south-asian-militant-groups-and-global-jihad-in-2015
south-asian-militant-groups-and-global-jihad-in-2015
south-asian-militant-groups-and-global-jihad-in-2015
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QUILL IAM<br />
3. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) stems from its above-ground parent organisation,<br />
Jam’at-ud-Dawa (JuD). It has recently shifted focus from J&K <strong>and</strong> India to<br />
an <strong>in</strong>ternational audience:<br />
This group is feared for its l<strong>in</strong>ks to AQ <strong>and</strong> the Taliban. Some see<br />
LeT as a part-time ally of AQ, others see the two as great rivals. The<br />
group has several cells <strong>in</strong> Middle Eastern countries, as well as <strong>in</strong><br />
the US <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> Germany. The majority of LeT operatives are<br />
Pakistanis (often Punjabis) <strong>and</strong> it is cited as the most ‘lethal’<br />
terrorist group that is operat<strong>in</strong>g from South Asia. 13<br />
JuD leader Hafiz Saeed lives freely <strong>in</strong> Pakistan, to the chagr<strong>in</strong> of<br />
India, <strong>and</strong>, although he denies his association with LeT, he<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>s that LeT leader Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was not <strong>in</strong>volved<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Mumbai attacks 14 .<br />
The group is purported to have carried out reconnaissance<br />
missions <strong>in</strong>tend<strong>in</strong>g to target a Danish cartoonist. 15 They began<br />
operations <strong>in</strong> India <strong>in</strong> 1993, <strong>and</strong> s<strong>in</strong>ce then, they have been<br />
implicated <strong>in</strong> hundreds of attacks <strong>in</strong> India; the most famous of<br />
which are the 2008 attacks <strong>in</strong> Mumbai, where LeT killed over 164<br />
people <strong>in</strong> a series of 12 targeted attacks that lasted a total of four<br />
days.<br />
LeT is said to have a force of approximately 750 fighters. 16<br />
LeT is also a widespread social welfare organization, with more<br />
than 50,000 registered members spread<strong>in</strong>g its <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>and</strong><br />
rais<strong>in</strong>g funds. 17 It also operates several important social welfare<br />
programmes, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g but not limited to the development <strong>and</strong><br />
ma<strong>in</strong>tenance of hospitals, blood banks, <strong>and</strong> food banks.<br />
With<strong>in</strong> Europe, Brita<strong>in</strong> is a major centre for its fundrais<strong>in</strong>g among<br />
the Pakistani immigrant population 18 . LeT's illegal fundrais<strong>in</strong>g<br />
activities <strong>in</strong>clude false trade <strong>in</strong>voic<strong>in</strong>g, counterfeit<strong>in</strong>g, extortion,<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> the drug trade.<br />
4. Harket-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) is a parent organization of several<br />
important offshoots (see Figure 2):<br />
At one po<strong>in</strong>t, HuJI had merged with its own offshoot Harkat-ul-<br />
Mujahideen (HuM) under the name Harkat-ul-Ansar, however the<br />
two <strong>groups</strong> eventually parted.<br />
HuJI is an AQ member <strong>and</strong> founder of Brigade 313, Al Qaeda’s<br />
military arm <strong>in</strong> Pakistan.<br />
Compris<strong>in</strong>g of 700 cadres, HuJI has not claimed the most casualties,<br />
nor is it the largest group; however, it is recognised as the parent<br />
16