Lashkar-e-Toiba
Encyclopedia
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia
, operating mainly from Pakistan
.
It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
and Zafar Iqbal in Afghanistan
.
With its headquarters based in Muridke
, near Lahore
in Punjab province
of Pakistan, the group operates several training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir
.
Lashkar-e-Taiba has attacked civilian and military targets in India
, most notably the 2008 Mumbai attacks
and the 2001 Indian Parliament attack
. Its objective is to introduce an Islamic state
in South Asia and to liberate Muslims residing in Indian Kashmir.
The organization is banned as a terrorist organization by India, Pakistan, the United States
, the United Kingdom
, the European Union
, Russia
and Australia
. Some experts such as former French investigating magistrate
Jean-Louis Bruguière
and New America Foundation
writer Stephen Tankel believe that Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI), continues to give LeT intelligence help and protection.
valley, the outfit is also active in the Jammu
region besides having undertaken repeated and confirmed attacks in other parts of India and on Indian mission in Afghanistan
. Their professed goal is not limited to challenging India's sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir
. Their aims include establishing an Islamic state
in South Asia
and uniting all Muslim-majority regions in countries that surround Pakistan to raise jihad
against all non-Muslim communities.
LeT sees the issue of Kashmir as part of a wider global struggle.
The group has repeatedly claimed through its journals and websites that its main aim is to destroy the Indian republic and to annihilate Hinduism and Judaism. LeT has declared Hindus
and Jews to be the "enemies of Islam", as well as India and Israel
to be the "enemies of Pakistan". In a pamphlet entitled "Why Are We Waging Jihad?" the group defined its agenda as the restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India and declared India, Israel and the United States as existential enemies of Islam. The LeT believes that violent jihad is the duty of all Muslims and must be waged until eight objectives are met: ending persecution against Muslims, establishing Islam as the dominant way of life in the world, forcing infidel
s to pay jizya
, fighting for the weak and feeble against oppressors, exacting revenge for killed Muslims, punishing enemies for violating oaths and treaties, defending all Muslim states, and recapturing occupied Muslim territory.
In the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, investigations of computer and email accounts revealed a list of 320 locations worldwide deemed as possible targets for attack. Only 20 of the targets were locations within India. Analysts believed that the list was a statement of intent rather than a list of locations where LeT cells had been established and were ready to strike.
In January 2009 the LeT publicly declared that it would pursue a peaceful resolution in the Kashmir issue and that it did not have global jihadist aims, but the group is still believed to be active in several other spheres of anti-Indian terrorism.
The LeT was formed in Afghanistan's Kunar province
in 1990 and gained prominence in the early 1990s as a military offshoot of MDI. MDI's primary concerns were dawah
and the LeT focused on jihad although the members did not distinguish between the two groups' functions. According to Hafiz Saeed, "Islam propounds both dawa[h] and jihad. Both are equally important and inseparable. Since our life revolves around Islam, therefore both dawa and jihad are essential; we cannot prefer one over the other."
Lashkar-e-Taiba was formed in May 1990, as hostilities between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue and the Siachen conflict
had increased considerably to be on the verge of war, with the sole aim of providing volunteers for the Pakistani Army aided militancy in Indian Kashmir. The logistical and intelligence support was provided by ISI.
It was at a time when militancy in Kashmir was at its peak (which had started in the late 1980s), but most Kashmiri militants were secular nationalists who advocated an independent Kashmir as opposed to "secession to Pakistan" which the religiously-motivated militant groups advocated. Lashkar-e-Taiba was at that time the only militant organization whose aim was to forcefully secede Kashmir to Pakistan. It was formed in 1990 with the blessings and design of the then Army chief General Mirza Aslam Baig and the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
. The newly formed organization was assured supply of arms and veterans left over from the anti-Soviet Afghan War of the 1980s, as well as access to the training camps which were used to train the Afghan Mujahideen in the 1980s.
Most of these training camps were located in North-West Frontier Province
(NWFP) and many were shifted to Azad Kashmir
for the sole purpose of training volunteers for the Kashmir Jihad. From 1991 onwards, militancy surged in Indian Kashmir, as many Lashkar-e-Taiba volunteers were infiltrated into Indian Kashmir from Azad Kashmir with the help of the Pakistan Army
and ISI. As of 2010, the degree of control that Pakistani intelligence retains over LeT’s operations is not known.
declared Lashkar-e-Taiba to be a terrorist organization.
On March 28, 2001, in Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 1261, British Home Secretary
Jack Straw
designated the group a Proscribed Terrorist Organization
under the Terrorism Act 2000
.
On December 5, 2001, the group was added to the Terrorist Exclusion List
. In a notification dated December 26, 2001, United States Secretary of State
Colin Powell
, designated Lashkar-e-Taiba a Foreign Terrorist Organisation
.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was banned in Pakistan on January 12, 2002.
It is banned in India as a designated terrorist group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
.
It was listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia
under the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002 on 11 April 2003 and was re-listed 11 April 2005 and 31 March 2007.
On 2 May 2008 it was placed on the Consolidated List established and maintained by the Committee established by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267
as an entity associated with al-Qaeda. The report also proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a front group of the LeT linked to Al-Qaeda
and the Taliban
On December 7, 2008, under pressure from USA and India, Pakistani army launched an operation against LeT and raided a markaz (centre) of the LeT at Shawai Nullah, 5 km from Muzaffarabad
in Pakistan-controlled Azad Kashmir
. The army arrested more than twenty members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. They are said to have sealed off the centre, which included a madrasah
and a mosque alongside offices of the LeT according to the government of Pakistan.
