-allied navies, a better understanding and appreciation of serving Muslims, their needs and how they view the world’, she said.
Why the Australian Navy and other arms of the ADF now require advice on how to deal with "Muslim-allied navies" is a mystery. Her superiors would be  aware that navy and other defence force personnel from Muslim countries in this region have enjoyed good relations with their ANZAC and British counterparts going back more than 60 years. They would also be aware that much of that relationship was built of a good supply of "haram" alcohol at their respective officers' mess. Given the existing relationship it is hard to see what might be gained by  the interjection  of a severe looking  hijabed matron.
Nevertheless, it is noted that the  Strategic Adviser on Islamic Cultural Affairs has a rather broad and imprecise brief, It does appear as if the role will include advice on say the management of threats to Australian national interests  from regional Muslim groups. Often these are militant groups who are well funded and who have the backing of regional governments and of the international Muslim community. The threat can only be met with force,for these are not groups who are interested in negotiation. Given her public statements it is hard to believe that Capt Shindy would advice any armed response that will harm fellow Muslims.
In 1973, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) began a massive military operation to quell the Moro separatists, including the MNLF. After the MNLF suffered major defeats in conventional battles against the AFP, military advisors from Libya and Malaysia helped the group turn to guerrilla tactics, which it effectively used against government forces. Simultaneously with the AFP’s offensive, the MNLF solidified its organizational structure.


It is not inconceivable that Australian national interest could be threatened by these types of armed Muslim groups and that an armed response would be required. One fears that the Strategic Adviser on Islamic Cultural Affairs is unlikely to see it that way, her loyalty to her coreligionist taking priority over her loyalty to Queen and country.Anticipating a likely response, I should end by stating that an argument about "peaceful alternatives", and "Australian foreign policy" and/or "local Muslim sensitivities" cannot be considered seriously.
 
END  


Crouching (Turn)Bull, Hidden Rabbit : On Alex ,son of Malcolm & Lucy Turnbull's Singapore hedge fund

by Ganesh Sahathevan

When Alex Turnbull's father Malcolm made himself prime minister of Australia, much was said about the family's business success and how that skill and acumen was now being put at the disposal  of the country.

Along with that adulation came some commentary on Alex's Singapore hedge fund, of which there had been some reporting in June 2014

Alex Turnbull, son of Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, is planning a Singapore-based hedge fund, said people with knowledge of the matter.
Mr Turnbull, who has been an executive director of Goldman Sachs Group's special situations group, will be the chief investment officer of Keshik Capital, said the people who asked not to be identified. The fund will be focused on Asia with flexibility to invest globally. It may start as early as January and will invest in equity and credit, including convertible bonds, they said.


While all reports say Alex "founded" Keshik Capital, elsewhere others make that claim for themselves.Enter Arnab Nandi,who describes  himself as a serving  co-founder of Keshik on Linkedin, and  as Co-Chief Investment Officer (Co-CIO) in advertisements for a conference in Singapore held in February this year. 
However, Arnab, which means rabbit in Arabic and Malay, is nowhere listed on Keshik's current website. Email queries sent him have gone unanswered. If there has been a takeover, Arnab is not telling, and remains hidden. However,the more interesting story here is what drives Keshik,. The question of whether Alex was able to assume full control of the firm may be related to it,and it all comes down to funding.

Hedge funds make their money by leveraging their investments and in Singapore this means having strong lines of credit from Singapore banks. Singapore banks however are notoriously conservative and operate a closed shop. No one gets a look-in unless well connected, locally.Talent matters only when one gets in, and is otherwise irrelevant. 

