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Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Taliban recruits “child soldiers”

Jun 13, 2007 9:14 am By Robert Spencer

“The Taleban convince them it is their duty to carry out jihad [holy struggle].”

“Recruiting Taleban ‘child soldiers,'” by Syed Shoaib Hasan for BBC News (thanks to all who sent this in):

Children in Tank, a remote town at the centre of Taleban activity in north-west Pakistan, are going missing.

It is a disturbing phenomenon that Tank shares with other towns on the edge of Pakistan’s tribal belt.

Reports says the children – some as young as 11 – are being kidnapped by pro-Taleban militants.

Most people in Tank are unwilling to admit it is happening and few will talk about it.

Pro-Taleban militants in the region deny they are recruiting children, blaming the region’s troubles on government policy.

‘Adventure’

When people in Tank can be persuaded to talk about the missing children, most appear to guard every word.

“They don’t really kidnap the children,” says a local teacher.

But he is hesitant and thinks his words through.

“The Taleban convince them it is their duty to carry out jihad [holy struggle].”

But then he admits what he’s left unsaid.

“How much convincing does a child need? … Especially when promised adventure.”

[…]

“The militants came to town with a mission, and wanted to convert us to their cause.

“They said that jihad was obligatory and those who heed the call are rewarded,” the principal said.

“As many as 30 students from each of the four government schools in Tank ‘enlisted’.

A similar number have also joined from private schools. The ages of those taken are between 11 to 15 years.

Battle for influence

Asked why the school administration has not simply refused, the staff appear flabbergasted.

“Do you want me to lose my neck?” one asks bluntly.

“The Taleban don’t ask for permission – they just tell us.”

[…]

But the authorities are not willing to admit anything is amiss.

“I have been here just two months,” says Muhammad Idrees Khan, the town’s deputy chief of police.

He argues that the parents should come forward if there is a problem.

But locals says that parents are extremely scared.

“They harbour hopes of their children returning if they keep quiet,” explains one.

“But if they open their mouths, the whole family would suffer the Taleban’s wrath.”

On the streets of Tank, students coming out of the local college have ambivalent feelings about the situation.

“We are not extremists… we are liberal people,” says a student who has just appeared for his physics paper.

“But our identity is Islamic.”

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