On December 10, 2008 India formally requested the United Nations Security Council
to designate JuD as a terrorist organization. Subsequently, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain gave an undertaking, saying,
A similar assurance was given by Pakistan in 2002 when it clamped down on the LeT; however, the LeT was covertly allowed to function under the guide of the JuD. While arrests have been made, the Pakistani Government has categorically refused to allow any foreign investigators access to Hafiz Saeed.
On December 11, 2008 the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on JuD, declaring it a global terrorist group. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the chief of JuD declared that his group will challenge the sanctions imposed on it in all forums. Pakistan's government also banned the JuD on the same day and issued an order to seal the JuD in all four provinces
, as well as Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Before the ban JuD ran a weekly newspaper named Ghazwah, two monthly magazines called Majalla Tud Dawaa and Zarb e Taiba, and a fortnightly magazine for children, Nanhe Mujahid. The publications have since been banned by the Pakistani government. In addition to the prohibition of JuD's print publications, the organisation's websites were also shut down by the Pakistani government.
After the ban imposed by UNSC, Hindu
minority groups in Pakistan came out in support of JuD. At protest marches in Hyderabad, Hindu groups said that JuD does charity work such as setting up water wells in desert regions and providing food to the poor. However, the credibility of the level of support during the protest is questionable. Several protesters claim to have been under the impression they were protesting price rises. The BBC reported that protesters on their way to what they believed was a rally against price rises were handed signs in support of JuD.
The organizations' banning has been met with heavy criticism in many Pakistani circles, which include many Christians and Hindus, as JuD was the first to react to the Kashmir earthquake and the Ziarat Earthquake
. It also ran over 160 schools with thousands of students and provided aid in hospitals as well.
In January 2009 the JuD spokesperson, Abdullah Muntazir, stressed that the group did not have global jihadist aspirations and would welcome a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. He also publicly disowned LeT commanders Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarrar Shah
, who have both been accused of being the masterminds behind the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
In response to the UN resolution and the government ban, the JuD reorganized itself under the name of Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awal (TTQA).
in Kashmir and Jammu. It is considered a well-trained group.. Its members undergo training in basic infantry skills and guerilla warfare for 6–7 months in camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and NWFP.They are often trained by Special Service Group operators of the Pakistan Army
.
The group conducts training camps and humanitarian work. These camps have long been tolerated by the Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI) agency because of their usefulness against India and in Afghanistan although they have been instructed not to mount any operations for now.
Some breakaway Lashkar members have been accused of carrying out attacks in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi
, to mark its opposition to the policies of former President Pervez Musharraf
.
Until 2002 the group collected funds through public fundraising events usually using charity boxes in shops and mosques. The group also received money through donations at MDI offices, through personal donations collected at public celebrations of an operative's martyrdom, and through its website. The outfit also collected donations from the Pakistani immigrant community in the Persian Gulf
and United Kingdom
, Islamic Non-Governmental Organisations, and Pakistani and Kashmiri businessmen. Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives have also been apprehended in India, where they had been obtaining funds from sections of the Muslim Community.
Although many of the funds collected went towards legitimate uses, e.g. factories and other businesses, a significant portion was dedicated to military activities. According to U.S. intelligence, the LeT had a military budget of more than $5 million by 2009.
. In many instances, they were the first on the scene, arriving before the army or other civilians.
A large amount of funds collected among the Pakistani expatriate community in Britain to aid victims of the earthquake were funneled for the activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba although the donors were unaware. About £
5 million were collected, but more than half of the funds were directed towards LeT rather than towards relief efforts. Intelligence officials stated that some of the funds were used to prepare for an attack that would have detonated explosives on board transatlantic airflights
. Other investigations also indicated the aid given for earthquake victims was directly involved to expand Lashkar-e-Taiba's activities within India.
LeT cadres have also been arrested in different cities of India. On May 27, a LeT militant was arrested from Hajipur
in Gujarat. On August 15, 2001, a LeT militant was arrested from Bhatinda in Punjab
.
According to the declaration of LeT operatives, the Pakistan Army
from its 12th Infantry Division based in Azad Kashmir aids members of the outfit in their infiltration, extraction and clashes with Indian security forces around the Line of Control
(LoC) by providing covering fire.
The LeT was also reported to have been directed by the Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI) to widen its network in the Jammu region where a considerable section of the populace comprised Punjabis. The LeT has a large number of activists who hail from Pakistani Punjab and can thus effectively penetrate into Jammu society.
A December 13, 2001 news report cited a LeT spokesperson as saying that the outfit wanted to avoid a clash with the Pakistani government. He claimed a clash was possible because of the suddenly conflicting interests of the government and of the militant outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir even though the government had been an ardent supporter of Muslim freedom movements, particularly that of Kashmir.
Pakistan denies giving orders to Lashkar-e-Taiba's activities. However, the Indian government and many non-governmental think-tanks allege that the Pakistani ISI is involved with the group. The situation with LeT causes considerable strain in Indo-Pakistani relations
, which are already mired in suspicion and mutual distrust.
conflict against the Najibullah
regime in Afghanistan
. In the process, the outfit developed deep linkages with Afghanistan and has several Afghan nationals in its cadre. The outfit had also cultivated links with the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan and also with Osama bin Laden
and his Al Qaeda network. Even while refraining from openly displaying these links, the LeT office in Muridke
was reportedly used as a transit camp for third country recruits heading for Afghanistan.
