By Shahzada Zulfiqar
Abdul Malik Reiki, chief of Irans Jundallah group
It was six years ago that Abdul Malik Reiki alias Mulla Malik, an Iranian Sunni Baloch, and 30 others joined hands and formed an organisation called Jundallah. Before declaring war against the Iranian state, he sent a delegation of tribal notables to the Iranian government demanding equal rights as enjoyed by the Shia majority of the country for the Sunnis and the Baloch. Once the government refused to consider these demands, the Jundallah members took to the mountains and declared war to secure rights of the Sunnis and the Baloch living in Iran. Reiki now tops the Iranian government�s most wanted list.
Reiki says hundreds are willing to join Jundallah, whose current membership stands at 600. But, he says, the organisation cannot admit them all because it is run on small donations from the Iranian people and, therefore, it is not economically viable for it to have too many members.
Reiki�s parents have also fled their home for fear of persecution and now live in the mountains along with other members of the militant leader�s extended family. Reiki lives on the Iranian border with Pakistan but he and his men constantly carry out attacks inside Iranian territory. These attacks involve raids on the posts of border-security forces, killing or injuring security personnel, looting their arms and ammunitions and holding the officers hostage.
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