Jundallah (Soldiers of Allah) (Arabic: جندالله) (also known as Iranian People's Resistance Movement) is an insurgent Sunni Islamic organization based in Balochistan that claims to be fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran. It is believed to have 1,000 fighters and claims to have killed 400 Iranian soldiers and many more civilians. It is a part of the Baloch insurgency in Pakistan and in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan Province. The group started under the name of Jundallah and later renamed itself as People's Resistance Movement of Iran. The group has been identified as a terrorist organization by Iran and Pakistan and has been behind numerous acts of terror, kidnapping and smuggling narcotics and many believe it is linked to Al-Qaeda. It is also believed to receive support from the US government. The group has also been abducting foreign tourists for ransom.
Origins
Peoples Resistant Movement of Iran (PRMI), former Jundallah of Iran, is a terrorist organization that believed to have emerged on the scene in 2003 and it is known for attacks against high profile Iranian targets, especially government and security officials. Iran accuses the United States and other foreign elements of backing PRMI, possibly from Pakistani territory with Islamabad's support, despite Pakistan's history of cooperating with Iran to suppress Baloch nationalism, whereas PPMI adamantly denies any connections to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, as well as foreign governments such as the United States and Great Britain. In an interview with Dan Rather, Rigi describes the Iranian military as "cowardly" and in that video, he cuts off a person's head in front of the camera in Al-Qaeda style.
In an October 17, 2008 interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV, its leader Abdul Malik Rigi (Abdolmalek Rigi) stated the group had given "over 2000 men" military, political and ideological training but that the number of its members "in the mountains does not exceed 200."
United States backing Jundallah
ABC news reported in April 2007, citing US and Pakistani intelligence sources, that the terrorist group "has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials" to destabilize the government in Iran. According to this report by Brian Ross and Christopher Isham of ABC News, the United States government had been secretly encouraging and advising the Jundullah in its attacks against Iranian targets. This support is said to have started in 2005 and arranged so that the United States provided no direct funding to the group, which would require congressional oversight and attract media attention. The report was denied by Pakistan official sources. But despite their denial ABC stood by their claim. Alexis Debat, one of the sources quoted by Ross and Isham in in their report alleging US support for the Jundullah, resigned from ABC News in June 2007, after ABC officials claimed that he faked several interviews while working for the company.
Brian Ross, an award winning journalist and the correspondent who worked most closely with Mr. Debat, said the Jundullah story had many sources. “We’re only worried about the things Debat supplied, not about the substance of that story,” he said in regard to the Jundullah report. So far, ABC has found nothing that would undermine the stories Mr. Debat worked on, Mr. Ross said last night. But he acknowledged that as the stories of fabrications continue to roll in, the network “at some point has to question whether anything he said can be believed.” This caused the netword in 2007 to send a second team of producers to Pakistan investigating the original reports. ABC never retracted the story.
Fars News Agency, an Iranian state run news agency, reported that the United States government is involved in PRMI's terrorists acts.
Voice of America (VOA)
On April 2, 2007, Abdul Malik Rigi, appeared on the Persian service of Voice of America, the official broadcasting service of the United States government, which identified Rigi as "the leader of popular Iranian resistance movement". This incident resulted in public condemnation by Persian-American communities in the U.S, as well as the Iranian government. Since then Abdul Malik Rigi has appeared number of times on the US state funded VOA.
Approval of US$ 400 Million Funding
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed another report in July 2008 that US congressional leaders had secretly agreed to former president George W. Bush's USD 400 million funding request, which gives the US a free hand in arming and funding terrorist groups such as Jundullah militants.
Iranian speaker of parliament Ali Larijani, three days after the 2009 terror attack against Zahidan mosque revealed, Iran has intelligence reports regarding the United States links with certain terrorist groups operating against Iran and accused United States, of commanding them. He implicated United States of trying to start a civil war between shia and sunni segments of Iranian society. Regarding the investigation of the terrorist act he added that Iran would want Pakistan to cooperate fully and not become a mere part of the designs against Iran
British Support
Iranian authorities also blame Britain for supporing Jundallah
Support from Sweden
Dan Rather, on the US cable channel HDnet's television news magazine Dan Rather Reports, indicated that support comes from Balochis in Sweden where Radio Baloch FM is broadcast from Stockholm.