Guantanamo detainee Khalid Bin Abdullah Mishal Thamer Al Hameydani
's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
said that he had received training via Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals of Taj Mohammed and Rafiq Bin Bashir Bin Jalud Al Hami
, and the Administrative Review Board
hearing of Abdullah Mujahid
and Zia Ul Shah
allege that they too were members or former members of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
, Bosnia, the Middle East and Chechnya
. There are also allegations that members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
conducted arms transfers and made deals with LeT in the early 1990s
on India’s Parliament in New Delhi
, a joint group from the LeT and the Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM) were involved. The attack precipitated the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff
.
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, operating mainly from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is the amir of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah, a charity organization that is widely considered to be a cover organization for Lashkar-e-Taiba , one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan...
and Zafar Iqbal in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
With its headquarters based in Muridke
Muridke
Muridke is a major commercial area near the city of Lahore, Pakistan, it is located at 31°45'35N 73°50'16E and has an elevation of 205 m and is situated on the famous Grand Trunk Road and at the crossroads to Sheikhupura, Gujranwala and Narang Mandi/ Narowal...
, near Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
in Punjab province
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
of Pakistan, the group operates several training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Azad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north west, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China to the north and the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, to the east.A...
.
Lashkar-e-Taiba has attacked civilian and military targets in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, most notably the 2008 Mumbai attacks
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
and the 2001 Indian Parliament attack
2001 Indian Parliament attack
The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a high-profile attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists against the building housing the Parliament of India in New Delhi...
. Its objective is to introduce an Islamic state
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a type of government, in which the primary basis for government is Islamic religious law...
in South Asia and to liberate Muslims residing in Indian Kashmir.
The organization is banned as a terrorist organization by India, Pakistan, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Some experts such as former French investigating magistrate
Examining magistrate
In an inquisitorial system of law the examining magistrate or investigating magistrate is a judge who carries out investigations into cases and arranges prosecutions....
Jean-Louis Bruguière
Jean-Louis Bruguière
Jean-Louis Bruguière was the leading French investigating magistrate in charge of counter-terrorism affairs. He was appointed in 2004 vice-president of the Paris Court of Serious Claims . He has garnered controversy for various acts, including the indictment of Rwandan president Paul Kagame for the...
and New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
writer Stephen Tankel believe that Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
(ISI), continues to give LeT intelligence help and protection.
Objective
While the primary area of operations of the their militant activities is the KashmirKashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
valley, the outfit is also active in the Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
region besides having undertaken repeated and confirmed attacks in other parts of India and on Indian mission in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Their professed goal is not limited to challenging India's sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
. Their aims include establishing an Islamic state
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a type of government, in which the primary basis for government is Islamic religious law...
in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and uniting all Muslim-majority regions in countries that surround Pakistan to raise jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
against all non-Muslim communities.
LeT sees the issue of Kashmir as part of a wider global struggle.
The group has repeatedly claimed through its journals and websites that its main aim is to destroy the Indian republic and to annihilate Hinduism and Judaism. LeT has declared Hindus
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Jews to be the "enemies of Islam", as well as India and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
to be the "enemies of Pakistan". In a pamphlet entitled "Why Are We Waging Jihad?" the group defined its agenda as the restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India and declared India, Israel and the United States as existential enemies of Islam. The LeT believes that violent jihad is the duty of all Muslims and must be waged until eight objectives are met: ending persecution against Muslims, establishing Islam as the dominant way of life in the world, forcing infidel
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
s to pay jizya
Jizya
Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
, fighting for the weak and feeble against oppressors, exacting revenge for killed Muslims, punishing enemies for violating oaths and treaties, defending all Muslim states, and recapturing occupied Muslim territory.
In the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, investigations of computer and email accounts revealed a list of 320 locations worldwide deemed as possible targets for attack. Only 20 of the targets were locations within India. Analysts believed that the list was a statement of intent rather than a list of locations where LeT cells had been established and were ready to strike.
In January 2009 the LeT publicly declared that it would pursue a peaceful resolution in the Kashmir issue and that it did not have global jihadist aims, but the group is still believed to be active in several other spheres of anti-Indian terrorism.
Personnel
- Hafiz Muhammad SaeedHafiz Muhammad SaeedHafiz Muhammad Saeed is the amir of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah, a charity organization that is widely considered to be a cover organization for Lashkar-e-Taiba , one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan...
– Living in Pakistan – Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and amir of its political arm, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Shortly after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks Saeed denied any links between the two groups: "No Lashkar-e-Taiba man is in Jamaat-ud-Dawa and I have never been a chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba."
- Zaki-ur-Rehman LakhviZaki ur Rehman LakhviZaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, sometimes referred to as Abdullah Azam or Zaki ur Rehman Lakhwi, is a founding member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and currently serves as Supreme Commander of operations in Kashmir and as a member of LeT's General Council....
– In custody of Pakistan military – Senior member of LeT. Named as being one of the masterminds of the Mumbai attack.
- Yusuf Muzammil – Senior member of LeT. Named as a mastermind of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks by surviving gunman Ajmal KasabAjmal KasabMohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab is a Pakistani Islamic terrorist who was involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India. Kasab is the only attacker captured alive by police and is currently in Indian custody. The Government of Pakistan initially denied that Kasab was from Pakistan, but in January 2009,...
.
- Zarrar ShahZarrar ShahZarrar Shah is one of Lashkar-e-Taiba's primary liaisons to the ISI and its communications chief.According to The New York Times, Shah is "a senior Lashkar commander" and "a central character" behind the plot of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks...
