The terrorism enterprise

According to a report presented by the DG Rangers in the apex committee on June 4 and later revealed through a press release on June 11, Rs230 billion ill-gotten money is being used to fund acts of terrorism and militancy in Karachi.
These finances are raised through forced collection of ‘fitrana’ and ‘zakat’, collection of hides and skins of sacrificial animals, which is then funnelled to militant wings of political and religious parties. While the existence of militant wings in the political parties in Sindh, especially Karachi, is already known to the people and was clearly mentioned in the Supreme Court decision on the law and order situation in the city, the report presented by the DG Rangers has gone into the specifics of how the enterprise of terrorism is funded and who is involved in this systematic crime.
The painful reality is that all over Pakistan, most of the funds obtained by terrorist and militant organisations are raised through charitable organisations. Even on the international level most of the money financing terrorist activities is accumulated through illegal means and charities. What this means is that for any worthwhile effort to eliminate terrorism and militancy it is imperative to put a squeeze on the sources of funding for the terrorist entities.
Terrorism is probably the biggest challenge to humanity in the 21st century, and has affected almost the entire world and more so the countries of the Islamic bloc including Pakistan. It is a challenge that needs the support of respective populations. Dealing with these faceless terrorists, who have no religion but masquerade as its champions, is an extremely arduous undertaking. Apart from the legal and military muscle to quell them, the most effective way to scuttle their ability to carry on with their inhuman activities is to deprive them of the fuel for their enterprise – the money to finance their activities.
Terrorist outfits all over the world accumulate money through the drug trade, smuggling of weapons and goods, fraud, kidnapping for ransom and extortion, state sponsorship and charitable organisations. It is a proven fact that the money raised through charitable organisations with a façade of humanitarian causes is one of the major financing avenues for terrorist activities. Through bilateral and multilateral joint efforts 18 NGOs and nearly 300 other charitable organisations have been found involved in providing financial support to terrorist groups in different parts of the world.
In some cases terrorist financing, unlike money laundering, is often clean money being used for lethal purposes. The source of money used to put a bomb in the hand of a terrorist is often legitimate – as in the case of charitable donations or profits from businesses diverted from their ostensible use – and the ultimate goal is not necessarily the attainment of more funds but destruction. Terrorists employ a wide range of terrorist financing mechanisms, both to raise and move money.
The means used by particular terrorist organisations vary from group to group. Some groups in Europe, East Asia and Latin America rely on common criminal activities. Other groups in the Middle East rely on commercial enterprises, donations and funds skimmed from charitable organisations to not only fund their activities but also to move material and personnel. Still others rely on state sponsors for funding. To move their funds, terrorists use the formal banking system, informal value-transfer systems, hawalas and hundis and, the oldest method of asset-transfer, the physical transportation of cash, gold and other valuables through smuggling routes.
Pakistan has more than 30 terrorist groups operating under the umbrella of the TTP, and a few of them carrying on the baton on their own. They also use kidnapping for ransom, extortion and drug trafficking as a source of financing for their terrorist activities. However, their main source of money comes from charitable donations collected through seminaries and other welfare organisations sympathetic to their cause. During the last decade such organisations have mushroomed in Pakistan.
The unsuspecting people of Pakistan give their zakat and donations to such entities not knowing that they are financing their own death and destruction.
The people, therefore, need to be made aware of this clandestine business and urged to be a little more circumspect about their charity money or donations. They also need to be told that zakat is payable only to the needy and indigent individuals and not organisations operating with a façade of humanitarian causes. Similarly other charitable funds are also required to be doled out to organisations with a proven record of spending money for the purposes for which it is collected.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken the initiative, and rightly so, to unravel this crucial aspect of terrorism and create awareness among the public. This needs to be done more vigorously on a sustained basis. The government is also taking administrative measures to stop organisations with dubious credentials from collecting money from people for charitable causes.
The media also has the obligation to stir up an awareness campaign against the machinations of such entities on its own. In this regard the media should organise discussions and programmes highlighting this aspect of the enterprise of terrorism. Ulemas, intellectuals and celebrities from different fields can also be associated with the effort to emphasise the importance of charity and the best way to perform this humanitarian and religious obligation.
The military campaign against terrorists must be supplemented and strengthened through a sustained national effort to dry up their sources of funding. People need to be a little more careful about who they give zakat and charitable funds to.
The writer is a freelance contributor.
Email: ashpak10@gmail.com