 "All you need to about Lashkar-e-Taiba and its activities in India")
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh came under heavy criticism after he claimed that an event at Jawaharlal Nehru University to protest the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru had received “support” from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed. His statement assumes significance as this is the first time any senior government minister has alleged the backing of the LeT leader in a protest march held within the country. Even as he made this claim, no evidence has been produced and opposition parties have attacked the home minister, asking him to substantiate his claims.
Let's take a look at the origins of LeT and their activities in India
1) The Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) was formed in 1990 in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. Also known as Jama’at-ud-Da’awa, the organisation is based in Muridke near Lahore in Pakistan and is headed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.
3) The LeT is outlawed in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It was included in the Terrorist Exclusion List by the US Government on December 5, 2001. The US administration designated the Lashkar-e-Taiba as a FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization) on December 26, 2001. It is also a banned organization in Britain since March 30, 2001. The group was proscribed by the United Nations in May 2005.
4) The military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf banned the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan on January 12, 2002. The LeT’s professed ideology goes beyond merely challenging India's sovereignty over the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Lashkar's ‘agenda’, as outlined in a pamphlet titled “Why are we waging jihad” includes the restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India. Further, the outfit seeks to bring about a union of all Muslim majority regions in countries that surround Pakistan.
5) Hafiz Saeed, a scholar of Islam, has said that the purpose of Jihad is to carry out a sustained struggle for the dominance of Islam in the entire world and to eliminate the evil forces and the ignorant. He considers India, Israel and US to be his prime enemies and has threatened to launch Fidayeen (suicide squad) attacks on American interests too. The Lashkar-e-Taiba does not believe in democracy and nationalism. According to its ideology, it is the duty of every 'Momin' to protect and defend the interests of Muslims all over the world where Muslims are under the rule of non-Muslim in the democratic system. It has, thus chosen the path of Jihad as the suited means to achieve its goal. Cadres are drawn from the Wahabi school of thought.
6) Jihad, Hafiz Saeed said during the All Pakistan Ulema Convention held on July 17, 2003, at Lahore, is the only way Pakistan can move towards dignity and prosperity. The LeT has consistently advocated the use of force and vowed that it would plant the 'flag of Islam' in Washington, Tel Aviv and New Delhi.
7) The outfit’s headquarters (200 acres) is located at Muridke, 30 kms from Lahore, which was built with contributions and donations from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia being the biggest benefactor. The headquarters houses a Madrassa (seminary), a hospital, a market, a large residential area for ‘scholars’ and faculty members, a fish farm and agricultural tracts. The LeT also reportedly operates 16 Islamic institutions, 135 secondary schools, an ambulance service, mobile clinics, blood banks and several seminaries across Pakistan.
8) Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is the Amir (chief) of Lashkar-e-Taiba. While Yahiya Mujahid serves as the spokesman of the outfit, Maulana Abdul Wahid is one of the senior leaders. Abdullah Muntazer is the ‘Spokesman for International Media’ and editor of the outfit’s Website. Saeed’s son Talha reportedly looks after the LeT activity at its base camp in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Saeed’s son-in-law, Khalid Waleed, is reportedly part of the LeT office in Lahore.
9) While the primary area of operations of the Lashkar-e-Taiba is Jammu and Kashmir, the outfit has carried out attacks in other parts of India, including in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Kolkata, Gujarat, etc. It reportedly has cells in many cities/towns outside Jammu and Kashmir.
10) The LeT has been able to network with several Islamist extremist organizations across India, especially in J&K, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. LeT is actively engaged in subversive activities in the States of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Hyderabad, Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh at the instance of ISI to expand the frontier of violence outside J&K by subverting fringe elements. Of all the Pakistan-based terrorist groups, the LeT is the only group with support bases across India.
11) The LeT allegedly carried out the terrorist attack at the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bangalore on December 28, 2005, in which one person was killed; Earlier, on October 29, 2005, it engineered the serial explosions in New Delhi killing at least 62 persons; It is also suspected to have carried out the Varanasi attack on March 7, 2006 in which 21 civilians died and 62 others were injured; Three suspected LeT terrorists were shot dead during an abortive attempt to storm the headquarters of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu organization, at Nagpur in Maharashtra on June 1, 2006; The LeT, according to Mumbai Police, carried out the 7/11 serial bombings in Mumbai in which at least 200 people were killed.
