Hello !
Recent Appearances... Rantburg

India-Pakistan
Pakistan: Terrorist Outfits Utilize New Fundraising Methods
2026-02-01
[PJMedia] Pakistain has a checkered past when it comes to money laundering and terrorist financing. It has misled the international community on several occasions. It has failed to take corrective institutional actions which would suppress both terror financing and money laundering.

Pakistain’s inadequate actions against domestic terror financing led the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place the country on its "grey list" three times between the years 2008 and 2022: from Feb. 2008 to June 2010, then from Feb. 2012 to Feb. 2015, and finally from June 2018 to Oct. 2022.

In 2018, the Asia-Pacific Group (APG), a FATF-associated body, conducted an onsite mutual evaluation visit from Oct. 8 to 19. The subsequent 2019 Mutual Evaluation Report identified significant deficiencies in Pakistain’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime, including in its implementation of the FATF action plan.

In 2019, FATF noted in a public statement following the Gay Paree plenary (Feb. 17-22) that Pakistain did not demonstrate a proper understanding of the terror financing (TF) risks that the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS), Al Qaeda, Jamaat-ud-Dawa
...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba...
(JuD), Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...>
(LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Haqqani Network (HQN), and persons affiliated with the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
posed.

In 2022, Hafiz Saeed
...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat. He is periodically placed under house arrest so it looks like the govt is doing something. Once the heat is off they let him go....
, the criminal mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was sentenced to 33 years in jail. Interestingly, this sentence was based on terror financing charges, rather than charges related to actual terrorist acts.

Yet despite all the documented evidence indicating Pakistain’s support for terror outfits, the FATF issued a statement that Pakistain had met all 34 items on its action plans. The task force subsequently removed Pakistain from its grey list during the plenary session held in Oct. 2022 in Gay Paree, La Belle France.

However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
as per the credible records and open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations, Pakistain continues to promote terrorism from its soil. Terror groups now operate through several proxies, and unabashedly continue funding, financing and promoting Islamic terrorism. However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
there have been some changes in their funding methods.

For instance, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), or the Army of Mohammed, is listed in the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
1267 Committee’s consolidated sanctions list. The governments of the U.S., U.K., Canada, New Zealand, India and Pakistain consider it a proscribed terrorist organization. Based in Pakistain, JeM operates primarily in Indian-Administered Jammu and Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
(JK).

According to a report from the Parliament of Australia,

JeM was founded in 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar
...One of the major players in Pak terrorism. In early 1994, India incarcerated him for his activities. In 1995, foreign tourists were kidnapped in Jammu and Kashmir. The kidnappers included his release among their demands. One of the hostages managed to escape but the rest were eventually killed. In 1999, he was freed by the Indian government in exchange for passengers on hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 that had been diverted to Kandahar. The hijackers were led by Masood Azhar's brother, Ibrahim Athar. Once he was handed over to the hijackers, they fled to Pak territory despite the fact that Islamabad had earlier stated that any of the hijackers would be jugged at the border. The Pak government had also previously indicated that Azhar would be allowed to return home since he did not face any charges there. Shortly after his release, he made a public address to an estimated 10,000 people in Karachi, firing up the rubes against America and India...
, a radical Islamic scholar and jihadist leader, following his release from an Indian jail in exchange for 155 hostages hijacked aboard an Indian Airlines aircraft on 31 December 1999. When released from prison, Azhar did not rejoin his former group, Harakat ul-Mujahideen (HuM). Instead, Azhar formed JeM, reportedly with support from Pakistain’s Inter-Services Intelligence
...the Pak military intelligence agency that controls the military -- heads of ISI typically get promoted into the Chief of Army Staff position. It serves as a general command center for favored turban groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, tries to influence the politix of neighboring countries, and carries out a (usually) low-level war against India in Kashmir...
(ISI), the Afghan Taliban, the late Osama bin Laden
...... who is now among the dear departed, though not among the dearest......
and several other Sunni murderous Moslem organizations in Pakistain.

Some of JeM's notable attacks outside Kashmir include the 2001 assault on India’s parliament building; the 2002 murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl; and two 2003 liquidation attempts against Pak President Parvez Musharraf. JeM is well trained and supported. Consequently, it poses a terrorist threat to India and Pakistain, as well as to Western targets based in both of these countries.