Alex Turnbull is a an outsider and he having a Chinese wife makes no difference. His only relevant qualification is the fact that his father is now Prime Minister Of Australia. Money may be lent his firm on that basis, but favours in return will be expected. Australian journalists who labour under the fantasy that their leaders take vows of poverty (some believe vows of chastity as well) are likely to take offence at the mere suggestion that their beloved Prime Minister might be compromised by money, but journalists in Asia  on the other hand cannot afford to do so. 
It is only normal in Asia to ask where Alex Turnbull is getting his cash from and how he otherwise finances a business that he seems to have assumed sole control. His family is not in that category who can fund these types of ventures to any significant degree.
END 











If she were in the Islamist Royal Malaysian Navy, the RAN's Capt Mona Shindy would be considered a security threat and sacked

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The article below has been published on Andrew Bolt's Blog . Even if I were to discount his comments (with which I agree), Capt Mona Shindy's Twitter posts, particularly in response to the sacking of Tony Abbott,  ought to be considered a breach of the chain of command and be grounds for immediate dismissal from service if not demotion. Being a Naval officer and a high profile one at that Capt Shindy does not have the luxury of publicly stating a preference for prime minister or another. 
As for her comments concerning Islam, suffice to say that even in the Islamist  Royal Malaysian Navy these would be considered,  especially now,  evidence of a threat to national security and grounds for demotion at the very least. 
This writer expects Capt Shindy and her chief, Vice Admiral Tim Barret  to take offence, but before they do  the Vice Admiral may want to consider if his grandstanding in appointing an "Official Royal Australian Navy Islamic Advisor” was such a good idea. He may  want to speak with his Malaysian counterparts, but I should advice him that having joined thhe Navy in only 1976, he is unlikely to have sufficient knowledge of regional history to properly consider whatever they might tell him.
END 

As Director Littoral Warfare and Maritime Support, Captain Shindy advises the Government on the best way to spend billions of dollars on replacement tankers, ships, patrol boats — almost everything except submarines.
She was previously charged with turning around the Fast Frigate System Program Office, from an inefficient organisation with adversarial stakeholder relationships, to a collaborative culture with performance-based contracts. And she shaved 30 per cent in costs from a $130 million budget.
But she has been made the ”Official Royal Australian Navy Islamic Advisor”, and in that role seems to have become the voice for Muslim grievance and victimology. I wonder what other senior member of the Australian Defence Force would be allowed to back a Mufti who blames our foreign policies and “Islamophobia” for Islamist terrorism, to praise a radical Anglican preacher known for calling former Immigration Minister Scott Morrison an international criminalfor turning back boats, and to endorse a radical American activist also attacking “Islamophobia”?: 
image
Just to remind you of the message of the Mufti that Shindy backs:
Australia’s Grand Mufti, our top Muslim cleric, responded to the Paris massacre not by blaming Muslims or Islam, but by blaming the West. Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed said five “causative factors” had to be tackled to stop more terrorism, and all involved Australia’s alleged sins against Muslims — “racism, Islamophobia, curtailing freedoms through securitisation, duplicitous foreign policies and military intervention”.
The apparent message: submit or risk death.
May I suggest Captain Shindy stick to trying to be the best captain in our navy? Her deeds will say so much more that is constructive than do her words.
Again I ask: what other ADF officer is allowed to blame our foreign policies for Islamist terrorist, and tweet or retweet endorsements of political leaders? And note that Shindy declares Islam perfect. Nowhere can I see tweets criticism of any named Muslim cleric or even named terrorist organisation, and nowhere any call for reform of Islam itself:
image
Remember: this is the “Official Royal Australian Navy Islamic Advisor” at work.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Jihadi reminds AFP, NSW Police that Islamist terrorists have been active in Australia since at least the 90s

by Ganesh Sahathevan
First, I am not playing fast and loose with the language by using "jihadi" and " Islamist terrorists" interchangeably- see Basam Tibi's “Jihadism’s roots in political Islam”.
Basam , unlike the AFP's "experts" at Monash is actually a scholar and has been writing about the dangers of Islamism since the 1980s when the AFP and NSW Police's "experts" were still at school (some, like Waleed Aly,  at playschool). 
On ABC 4 Corners this week we had the AFP, NSW Police and their experts declaring that jihadism only beccame a problem in  Australia in the mid 2000s ,and that too as a result of police action
The AFP's assistant commissioner in charge of counter-terrorism Neil Gaughan  seemed worryingly overwhelmed by this question  that has been resolved many years ago elsewhere, for example in Malaysia and Indonesia : 
NEIL GAUGHAN: I mean, why do young men particularly go from what we would say is normal behaviour in school - being involved in sport, ah, academically strong - to actually totally shifting their lives to move down a different path? Um, that's the question that we're all struggling with. I think if we had the answer to that particular question, we could probably stop a lot of these young men from going down the way they're going.

