Author: Sachin Parashar
Publication: The Times of India
Date: June 2, 2011
Introduction: A Wikileaks cable reveals Lebya's
Mummar Gaddafi could be financing a Pak-based terror group, Sipah-e-Sahaba,
which has made common cause with Jaish-e-Mohammed
A newly-released WikiLeaks cable has revealed
that Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi could be financing a Pakistan-based
anti-India terror group, Sipah-e-Sahaba, which has made common cause with
Maulana Masood Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammed. The cable, which is based on information
received from a Deobandi scholar and a "long-standing'' contact of the
US consulate in Lahore, said Sipah leader Mulana Ludhianvi travelled to Libya
on a fundraising trip sponsored by the Libyan government.
As per the cable dated March 20, 2009, the
Deobandi scholar revealed to US principal officer Bryan Hunt in the Lahore
consulate that Ludhianvi contacted Libyan officials in the guise of working
against Iran and Shias in Pakistan. Sipah had originated as a violent anti-Shia
organization and is known to have received funds from Sunni states, including
Saudi Arabia.
The scholar told the US official that Ludhianvi
was scheduled to return to Pakistan in a few days and was bringing with him
a "donation'' from the Libyan government valued at nearly 25 million
Pakistani rupees (approximately $312,000). The scholar said he was certain
that this money would be used to increase Sipah's activities. The scholar,
in fact, had met the US official to talk abut the organization's increasing
activities in Faisalabad. The scholar is described by the US official as having
numerous ties within the broader Deobandi community and as "well-positioned
to obtain information on activities of Deobandi-linked terrorist/extremist
groups such as Sipah-e-Sahaba and Jaish-e-Mohammed''. India had earlier not
backed a UN Security Council resolution which authorized no-fly zone over
Libya.