JeM uses violence in pursuit of its stated objective of forcing the withdrawal of Indian security forces from Kashmir and uniting Kashmir with Pakistain under Islamic Sharia law. JeM (including its chief Masood Azhar) also endorse the wider aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate across South Asia and expelling Hindus from the Indian subcontinent. JeM is violent mostly peacefully opposed to all other religions, including Shia Islam.

In its funding, JeM has shifted from using banks to Easypaisa, digital wallets, and crypto (USDT).

Local media reported that JeM has established a new mechanism with the support of Pakistain’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which collects funds. It is using digital wallets such as "EasyPaisa" and "Sadapay." Family members of its founder and most wanted terrorist, Masood Azhar, control these. They use them to bypass scrutiny from global agencies such as the FATF.

JeM is also raising money on the pretext of Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
relief aid. Hammad Azhar, son of Masood Azhar, is leading JeM's efforts to raise money for terror activities via Gaza Aid. He asks women in Gaza to make videos praising him for his charity works. His social media alias is Qaisar Ahmad, and he asks everyone to donate to his Easypaisa bank account under the name of Khalid Ahmed, a separate alias. He receives donations from Pakistain and Gulf countries.

Another new funding method JeM uses is mosque construction. JeM has reportedly launched a massive fundraising drive in Pakistain under the guise of building over 300 mosques.

The terror outfit started the online fundraising campaign through digital wallets to collect 3.91 billion Pak rupees (Rs), that is, $14 million U.S. dollars, for constructing 313 new markaz (central) buildings, local media reported.

On social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, JeM-linked proxy accounts (such as those used by JeM commanders) have posted posters, videos and a letter from Masood Azhar, urging supporters to donate wholeheartedly. They say that each mosque requires Rs 12.5 million ($45,000 USD) for construction and smooth operations.

In addition to these accounts, over 250 EasyPaisa wallets are reportedly used to fundraise. Alongside social media appeals, the terror outfit circulated an audio recording of Azhar’s brother, Al Saif, via its official propaganda channel, MSTD Official. The message urged supporters to contribute 21,000 Pak rupees ($75) per person, the officials said.

The 3.91 billion-rupee fundraising drive would secure JeM’s operational and weapons financing for at least a decade, Indian officials said.

JeM is also aided through a winter survival kit, which was launched via a public fundraising campaign seeking contributions for its fighters operating in Kashmir. Specific items and their costs are listed, including a coat, boots, blanket, gloves, socks and similar items. These kits are given to their terrorists.

Meanwhile,
...back at the saw mill, Scarface Al had tied Little Nell to the log and was about to turn on the buzz saw...
another terrorist group, LeT, has shifted to direct wallets. LeT has started collecting funds directly into its wallets instead of bank accounts, in order to dodge FATF scrutiny.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), also known as Army of the Righteous, was formed in the late 1980s. LeT is one of the largest and most proficient of the Kashmir-focused holy warrior groups. The United States and United Nations have designated LeT an international terrorist organization.

Based in Pakistain's Punjab
...1. Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2. A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3. A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots
...
.
Province and in Pakistain-occupied Kashmir, it has "launched humanitarian projects as a means of circumventing sanctions," according to the official website of the US Congress. LeT was responsible for the Nov. 2008 terrorist assault in Mumbai, India, as well as several other high-profile attacks. During the Mumbai attacks, faceless myrmidons used automatic weapons and grenades to attack several sites, murdering more than 160 people.

Pak authorities in April 2015 released on bail the head of LeT operations, Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, pending prosecution of him and several other LeT leaders for the Mumbai attacks.

LeT recruits internationally, as evidenced by the arrest in the United States of Jubair Ahmed in 2011, Headley’s arrest in 2009, and the indictment in 2003 of eleven LeT faceless myrmidons in Virginia.

In 2003, authorities also disrupted an LeT plot to attack Australia, and in 2009 LeT put on hold a plot to attack Denmark in retaliation for cartoons drawn of Islam's prophet Muhammad.

LeT maintains facilities in Pakistain, including training camps, schools, and medical clinics. LeT coordinates its activities through its front organization, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).