Meanwhile, a jihadi who was active here in Australia in the 90s understands perfectly well the motivation and offers his services to stop what he started, very much like a clever extortionist. 
Readers should take careful note of the fact that  the BIN is somewhat involved in this racket, and that Julie "Kissinger" Bishop has said that Australia will offer the Indons the same "de-radicalization"  expertise the Indons are offering Australia. Duncan Lewis in particular should take note-he might learn something. 

END 



ABC NEWS


Former terrorist Abdurrahman Ayyub warns Australia is 'ticking time bomb' of extremism



Updated yesterday at 2:09pmSat 28 Nov 2015, 2:09pm



Abdurrahman Ayyub is the former deputy head of Jemaah Islamiah in Australia.



The former deputy head of the Australian branch of Jemaah Islamiah has described Australia as a "ticking time bomb" as it struggles to contain the spread of radicalism.
Abdurrahman Ayyub was once one of Australia's most-wanted terrorists.
Now he works for Indonesia's anti-terrorism agency, known as the BNPT, on its deradicalisation program.
In the nation's prisons and in the communities, he spreads the message of moderate Islam.
"What Indonesia is doing is recognised by the world now," Mr Ayyub said.
"The counter-terrorism agency working together with former radicals — that's very important, because there's no way a doctrine can change on its own without dialogue."

AUSTRALIA NOT ADDRESSING RADICALISED YOUTH: AYYUB

Mr Ayyub entered Australia in the 1990s to recruit and fundraise for Jemaah Islamiah, the terrorist group responsible for the Bali attacks.

People can quickly turn radical and extreme, even though now they seem calm.
Former terrorist Abdurrahman Ayyub

He fled Australia after the nightclub bombings in 2002, but insists he had no prior knowledge of the attacks.
He said Australia's counter-terrorism methods were lacking dialogue particularly with the nation's youth.
"Australia is sitting on a time bomb, which means people can quickly turn radical and extreme, even though now they seem calm," Mr Ayyub said.
"What has Australia done in regards to these dialogues for the youth? Someone who was just like I was.
"I am asking the question to Australia: What have you done about deradicalisation?"



==============================================================




RADIO AUSTRALIA


Former terrorist Abdurrahman Ayyub warns Australia is 'ticking time bomb' of extremism


Updated 28 November 2015, 14:15 AEDT

By Samantha Hawley

A man who was once one of Australia's most-wanted terrorists says the country is struggling to contain the spread of extremism, particularly in relation to radicalised youth.


http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/sites/default/files/imagecache/ra_article_feature/images/2015/11/28/6982546-3x2-700x467_1.jpg
Abdurrahman Ayyub says Australia is failing in its attempts to contain extremism. (Credit: ABC


The former deputy head of the Australian branch of Jemaah Islamiah has described Australia as a "ticking time bomb" as it struggles to contain the spread of radicalism.
Abdurrahman Ayyub was once one of Australia's most-wanted terrorists.
Now he works for Indonesia's anti-terrorism agency, known as the BNPT, on its deradicalisation program.
In the nation's prisons and in the communities, he spreads the message of moderate Islam.
"What Indonesia is doing is recognised by the world now," Mr Ayyub said.
"The counter-terrorism agency working together with former radicals — that's very important, because there's no way a doctrine can change on its own without dialogue."

Australia not addressing radicalised youth: Ayyub

Mr Ayyub entered Australia in the 1990s to recruit and fundraise for Jemaah Islamiah, the terrorist group responsible for the Bali attacks.
People can quickly turn radical and extreme, even though now they seem calm.
Former terrorist Abdurrahman Ayyub
He fled Australia after the nightclub bombings in 2002, but insists he had no prior knowledge of the attacks.
He said Australia's counter-terrorism methods were lacking dialogue particularly with the nation's youth.
"Australia is sitting on a time bomb, which means people can quickly turn radical and extreme, even though now they seem calm," Mr Ayyub said.
"What has Australia done in regards to these dialogues for the youth? Someone who was just like I was.
"I am asking the question to Australia: What have you done about deradicalisation?"