12) India’s National Security Adviser M K Narayanan said on August 11, 2006, that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba is part of the "al Qaeda compact" and is "as big as and omnipotent" as the international terror network. "The Lashkar today has emerged as a very major force. It has connectivity with west Asia, Europe....Actually there was an LeT module broken in Virginia and some people were picked up. It is as big as and omnipotent as al Qaeda in every sense of the term," he told a private news channel. Asked how significant the al Qaeda connection was in India, Narayanan said LeT was the "most visible manifestation" of the al Qaeda in India.
LeT in 2016
January 28: The terrorist outfit is recruiting "vulnerable young men in Pakistan," as part of a larger plan to wage war against India, especially in J&K, a chargesheet filed by the NIA in the Udhampur terrorist attack case has said. The NIA said the LeT "recruited these impressionable young men and put them through various training regimes with the twin objectives of radicalising their worldview and providing them with 'military' skills and they were then illegally pushed into India to join their colleagues and commit terrorist acts." The outfit recruited "guides" to help "trained terrorists" infiltrate India through Helen Det, its launch pad in PoK near the LoC, says the chargesheet pertaining to the August 5, 2015 attack on a BSF bus in Udhampur, J&K.
January 29: Nine LeT cadres were named in a chargesheet filed by NIA in the Udhampur terror attack case. The accused include Mohammed Naveed alias Usman, Khursheed Ahmed Bhat alias Khursheed Alam Bhat, Showkat Ahmed Bhat, Shabzar Ahmed Bhat, Fayaz Ahmed Ittoo alias Fayaz Khar, Khursheed Ahmed Ittu, Fayaz Ahmed Ashwar alias Setha, Ashiq Hussain Bhat alias Ubaida and Abu Noman.
February 6: A Special Police Officer (SPO) turned militant, identified as Raqib Bashir was killed in a gun battle at Godipora area in J&K's Pulwama District. A joint team of SFs cordoned off Veerbagh village on learning about the presence of three LeT militants in the area. While the SFs were scanning the area, militants fired upon them, triggering a gunfight in which the troops gunned down one terrorist. Raqib was an SPO who had deserted the Police in 2015 to join the Lashkar. He was believed to be responsible for attack on the CRPF in Arwani village of Bijbehara, Anantnag District, in which two personnel were injured.
(Based on inputs from South Asian Terrorism Portal)
Let's take a look at the origins of LeT and their activities in India
1) The Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) was formed in 1990 in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. Also known as Jama’at-ud-Da’awa, the organisation is based in Muridke near Lahore in Pakistan and is headed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.
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2) Its first presence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was recorded in 1993 when 12 Pakistani and Afghan mercenaries infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC) in tandem with the Islami Inquilabi Mahaz, a terrorist outfit then active in the Poonch district of J&K.
3) The LeT is outlawed in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It was included in the Terrorist Exclusion List by the US Government on December 5, 2001. The US administration designated the Lashkar-e-Taiba as a FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization) on December 26, 2001. It is also a banned organization in Britain since March 30, 2001. The group was proscribed by the United Nations in May 2005.
4) The military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf banned the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan on January 12, 2002. The LeT’s professed ideology goes beyond merely challenging India's sovereignty over the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Lashkar's ‘agenda’, as outlined in a pamphlet titled “Why are we waging jihad” includes the restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India. Further, the outfit seeks to bring about a union of all Muslim majority regions in countries that surround Pakistan.
5) Hafiz Saeed, a scholar of Islam, has said that the purpose of Jihad is to carry out a sustained struggle for the dominance of Islam in the entire world and to eliminate the evil forces and the ignorant. He considers India, Israel and US to be his prime enemies and has threatened to launch Fidayeen (suicide squad) attacks on American interests too. The Lashkar-e-Taiba does not believe in democracy and nationalism. According to its ideology, it is the duty of every 'Momin' to protect and defend the interests of Muslims all over the world where Muslims are under the rule of non-Muslim in the democratic system. It has, thus chosen the path of Jihad as the suited means to achieve its goal. Cadres are drawn from the Wahabi school of thought.
6) Jihad, Hafiz Saeed said during the All Pakistan Ulema Convention held on July 17, 2003, at Lahore, is the only way Pakistan can move towards dignity and prosperity. The LeT has consistently advocated the use of force and vowed that it would plant the 'flag of Islam' in Washington, Tel Aviv and New Delhi.
