Author: Rajeev Syal and Thair Shaikh
Publication: Daily Telegraph
Date: June 9, 2002
Banned Kashmiri terrorist groups
whose attacks have been blamed for bringing India and Pakistan to the brink
of a nuclear war are being funded by Muslims in Britain, The Telegraph
can reveal.
On undercover visits to mosques
last week, our reporters found clerics openly proclaiming how money was
being channelled to "freedom fighters" in Kashmir. One boasted that it
was "easy" to send money to terrorists, adding that he "had a duty" to
support "fighting brothers".
The evidence of clandestine support
for the Kashmiri terror organisations backs up claims in a report submitted
to the Government by the Indian authorities.
The report, which includes a dossier
of evidence revealing bank account details, claims that two groups, Lashkar-e-Toiba
and Jaish-e-Mohammed, are illegally raising up to £5 million a year.
Lashkar-e-Toiba was responsible
for killing 14 people in an attack on the Indian parliament, and Jaish-e-Mohammed
is accused of the murder of the American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was
videotaped having his throat cut.
Both organisations were banned in
Britain in January. The Indian government's report, which is being investigated
by Special Branch, was given to Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, when
he met his counterparts in New Delhi two weeks ago.
An Indian official said last week
that Mr Straw had promised to clamp down on the militants.
"Britain is a source of funds for
both groups because of its large Kashmiri population," he said. "They raise
around £5 million from Britain every year."
The Telegraph investigation indicates
that such claims are accurate and that it is still possible to send funds
for the armed struggle.
An undercover reporter approached
the Kashmir International Relief Fund, a charity in east London, that sends
aid to refugees, and, when asked, a volunteer suggested that it would be
"easy" to send money to terrorists.
Mahmood Hussain said: "We have a
duty to help our brothers who are fighting for a struggle." He gave the
address of a Pakistani organisation in Rawalpindi and advice on how to
transfer funds.
"Once you can make contact in Pakistan
there should be no problem, from there you can transfer the funds."
When confronted by this newspaper,
Mr Hussain said that he supported the armed struggle but insisted that
he would not have used the charity's accounts to transfer funds.
At the Regent's Park mosque in London,
funds have been raised for the Kashmiri "freedom fighters", although it
is not specified which organisation receives the funds.
Abu Hamza, the Imam, said that if
funds were raised for terrorism, he would support the fund-raising activities.
"These people are fighting to defend their Islamic brothers," he said.
There are 600,000 people of Kashmiri
origin in Britain, mostly from the area under Pakistani control.
Lashkar-e-Toiba, which translates
as Army of the Pure, has established British links. One Manchester-based
Islamic cleric recruited members from his mosque before the group was proscribed.
Jaish-e-Mohammed, which translates
as Mohammed's Army, is led by Omar Sheikh, a former British public schoolboy.
Sheikh, 29, from Leytonstone, north-east London, is awaiting trial in Pakistan
for Mr Pearl's murder.