Hundreds of Indonesian terrorists await prison release: Bishop

Mr Ayyub's twin brother Abdul Rahim Ayyub was married to Australian-born jihadist Rabiah Hutchinson.
Their Australian child, Mr Ayyub's nephew, is now fighting in Syria.
"My nephew went there — Muhammad Ilyas, the son of Rabiah, he left to join ISIS," Mr Ayyub said.
They have changed their attitude, behaviour and hopefully also their mindset. So they no longer have their old ways, their point of view has changed.
"How many like that are undetected? How many still hold grudges?"
Australia's Foreign Minister has repeatedly expressed concern about convicted terrorists being released from Indonesia jails.
"A significant number of prisoners in Indonesian prisons who have been convicted of terrorist-related activities will be released. It runs into the hundreds," Julie Bishop said on the sidelines of the UN security council meeting in New York in September.
"And of course, if they've not been rehabilitated, then they pose a serious risk, not only to Indonesia, but to our region."
Indonesia's correctional services body says 41 convicted terrorists have been released from jail this year.
"According to our investigation, these inmates, prisoners, are reformed terrorists," Akbar Hadi Prabowo, a spokesman at the directorate general of correctional facilities, said.
"They have changed their attitude, behaviour and hopefully also their mindset. So they no longer have their old ways, their point of view has changed."

Rehabilitation a 'never-ending cycle'

Senior Indonesia Army commander, Major General Agus Surya Bakti led the nation's deradicalisation efforts as part of the BNPT.
Umar Patek, who made the bomb for the 2012 Bali bombings, in jail in Indonesia.



"We remain vigilant," Major General Bakti said.
"The process of deradicalisation is a never-ending cycle.
"The rehabilitation process in the prisons will be continued with rehabilitation process in society."
There are more than 250 terrorists detained in jails across the country.
Umar Patek, who is serving a 20-year sentence for making the explosives used in the deadly 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, is now seen as an Indonesian deradicalisation success story.
Video footage from Porong prison in east Java shows Patek raising the Indonesian flag.
"Who doesn't know Umar Patek," Major General Bakti said.
"He flew the flag, saluted it, it's an extraordinary thing."
There has been no suggestion at this stage that Patek will be released early.


Friday, November 20, 2015

Turnbull offers Asia what Asians know is 3rd rate intel,and his failed "deradicalization" project: Turnbull might consider what they know about him

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The Australian has reported under the headline "Malcolm Turnbull’s bid to unite region on terror" that  Turnbull "is negoti­ating with counterparts in Malay­sia and Indonesia and with other neighbours to set up a ­regional centre to expand deradicalisation programs and counter violent extremism, while sharing intelligence to halt suspected terrorists."

Turnbull seems not to understand that while he considers Australian agencies to be the "world's best" Asian agencies are unlikely to be impressed. Malaysia for example has a a human intelligence network (HUMINT) that IS considered among the best in the world while Singapore's electronic surveillance is so pervasive   that its citizens accept it as a fact of life, without much complaint.It is likely that the Singaporeans known more about the Alex Turnbull's business  ,China links, and the actual value of the the Turnbull family's wealth than even Malcolm and Lucy. 
Then, there have been embarrassing incidents where foreign agencies have been aware of what is going on in Sydney while our "best in the world" agencies remained in the dark.The recent matter  of Dawood Ibrahim and Chotta Rajan   is a case in point.
As for his deradicalization programme , Asian leaders would from their own experience known long ago what The Australian has also reported:

Successive (Australian)  governments failed to assess the outcomes of these projects, with those organisations receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants required only to self-evaluate their success.

