October 2001 7’00

GEOFF THOMPSON: A morning chant of Koranic verse as Pakistani boys learn to become their community's religious leaders.

Not all such Koranic schools, or 'madrassas' as they're known here, turn out Islamic extremists, but some of them do.

As religious students, these young men are known generically as Taliban, a name the world now only associates with the most topical graduates of Pakistan's madrassas, those who now rule neighbouring Afghanistan.

MAULANA AZAM TARIQ, SIPAH-E-SAHABA PARTY: We do not consider ourselves separate from Taliban or Afghanistan.

Our history, our religion and blood and culture are the same.

GEOFF THOMPSON: A product of madrassa training, Maulana Azam Tariq is now leader of one of Pakistan's jihadi parties, supporting a holy war answer to a US attack on Afghanistan.

MAULANA AZAM TARIQ: We consider the war against Osama and Taliban a war against us, Pakistanis and Pakistan.

We will defend ourselves against this war and utilise whatever resources available to us.

GEOFF THOMPSON: At demonstrations in Pakistan's cities, jihadi parties and their followers are already making their presence felt.

As yet, they have not attracted Pakistan's mostly moderate public but in supporting the US and its retaliatory momentum, Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf knows the fire could catch on.

GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARAFF, PAKISTAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATION): Our solidarity and existence could be at stake.

IMRAN KHAN, TEHRIK-E-INSAAF PARTY: He's on a knife's edge.

He has to balance this very well.

That speech he gave the other day to tell the people, explain to the people, was really balancing this very tricky situation he's been landed into.

I would not hate to be in his position.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Imran Khan's prowess as a great all-rounder now extends to leadership of one of Pakistan's moderate political parties.

IMRAN KHAN: Let me tell you the problem General Musharraf is going to face.

At the moment is basically the clerics and the religious parties that are demonstrating.

Once they see civilian casualties, and bear in mind that there's a very close link between Afghanistan and Pakistan for centuries.

So once they actually see people being killed, the nightmare for General Musharraf will be when the ordinary people in the street join the religious parties.

I'm afraid then it could go anywhere.

GEOFF THOMPSON: For the ordinary people in Pakistan's cultural centre of Lahore, Food Street is still a much more popular place to be seen than a jihadi party rally.

Lahore is the city closest to the border with India, a country with which Pakistan has fought three wars.

Now perilously balanced by nuclear rivalry, that history is one moderate Pakistan wants to leave behind.

But even as the easing of US sanctions promises easier prosperity, radicalism is brewing even here.

YOUNG PAKISTANI: Muslim radical groups, they are calling for jihad.

And I think that there is a sense of jihad that applies over here.

As a Muslim, as a whole I've been targeted.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Are you young men that would normally look for a jihad?

Or do you think this is a situation which may turn you that way?

YOUNG PAKISTANI: I think that we should go for jihad, yes.

GEOFF THOMPSON: A US attack on the Taliban without direct evidence of terrorist guilt could turn even aspiring doctors towards holy war.

YOUNG PAKISTANI 2: We all are Muslim people.

And if you call the jihadis to be extremist, we all are extremists because we all are Muslims and our beliefs are the same.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Belief may run deep, but it's unlikely most Pakistanis have the stomach for the daily disciplines meted out in Afghanistan, where even swimming pools are policed by Taliban guards.

That's exactly the goal of Pakistan's jihadis.

MAULANA AZAM TARIQ: The Taliban government is our ideal government and we want a similar one in Pakistan because it has peace, equality and justice.

GEOFF THOMPSON: The rise of the Taliban, along with Pakistan's fundamentalists, is blamed by many on the country which, with its Cold War over, is preparing to wage a new hot war of its own.

NASIM ZEHRA, SECURITY ANALYST: The United States very centrally helped -- was very centrally the architect of these jihadi parties and their sort of, and their particular orientation, etcetera, along with Pakistan, yes.

GEOFF THOMPSON: As one of Pakistan's top security analysts, Nasim Zehra, also believes, a radicalisation of Pakistan could be imminent.

NASIM ZEHRA: Depends again, on how this operation will unravel itself, if there's going to be kind of human calamity of a kind that people in Pakistan will be exposed to through BBC and CNN and will be seeing Afghans who are already starving and dying, yes, you can count on further radicalisation of Pakistan.

And if you have US officials continuously talking about Saddam Hussein and this and then, it certainly appears to be Islam versus the rest, you can expect radicalisation.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Imran Khan thinks much worse is possible.

IMRAN KHAN: Once the attack actually starts, then I'm afraid God alone knows what's going to happen here.

I mean, it could be anything.

It could be a civil war.

It could be destabilisation.

It could be turmoil.

It could destabilise the whole area.

GEOFF THOMPSON: In such difficult times, the village of Sadoki, near Lahore, is a living message of tolerance.

MAN: Christian, Muslim.

Muslim, Christian.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Here, Muslims and Christians have lived street by street, side by side for hundreds of years.

HUSSAIN MASIH MUGHAL, CHRISTIAN VILLAGER (TRANSLATION): I want to request that if something happens, Christians and Muslims should stay united.

We should not be hostile towards each other.

GEOFF THOMPSON: It now seems almost inevitable that Sadoki's goodwill wishes will be tested in Pakistan all too soon.