Maldivian students recruited to wage jihad, confirms Vice President
22 Feb 2010, 8:30 PM
Vice President of the Maldives Dr Mohammed Waheed Hassan has told Indian media that young Maldivians are being recruited by militant groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan to wage ‘jihad’.
The Indian Press Trust (IPT), among others, also reported that Waheed had claimed an increasing number of young Maldivians “are embracing a version of Islam which is more strict than the traditional Islamic values [of the Maldives].”
The vice president is currently visiting India, which recently signalled its willingness to increase defence cooperation after reports that extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, believed responsible for the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, was active in the Maldives.
At the time, Indian news portal Rediff.com reported Indian intelligence bureau sources as saying the group had “nearly 1,000 operatives active in the Maldives”.
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