Instead of attempting to grandstand in Kuala Lumpur, Turnbull should instead  be asking himself what his counterparts in Asia know of him from their own intelligence agencies. He has been doing business in Asia long enough ,as is now his son, for  there to be nice thick files held in archives in various Asian capitals that would have by now been reactivated for surveillance and action. 
END 







Malcolm Turnbull’s bid to unite region on terror

Malcolm Turnbull is negoti­ating to set up a ­regional centre to expand deradicalisation programs and counter violent extremism.
Australia is joining a new inter­national effort to confront terrorism across Southeast Asia amid Interpol warnings that 1200 foreign fighters have travelled from the region to the Middle East, heightening fears about attacks in their home countries.
Malcolm Turnbull is negoti­ating with counterparts in Malay­sia and Indonesia and with other neighbours to set up a ­regional centre to expand deradicalisation programs and counter violent extremism, while sharing intelligence to halt suspected terrorists.
The plan acknowledges that not enough is being done to de­radicalise convicted terrorists and halt the spread of extremist propaganda, especially on the social media networks that have become powerful recruiting tools for Islamic State and others.
The Weekend Australian understands the joint effort is a key part of talks at the East Asia Summit starting in Kuala Lumpur today, where more than a dozen national leaders will discuss the new measures. Amid the focus on a military coalition against Islamic State in Syria, officials from East Asia Summit member countries also want a coalition to counter violent extremism in the region.
The push comes as China condemns Islamic State after the terrorist group executed a Chinese national this week, while Malaysia has confirmed the beheading of one of its citizens by extremist group Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines.
US officials are now talking of working with China “on an intelligence basis”, given the realisation that countries across the region have a shared interest in countering terrorism.
Under the proposal, the new centre would be established in Malay­sia so it could work with sec­urity agencies from around Southeast Asia, including the Australian Federal Police and ASIO. It will not conflate work on social ­cohesion and community support with the harder task of countering violent extremism among specific groups or deradicalising known individuals who have already been convicted of terrorism.
In a sign of the struggle to stop poisonous ideologies from ­spreading among the young, The Australian yesterday revealed that only one of 87 federal government programs examined by experts was directly dealing with offenders to deradicalise them.
The regional effort admits the challenge of identifying the best ways to turn people away from ­extremism and suggests greater co-operation to make the programs more effective.
The Prime Minister is understood to have raised the problem with ­Indonesian President Joko Widodo in their meeting last week to forge a closer alliance.
He arrives in Kuala Lumpur today from Darwin, following his attendance at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Manila, where leaders issued a joint statement to commit to stronger action against terrorism.
There are about 110 foreign fighters from Australia in Syria and Iraq, down from a high of 120 as a result of the deaths of terrorists including Mohamed Elomar, believed to have died in June, and possibly Khaled Sharrouf.
Indonesia is said to have about 400 foreign fighters in the Middle East, fewer than Australia as a proportion of its population, but its treatment of convicted terrorists has sparked concerns among its neighbours. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told The Weekend Australian last week that Indonesians who were “nominally in jail” could openly promote terrorism — and that “several hundred” of them were due to be released this year or next.
Mr Turnbull also raised the subject in his formal bilateral talks with Benigno Aquino, President of The Philippines, which is confronting domestic terrorism from groups such as Abu Sayyaf while having only a small number of foreign fighters in the middle east.
Australia, Malaysia and South Korea are discussing a move at the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur for a declaration that will denounce terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms, pledging co-operation between all member nations. The counter-­terrorism plan will set out new ways for security agencies to work together to block terrorist propaganda, co-operate on deradicalis­ation and share research.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told The Weekend Australian that Australia was stepping up plans to share more intelligence with ­regional neighbours in order to halt foreign fighters.
The US this week also signalled its willingness to share intelligence with Asian countries to the same end. “I think the Chinese recognise they have … people who have gone from China into Syria,” said White House deputy national security adviser for strategic communications Ben Rhodes. “So like every other nation who’s seen that challenge, they have an interest in working with us on an intelligence basis, most likely to counter terrorism and counter ISIL.”
Mr Turnbull has drawn on his talks with Mr Joko, the head of the world’s most populous Muslim country, to describe Islamic State as a “defamation” of Islam and a “godless” ideology that should not lead to the demonisation of the wider Muslim community.
Leaders at the East Asia summit include US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as well as the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The East Asia Summit includes ASEAN as well as eight others: Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, Japan, South Korea, India and Russia.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Screening 12,000 Syrian refugees :ASIO, Border Force failed to detect just TWO ISI linked terrorist..& we still do not know Dr Abu Ibrahim's real name

