NEFA Foundation: Bio of Alleged Mumbai Terror Mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi
By Evan Kohlmann
The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of an April 2001 bulletin from the Pakistani terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba unraveling the early history of the organization -- and featuring the founding role of "Abu Waleed" (a.k.a. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi), who has been named by the Indian and Pakistani governments as the alleged mastermind behind the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. According to the document, at the height of the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s, "a young man fired with the zeal of Jihad, who quenched his thirst for knowledge at Jamia Salfia Mamoon Kanjan and Jamia Muhammadia Gujranwala, met a commander of Jihadic forces. This meeting resulted into his entry into the field of Jihad. The name of this young man was Abu Waleed Zaki-ur-Rahman. Soon he was entrusted with the responsibility of Jihad. Mujahideen engaged in Jihad under his leadership at different Jihadic centers, for instance Markaz Makkah, Markaz Madina. There he had full co-operation of Arab Mujahideen who taught him the intricacies of Jihad and Qital [combat]. From August,1987 to January 1990, he continued his Jihadic activities at the battlefront of Kabul. He also stayed in touch with Noori and Arab Mujahideen fighting in Noorastan... Young Abu Waleed and some other Pakistani Ulema (Hafiz Seed etc) laid the foundation of Ma’skar-e-Taiba in Kunhar, at Tango on February 22, 1990. Soon the Mujahideen who received training from this centre were fighting at different fronts."
The document can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.