– in Pakistani custody – one of Lashkar-e-Taiba's primary liaisons to the ISI. An American official said that he was a "central character" in the planning behind the Mumbai attacks in 2008. Zarar Shah has boasted to Pakistani investigators about his role in the attacks.
- Muhammad Ashraf – LeT's top financial officer. Although not directly connected to the 2008 Mumbai plot, he was added to the U.N. list of people that sponsor terrorism after the attacks. However, Geo TV reported that six years earlier Ashraf became seriously ill while in custody and died at Civil Hospital on June 11, 2002.
- Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed Bahaziq – The leader of LeT in Saudi Arabia and one of its financiers. Although not directly connected to the Mumbai plot, the U.N. added him to its list of individuals that sponsor terrorism after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
- Nasr JavedNasr JavedNasr Javed, a Kashmiri senior operative of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, is on the list of "Individuals banned from the UK for stirring-up hatred" for "Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular...
– A Kashmiri senior operative, is on the list of individuals banned from entering the United Kingdom for "engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs."
Formation
In 1985, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and Zafar Iqbal formed the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (Organization for Preaching, or JuD) as a small missionary group dedicated to promoting an Ahl-e-Hadith version of Islam. In the next year, Zaki-ur Rehman Lakvi merged his group of anti-Soviet jihadists with the JuD to form the Markaz-ud Dawa-wal-Irshad (Center for Preaching and Guidance, or MDI). The MDI had 17 founders originally, and notable among them was Abdullah Azzam.The LeT was formed in Afghanistan's Kunar province
Kunar Province
Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...
in 1990 and gained prominence in the early 1990s as a military offshoot of MDI. MDI's primary concerns were dawah
Dawah
Da‘wah or Dawah usually denotes the preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation", being the active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite"...
and the LeT focused on jihad although the members did not distinguish between the two groups' functions. According to Hafiz Saeed, "Islam propounds both dawa[h] and jihad. Both are equally important and inseparable. Since our life revolves around Islam, therefore both dawa and jihad are essential; we cannot prefer one over the other."
Lashkar-e-Taiba was formed in May 1990, as hostilities between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue and the Siachen conflict
Siachen conflict
The Siachen Conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen War, is a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. The conflict began in 1984 with India's successful Operation Meghdoot during which it wrested control of the Siachen Glacier from...
had increased considerably to be on the verge of war, with the sole aim of providing volunteers for the Pakistani Army aided militancy in Indian Kashmir. The logistical and intelligence support was provided by ISI.
It was at a time when militancy in Kashmir was at its peak (which had started in the late 1980s), but most Kashmiri militants were secular nationalists who advocated an independent Kashmir as opposed to "secession to Pakistan" which the religiously-motivated militant groups advocated. Lashkar-e-Taiba was at that time the only militant organization whose aim was to forcefully secede Kashmir to Pakistan. It was formed in 1990 with the blessings and design of the then Army chief General Mirza Aslam Baig and the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
. The newly formed organization was assured supply of arms and veterans left over from the anti-Soviet Afghan War of the 1980s, as well as access to the training camps which were used to train the Afghan Mujahideen in the 1980s.
Most of these training camps were located in North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
(NWFP) and many were shifted to Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
for the sole purpose of training volunteers for the Kashmir Jihad. From 1991 onwards, militancy surged in Indian Kashmir, as many Lashkar-e-Taiba volunteers were infiltrated into Indian Kashmir from Azad Kashmir with the help of the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
and ISI. As of 2010, the degree of control that Pakistani intelligence retains over LeT’s operations is not known.
Designation as terrorist group
Lashkar-e-Taiba had links to Jama'at-ud-Da'wah, however Jama'at-ud-Da'wah publicly retracted any association with them after the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
declared Lashkar-e-Taiba to be a terrorist organization.
On March 28, 2001, in Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 1261, British Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
designated the group a Proscribed Terrorist Organization
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
under the Terrorism Act 2000
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
.
On December 5, 2001, the group was added to the Terrorist Exclusion List
Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List
The Patriot Act requires the Department of Homeland Security to maintain and publish a list called the Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List.-The list as of December 5, 2001:* al-Itihaad al-Islamiya * Al Wafa al Igatha al Islamia* Osbat al-Ansar...
. In a notification dated December 26, 2001, United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, designated Lashkar-e-Taiba a Foreign Terrorist Organisation
U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
"Foreign Terrorist Organization" is a designation of non-United States-based organizations declared terrorist by the United States Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act...
.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was banned in Pakistan on January 12, 2002.
It is banned in India as a designated terrorist group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
Unlawful Activities Act is Indian law aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.The National Integration Council appointed a Committee on National Integration and Regionalisation to look into, inter alia, the aspect of putting reasonable restrictions in the...
.
It was listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
under the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002 on 11 April 2003 and was re-listed 11 April 2005 and 31 March 2007.
On 2 May 2008 it was placed on the Consolidated List established and maintained by the Committee established by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267, adopted unanimously on October 15, 1999, after recalling resolutions 1189 , 1193 and 1214 on the situation in Afghanistan, the Council established a sanctions regime to cover individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and/or...
as an entity associated with al-Qaeda. The report also proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a front group of the LeT linked to Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and the Taliban
The aftermath of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks
According to a media report, the JuD was accused by the U.S. of being the front group for the prime suspects of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the organization that trained the 10 gunmen involved in these attacks.On December 7, 2008, under pressure from USA and India, Pakistani army launched an operation against LeT and raided a markaz (centre) of the LeT at Shawai Nullah, 5 km from Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers...
in Pakistan-controlled Azad Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. The army arrested more than twenty members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. They are said to have sealed off the centre, which included a madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
and a mosque alongside offices of the LeT according to the government of Pakistan.
