"Lashkar-e-Taiba Chooses Between Kashmir and the Global Jihad"

By Animesh Roul

Originally published as "Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba Chooses Between Kashmir and the Global Jihad" in Terrorism Focus (Jamestown Foundation), Volume: 6 Issue: 3, January 28, 2009.

Here is an excerpt:

In a surprising shift of tactics, the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist organization has toned down its violent Kashmir-centric agenda, claiming it will pursue a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir problem. The radical group, blamed for many terror attacks in India, including November’s assault on Mumbai, also denied pursuing a global jihadist agenda. In a similar vein, another Pakistan-based terrorist group, Hizb ul-Mujahedeen (HM), and the terrorist conglomerate known as the Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC) have offered to end their so-called “armed struggle” in Jammu and Kashmir (The Hindu [New Delhi], January 22). According to MJC spokesman and HM operative Ehsan Elahi, “It is [our] desire that the [Kashmir] problem is resolved through dialogue. We want peace but it does not mean that we are renouncing our stance or showing a weakness” (Kashmir Newsline, January 23).

Also distancing itself from global jihadi linkages is Jama’at ud-Dawa, an Islamic charity and front organization for Lashkar e-Taiba. The group’s controversial spokesman, Abdullah (Muntazir) Gaznavi, indicated that their struggle is only confined to the Kashmir region: “We have no global agenda… [we] just want the freedom of Kashmir and if it comes peacefully [we] will welcome it. We don't see armed struggle as the only way to achieve our goal” (Hindustan Times, January 19). [1]

More surprisingly, the mysterious Abdullah Muntazir also disowned LeT commanders Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, who masterminded the November attacks in Mumbai (Times of India, January 9). Muntazir has been attempting to boost JuD/LeT’s public image for a long time, as well as shielding the JuD chief, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, from any government action.

After a government crackdown and international condemnation, the surprisingly defiant JuD had planned to reorganize itself shortly after its proscription by the UN Security Council under another the umbrella of another militant conglomerate, the Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool (THR) (Dawn [Karachi], January 3). THR, loosely translated as the “Movement for Defending the Honor of the Prophet,” is reportedly comprised of several religious and political groups in Pakistan. However, a few weeks later the JuD again reincarnated itself as the Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awal (TTQA) (Times of India, January 12).

The newly-formed TTQA organized a rally in Peshawar rejecting the UN Security Council resolution against Jama’t-ud Dawa, arguing that the Security Council was biased against Muslims, based on its failure to impose a ceasefire in Gaza. The protesters held placards and banners inscribed with various slogans condemning Israel for its barbarism and aggression against Muslim Palestinians and calling for jihad against the United States for its silence on the killing of the people of Gaza (Pakistan Observer, January 15).

For complete article , Read here.

For Full Text Issue

Animesh Roul is the Executive Director of Research at the New Delhi-based Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict (SSPC).