ISLAMABAD: New evidence that Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden is still alive could hit the current political process in Pakistan where self-proclaimed allies of the world’s most wanted man have staked high claims for the next civilian government, political sources said on Thursday.

They said an expected renewed hunt for Osama along the Pakistan-Afghan border could cloud the governmental ambitions of the country’s Islamist parties opposed to the US-led war against terrorism.

Both President Pervez Musharraf — through the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) of his loyalists — and his opponents have been trying for more than a month after the Oct 10 elections to woo the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, to form a credible coalition that could partially take power after three years of military rule.

But US President George W. Bush seemed putting American allies also on notice on Wednesday about the threat from Osama’s apparent survival from the year-old military campaign in Afghanistan against his Al Qaeda network and the Taliban movement that sheltered it.

US officials have said preliminary analysis by intelligence experts has concluded that an audiotape attributed to Osama and aired by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera Television on Tuesday is authentic.

Some Pakistan-based journalists who have previously heard Osama speak face to face also say they believe it was the militant himself speaking on the tape, warning US allies over backing the “White House gang of butchers” and hailing the October 12 Bali blasts, the killing of a US marine in Kuwait, the bombing of a French oil tanker off Yemen and last month’s Chechen hostage-taking in Moscow.

If authenticated, the tape would be the clearest evidence yet that Osama survived that US-led campaign that toppled the Taliban regime a year ago and sought to flush out Al-Qaeda, which is blamed for the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

One aspect of the Al-Jazeera broadcast particularly disconcerting for Pakistani authorities will be that a masked man reportedly delivered the audiotape to the television station’s correspondent right in Islamabad.

The delivery suggested that Osama might be hiding somewhere along the long mountainous Pakistan-Afghan border, which could expect a new wave of ground and air attacks by US-led forces while Pakistani troops deployed to track down fugitives from Afghanistan could launch a renewed hunt on their own side of the border.

Political sources said the possibility of such a campaign could adversely affect the chances of MMA parties taking a major role in the upcoming civilian government because of possible strains on Pakistan-US relations.

Although the MMA has emerged as only the third largest group in the 342-seat National Assembly with 60 seats, it is seeking the office of prime minister because neither the first-placed 118-seat PML-Q nor the second-placed 81-seat People’s Party Parliamentarians can cobble together a simple majority without its support in a hung house.

The MMA parties, particularly the Jamaat-e-Islami and two factions of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, had waged a prolonged campaign of protests against Pakistan’s key role in the US- led coalition since October last year and declared support for what they regarded as a Taliban-Al Qaeda jihad.

But unlike Pakistan government’s quick switch of policy after the Sept 11 attacks, none of these parties has withdrawn support from the Taliban or Al Qaeda.

Political sources said the presence of MMA in the federal government would cause unease for the United States and President Musharraf could ill-afford to ignore Washington’s concerns.

“...the contents of the tape...is a serious message, and it should remind all of America and remind our friends and allies that there is an active enemy that continues to hate, is willing to use murder as a way to achieve their goals,” Bush said on Wednesday about the Al-Jazeera broadcast.

“Whoever put this tape out has put the world on notice yet again that we’re at war and that we need to take these messages very seriously. And we will,” he said.

THE Arabic word Taqwa literally means fear but in the Quran it can be interpreted to have several meanings depending upon the context in which it occurs. In some cases, it can be interpreted to mean fear of Allah (8:29), in some it can be interpreted to mean righteousness (74:56) and in some piety (47:17) and in some good conduct (49:13).

According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali “taqwa and the verbs and nouns connected with the root, signify (1) the fear of Allah which according to the writers of proverbs (i:7) in the old Testament is the beginning of wisdom; (2) restraint, or guarding one’s tongue, hand and heart from evils; (3) hence righteousness, piety, good conduct.” The basic meaning of taqwa, therefore, is fear of Allah, the rest are its outcomes.

In fact, the fear of Allah can have two important outcomes. One is the instant motivational effect or impetus as it occurred in the case of Hazrat Yousuf. The other is that it also serves as the source or genesis of wisdom which, among others things, implies the soundness of judgment i.e. the ability to make distinction between right and wrong in regard to one’s conduct or any other aspect of life. This has been appropriately explained by the Quran thus.

“O believers if you fear Allah, He will provide you with a criterion (to judge between right and wrong)” (8:29). Criterion ordinarily implies a standard or rule or test on which a judgment or decision in regard to certain matters can be based which in the context of this verse would mean every such act and behaviour that has been enjoined or declared as right by the Quran and every such act and behaviour that has been condemned or forbidden by the Quran. Allah has already endowed the human beings with the ability to make distinction between right and wrong (91:8).

