Leading peace negotiator Arsala Rahmani was shot dead in Kabul
On May 13, 2012, three leading religious figures were shot dead – two of them in Pakistan and one in Afghanistan.
Maulvi Arsala Rahmani, who was a senior member of Afghanistan's High Peace Council (HPC) tasked with holding peace talks with the Taliban and other militant groups, was killed in Kabul. In Pakistan, leading Islamic scholar Aslam Sheikhupuri was killed in Karachi, probably in a case of sectarian attack, while another religious leader Maulana Syed Mohammad Mohsin Shah, known for his stand against the Taliban, was killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
In an article titled "Three Assassinations," Pakistan's well-known Taliban affairs expert Rahimullah Yusufzai alleged that the acts were sponsored by those who want to keep the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in turmoil. "The least that could be done is to expose the sinister designs of those sponsoring assassinations of such known religious scholars who enjoy respect and are capable of reaching out to the militants. Eliminating such people is clearly part of plans to keep Afghanistan and Pakistan in perpetual violence," Yusufzai wrote.
Following are excerpts from his article:[1]
Islamic Scholar Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri "Was Apolitical And His Focus Had Always Been On Dars-e-Quran, Or The Teaching Of The Glorious Quran; He Never Spoke Against Any Sect Or People"
In Karachi, people offer funeral prayer for Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri (image courtesy: Roznama Express, May 14, 2012)
"Two of these assassinations took place in Pakistan and one in Afghanistan. In both countries, spilling blood is a common occurrence and the governments are largely helpless and incapable of providing security to citizens. Foreign interventions by the superpowers, first by the Soviet Union and then by the United States of America, contributed to the violence and instability in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"Thirty-four years after the Moscow-backed communist Saur Revolution in Afghanistan, the country is still facing an unending conflict, and its fallout has also made Pakistan unstable. With the U.S. positioning itself to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan even after the planned NATO troop withdrawal in 2014 and Pakistan once again readying to serve as an overland supply route for the foreign forces, there is little possibility that the situation will become normal in the so-called Af-Pak region in the near future.
"The assassinations in Pakistan took place in two corners of the country. In Karachi [on Pakistan's south-western coast], Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri was shot dead along with his driver by gunmen riding a motorcycle who intercepted his car… The 54-year-old religious scholar, disabled in both his legs for three years after suffering a stroke, was on his way home after delivering his fortnightly lecture at the Al-Quran Courses Centre.
"A 1982 graduate of the famous Jamia Binoria seminary who is said to have memorized the holy Quran in less than a year, Aslam Sheikhupuri was presently the head of the Tawabeen mosque and madrassa in Gulshan-e-Maymar [area] in Karachi.
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"There was consensus that the deceased was apolitical and his focus had always been on Dars-e-Quran, or the teaching of the glorious Quran. He never spoke against any sect or people and his claim to fame was of a learned man of religion."
Maulana Syed Mohammad Mohsin Shah "Was A Voice Of Reason In An Area Where Religious Sentiments Could Be Easily Inflamed"
"The second assassination of a religious scholar in Pakistan on May 13 could have political motives, as Maulana Syed Mohammad Mohsin Shah was associated with Maulana Fazlur Rahman's JUI-F [Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party]. He was also a leading figure in the Marwat Qaumi Jirga, a voluntary organization set up by the Pakhtun tribe Marwat, to tackle the militants posing a threat to peace in Lakki Marwat district [of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province], which is close to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) sanctuaries in South Waziristan.
"It required courage to defy the militants in an area so close to their strongholds. Besides, Maulana Mohsin Shah was a teacher to many among the militants and his word carried weight. This was the reason that he was credited with playing a crucial role in helping restore peace in the area.
"Mohsin Shah was assassinated in his seminary Darul Uloom Halimia in Darra Pezu town. As one cleric put it, his was the biggest madrassa… not in terms of its premises and buildings but in the context of the number of students there, due to the good reputation of Mohsin Shah and other teachers. Students flocked to the madrassa at the time of admissions, overwhelming its capacity.
"Two years ago, Mohsin Shah was apprehended by the security forces on suspicion, but Maulana Fazlur Rahman got him freed within 24 hours by convincing the authorities that … he was a voice of reason in an area where religious sentiments could be easily inflamed by the arrest of a respected religious scholar."