by Ganesh Sahathevan

These two stories taken together show how  Australia's "world's best" security agencies were unable to screen  just two terrorists, despite Peter Dutton and Malcom Turnbull's parrot like repetition of the term "biometric screening" whenever asked how they propose to keep us safe. How then they propose to screen 12,000 Syrian refugees is a mystery.

Meanwhile , we still do not know Grand Mufti Dr Mohamad Abu Ibrahim's real name.Even he will agree that he was not always "Abu Ibrahim",and that any background checks on "Abu Ibrahim" in Egypt  from where he hails,will turn up nothing,as if he never existed.
END 



Dawood's latest, frantic bid to kill Chhota Rajan foiled

, TNN | Jul 2, 2015, 12.58AM IST
Chhota Rajan
Rajan has escaped attempts on his life more than once. 
NEW DELHI: Early this year, Dawood Ibrahim's main man and underworld don Chhota Shakeel had made a "final plan" to eliminate his long-time rival Chhota Rajan. Shakeel, who had unsuccessfully planned hits in the past on Rajan, had even pinpointed the location where the 'Hindu don' was suspected to be.

However, things fortuitously turned in Rajan's favour - he was tipped off about D-Company's plan to bump him off like in Bangkok several years ago. An alarmed Rajan immediately went under the radar.

TOI has access to intercepts which map how close Shakeel had come to fulfilling his bossDawood's wish to kill Rajan and what helped the one-time No.2 in the D-Company survive.

The intercepts showed a surge in calls from Karachi to a particular person in India in April this year. The phone calls were made from a WLL number (00971504******) listed in Nepal.

Intelligence agencies, always on the tail of Dawood's main man, were listening in on conversations being conducted in a mix of Hindi and Urdu. Soon, they were to start seeing the contours of a comprehensive plan, based on Dawood's success in winning over one of Rajan's most trusted aides to snitch on him.

The calls showed an intense effort to cajole Rajan's lieutenant to disclose his boss's whereabouts. "He has been trying to project us in bad light and pretends to be a patriot," Shakeel is heard telling Rajan's aide who was promised a generous reward for ratting.

"Last time, too, he had a narrow escape. You just open up and help us. We will make sure he is taken this time (sic)," Shakeel told Rajan's aide. Continuing with his determined persuasion, Shakeel threw the bait, "The power is this side. He will keep running around. Trust me, if you... you will be taken care of."

The "rat" could not resist the offer for too long, and gave away Rajan's precise location in Newcastle, Australia.

Immediately, a few shooters were dispatched from a Middle-East country to Australia. Shakeel's instruction was cold and crisp: Rajan was to be eliminated at any cost this time.


Unfortunately for him, a mysterious benefactor of Rajan was also keeping tabs on Shakeel's increasingly desperate conversations. Rajan was alerted and he went underground. Within hours, he had left Australia to a location unknown to Shakeel's mole in his camp.

When contacted, sources in Indian intelligence agencies, which tail Dawood and Shakeel, refused to say anything beyond confirming that D-Company had planned a meticulous hit on Rajan in Australia but failed to get the target. "Shakeel's plan was eventually unsuccessful," a source said.

Rajan has slowed down with age and no longer resembles the threat he posed to Dawood immediately after splitting with him. But the plot underlined D-Company's seething anger against him, as well as the determination to eliminate him.

Rajan has escaped attempts on his life more than once. In 2000, Dawood's men had almost succeeded when they cornered him in a crowded Bangkok market. Dawood's men fired at him. Rajan sustained multiple bullet injuries and could not recuperate fully. He had since been living behind a cordon that he had created and considered impregnable until April when Shakeel breached it by bribing one of his confidants.