LeT is also collecting donations under the guise of flood relief. A banner advertised an appeal for donations to fund boats which would carry out rescue activities in flood-affected areas of Pakistain. JuD/Pakistain Markazi Moslem League (PMML)’s Khidmat Khalaq Wing, Gujranwala would conduct these activities. The amount sought for a rescue boat is 1,200,000 Pak rupees ($4,300).

Islamic terrorist organizations — including those active in Pakistain and Kashmir — are diversifying their funding methods and finding ways to bypass scrutiny by global agencies. They are exploiting humanitarian activities, mosques, rescue missions and wars to raise money internationally — including in the U.S. This allows them to spread holy warrior Islamic messages and increase support for their terrorist activities.

Ultimately, the goal of their ideology is to create a global caliphate consisting of Islamic states. They want to conquer and dominate all non-Moslem nations. This includes the imposition of Sharia law, which is the totalitarian Islamic legal code.

The world has seen many times what happens when Islamic supremacists and jihadists take control of a country — from the Moslem Brüderbund-ruled Egypt to Iran, Syria, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
, Afghanistan and Pakistain, amongst others. How alert is the West to these terror groups and their new deceitful funding methods? And more alarmingly, how driven is the West to fight against those Islamist groups whose religiously motivated ambitions have not changed, and who have even gained significant success since the seventh century?
Link


India-Pakistan
These three men will continue to fund Lashkar-e-Taiba
2018-01-03
[IBTIMES.CO.IN] Pakistain on Monday dealt a decisive blow to Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
boss Hafiz Saeed
...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat...
after it decided to ban the charities that he was receiving. Pakistain further indicated that they would take over the institutions that he runs to bring in the charity.

Saeed used outfits such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa
...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba...
and Falah-e-Insaniyat
...the current false nose and mustache of Jamaat ud-Dawa, which was the false nose and mustache of Lashkar e-Taiba...
to receive charity. This money was in turn to nurture cadres of Lashkar-e-Taiba which carried out attacks in India. It had been found that the same funds were used to sponsor the Mumbai 26/11 attack.

While Saeed would rely on funds from Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, there were three key persons who managed the entire show. The three men -- Muhammad Ijaz Safarash, Alexander McLintock and Abdul Aziz Nuristani -- would arrange for the funds and then send it to Saeed's organizations through various channels, the main one being hawala.

The question is will this new action by Pakistain dry up funds for Saeed? Indian officials tracking the Lashkar-e-Taiba say that Saeed has faced such situations in the past. He, however, beat the system by coming up with news organizations. For instance, when the JuD was banned he came up with the FeI. He would do something similar now.

However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
to ensure that Saeed's funds dry up considerably, the establishment needs to act on the above-mentioned persons. Each of them plays a key role in ensuring that the funds reach Saeed without any problem. Indian officials also point to the fact that the new action by Pakistain may not be linked to its war on terror. It is also a way of ensuring that he does not have funds to fight the elections. Saeed had recently launched the Milli Moslem League and said that he would be fighting the 2018 elections in Pakistain.

Can Pakistain act against these three men?

Muhammad Ijaz Safarash: He is the key player when it comes to bringing in funds for Saeed. Based out of Saudi Arabia, he has been providing financial assistance to the Lashkar-e-Taiba since the past decade. The Indian agencies got wind of him when in 2003, a conversation between him and the commander in chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, was intercepted.

Safarash played the lead role in setting up charity boxes in Saudi Arabia. A huge amount of funds would be collected which would later be transferred to Pakistain. Apart from this, he would also tap wealthy businessmen and seek donations. Safarash also ensures that several operatives of the Lashkar-e-Taiba who were on the run got adequate protection in Saudi Arabia.

Alexander McLintock: He is a key player not just for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, but also the al-Qaeda and Taliban
...Arabic for students...
. Today, he is more connected with the Lashkar-e-Taiba and has played the lead in channelising funds for the outfit.

A Scottish by birth, this 52-year-old embraced Islam when he was 20 years old. He decided to support the cause of these terror groups by opening the al-Ramah Welfare Organisation. The primary role of this organization was to raise funds through donations. A Financial Intelligence Unit note mentions that Alexander over the past 15 years has channelised at least 25 million dollars for these terror groups.