Involvement of Pakistan
Hossein Ali Shahriari, Zahedan's representative in parliament, rhetorically asked, "Why does our diplomatic apparatus not seriously confront the Pakistani government for harboring bandits and regime's enemies? Why do security, military and police officials not take more serious action?" Following publication of an interview in ‘Ayyaran newspaper, which has since been closed down on the order of Hojjatoleslam Nekunam, on 17 March 2007 he stated that there were 700 people then awaiting execution in Sistan-Baluchistan province, whose sentences had been confirmed by the Supreme Court The group mainly operates out of Pakistan and is reported to have training camps there as well as being involved in drug and weapon smuggling from Pakistan into Iran. Hostages once abducted by Jandallah in Iran are taken across the border to Pakistan.
However, in Pakistan itself the organization has carried out numerous terrorist and criminal activities, including assassination attempt at General Ahsan Saleem Hayt, suicide bombings and robberies. They also have links with Baitullah Mehsud.
Views and goals
The group's leader is known to be Abdolmalek Rigi (also known as Emir Abdul Malik Baloch). In a May telephone interview with Rooz, (Iranian online newspaper), Rigi defended PRMI's use of violence as a just means to defend Baloch and Sunni Muslim interests in Iran and to draw attention to the difficult economic situation and ethnic discrimination of the Baloch people [38][39][40][41], whom he describes as Iran's poorest. Significantly, Rigi declared himself an Iranian and Iran as his home. He also denied harboring separatist aspirations. According to Rigi, PRMI's goal is to improve the life of Iranian Baloch and Sunnis and not to separate from Iran or even demand autonomy.
In an October 17, 2008 interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV, Abdul Malik Rigi stated, "the only thing we ask of the Iranian government is to be citizens. We want to have the same rights as the Iranian Shiite people. That's it." He described his group as an Islamic awakening movement but denied any ties with Al Qaeda or the Taliban. He also told the interviewer that despite the fact that "many of us have been martyred … we are prepared to reach an understanding" with the Iranian government.
Arrest of Waheed Brothers
On July 3, 2004, Karachi police arrested two doctor brothers (Dr. Akmal Waheed, a cardiologist, and Dr. Arshad Waheed, an orthopaedic surgeon), who were missing, and presumed kidnapped since June 17. The police claimed to have recovered a car, the men's passports and visa cards from their possession. The doctors were said to have close links to Pakistani Jundullah and Al-Qaeda, as they were providing shelter and financial and medical support to the terrorists, police claimed.
They were charged with providing medical assistance and protection to the activists. They went underground after arrest of Shahzad Bajwa, the frontman and Ata-ur-Rehman, the chief of Jundullah, the spokesman further claimed. During investigations and later before the court, Ata-ur-Rehman, the chief of Jundullah, had confessed that Dr Akmal Waheed and Dr Arshad Waheed had close links to him and were extending help by all means, the police spokesman added.
Dr. Arshad Waheed was killed allegedly in a US missile attack in occurred on March 16, 2009 in Wana (Waziristan).
Death penalty for Jundullah activists
In February 2006 the Karachi anti-terrorist court handed down the death penalty and life imprisonment for eleven activists of Jundullah group for attacking the convoy of former Corps Commander Karachi, and the previous Vice Chief of Army Staff, General Ahsan Saleem Hyat in Karachi on June 10, 2004. The activists were Ata-ur-Rehman, Shahzad Bajwa, Aziz, Danish Imam, Khurram Saifullah, Shoaib Siddiqui, Rao Khalid, Shahzad Mukhtar, Adnan, Yaqoob Saeed, and Najeebullah belonging to a terrorist group named Jundullah. They were convicted of attacking the convoy of General Hayat near Clifton Bridge. Some 10 people, including six soldiers and three police personnel, were killed and 21 injured in the attack.
The judge also handed down 14-year and 10-year prison terms for planting a bomb and damaging public property, respectively. The court also ordered the convicts to pay Rs 100,000 each to the heirs of the deceased, along with Rs 50,000 each as a fine for an attempt to murder charge and another Rs 50,000 fine each for damage to public property. In case of default, they will have to serve an additional six month jail sentence.
Once the judge announced the judgment, all the accused present in the court got to their feet and started to chant "Allah-o-Akbar" and flash victory signs. Family members and relatives of the accused were also present in the courtyard of the court.
Five accused (Bilal, Qasim, Hammad, Shahab and Tayyeb) have already been declared absconding by the court.
Defense councils said that they would challenge the judgment in Sindh High Court within the stipulated period of seven days.
On 21 February 2006 an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced 11 members of Jundullah to death for the attack on General Hayat.
Activities in 2009
There are reports appearing that CIA is backing Abdul Malik Rigi to join forces with an al-Qaeda linked group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi to form a regional cooperation for operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and India, by the middle of 2009.
Also See
