Pak to curtail role of religious group in military

The Dawat-e-Islami, an ostensibly apolitical Barelvi proselytising organisation, had never been under the strict watch of security agencies until now, primarily because of its non-violent religious views.

This changed after Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was assassinated in January by a police guard believed to be a follower of Dawat-e-Islami.

Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the self-confessed assassin, gunned down Taseer for his opposition to the controversial blasphemy law.

Qadri is believed to be the first person affiliated with Dawat-e-Islami to publicly use violence in the name of religion.

"That incident changed our opinion about the organisation," a source in an intelligence agency that compiled a report about the growing activities and influence of Dawat-e-Islami in the armed forces told The Express Tribune newspaper.

"We do understand it was an isolated event but we cannot be complacent now," the source said, justifying the decision to put Dawat-e-Islami under the scanner.

According to the intelligence report, the contents of which were shared with 'The Express Tribune', the influence of Dawat-e-Islami is increasing in the armed forces and its followers in the military have become the group’s key source of funding.

"Over Rs 20 million were collected from the Pakistan Air Force for the organization during the month of Ramazan," said an unnamed security official.

Founded by Ilyas Qadri in 1980 in Karachi, Dawat-e-Islami has hundreds of thousands of followers in Pakistan and abroad.

The group has a website and a TV channel called 'Madani TV'.Another unnamed military official tried to downplay the move by authorities to stop the growing influence of Dawat-e-Islami in the armed forces.

"It is nothing new. We have zero tolerance for all such organisations within the military," the official said.

He acknowledged that Dawat-e-Islami has a following in the armed forces but said this was not unusual.

"You can't stop individuals practicing their own religious beliefs if they are not violating the military discipline," he said.

Pakistan's armed forces personnel are often accused by the West of having links with religious extremists.

In June, the army confirmed it had detained a brigadier and four majors for links with the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir.