Sufi Mohammed ‘hates democracy’ and calls for global Islamic rule

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Sufi Mohammad.

Sufi Mohammed, the leader of the pro-Taliban group behind the peace agreement between the government and the Taliban, has advocated Islamic rule throughout the world and said his followers would work with the government to eliminate Indian intelligence agents operating in the region.

The statements were made while Sufi was addressing a rally supporting his peace agreement in Swat, according to a report in an Urdu-language Pakistani newspaper. Sufi arrived in Swat yesterday after conducting a “peace march” from neighboring Dir.

”We hate democracy,” Sufi told the crowd of thousands of followers in Mingora. “We want the occupation of Islam in the entire world. Islam does not permit democracy or election.”

Sufi originally made his anti-democracy comments to a foreign news outlet prior to the signing of the Malakand Accord. During the interview, he lauded the brutal Taliban government that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

“From the very beginning, I have viewed democracy as a system imposed on us by the infidels. Islam does not allow democracy or elections,” Sufi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur just days before the Malakand Accord was signed. “I believe the Taliban government formed a complete Islamic state, which was an ideal example for other Muslim countries.”

Sufi also agreed to work with the government of the Northwest Frontier Province to “immediately take steps to clear the [NWFP’s] Malakand Division of RAW elements and criminals because the government has enough evidence of India’s involvement in the current lawlessness in Swat,” according to a Pakistani news report. RAW is the Research and Analysis Wing, the intelligence agency that operates outside of India.

Pakistani government officials and military officers occasionally blame India’s intelligence service for the Taliban insurgency in the Northwest Frontier Province. But Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence agency has backed various Taliban groups, including the Haqqani family in North Waziristan and Mullah Nazir in South Waziristan.

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Sufi Mohammad as he was freed from a Pakistani prison in November 2007. Photo from Dawn.

Sufi Mohammed is the spiritual leader of the outlawed Movement for the Implementation of Mohammad’s Sharia Law. He claimed to have eschewed violence after being released from prison in November 2007 as a condition of a similar failed peace agreement in Swat. Sufi led more than 10,000 Pakistanis into Afghanistan after the US invasion in 2001. Mullah Fazlullah, the radical anti-government cleric behind the insurgency and terror attacks in Swat, is his son-in-law.

Sufi and the Swat Taliban maintained very close links to the radical administration of the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, the pro-Taliban mosque in the heart of Islamabad whose followers enforced sharia and kidnapped policemen just one mile from the seat of government. The Pakistani military stormed the Lal Masjid in July 2007 after a several-month standoff. More than a hundred followers and more than a dozen soldiers were killed in the battle.

The Pakistani government agreed to its third peace agreement with the Swat Taliban after nearly two years of fighting. The agreement allows for the implementation of the sharia, or Islamic law, throughout the Malakand division, a region that encompasses nearly 1/3 of the Northwest Frontier Province and is made up of the districts of Malakand, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Dir, and Chitral. The agreement also calls for the end of military operations. The Taliban

have instituted a 10-day cease fire, while the military has ended offensive operations.

The agreement is viewed as a defeat for the Pakistani government as it has failed to dislodge the Taliban and ceded the writ of the government in the region. Past pacts with the Taliban have allowed the Taliban to consolidate control in the northwest and expand into neighboring regions.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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16 Comments

  • OfSam says:

    Sufi M is not going to survive long. His feud with Mullah Fazlullah will soon spill over into infighting. The US is quiet about this deal for a reason, as we all know it will fail. Even the “agreement” is vague and will result in some interpretative disagreement very soon.

  • Bill longley says:

    “Govt of elite for the elite by the elite….if thats democracy , my friend we dont want it/like it
    ABOUT INDIAN INVOLVEMENT IN TALIBAN INSURGENCY
    “The former intelligence official strongly supported the regional approach to Afghanistan suggested by US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. “Afghanistan is a classic power vacuum,” the former official said. “Neighbors see it as point of instability to guarantee their own stability or an opportunity to score points.”
    While the U.S. media has frequently reported on Pakistani ties to jihadi elements launching attacks in Afghanistan, it has less often mentioned that India supports insurgent forces attacking Pakistan, the former intelligence official said. “The Indians are up to their necks in supporting the Taliban against the Pakistani government in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” the former intelligence official who served in both countries said. “The same anti-Pakistani forces in Afghanistan also shooting at American soldiers are getting support from India. India should close its diplomatic establishments in Afghanistan and get the Christ out of there.”
    http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/02/16/can_the_intel_community_defuse_india_pakistan_tensions

  • mako says:

    “Govt of elite for the elite by the elite….if thats democracy , my friend we dont want it/like it
    Yeah ‘BIll’….you should really emulate the Chavez, Mugabe, Putin model….
    Forget about what the people want…kill your way to the top!!

  • Bill Roggio says:

    The “India backs the Taliban” canard is old as dirt. Note the update at the end of the entry Bill Longely linked to, because this is dead accurate:
    UPDATE: A Washington South Asia expert, among others, wrote to dispute the allegation made by a former U.S. intelligence official cited in the piece that India is aiding the Taliban, although he said such support may be going to other anti-Pakistan insurgent groups. “It doesn’t square with my observations/sources, even though lots of Pakistanis will say it is true,” one said. “The Indians have – by many accounts – had a longstanding connection with Baluch nationalists/separatists in Pakistan, but these are not Taliban and they aren’t active in Afghanistan fighting against US/NATO forces. So yes, India gives Pakistan grief (as Pakistan has in India), but I’ve seen no evidence that it comes from Pakistani or Afghan Taliban.
    “As for the consulates, that’s a regular refrain from Pakistani government and military,” the expert added, “but there’s very little US evidence to support the claims of major Indian activity in these locations, which appear to be minor operations with rather few personnel.” The former U.S. intelligence officer who made the allegation said that U.S. policymakers do not require the U.S. government to collect intelligence on the issue.