The Quran has also clearly indicated as to what right and wrong acts and behaviours could be (2:256) (90:10). One has not to search for them elsewhere. But mere indication of right and wrong or the ability to make distinction between right and wrong can be of no avail. What could be really important could be the soundness of Judgment which means knowing correctly whether a particular act or behaviour falls in the category of right or wrong as prescribed by the Quran and the impulse i.e. the push impelling one to do that which is right and avoid that which is wrong. For example, a person wants to become rich, which by itself is not a bad thing. He has two options to achieve this object. One is to earn more by honest means and putting forth more efforts which indeed could be a lengthy process. The other could be a short-cut, committing theft. Simple reasoning may impel him to use the short-cut method if he can do it safely. But if he fears Allah, he will avoid the short-cut method as theft has been declared a major sin by the Quran. That is how the fear of Allah may enable one to know what could be wrong and impel him to avoid the same.

From the verse which says “He will provide you with a criterion” (8:29), it follows that if a person fears Allah he will have a clear perception of what could be right and wrong as declared by the Quran coupled with the impulse to do that which is right and avoid that which is wrong. The Quran undoubtedly provides guidance to those who fear Allah (2:3) And that is why the Quran has termed taqwa as the only criterion of honour in the sight of Allah (49:13) and the best of all raiments.

It is generally argued that fear is a negative way of motivation which can, at the most, make a person do or refrain from doing a thing as long as it subsists, which is true. In other words, the fear can at the most impel a person to do or refrain from doing a thing so long as its sword hangs on his neck, but the same cannot be true of the fear of Allah which besides being everlasting has also a totally different connotation.

When one talks of the fear of Allah, some people think of Allah as the king of punishment which is highly gratuitous. the fact remains that Allah is the king of Justice (39:75), the King of Mercy (39:53) and the King of Compassion (11:90). Mercy is the main rule that Allah has set for Himself (6:54) the sweep of which extends to every thing (7:156) and at the same time the mankind has been assured not to despair of it (39:53).

It is, in fact, the Knowledge, Omnipresence, even-handed justice and the Mercy of Allah that should cause fear in one’s mind, or that one should really be afraid of, keeping in mind that if he does any thing wrong he will be duly requited for it. No excuse, machination, influence or intercession will be of any avail. And if he commits any excesses, the vehicle of balance fuelled by the Mercy of Allah will set in motion and restore the balance, and may be in that process he gets punished. This brings us to another conclusion, namely, that Allah does not wrong any one. It is the people who wrong themselves (10:44). Fear is actually for those who do or intend to do wrong. For those who do good, the Mercy of Allah and glad tidings are guaranteed (10:64).

Thus what apparently seems to be fear, is not fear in essence, but is, in fact, firm faith in the Knowledge, Justice, Omnipresence and Mercy of Allah. The same faith which generates fear in the minds of the people and make them refrain from evils, also generates propensity towards doing good deeds in their minds.

One of the unique characteristic of taqwa is that every one can have the same opportunity to attain it. Those having the requisite faith, as discussed above, will attain it whether they were a king or a beggar. Its practical manifestations are refraining from evils and doing of righteous deeds. But it does not mean total abstention from evils. After all to err is human. Being the product of earthly environment, human beings have to commit sins.

But it will be in accord with the requirements of taqwa if the person committing the sin sincerely repents i.e. he admits that he has wronged himself and vows not to wrong himself again. This was what Adam did when he was misled by satan and made to do what he was forbidden to do (7:23) and Moses did when he killed a person by chance (28:16) and both were pardoned. Both of them first categorically admitted that it were they who had wronged themselves and then prayed for pardon. So did Hazrat Yunus when after deserting his mission, he was swallowed by a fish. He too was pardoned.

A person takes recourse to repentance only when his soul is permeated by taqwa. Repentance is, therefore, as important a characteristic of taqwa as the doing of righteous deeds. The Quran treats repentance and doing of righteous deeds combined as the minimum acceptable standard of human conduct. It first says that Allah will change the evils of those people into good who repent (25:70). And then for further emphasis it repeats that “whoever repents and does righteous deeds returns to Allah as he rightly should” (25:71). This shows how much importance the Quran has given to the two elements.

Repentance by itself involves three things. One is realizing the fact that the person has wronged himself followed by an unequivocal admission of his guilt. The other is discharging the duty neglected, or restoring the property misappropriated, or rectifying the wrong done or the damage or annoyance caused to the extent possible. The third is solemnly resolving not to commit any wrong again. Thus to be more elaborate, the practical manifestations of taqwa, could be restraining from doing wrong or evils to the extent possible, repenting over the wrong committed and doing of righteous deeds.