On December 10, 2008 India formally requested the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
to designate JuD as a terrorist organization. Subsequently, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain gave an undertaking, saying,
A similar assurance was given by Pakistan in 2002 when it clamped down on the LeT; however, the LeT was covertly allowed to function under the guide of the JuD. While arrests have been made, the Pakistani Government has categorically refused to allow any foreign investigators access to Hafiz Saeed.
On December 11, 2008 the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on JuD, declaring it a global terrorist group. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the chief of JuD declared that his group will challenge the sanctions imposed on it in all forums. Pakistan's government also banned the JuD on the same day and issued an order to seal the JuD in all four provinces
Subdivisions of Pakistan
The administrative units of Pakistan consist of four provinces, one federal capital territory, and a group of federally-administered tribal areas...
, as well as Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Before the ban JuD ran a weekly newspaper named Ghazwah, two monthly magazines called Majalla Tud Dawaa and Zarb e Taiba, and a fortnightly magazine for children, Nanhe Mujahid. The publications have since been banned by the Pakistani government. In addition to the prohibition of JuD's print publications, the organisation's websites were also shut down by the Pakistani government.
After the ban imposed by UNSC, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
minority groups in Pakistan came out in support of JuD. At protest marches in Hyderabad, Hindu groups said that JuD does charity work such as setting up water wells in desert regions and providing food to the poor. However, the credibility of the level of support during the protest is questionable. Several protesters claim to have been under the impression they were protesting price rises. The BBC reported that protesters on their way to what they believed was a rally against price rises were handed signs in support of JuD.
The organizations' banning has been met with heavy criticism in many Pakistani circles, which include many Christians and Hindus, as JuD was the first to react to the Kashmir earthquake and the Ziarat Earthquake
2008 Pakistan earthquake
The 2008 Pakistan earthquake was a magnitude Mw 6.4 earthquake that hit the Pakistani province of Balochistan on October 29, 2008. The US Geological Survey reported that the quake occurred north of Quetta and southeast of the Afghanistan city of Kandahar at 04:09 local time at a depth of , at...
. It also ran over 160 schools with thousands of students and provided aid in hospitals as well.
In January 2009 the JuD spokesperson, Abdullah Muntazir, stressed that the group did not have global jihadist aspirations and would welcome a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. He also publicly disowned LeT commanders Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarrar Shah
Zarrar Shah
Zarrar Shah is one of Lashkar-e-Taiba's primary liaisons to the ISI and its communications chief.According to The New York Times, Shah is "a senior Lashkar commander" and "a central character" behind the plot of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks...
, who have both been accused of being the masterminds behind the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
In response to the UN resolution and the government ban, the JuD reorganized itself under the name of Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awal (TTQA).
Activities
The group actively carried out attacks on Indian Armed ForcesIndian Armed Forces
The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. They consist of the Army, Navy and Air Force, supported by three paramilitary forces and various inter-service institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command.The President of India is...
in Kashmir and Jammu. It is considered a well-trained group.. Its members undergo training in basic infantry skills and guerilla warfare for 6–7 months in camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and NWFP.They are often trained by Special Service Group operators of the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
.
The group conducts training camps and humanitarian work. These camps have long been tolerated by the Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
(ISI) agency because of their usefulness against India and in Afghanistan although they have been instructed not to mount any operations for now.
Some breakaway Lashkar members have been accused of carrying out attacks in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, to mark its opposition to the policies of former President Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
.
Notable incidents
- 1998 Wandhama massacre: 23 Kashmiri pandits were murdered on 25 January 1998.
- In March 2000, Lashkar-e-Taiba militants are claimed to have been involved in the Chittisinghpura massacreChittisinghpura massacreThe Chittisinghpura massacre refers to the shooting to death of 36 Sikhs on 20 March 2000, in the Anantnag district of the State of Jammu and Kashmir in India. The Indian government asserts that it was conducted by the Islamic Fundamentalist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba which is based in Muridke...
, where 35 SikhSikhA Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s in the town of Chittisinghpura in KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
were killed. An 18-year-old male, who was arrested in December of that year, admitted in an interview with a New York Times correspondentCorrespondentA correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
to the involvement of the group and expressed no regret in perpetrating the anti-Sikh massacre. In a separate interview with the same correspondent, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed denied knowing the young man and dismissed any possible involvement of LeT. In 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) associate David HeadleyDavid HeadleyDavid Coleman Headley, formerly known as Daood Sayed Gilani, is a Chicago-based Pakistani American,who conspired with Lashkar-e-Taibaand, he claims, Pakistani military officers...
, who was arrested in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks2008 Mumbai attacksThe 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
, reportedly confessed to the National Investigation AgencyNational Investigation AgencyNational Investigation Agency is a federal agency approved by the Indian Government to combat terror in India. The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states. The National Investigation Agency Bill 2008 to create the agency was...
that the LeT carried out the Chittisinghpura massacre. He is said to have identified an LeT militant named Muzzamil as part of the group which carried out the killings apparently to create communal tension just before Clinton’s visit. - The LeT was also held responsible by the government for the December 23, 2000 attack2000 terrorist attack on Red Fort2000 terrorist attack on Red Fort is a terrorist attack on Red Fort in Delhi in India on 22 December 2000.It was carried out by terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba that killed two soldiers and one civilian....
in Red Fort, New DelhiNew DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. LeT confirmed its participation in the Red Fort attack. - LeT claimed responsibility for an attack on the Srinagar AirportSrinagar AirportSheikh ul Alam Airport commonly known as Srinagar Airport , is an international airport in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India .It has been named after one of the greatest saints of Kashmir, Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, popularly known to Kashmiris as Sheikh-ul-Alam.Currently the airport has...
that left five Indians and six militants dead. - The group claimed responsibility for an attack on Indian security forces along the border.