Abdul Aziz Nuristani: He is the local point man for Hafiz Saeed. He plays one of the most important roles in the channelising of funds. He is based out of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
and it is his Jamia Asariya Madrasa which has played the frontal role in collecting funds for the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. This Madrasa ironically falls under the sanctions list, but Pakistain is yet to act against it.

Through this Madrasa, Nuristani gives a legitimate face to the funds that are coming in. Both McLintock and Safarash have often sent money directly to the Madrasa. Apart from this donations are collected in the Gulf in the name of this Madrasa. Prior to be being placed on the sanctions list, a probe by the international agencies showed that the Madrasa had been collecting money under the garb of relief work and routing them into the coffers of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Link


India-Pakistan
India, EU for ‘decisive’ action against Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hafiz Saeed
2017-10-07
[HINDUSTANTIMES] India and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
on Friday agreed to strengthen cooperation for "decisive" action against globally proscribed terrorist individuals and groups, including Hafiz Saeed
...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat...
, Mumbai attacks criminal mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi
...an asset of the Pak govt and a big turban in Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is actually a redundant statement. Zak was the criminal mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attack. Despite what India's provided there is not enough evidence in this world for a Pak court to convict him or even to keep him in the calaboose for very long...
, Dawood Ibrahim, LeT, JeM, Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
and their affiliates.

The EU also joined India in condemning the terror attacks in Pathankot, Uri, Nagrota, Anantnag and Srinagar alongside assaults in Gay Paree, Brussels, Nice, London, Manchester and Barcelona. The two sides also recalled the 2008 Mumbai attacks and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

The call for stronger cooperation to target groups such as the Pakistain-based Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
and Jaish-e-Mohammed and jihadi leaders such as Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim was seen in diplomatic circles as a win for New Delhi, which had lobbied the 28-member bloc on these issues.

The joint statement on cooperation in combating terrorism, issued at the end of the India-EU Summit in New Delhi, bracketed Pakistain-based groups such LeT, JeM, Haqqani Network and Hizbul Mujahideen
...Party of Holy Warriors, founded by Muhammad Ahsan Dar in September 1989. One of the Pak sock puppets waging jihad in Indian Kashmir. It was originally organized as the armed wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. In 1990, Dar declared Hizbul as the sword arm of Jamaat. Hizbul murdered many of the pro-independence intelligentsia in Kashmir. After the organization was taken over by Syed Salahuddin Dar and several other ex-Hizb leaders were assassinated between 2001 and 2003...
along with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

"The leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation to take decisive and concerted actions against globally proscribed snuffies and terror entities, including Hafeez Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Tayibba, Jaish-e-Mohammad
...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat...
, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda, ISIS (Da’esh) and their affiliates," the statement said.

The leaders of India and the EU "called for greater unity, stronger international partnership and concerted action by the international community in addressing" terrorism, the joint statement said. The two sides also reaffirmed their determination to jointly combat terrorism and violent extremism "irrespective of their motivations, wherever and by whomever they are committed".

Link


India-Pakistan
Rift in Lashkar-e-Taiba as top commanders Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi fall apart
2017-04-06
[INDIATODAY.INTODAY.IN] Top Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) commanders Hafiz Saeed
...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat...
and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi are at loggerheads over issues pertaining to fanning unrest in Kashmire. Intelligence reports with the Indian security agencies reveal that the banned fissures have emerged in the banned terror group with differences cropping up between two of its top commanders.

A report in Hindustan Times claimed that Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Lashkar's operations commander who played a major role in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has 'got certain issues' with Saeed, who criminal masterminded the November 26, 2008 attacks. Saeed, founder of Jamaat-ud-Daawa, a front face of Lashkar, was put under house arrest by Pak authorities in January following immense international pressure.

According to intelligence inputs, Lashkar may be preparing to launch a major attack in India as Lakhvi has asked most of his loyalists to shift base to Pakistain occupied Kashmire. "Lakhvi has shifted most of his loyalists to PoK. Inputs reveal that Lashkar has decided to not use its name in its actions in Kashmire," the report in Hindustan Times quoted intelligence reports as saying.