  • Viliger says:

    Good ol’ Bill Longley, a bit long in the tooth, but short in the truth!
    Suggest you go back and read again the grossly mis-informed report you read. To nip ur attempt at spreading misinformation in the bud, for the benefit of others, i extract below the UPDATE to the report ‘Bill’ referred above:
    “UPDATE: A Washington South Asia expert, among others, wrote to dispute the allegation made by a former U.S. intelligence official cited in the piece that India is aiding the Taliban, although he said such support may be going to other anti-Pakistan insurgent groups. “It doesn’t square with my observations/sources, even though lots of Pakistanis will say it is true,” one said. “The Indians have – by many accounts – had a longstanding connection with Baluch nationalists/separatists in Pakistan, but these are not Taliban and they aren’t active in Afghanistan fighting against US/NATO forces. So yes, India gives Pakistan grief (as Pakistan has in India), but I’ve seen no evidence that it comes from Pakistani or Afghan Taliban.
    “As for the consulates, that’s a regular refrain from Pakistani government and military,” the expert added, “but there’s very little US evidence to support the claims of major Indian activity in these locations, which appear to be minor operations with rather few personnel.” The former U.S. intelligence officer who made the allegation said that U.S. policymakers do not require the U.S. government to collect intelligence on the issue.”
    As for the writer of that report, perhaps you forgot to pay her ‘Bill’…err i mean bill.
    Have a good weekend fishing for a few more red herrings, but pls don’t bother to bring them here.

  • viliger says:

    Bill Roggio
    Looks like my comment crossed yours! I’m definitely not the fastest trigger 🙂
    Thank you again for all your great work! Objective!!

  • bard207 says:

    Bill Longley
    I will play along again,
    ………..even though I am not expecting a focused response from you.
    I have read on Pakistani media web sites and on a Pakistani dominated BBS about RAW and/or CIA and/or Mossad funding & supplying Baitullah Mehsud & various TTP factions.
    Since Maulana Fazlullah and his followers are under the TTP umbrella, why is Pakistan having Sufi Muhammad negotiate a peace deal with a RAW and/or CIA and/or Mossad front organization?
    If RAW and/or CIA and/or Mossad are working with Baitullah Mehsud & TTP to destroy the country of Pakistan (as you and other Pakistanis continue to claim), then logically the Pakistani military should be quite motivated to defeat and eliminate TTP from Pakistan.
    There is a very evident lack of desire by the Pakistani military to fight & eliminate Baitullah Mehsud & TTP. After the Mumbai attack, the Pakistani Army was eager to leave FATA & NWFP so forces could be sent to the Eastern frontier with India.
    1. The Pakistani military is scared of fighting the TTP (the RAW proxy).
    That reflects very poorly on the Pakistani military to be scared of a RAW front organization. Would hate to imagine how bad it will be for the Pakistani military if they have to fight actual Indian troops.
    2. The claim of TTP being a RAW and/or CIA and/or Mossad front is false.
    In the face of chaos
    …In a briefing to Pakistani journalists, a senior ISI officer said that the Taliban had assured the army of its support in the event of a war with India. He referred to their leaders, including Mr Mehsud, the alleged killer of Ms Bhutto, and Mr Fazalullah, as “patriotic Pakistanis”

  • Bill longley says:

    bard 27
    what do you know about TTP ,its composition …..
    i think you know nothing…..
    you are a big expert 😀 😀

  • Bill longley says:

    bill
    your observations are based on what??????????????????

  • flyonthewall says:

    Though you all may grow weary of countering propaganda with facts, your efforts are instructional for the less informed and sophisticated. Mr. Longley’s views are representative of the fragility of truth and the potential for distortion. I’m sorry to say there are many even more naive than I who will hopefully learn as much as I do by reading retorts. So if you tire of the effort, I don’t blame you, but if you persevere, I’m appreciative.

  • Bill longley says:

    flyonthewal
    who will decide what is propoganda and what is fact?
    i belive truth is reletive
    am i wrong

  • Render says:

    Survey says, yes.
    DING
    DING,
    R

  • mako says:

    bill longly “i belive truth is reletive”
    And there you have it.
    There is no moral compass in ‘bill’s’ world….

  • Thorum says:

    This story is titled “Sufi Mohammed ‘hates democracy’ and calls for global Islamic rule”. Let’s not let the focus be taken away from this. The threat of global Islamization and jihad is not a threat. It is a war and invasion happening now. Simple as that.

  • Neo says:

    Mr. Longley
    It seems you are as long on assertions as you are short on substance. Several week ago you insisted that India’s evidence about the Mumbai terror plot was a fabrication. All this in spite of statements coming from within the Pakistani government stating that India’s evidence was at least partly true. You have long supported the assertion that the United States is largely responsible for creating the Al Qaeda and Taliban in spite of the fact that the CIA had very little to do with Al Qaeda and the Taliban post-dates US involvement in Afghanistan. You insist that India has connections to the Taliban when they are deadly enemies of the Taliban. You also regularly make assertions about what is going on in Western Pakistan with no evidence in support whatsoever.
    I wish Bill had left up your little bit about “facts”

  • Rhyno327 says:

    Thier goal is an “Islamic Caliphate”….Bill, can you tell it like it really is? Maybe coming from you they will believe it.

Iraq

Islamic state

Syria

Aqap

Al shabaab

Boko Haram

Isis