- The Indian government blamed LeT, in coordination with Jaish-e-MohammedJaish-e-MohammedJaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
, for a December 13, 2001 assault on parliament2001 Indian Parliament attackThe 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a high-profile attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists against the building housing the Parliament of India in New Delhi...
in Delhi. - 2002 Kaluchak massacre 31 killed May 14, 2002. Australian government attributed this massacre to Lashkar-e-Taiba when it designated it as a terrorist organization.
- 2003 Nadimarg Massacre2003 Nadimarg Massacre2003 Nadimarg massacre was killing of 24 Hindus in the village of Nadimarg in Pulwama District of Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists on 23 March 2003.-Background:...
24 Kashmiri pandits gunned down on the night of March 23, 2003. - 2005 Delhi bombings29 October 2005 Delhi bombingsThe 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings occurred on 29 October 2005 in Delhi, India, killing 62 people and injuring at least 210 others in three explosions. The bombings came only two days before the important festival of Diwali, which is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains...
: During DiwaliDiwaliDiwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
, Lashkar-e-Taiba bombed crowded festive Delhi markets killing 60 civilians and maiming 527. - 2006 Varanasi bombings2006 Varanasi bombingsThe 2006 Varanasi bombings were a series of bombings that occurred across the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in India on Tuesday, 7 March 2006. At least 28 people are reported to have been killed and as many as 101 others were injured.-Blast at the Temple:...
: Lashkar-e-Taiba was involved in serial blasts in VaranasiVaranasi-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
in the state of Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. 37 people died and 89 were seriously injured. - 2006 Doda massacre 34 Hindus were killed in Kashmir on April 30, 2006.
- 2006 Mumbai train bombings11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombingsThe 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains...
: The investigation launched by Indian forces and US officials have pointed to the involvement of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Mumbai serial blasts on 11 July 2006. The Mumbai serial blasts on 11 July claimed 211 lives and maimed about 407 people and seriously injured another 768. - On September 12, 2006 the propaganda arm of the Lashkar-e-Taiba issued a fatwaFatwaA fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
against Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
demanding that Muslims assassinate him for his controversial statementsPope Benedict XVI Islam controversyThe Regensburg lecture was delivered on 12 September 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where he had once served as a professor of theology. It was entitled "Glaube, Vernunft und Universität — Erinnerungen und Reflexionen"...
about the prophet MuhammadMuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. - On September 16, 2006, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba militant, Abu Saad, was killed by the troops of 9-Rashtriya Rifles in Nandi Marg forest in Kulgam. Saad belongs to LahoreLahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
in Pakistan and also oversaw LeT operations for the past three years in Gul Gulabhgash as the outfit's area commander. Apart from a large quantity of arms and ammunition, high denomination Indian and Pakistani currencies were also recovered from the slain militant. - In November 2008, Lashkar-e-Taiba was the primary suspect behind the Mumbai attacks but denied any part. The lone surviving gunman, Ajmal Amir Kasab, captured by Indian authorities admitted the attacks were planned and executed by the organization. United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
intelligence sources confirmed that their evidence suggested Lashkar-e-Taiba is behind the attacks. A July 2009 report from Pakistani investigators confirmed that LeT was behind the attack. - On 7 December 2008, under pressure from USA and India, the Pakistan Army launched an operation against LeT and Jamat-ud-Dawa to arrest people suspected of 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
- In August 2009, LeT issued an ultimatum to impose Islamic dress codeHijabThe word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
in all colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, sparking fresh fears in the tense region. - In September and October 2009, Israeli and Indian intelligence agencies issued alerts warning that LeT is planning to attack Jewish religious places in Pune, India and other locations visited by Western and Israeli tourists in India. The gunmen who attacked the Mumbai headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement during the November 2008 attacks were reportedly instructed that “Every person you kill where you are is worth 50 of the ones killed elsewhere.”
- News sources have reported that members of LeT were planning to attack the U.S. and Indian embassies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on November 26, 2009, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. At least seven men have been arrested in connection to the plot, including a senior member of LeT.
- Two Chicago residents, David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain RanaTahawwur Hussain RanaTahawwur Hussain Rana is a Pakistani Canadian resident of Chicago, USA who was convicted of providing support to banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and plotting an attack on Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten....
, were allegedly working with LeT in planning an attack against the offices and employees of Jyllands-PostenJyllands-PostenMorgenavisen Jyllands-Posten , commonly shortened to Jyllands-Posten or JP, is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Viby, a suburb of Århus, and with a weekday circulation of approximately 120,000 copies, it is among the largest-selling newspaper in Denmark...
, a Danish newspaper that published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Indian news sources have also implicated the men in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and in LeT’s Fall 2009 plans to attack the U.S. and Indian embassies in Bangladesh.
Funding
Pakistan began to fund the LeT during the early 1990s and by around 1995 the funding had grown considerably. During this time the army and the ISI helped establish the LeT's military structure with the specific intent to use the militant group against India. The LeT also obtained funds through efforts of the MDI's Department of Finance.Until 2002 the group collected funds through public fundraising events usually using charity boxes in shops and mosques. The group also received money through donations at MDI offices, through personal donations collected at public celebrations of an operative's martyrdom, and through its website. The outfit also collected donations from the Pakistani immigrant community in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Islamic Non-Governmental Organisations, and Pakistani and Kashmiri businessmen. Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives have also been apprehended in India, where they had been obtaining funds from sections of the Muslim Community.