Former Taliban Minister Maulvi Arsala Rahmani "Switched Sides To Join The New Dispensation Under President [Hamid] Karzai; The Taliban Were Angered By His Disloyalty"
"In neighboring Afghanistan, a 'reformed' Taliban cleric, Maulvi Arsala Rahmani, was shot dead in Kabul on May 13. He was fired at from a passing car on a congested road in Kabul as he was being driven to work at the High Peace Council, an unwieldy 70-member body set up by President Hamid Karzai about two years ago to work for peace and negotiate with the government's armed opponents, including the Taliban. A single bullet aimed at Rahmani's heart caused his death. The killer appeared to be a sharp-shooter, and the silencer-fitted weapon he was using isn't easily available. Obviously, it was a perfectly executed assassination plan motivated by the desire to achieve multiple objectives.
"Over the years, Rahmani had assumed a number of identities. An ethnic Pakhtun, he had been an Afghan mujahideen leader based in Peshawar and active in Loya Paktia [region] in southern Afghanistan during the jihad against the Soviet occupying forces [during the 1980s]. He was part of the Afghan mujahideen government before joining the Taliban and becoming minister of higher education in their government [from 1996 onwards].
"After the fall of the Taliban regime [in 2001], he switched sides to join the new dispensation under President [Hamid] Karzai. The Taliban were angered by his disloyalty, but gaining the trust of Afghanistan's new pro-West rulers also wasn't easy. Sometimes, one would hear remarks that people like Rahmani were neither here nor there because the Taliban no longer trusted them and elements in the Karzai government were suspicious of their motives.
"Presently, Rahmani was a senior figure in the High Peace Council and considered important due to his past links with the Taliban. It was felt he would be able to use his personal contacts with top Taliban figures to persuade them to agree to peace negotiations with the Afghan government. He was often referred to as a 'key negotiator' in the High Peace Council, though the council had yet to find a real partner for negotiations due to the Taliban refusal to recognize its role."
"In Pakistan, The Assassination Of Aslam Sheikhupuri And Mohsin Shah Is The Latest In The Campaign To Eliminate Known Religious Scholars, Particularly Those Courageous Enough [To] Tell The Truth And Challenge Powerful State And Non-State Forces [i.e. The Militants]"
"Frustration with the High Peace Council was rising due to its failure to even establish contact with the Taliban or sustain dialogue with former mujahideen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami, which has pulled out of the peace talks in protest against the signing of the recent US-Afghanistan strategic partnership agreement.
"The assassination of its chairman, Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, in a Kabul suicide bombing on September 20, had dealt a severe blow to the High Peace Council and his son and successor, Salahuddin Rabbani, lacked the stature to give impetus to the council's work. Rahmani's assassination could make it even more difficult for the council to maintain contact with the Taliban and gain acceptance as a credible peace-making body.
"Assassination of key figures has been part of Afghanistan's bloodied history. Often, the killings take place at key moments in the country's history. Rabbani and Rahmani had been warlords in the past and were involved in bloodletting as leaders of armed groups group engaged in a struggle for power. However, in the last stage of their lives they became peacemakers. Though they lacked credibility in the eyes of the Taliban and many other Afghans, both were attempting to redeem themselves as they pursued peace in their homeland despite heavy odds.
"In Pakistan, the assassination of Aslam Sheikhupuri and Mohsin Shah is the latest in the campaign to eliminate known religious scholars, particularly those courageous enough [to] tell the truth and challenge powerful state and non-state forces [i.e. the militants]. Among others, Maulana Yousaf Ludhianvi, Maulana Habibullah, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, Mufti Abdus Sami, Mufti Atiqur Rahman, Mufti Jamil Khan, Maulana Hasan Jan and Maulana Noor Mohammad were eliminated and in most cases the killers weren't even exposed out of fear, political compulsions, or due to the government's incompetence….
"The least that could be done is to expose the sinister designs of those sponsoring assassinations of such known religious scholars who enjoy respect and are capable of reaching out to the militants. Eliminating such people is clearly part of plans to keep Afghanistan and Pakistan in perpetual violence."
[1] The News (Pakistan), May 16, 2012. The original English of the article has been lightly edited for clarity and standardization.