The report also mentions that Lashkar has directed its operatives not to use the terror group's name in future attacks in India instead issue blurbs in the name of 'Quit Kashmire Movement'. The move is aimed at giving an impression of involvement of some home grown terror group.

Intelligence inputs also said that terrorist groups are plotting to assassinate separatist leaders in Kashmire Valley to fan further turmoil in the region.

The Kashmire Valley has witnessed a rise in stone pelting incidents following the death of terror 'poster boy' Burhan Wani's killing in an encounter in July, 2016. Indian security agencies have established that terror groups like Lashkar, Hizbul Mujahideen and others are fanning unrest in th region by inciting the youth.
Link


India-Pakistan
26/11:'financier' gave Rs 4 mn to LeT; sent to JC
2016-08-23
[PTINEWS] The alleged financier of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, who supplied nearly Rs 4 million to the LeT men, has been sent to judicial remand after the Pak anti-terrorism court hearing the case did not allow the FIA to have his custody for more days.

Sufayan Zafar has joined the other six suspects - Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Mohammad Younis Anjum - in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where they are lodged since 2009.

Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, the criminal mastermind of the Mumbai attack, is living at some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location after being released from jail on bail over a year ago.

The anti-terrorism court sent Zafar on the judicial remand on Saturday noting that the Federal Investigation Agency had been given enough time to probe the suspect, a source in the FIA told PTI today.

He is accused of providing Rs 3.98 million to co-accused Riaz through account no. 2338-2 of the Moslem Commercial Bank's Drigh Road branch in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
and account no. 2464-0 of the Allied Bank's Drigh Colony branch in Karachi prior to the Mumbai terror attack.

During interrogation by the FIA, he was quizzed over providing millions of rupees to the suspected holy warriors of the Mumbai attack case, his relations with them and other absconding suspects, the source said.

"The FIA has interrogated Zafar for providing financial assistance to the co-accused in the Mumbai case besides his connection with the holy warriors and the LeT. He was also interrogated for the channel/source from which he got the huge sum of money to provide it to the co-accused," he said.

Zafar was absconding after being declared proclaimed offender in the Mumbai case. He was tossed in the slammer
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
early this month (on August 3 or 4) from his hideout in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
province. A resident of Gujrawala district of Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

- some 80 kms from Lahore, Zafar is among 21 other absconding suspects wanted in this high-profile case.

According to court documents, the other suspects who allegedly arranged funds for the attacks include undertrial Ahmed and Anjum and proclaimed offenders Mohammad Usman Zia, Mukhtar Ahmed, Abbas Nasir and Javed Iqbal.

The FIA wanted more time to investigate him further, the source said, adding that the agency would indict him along with the seven other suspects of the case in the trial court after completing his challan.

The trial court will resume the hearing of the case on September 7 after over a month-long court summer vacation.

Defence lawyers are of the view that indicting Zafar along with the seven accused may further delay the conclusion of the case, which has been pending in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) since 2009, due to repeating the exercise of cross- examining witnesses in the light of the new arrest.
Link


India-Pakistan
26/11 Mumbai attacks: Pakistan probes suspect over financial assistance to Lashkar-e-Taiba
2016-08-20
[FIRSTPOST] Pakistain is investigating another Mumbai attack suspect, who has recently been locked away
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
, for allegedly providing financial assistance to the LeT men to carry out the deadly assault in 2008.

"The FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) has arrested Sufyan Zafar recently and is interrogating him for his role in providing financial assistance to the accused of the Mumbai attack - who are lodged in the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi," FIA special prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar told PTI on Friday.

He said Zafar was absconding after being declared proclaimed offender in the Mumbai case.

A resident of Gujrawala district of Punjab, some 80km from Lahore, Zafar is among 21 other absconding suspects wanted in this high-profile case.

"Zafar will be indicted in the Mumbai case after completion of the investigation," the FIA official said. A Pak anti-terrorism court has charged seven Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) activists - its operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum - with abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attack.

The case has been underway in the country for more than six years.

Lakhvi, the criminal mastermind of the Mumbai attack, is living at some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location after getting released from jail on bail over a year ago.