Although many of the funds collected went towards legitimate uses, e.g. factories and other businesses, a significant portion was dedicated to military activities. According to U.S. intelligence, the LeT had a military budget of more than $5 million by 2009.
Use of charity aid to fund operations
LeT assisted victims after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake2005 Kashmir earthquake
The 2005 Kashmir earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005...
. In many instances, they were the first on the scene, arriving before the army or other civilians.
A large amount of funds collected among the Pakistani expatriate community in Britain to aid victims of the earthquake were funneled for the activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba although the donors were unaware. About £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
5 million were collected, but more than half of the funds were directed towards LeT rather than towards relief efforts. Intelligence officials stated that some of the funds were used to prepare for an attack that would have detonated explosives on board transatlantic airflights
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada...
. Other investigations also indicated the aid given for earthquake victims was directly involved to expand Lashkar-e-Taiba's activities within India.
Role in India-Pakistan relations
LeT attacks have increased tensions in the already contentious relationship between India and Pakistan. Part of the LeT strategy may be to deflect the attention of Pakistan's military away from the tribal areas and towards its border with India. Attacks in India also aim to exacerbate tensions between India's Hindu and Muslim communities and help LeT recruitment strategies in India.LeT cadres have also been arrested in different cities of India. On May 27, a LeT militant was arrested from Hajipur
Hajipur
Hajipur is the headquarters of Vaishali district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for producing bananas, and has a modern railway zonal office. Patna, the capital of Bihar is only 10 km from Hajipur...
in Gujarat. On August 15, 2001, a LeT militant was arrested from Bhatinda in Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
.
Allegations of ISI involvement
Pakistan’s security agencies are reported to have provided training to the outfit.According to the declaration of LeT operatives, the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
from its 12th Infantry Division based in Azad Kashmir aids members of the outfit in their infiltration, extraction and clashes with Indian security forces around the Line of Control
Line of Control
The term Line of Control refers to the military control line between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which, to this day, does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary but is the de facto border...
(LoC) by providing covering fire.
The LeT was also reported to have been directed by the Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
(ISI) to widen its network in the Jammu region where a considerable section of the populace comprised Punjabis. The LeT has a large number of activists who hail from Pakistani Punjab and can thus effectively penetrate into Jammu society.
A December 13, 2001 news report cited a LeT spokesperson as saying that the outfit wanted to avoid a clash with the Pakistani government. He claimed a clash was possible because of the suddenly conflicting interests of the government and of the militant outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir even though the government had been an ardent supporter of Muslim freedom movements, particularly that of Kashmir.
Pakistan denies giving orders to Lashkar-e-Taiba's activities. However, the Indian government and many non-governmental think-tanks allege that the Pakistani ISI is involved with the group. The situation with LeT causes considerable strain in Indo-Pakistani relations
Indo-Pakistani relations
Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained by a number of historical and political issues, and are defined by the violent partition of British India in 1947, the Kashmir dispute and the numerous military conflicts fought between the two nations...
, which are already mired in suspicion and mutual distrust.
Role in Afghanistan
The Lashkar-e-Taiba was created to participate in the MujahideenMujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
conflict against the Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai , originally merely Najibullah, was the fourth and last President of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He is also considered the second President of the Republic of Afghanistan.-Early years:Najibullah was born in August 1947 to the Ahmadzai...
regime in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. In the process, the outfit developed deep linkages with Afghanistan and has several Afghan nationals in its cadre. The outfit had also cultivated links with the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan and also with Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and his Al Qaeda network. Even while refraining from openly displaying these links, the LeT office in Muridke
Muridke
Muridke is a major commercial area near the city of Lahore, Pakistan, it is located at 31°45'35N 73°50'16E and has an elevation of 205 m and is situated on the famous Grand Trunk Road and at the crossroads to Sheikhupura, Gujranwala and Narang Mandi/ Narowal...
was reportedly used as a transit camp for third country recruits heading for Afghanistan.
Guantanamo detainee Khalid Bin Abdullah Mishal Thamer Al Hameydani
Khalid Bin Abdullah Mishal Thamer Al Hameydani
Khalid Abdullah Mishal al Mutairi is a Kuwaiti Charity Worker who was unlawfully detained in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. He was ordered released in August 2009, when it was determined that the law required the American government to prove his guilt, rather than...
's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
said that he had received training via Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals of Taj Mohammed and Rafiq Bin Bashir Bin Jalud Al Hami
Rafiq Bin Bashir Bin Jalud Al Hami
The following primary factors favor release or transfer-Second annual Administrative Review Board hearing in 2006:A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his second annual Administrative Review Board on 27 January 2006....
