JuD to scale up its Kashmir campaign

The dreaded ISIs C Wing uses the Hafiz Muhammad Saeed controlled Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD)/Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT) to run point on Kashmir.

The deadly prong has been dialling up on Kashmir for years and was at the vanguard of the planning of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks as well. Obsessed with the freedom of Kashmir, Saeed, who has scofflaw status in Pakistan despite a 10 million dollar bounty on his head, wants to rub India’s nose in the trough needs to be given a kick to the trundle. Given that he operates with complete freedom and impunity in Pakistan, with the ISI providing him protection, it is virtually impossible to draw a bead on him. For Indian intelligence agencies, he remains the number one target.

On Thursday, the JuD planned an event at 11 a.m. at the Main Bazar in Sahiwal to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the Mumbai attacks. It instructed its cadres to organise special prayers inside all LeT/JuD mosques to pay their respects to the buddy ‘fidayeen’ who carried out the Mumbai attacks. The JuD, at the behest of ISI, has also floated the ‘JK United Youth Movement’ (JKYM) as a political forum to provide overt support to separatist activities in J&K.

Indian intelligence, which has been tracking the key perpetrators of 26/11, has prepared an updated top secret dossier on them which has been accessed by IANS:

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, chief operational commander/head of LeT’s jihad wing visited LeT/JuD chief Hafiz Saeed at his residence at Johar Town in Lahore in the last week of October, 2020. The meeting was in connection with collection of funds for jihad by LeT/JuD.

A meeting of JuD functionaries was held at Markaz Aqsa, Gujranwala, on November 13, 2020. About 70 businessmen from Gujranwala attended the meeting which was called by Muzammil Iqbal Hashmi, JuD Amir, Gujranwala. Similar meetings have also been scheduled at other places in the Punjab province.

During the meeting, Hashmi explained about the grave situation in Pakistan and Kashmir and asked the businessmen to donate a part of their income to JuD as ‘zakat/ushr’. He stated that the money thus collected would be utilised by JuD for the Mujahideen fighting in Kashmir. After the meeting, an amount of PKR 17 lakh was collected.

Ahsanullah Mansoor (JuD, Sialkot) in a video message made an appeal (September 4, 2020) to assemble at Markaz Umm-ul-Qura, Hajipura Road, Sialkot district, for a programme on the topic ‘Defence Day of Pakistan and 5th Generation Warfare’. He emphasised that Pakistan is fighting an invisible war against India, which is more dangerous than conventional military conflict. He added that LeT/JuD is always ready to compliment the Pakistan armed forces.

A meeting of LeT/JuD district and union council members of Punjab Province was held at Johar Town residence of Hafiz Saeed, on August 15, 2020 which was attended by Hafiz Saeed and Abdul Rehman Makki, wherein JuD cadres and functionaries were briefed to increase their door-to-door campaigns and enhance interaction with the local public for fund collection.

LeT/JuD has constructed a new Markaz at Hangu in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan near the borders with Afghanistan. Funding for the centre has been arranged through donations from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia.

A meeting of around 150-200 JuD cadres took place at JuD’s Aqsa Markaz, Gujranwala, on June 16, 2020. Muzammil Hashmi and a Pakistan Army official, Col. Latif, were present in the meeting. Latif urged the cadres that “they should act as soldiers of the most dangerous front of Pakistan; even if they are not a part of Pak Army or ISI”.

Maulana Suhail, JuD Zonal Amir, Multan, and a senior LeT/JuD leader visited several JuD Markaz in South Punjab during the month of April 2020 in connection with JuD’s fund collection efforts in the name of ‘Ushr’, ‘Jakat’ and donations during the month of Ramadan.

While Hafiz Saeed and other senior functionaries, including Abdul Rehman Makki, Amir Hamza and others, stayed at their residences in Lahore, during their absence, Abdul Rauf (Chairman, Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation), Saifullah Khalid (President, Milli Muslim League), Hafiz Talha Saeed (son of Hafiz Saeed), Abdul Rehman Abid, Muzammil Iqbal Hashmi, Ehsanullah Muntazir and other second rung leaders whose activities were not restricted, continued to look after the affairs of LeT/JuD.

Hafiz Saeed held regular meetings with JuD district in-charges at his residence in Lahore and was monitoring the activities of JuD district committees and ‘Khidmat’ committees which have been formed at the district and union council levels. While the district committees are engaged in preparations for the forthcoming local body elections in Punjab province, the Khidmat committees are engaged in ‘social work’ which is a cover to continue LeT/JuD’s fund collection. Various ‘Daura’ courses were also held at JuD Markaz Taiba, Muridke, apart from other JuDcentres.

A meeting of the JuD cadres took place at Jamia Masjid Toheed, Johar Town, Lahore, on February 26, 2020, adjacent to Haflz Saeed’s residence. The meeting was attended by Hafiz Saeed, Abdul Rehman Makki, Khalid Saifullah, Maulana Abdul Rauf and MML General Secretary Muzammil Hashmi and functionaries of JuDKhidmat committees/Union Councils in Gujranwala. The meeting was about collection of the fund and motivating the cadres in view of the present scenario arising from the ban on the outfits’ activities in Pakistan.

Addressing the cadres, Hafiz Saeed ensured them that they need not to be worry, seeing/hearing about the court case trials against the Jamat leaders and the situation in Kashmir as these are temporary issues; being externally reflected in view of the FATF/international pressure and would settle during a very short period.

Following tacit understanding with ISI, JuD re-started its fund collection campaign in the name of construction a new masjid at Khokhar Road, Gali No. A-8, Al-Mashoor Aare Wall Gali, 21 UC, Badami Bagh, Lahore. JuD continues collecting funds during Friday prayers and are also issuing receipts against the donations. They also provided an account number 0002210100089863 of Meezan Bank to deposit the donations directly.