The other six suspects are in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

The trial proceedings have come to a halt as India is yet to send 24 witnesses to Pakistain for recording of their statements in the trial court. Pakistain says the trial cannot be concluded unless India sends its nationals for recording their statements in the case.

As many as 166 people were killed and over 250 injured in the attack carried out by 10 LeT men.

Nine assailants were killed while the lone survivor, Ajmal Kasab, was captured and later executed.

Link


India-Pakistan
Pakistan Court Orders Release of 2008 Mumbai Attacks Mastermind
2015-03-14
[AnNahar] A Pakistain court on Friday canceled a detention order against the alleged criminal mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, potentially paving the way for his release.

It is the latest round in a tussle over Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, accused over the terror siege that left 166 dead, which has worsened already strained ties with India.

The latest ruling means Lakhvi could be released as early as Saturday, though the government can still appeal to the Supreme Court and for now he remains in jail.
Update from An Nahar at 9:15 a.m. ET: Release revoked for a month. He never left prison. It's an Islamabad High Court vs. Supreme Court catfight.
Link


India-Pakistan
Lakhvi challenges detention
2014-12-27
Of course he does. Now then, shoot him.
According to media reports, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the attacks in Mumbai in 2008, today challenged his detention under a public security order in the High Court in Islamabad. The Pakistan government had earlier rejected his plea for release.

A judge in an Islamabad anti-terror court had granted bail to Lakhvi on December 18, but before he could be released, the government detained him for three more months under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) in Adiala Jail.

The detention order was served on Lakhvi in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail before his lawyers could furnish the two bail bonds worth half a million rupees each as directed by ATC judge Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi.

Lakhvi, the commander of banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, who was allegedly involved in planning, financing and executing the attacks on Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai in November, 2008, was granted bail for “deficient evidence” by judge Zaidi against submission of surety bonds on Tuesday after about five years of secret trial.
Link


India-Pakistan
Mumbai attack case put off
2010-07-05
No lawyer was present in the Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) to attend proceedings of Mumbai attack case due to a strike call given by Punjab Bar Council to condemn Data Darbar attacks, upon which Judge Akram Awan postponed the hearing till July 10.

Law enforcement agencies had arrested seven accused including an important commander of defunct Jihadi outfit Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid allies Abul Qama and Mazhar Iqbal allies Zarar Shah, allegedly involved in the case. All the accused were charged with abetting Ajmal Kasab.

In previous proceedings, the court instructed Ministry of Interior to write a letter to Indian authorities for handing over both Kasab and Ansari to Pakistan to proceed further the case, but the reply from India had not been received so far.

The Federation has appointed Akhtar Awan as new public prosecutor of the case.
Link


India-Pakistan
Surviving Mumbai gunman convicted over attacks
2010-05-03
A Pakistani national has been convicted over his role in the deadly Mumbai (Bombay) attacks by an Indian court.

Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, 22, the sole surviving gunman, was found guilty on charges including murder, waging war on India and possessing explosives.

The attacks in November 2008 left 174 people - including nine gunmen - dead, and soured ties between India and neighbouring Pakistan.

India blames Pakistan-based militants Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attacks.

After initial denials, Pakistan acknowledged that the attacks had been partially planned on its territory and that Qasab was one of its citizens.

Two Indian men - Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed - who were accused of helping the gunmen plan the attacks, were acquitted by the presiding judge at the court in Mumbai.

The judge will begin hearing arguments about sentencing on Tuesday. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Qasab.

Qasab's 271-day trial was conducted amid tight security in a purpose-built court on the jail premises in Mumbai where he was being held.

Closed-circuit TV evidence showed Kasab and an accomplice opening fire on passengers at one of Mumbai's busiest train stations, an assault that left dozens of people dead.

Over the past 14 months, the trial witnessed a number of twists and turns.

Qasab originally denied the charges against him but last July, in a dramatic outburst in court, he admitted his role and asked to be hanged. He later retracted this plea, saying he had been tortured by police into making it, and the trial continued.

In November, the main lawyer representing Qasab - who was arrested on the first day of the attacks - was removed from the case after the judge said he was delaying proceedings.