, and the Administrative Review Board
Administrative Review Board
The Administrative Review Board is a United States military body that conducts an annual review of the suspects held by the United States in Camp Delta in the United States Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba....
hearing of Abdullah Mujahid
Abdullah Mujahid
-Witnesses:Mujahid requested eight witnesses:* Said Mohammed Ali Shah - a Guantanamo detainee.* Haji Mohammed Aktiar - the Tribunal's President doesn't identify Aktiar any further, but assumes he is back in Afghanistan...
and Zia Ul Shah
Zia Ul Shah
Shah chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.The following factors favor continued detentionThe following primary factors favor release or transfer-McClatchy News Service interview:...
allege that they too were members or former members of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Links with other militant groups
While the primary focus for the Lashkar is the operations in Indian Kashmir, it has frequently provided support to other international terrorist groups. Primary among these is the Al-Qaeda Network in Afghanistan. LeT members also have been reported to have engaged in conflicts in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Bosnia, the Middle East and Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. There are also allegations that members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
conducted arms transfers and made deals with LeT in the early 1990s
Al-Qaeda
- The Lashkar is claimed to have operated a military camp in post–September 11 Afghanistan, and extending support to the ousted Taliban regime. The outfit had claimed that it had assisted the Taliban militia and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan during November and December 2002 in their fight against the US-aided Northern Alliance.
- A leading Al-Qaeda operative Abu ZubaydahAbu ZubaydahAbu Zubaydah is a Saudi Arabian citizen, sentenced to death in Jordan and currently held in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Not neutral: Arrested in Pakistan in March 2002, he has been in US custody for more than eight years, four-and-a-half of them spent incommunicado in solitary confinement...
, who became operational chief of Al-Qaeda after the death of Mohammed AtefMohammed AtefMohammed Atef was the alleged military chief of al-Qaida, although his role in the organization was not well known by intelligence agencies for years...
, was caught in a Lashkar safehouse at Faislabad in Pakistan. - A news report in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the U.S. has indicated that the outfit provides individuals for the outer circle of bin Laden’s personal security.
- Other notable al-Qaeda operatives said to have received instruction and training in LeT camps include David HicksDavid HicksDavid Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism...
, Richard ReidRichard Reid (shoe bomber)Richard Colvin Reid , also known as the Shoe Bomber, is a self-admitted member of al-Qaeda who pled guilty in 2002 in U.S. federal court to eight criminal counts of terrorism stemming from his attempt to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes...
and Dhiren BarotDhiren BarotDhiren Barot is a convicted terrorist from the United Kingdom.-Background:...
.
Jaish-e-Mohammed
News reports, citing security forces, said that the latter suspect that in the December 13, 2001 attack2001 Indian Parliament attack
The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a high-profile attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists against the building housing the Parliament of India in New Delhi...
on India’s Parliament in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, a joint group from the LeT and the Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
(JeM) were involved. The attack precipitated the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff
2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff
The 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the massing of troops on either side of the International Border and along the Line of Control in the region of Kashmir...
.
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
The Lashkar is reported to have conducted several of its major operations in tandem with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.Ties to attacks in the United States
- The Markaz campus at Muridke in Lahore, its headquarters, was used as a hide-out for both Ramzi YousefRamzi YousefRamzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
, involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing1993 World Trade Center bombingThe 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
, and Mir Aimal Kansi, convicted and executed for the January 1993 killing of two Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
officers outside the agency’s headquarters in Langley, VirginiaLangley, VirginiaLangley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
. - A group of men dubbed the Virginia Jihad NetworkVirginia Jihad NetworkThe Virginia jihad network was a network of jihadists centered in Northern Virginia.Ali al-Timimi was convicted in 2005 of exhorting his followers to join the Taliban and fight US troops. The young men played paintball in 2000 and 2001 as a means of training for holy war around the globe...
attended LeT training camps and were convicted in 2006 of conspiring to provide material support to the LeT. The leader of the group, Ali al-Timimi, urged the men to attend the LeT camps and to “go abroad to join the mujahideen engaged in violent jihad in Afghanistan.” The men also trained with weapons in Virginia. - Two U.S. citizens, Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul SadequeeEhsanul SadequeeBorn in Fairfax, Virginia on July 30, 1986, Ehsanul "Shifa" Sadequee is an American who was arrested by the FBI on four terrorism charges, convicted, and sentenced to 17 years in prison, to be followed by 30 years of supervised release.-Life:...
were arrested in 2006 for attempting to join LeT. Ahmed traveled to Pakistan in July 2005 to attend a terrorist training camp and join LeT. The men also shot videos of U.S. landmarks in the Washington, D.C. area for potential terrorist attacks. They were convicted in Atlanta during the summer of 2009 for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. - U.S. citizen Ahmad Abousamra was indicted in November 2009 for providing material support to terrorists. He allegedly went to Pakistan in 2002 to join the Taliban and LeT, but failed.
See also
- List of designated terrorist organizations
- al Qaeda
- Lascar
- Lashkar-e-Taiba training camps
- List of terrorist organisations in India
- Ajmal KasabAjmal KasabMohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab is a Pakistani Islamic terrorist who was involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India. Kasab is the only attacker captured alive by police and is currently in Indian custody. The Government of Pakistan initially denied that Kasab was from Pakistan, but in January 2009,...
- Mumbai Terror Attacks
- Osama Bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
External links
- Profile of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Washington Post, 2008-12-05
- Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba – BBC News
- Report on the Lashkar-e-Toiba by the Anti-Defamation League
- Report on Lashkar-e-Toiba by the South Asia Terrorism Portal
- Should Mohd. Afzal Guru be executed? International Terrorism Monitor—Paper # 132.
- Islamist Militancy in Kashmir: The Case of the Lashkar-i Tayyeba – by Prof. Yoginder SikandYoginder SikandYoginder Sikand is an Indian writer-academic and the author of several books on Islam-related issues in India.-Early life and education:...
- Background on the fidayeen tactics of Lashkar-e-Toiba
- BBC News about the relief work.
- PBS report about Jamat-ud-Dawa's relief work in Kashmir
- San Francisco Chronicle article about the Ad-Dawa relief work