A lesson in dealing with militants

How Pakistan tries to co-opt or strike deals with violent leaders offers a cautionary tale for US officials.

In this photo taken on July 15, 2011, Malik Ishaq, center, a leader of the banned Sunni Muslim group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and his colleagues raise hands to response their supporters who greeted him with rose-petals upon his arrival at hometown after his release from jail, in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan. Fourteen years in prison had not tempered one of Pakistan's most feared extremist leaders: Within days of his release, Ishaq was preaching murderous hatred toward Shiites infront of cheering crowds, energizing a militant network whose members have joined al-Qaida for terror strikes. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)                                  *** Local Caption ***  Pakistan Militant Bad Deal.JPEG-04cff.jpg
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ISLAM NAGAR, Pakistan // Pakistan has a well-documented history of trying to co-opt or strike deals with militants, and an examination of the Malik Ishaq case shows how that can play out.

It is a cautionary tale, perhaps, for US officials who are urging Pakistan to bring to the negotiating table Afghan militants who enjoy safe havens in the country's lawless border regions.

This summer, Mr Ishaq, one of the country's most feared militants, walked from jail, apparently in exchange for his commitment to non-violence, help in reining in other fighters and possibly delivering the votes of his followers.

Supporters showered Malik Ishaq with rose petals when he left the prison in Lahore in July. Days later, he was preaching murderous hatred towards minority Shiites to crowds of cheering Sunnis, energising a network whose members have joined Al Qaeda for terror strikes. That was too much for Pakistani authorities, who arrested him again last month.

Fifteen years ago, Mr Ishaq founded Laskhar-e-Jangvi, or LeJ, which allies itself with Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The LeJ is blamed for scores of attacks on Shiites, regarded as infidels, and on Pakistani and US interests.

Mr Ishaq was arrested in 1997 and accused of participating in more than 200 criminal cases including the killings of 70 Shiites. But the state could never make the charges stick - in large part because witnesses, judges and prosecutors were too scared to convict.

Frightened judges treated him honourably in court and gave him tea and biscuits, according to Anis Haider Naqvi, a prosecution witness in two cases against Mr Ishaq.

One judge attempted to hide his face with his hands, but Mr Ishaq made clear he knew his identity in a chilling way: he read out the names of his children, and the judge abandoned the trial, he said.

Despite the lack of convictions, Mr Ishaq remained in prison for 14 years as prosecutors slowly moved from one case to the next.

Mr Ishaq proved his usefulness to the army in 2009, when he was flown from jail to negotiate with militants who had stormed part of the military headquarters in Rawalpindi and were holding hostages there, said Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, who used to advise the Punjab provincial government on religious matters.

A behind-the-scenes effort by the government to co-opt the leaders of militant outfits and bring them into mainstream political life, or at least draw them away from attacking the state, helped Mr Ishaq secure his July 15 release, Mr Ashrafi said.

"I met Ishaq several times in prison," Mr Ashrafi said, emphasising that Mr Ishaq assured him that he wanted to contribute to peace. "If someone wants to get back to normal life, yes, why not, we do help him," said Mr Ashrafi. "These are our own men." He said he was disappointed to see him back in jail.

Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan denied there was any deal behind Mr Ishaq's release, but said extremist leaders were free to join politics if they eschewed violence. "We are in touch with those who have become, or want to become, useful citizens," he said.

The Punjab is the key battleground between the ruling party of President Asif Ali Zardari and the party of the opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, currently in power in that province. Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi, the head of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, or SSP, LeJ's parent group, told a rally last year that Mr Nawaz's brother, the Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, had vowed that Mr Ishaq's release "would be settled in meetings" with him.

"After that meeting, the time is not far when the prison door would break open and Malik Ishaq would be released," he said.

LeJ and other militant groups can muster significant support in Punjab and parts of Sindh province through their schools and mosques, making them an important force. Politicians have shown no hesitation in courting them despite their links to violence. The local SSP leader, Mohammad Tayyab, said a recent SSP-backed candidate for a regional assembly seat in southern Punjab got 17,000 votes.

Khaled Ahmad, an expert on Pakistani militant groups in Punjab, said there is "no doubt" that the SSP and Mr Sharif's party would cut deals as they have done in the past. "It is dangerous now because the group and its offshoots are in alliance with Al Qaeda."

Government intelligence reports show Mr Ishaq made threats in his public appearances after his release from prison. He urged his supporters not to be afraid of Pakistani laws and to "get on the streets and crush publicly the Shiites who abuse the Prophet Mohammed's companions". According to one report, he told a gathering near Rahim Yar Khan on September 4: "We know how to kill and how to die."

Mr Ishaq's aides denied he made such remarks.

The government suspected Mr Ishaq of coordinating meetings in recent months of 50 or so alleged terrorists, said Mr Khan, the law minister. Some of the men Mr Ishaq visited after his release had allegedly been involved in terrorism and were being watched by law enforcement agencies, said the government reports.

LeJ's stronghold is south and central Punjab, a neglected, hot part of the country that has long been the recruiting ground for state-sanctioned jihadi groups. Wealthy families, disproportionately Shiite, own large swathes of land where tenant farmers grow cotton, sugarcane and wheat and work at mango orchids.

Visitors to Mr Ishaq's house in Islam Nagar in the city of Rahim Yar Khan are greeted by an SSP member with an automatic rifle, against a backdrop of flags and banners glorifying the group.

"My father's mission is a true one," said his son, Malik Usman. "We will seek our reward from Allah."