Late last year, Pakistan charged seven people in connection with the attacks, including the suspected mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who is alleged to head Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Link


India-Pakistan
Court resumes trial of Mumbai suspects in Adiala
2009-09-06
[Dawn] A court on Saturday resumed hearing a case against suspected militants accused of involvement in last year's attack on India's business capital, Mumbai, that strained relations between the nuclear-armed rivals, Reuters reported.

India wants forceful action by Pakistan against leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group it says was behind the Nov. 26-29 attacks that killed 166 people, before resuming a peace process that was frozen in the aftermath of the violence.

Proceedings were initially launched against five men, but two more suspects have since been arrested, according to a state-run news agency report last week.

The case has been shrouded in secrecy as the court is holding the trial in camera at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, and lawyers were under instruction not to discuss the proceedings.

Shahbaz Rajput, a lawyer for one of the accused, told Reuters after Saturday's hearing that they did not want the trial behind closed doors.

Express news reported the hearing had been adjourned until Sept. 19.

The five suspects arrested earlier and being tried at the Adiala Jail are Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a commander of the LeT, and four others -- Hammad Amin, Abdul Wajid alias Zarar Shah, Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu Qama and Shahid Jameel Riaz.

The two more recently arrested men are Jameel Ahmed and Younus Anjum.

India is pressing Pakistan to prosecute LeT founder, Hafiz Saeed, who was detained in Pakistan in December, after a UN Security Council resolution put him on a list of people and organisations supporting Al-Qaeda.

A court released him in June on grounds of insufficient evidence, prompting the Pakistani government to appeal at the Supreme Court for his re-arrest. The case is pending.

India says Saeed was the mastermind of the Mumbai attack and says it has provided sufficient evidence against him for Pakistan to prosecute.
Link


India-Pakistan
Global alert on Mumbai terror suspects
2009-08-06
Interpol has issued a global alert for 13 suspects wanted by police in Pakistan in connection with the investigation into the Mumbai terrorist attacks in India.

The alert asks Interpol member countries to assist in locating the individuals and immediately notify their bureau in Islamabad, Pakistan and headquarters in Lyon, France with any investigative leads.

A statement by Interpol said: “If the fugitives are located, Pakistani authorities will then formally request provisional arrest with a view towards extradition, in accordance with any applicable extradition treaty.”

The request suggests a new level of co-operation on the investigation between the two long-running enemies, although India has asked for suspects to be extradited to stand trial there.

Pakistan has arrested five people suspected of involvement in the assault, including the alleged mastermind, Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi, and their trial is expected to begin in the next week.

In India, Ajmal Kasab, the only one of the terrorists to be captured alive, changed his plea to guilty last month, although his trial is continuing.

Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Pakistani Prime Minister, pledged earlier this month to do everything in his power to bring those behind the attack to justice following a meeting with his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, in Egypt.

A total of 166 people died and more than 300 were injured in the attacks between November 26 and 29 last year, which saw 10 gunmen target two luxury hotels, the main railway station, a popular restaurant and a Jewish centre.

The attacks have been blamed on the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) based in Pakistan but the founder of the group Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, was released from house arrest by the country’s courts in June.

The Interpol alert, known as a “diffusion,” was sent via Interpol’s I-24/7 secure police communications network to all 186 member countries.

It includes the fugitives’ names and other “nominal data” - which have not been released but is registered by the organisation’s Command and Co-ordination Centre in Interpol’s databases of wanted persons.

The statement added: “The diffusion will ensure that all Interpol’s member countries will be alerted to the wanted status of the 13 individuals and that their movements are recorded.”

Ronald Noble, Interpol’s Secretary General, travelled to India and Pakistan in the wake of the attacks to offer investigative support and enhance co-operation.

He praised Pakistan’s co-operation with the international police community and added: "Unless terrorist-related information is registered on Interpol’s global databases and shared among its global network, no international terrorist investigation can ever be considered complete and all countries which do not have this vital information are at risk.

"The authorities in Pakistan are to be commended for making full use of Interpol’s global network and tools. This demonstrates their commitment to allowing all of Interpol's 187 member countries to benefit from and help with the investigation into the Mumbai terrorist attacks."

“Pakistan’s actions in this case will help set new international standards for terrorism investigations, especially those involving non-nationals.”
Link


-12 More