Author: Bhavna Vij
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: October 9, 2001
Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaida
network cannot be tackled in isolation without restraining terrorist groups
operating in Jammu and Kashmir. This is the strong message that India tried
to convey to visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair who said that bin
Laden was the priority.
Indian intelligence agencies gave
a comprehensive report of activities of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the almost defunct Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM).
The reports clearly bring out the intricate connection between the groups
and bin Laden and also with the Taliban.
Maulana Masood Azhar, founder of
Jaish, is not only "very close" to Taliban chief Mullah Omar (both schooled
in the Deobandi concept of Islam), he is also an ardent supporter of bin
Laden. As per the intelligence reports, Azhar and Omar Sayeed Sheikh met
bin Laden after their release at Kandahar on December 31, 1999, in lieu
of the passengers.
Bin Laden is believed to have given
a large sum of money to Azhar to start his own outfit. The Jaish-e-Mohammad
was born on January 31, 2000 with a large number of deserters from other
terrorist organisations, particularly the HuM, which was on the list of
outfits recently banned by the US.
The Jaish had owned responsibility
for the latest attack on the J-K Assembly on October 1 in which 30 persons
were killed. To drive the point home, the reports handed over to Blair
also give details of the UK connection of the groups.
"The JeM, like the LeT and the HuM,
has become a significant recruiter and fund-raiser in UK, particularly
from Birmingham which has become the focal point for recruitment of Muslim
youth to various jehadi organisations," the report says.
It gives details of Asif Sadiq alias
Mohd Bilal, a JeM suicide bomber who attempted to blow up the 15 Corps
Headquarters of the Army at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar on December
24, 2000. "Bilal was recruited by the Harkat-ul-Ansar from Birmingham in
1994.
Although the activities of Islamic
organisations in the country are under the scrutiny of local intelligence
agencies, Britain continues to be one of the major centres for recruitment
and fund-raising for Islamic militant outfits including the JeM and other
Kashmiri terrorists," it adds. Giving details of Pak nationals funding
terrorist groups in Britain, the Indian team sought Britain's help in curbing
"terrorist sympathetic" activities in the UK.
"The recruits are given money and
sent to training camps in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Nigeria and Sudan
to join militant organisations later," the report says. It also gives details
of Maulana Masood Azhar's interrogation following his arrest by Indian
security forces in 1994.
"Azhar, who was then with the Harkat-ul-Ansar,
had disclosed that he had visited 25 European countries and received large
amounts of money, mainly from UK, for jehadi activities," it says. The
report gives details of the main functionaries of the JeM and addresses
of their offices in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. It also gives the account
numbers of ANZ Grindlays Bank in Sadar, Rawalpindi, where the JeM receives
its drafts and cheques - A/C no. 11501-16750-001 and a dollar A/C no. 11501-16750-251.
A trust (Al-Rashid Trust) affiliated
to JeM has been formed with the support of Taliban and Afghan mujahideen
and has four offices in Karachi, details of which are in the report, handed
over to the British team. The report also includes portions of inflammatory
speeches delivered by the LeT commanders at the annual convention of Markaz-ud-Daawa-wal-Irshad
(MDI) - the parent organisation of LeT - held at Muridke in Punjab (Pakistan)
from April 13-15, 2001.
A separate detailed report about
the LeT's activities was also handed over. "Our aim is to convince the
US-UK combine that terrorism needs to be tackled in totality. You cannot
tackle Osama and leave Maulana Masood Azhar. They are the same. They have
repeatedly proclaimed jehad against their common enemies - US, India and
Israel. It has to be a multi-pronged attack to eliminate terrorism from
the world," said an intelligence official.