Printed from
 
Lashkar takes over D-Company
28 Mar 2008, 0031 hrs IST, S Balakrishnan, TNN

MUMBAI: 'D-Company' is now officially part of the Lashkar-e-Toiba's terror network, with Pakistan's notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) getting Dawood Ibrahim to merge his gang with the fundamentalist terror organisation as part of a gameplan to crank up its anti-India campaign.

Sources in Indian agencies tracking ISI's moves confirmed the coming together of the two outfits and the danger that it poses to India.

"The underworld gang and the Lashkar jihadis have been knocked into a single entity and this has serious implications for India's internal security," a senior intelligence official told TOI on Thursday.

ISI's links with D-Company are old, going back to 1993 when Pakistan's external intelligence agency used Dawood and his henchmen to execute the March 12 terror attack on Mumbai in what marked the first instance anywhere of serial bombings. (TOI was the first to report the detention of Dawood, Chhota Shakeel and Tiger Memon by Pakistani authorities).

There has since been a shift in the dynamics of ISI-Dawood equations, reducing D-Company from being a useful ally to a group of individuals dependent on ISI to escape international law agencies.

Following the Mumbai blasts, Dawood along with his accomplices Chhota Shakeel and Tiger Memon fled to Pakistan. Pakistan has since shielded them from India and the new anti-terrorism sensitivities post-9/11 which saw Dawood being branded a global terrorist by the US.

But the hospitality has a tag attached to it: complete dependence for survival on ISI, which does not mind displaying its leverage vis-a-vis the once ruthless gang.

The merger will, inevitably, transform the character of Dawood's gang, which did not display any communal tendency before the serial bombings aimed against members of a particular community.

In fact, many of their business partners were non-Muslims like Raj Shetty. Chhota Rajan was also a senior member of the gang before splitting in protest against the serial blasts triggered by Dawood, Shakeel and the Memons.

"The serial blasts were essentially a retaliation for the January 1993 communal riots. But now there is a qualitative change with D-Company becoming part of a jihadi organisation like the LeT. Earlier, this gang's members were not religiously indoctrinated, but now they are. The motivation now is not money, but religion," a senior official said.

The joining of ranks with Lashkar, one of the most dangerous terrorist outfits which treats "liberation" of large tracts of India from "Hindu domination" as its religious obligation, can help ISI to further its subversive agenda.

Stints with Lashkar camps can morph Dawood's band of urban gangsters into well-armed and jihad-driven terrorists.

On the other hand, Lashkar benefits immensely from collaboration with D-Company which continues to attract recruits and has acquired financial muscle by venturing into mainstream commercial enterprises without letting go of its original money spinner, smuggling.
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Printed from
 
'ISI reach will expand with D-Company merger'
28 Mar 2008, 0217 hrs IST, S Balakrishnan, TNN

MUMBAI: The merger of Dawood Ibrahim's gang with the Lashkar-e-Toiba at the behest of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has Indian security agencies worried since the underworld gang will expand the ISI's reach in the country.

"Many members of Dawood's gang have been indoctrinated and trained in the use of weapons in the Bahawalpur centre of the LeT near Lahore. Funds are being raised by investments in real estate and SRA projects in Mumbai and through smuggling of diesel and other essential commodities through the western coast spanning from Raigad to Mangalore along the Arabian Sea. We have warned Delhi about the smuggling being carried out by the Dawood gang with impunity," a security official said.

Asked why the ISI had roped in the D-Company in LeT activities, the official said, "The underworld's penetration in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu is very deep.

By synergizing the D-gang with the LeT, the ISI's reach has increased manifold. An outfit like the Students' Islamic Movement of India could not have provided the kind of reach which Dawood's gang can provide."

Government sources brushed aside the hope in certain quarters that the installation of a democratically-elected government in Pakistan would result in a decrease in LeT inspired violence since the ISI, which is heavily infiltrated by fundamentalist elements, is known to pursue its own agenda.
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Copyright © 2008 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2905397,prtpage-1.cms