7) The outfit’s headquarters (200 acres) is located at Muridke, 30 kms from Lahore, which was built with contributions and donations from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia being the biggest benefactor. The headquarters houses a Madrassa (seminary), a hospital, a market, a large residential area for ‘scholars’ and faculty members, a fish farm and agricultural tracts. The LeT also reportedly operates 16 Islamic institutions, 135 secondary schools, an ambulance service, mobile clinics, blood banks and several seminaries across Pakistan.
8) Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is the Amir (chief) of Lashkar-e-Taiba. While Yahiya Mujahid serves as the spokesman of the outfit, Maulana Abdul Wahid is one of the senior leaders. Abdullah Muntazer is the ‘Spokesman for International Media’ and editor of the outfit’s Website. Saeed’s son Talha reportedly looks after the LeT activity at its base camp in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Saeed’s son-in-law, Khalid Waleed, is reportedly part of the LeT office in Lahore.
9) While the primary area of operations of the Lashkar-e-Taiba is Jammu and Kashmir, the outfit has carried out attacks in other parts of India, including in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Kolkata, Gujarat, etc. It reportedly has cells in many cities/towns outside Jammu and Kashmir.
10) The LeT has been able to network with several Islamist extremist organizations across India, especially in J&K, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. LeT is actively engaged in subversive activities in the States of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Hyderabad, Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh at the instance of ISI to expand the frontier of violence outside J&K by subverting fringe elements. Of all the Pakistan-based terrorist groups, the LeT is the only group with support bases across India.
11) The LeT allegedly carried out the terrorist attack at the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bangalore on December 28, 2005, in which one person was killed; Earlier, on October 29, 2005, it engineered the serial explosions in New Delhi killing at least 62 persons; It is also suspected to have carried out the Varanasi attack on March 7, 2006 in which 21 civilians died and 62 others were injured; Three suspected LeT terrorists were shot dead during an abortive attempt to storm the headquarters of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu organization, at Nagpur in Maharashtra on June 1, 2006; The LeT, according to Mumbai Police, carried out the 7/11 serial bombings in Mumbai in which at least 200 people were killed.
12) India’s National Security Adviser M K Narayanan said on August 11, 2006, that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba is part of the "al Qaeda compact" and is "as big as and omnipotent" as the international terror network. "The Lashkar today has emerged as a very major force. It has connectivity with west Asia, Europe....Actually there was an LeT module broken in Virginia and some people were picked up. It is as big as and omnipotent as al Qaeda in every sense of the term," he told a private news channel. Asked how significant the al Qaeda connection was in India, Narayanan said LeT was the "most visible manifestation" of the al Qaeda in India.
LeT in 2016
January 28: The terrorist outfit is recruiting "vulnerable young men in Pakistan," as part of a larger plan to wage war against India, especially in J&K, a chargesheet filed by the NIA in the Udhampur terrorist attack case has said. The NIA said the LeT "recruited these impressionable young men and put them through various training regimes with the twin objectives of radicalising their worldview and providing them with 'military' skills and they were then illegally pushed into India to join their colleagues and commit terrorist acts." The outfit recruited "guides" to help "trained terrorists" infiltrate India through Helen Det, its launch pad in PoK near the LoC, says the chargesheet pertaining to the August 5, 2015 attack on a BSF bus in Udhampur, J&K.
January 29: Nine LeT cadres were named in a chargesheet filed by NIA in the Udhampur terror attack case. The accused include Mohammed Naveed alias Usman, Khursheed Ahmed Bhat alias Khursheed Alam Bhat, Showkat Ahmed Bhat, Shabzar Ahmed Bhat, Fayaz Ahmed Ittoo alias Fayaz Khar, Khursheed Ahmed Ittu, Fayaz Ahmed Ashwar alias Setha, Ashiq Hussain Bhat alias Ubaida and Abu Noman.
February 6: A Special Police Officer (SPO) turned militant, identified as Raqib Bashir was killed in a gun battle at Godipora area in J&K's Pulwama District. A joint team of SFs cordoned off Veerbagh village on learning about the presence of three LeT militants in the area. While the SFs were scanning the area, militants fired upon them, triggering a gunfight in which the troops gunned down one terrorist. Raqib was an SPO who had deserted the Police in 2015 to join the Lashkar. He was believed to be responsible for attack on the CRPF in Arwani village of Bijbehara, Anantnag District, in which two personnel were injured.
(Based on inputs from South Asian Terrorism Portal)