Harkat-ul-Mujahideen

{{Short description|Islamist militant group}} {{EngvarB|date=March 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox militant organization | name = Harkat-ul-Mujahideen | native_name = | native_name_lang = | war = | attacks = Indian Airlines Flight 814 | image = Flag of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.svg | caption = Flag of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen | active = 1985–present | allegiance = {{flagicon image|Flag of Taliban.svg}} Afghanistan<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afintl.com/en/202410090797|title=Many Jihadi Groups In Asia & Africa Pledge Allegiance To Taliban Leader, Group Sources|date=9 October 2024}}</ref> | ideology = Islamism Deobandi<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gunaratna, Iqbal |first=Rohan, Khuram |title=Pakistan: Terrorism Ground Zero |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-86189-768-8 |location=London |pages=164, 185, 187}}</ref> Jihadism | leaders = Sajjad Afghani Fazlur Rehman Khalil | clans = | headquarters = Pakistan | area = | strength = | partof = United Jihad Council<ref name="map">[http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/maps/view/pak Pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319070309/http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/maps/view/pak |date=19 March 2023 }}. ''Mapping Militants''. Stanford University.</ref> | previous = | next = | allies = '''State allies''' * {{Flag|Pakistan}}<ref name="cdi.org">[http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=2374&from_page=../index.cfm In the Spotlight: Harkat ul-Jihad-I-Islami (HuJI)]''Center for Defense Information'' 16 August 2004 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311124005/http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=2374&from_page=..%2Findex.cfm |date=11 March 2009 }}</ref> '''Non-state allies''' * {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Al-Qaeda<ref name=cellphone>{{cite news|title=Seized Cellphone Offers Clues To Bin Laden's Pakistani Links|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/asia/24pakistan.html?pagewanted=1&hp|access-date=24 June 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 June 2011|author=Carlotta Gall|author2=Pir Zubair Shah|author3=Eric Schmitt|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119214220/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/asia/24pakistan.html?pagewanted=1&hp|url-status=live}}</ref> ** Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent * {{flagicon image|Flag of Lashkar-e-Taiba.svg}} Lashkar-e-Taiba * {{flagicon image|Jaishi-e-Mohammed.svg}} Jaish-e-Mohammed * {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind * Harkat-ul-Jihadi al-Islami * Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan<ref name="map"/> | opponents = {{flag|India}} | battles = Soviet-Afghan war Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Kargil War | url = | status = Designated as a terrorist group by *{{BHR}}<ref name="Mofa.gov.bh">{{cite web |url=https://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=12342&language=en-US |title=Bahrain Terrorist List (individuals – entities) |publisher=Mofa.gov.bh |date=2014-02-13 |access-date=2020-07-24 |archive-date=17 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017055422/https://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=12342&language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref> *{{flag|Canada}}<ref name="PublicSafetyCanada">{{cite web|url=https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-en.aspx|title=About the listing process|publisher=Public Safety Canada|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202121931/https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-eng.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> *{{flag|India}}<ref name="MHA_BanList">{{cite web|title=List of Banned Organisations|url=https://mha.gov.in/banned-organisations|website=Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI|publisher=Government of India|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503233101/https://mha.gov.in/banned-organisations |archive-date= 3 May 2018}}</ref> *{{flag|United Kingdom}}<ref>{{cite act |title=Terrorism Act 2000 |number=11 |year=2000 |article=2 |articletype=Schedule |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 }} {{Cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |title=Terrorism Act 2000 |access-date=28 April 2018 |archive-date=21 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121085241/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> *{{flag|United States}}<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2011/195553.htm|title=Country Reports on Terrorism 2011 Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations|work=U.S. Department of State|access-date=1 April 2015|archive-date=2 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102184847/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2011/195553.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> }} {{Deobandism}}

'''Harkat-ul-Mujahideen''' ({{langx|ur|{{nq|حرکت المجاہدین}}|lit=Mujahideen movement}}; {{small|abbreviated}} '''HUM''') is a Pakistan-based Islamist jihadist group operating primarily in Kashmir.<ref name="Indictment of John Walker Lindh">[http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/lindhindictment.htm Indictment of John Walker Lindh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029074939/https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/lindhindictment.htm |date=29 October 2021 }} ''American Rhetoric'' February, 2002</ref> The group had links to Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar.<ref name="Roy">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA242|title=How We Missed the Story: Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of ... – Roy Gutman – Google Books|date=18 January 2020|isbn=9781601270245|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118124452/https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA242|archive-date=18 January 2020|last1=Gutman|first1=Roy|publisher=US Institute of Peace Press }}</ref>

The group has been designated as a terrorist organisation by Bahrain, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and the United States. In response the organisation changed its name to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.<ref name="Indictment of John Walker Lindh"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm |title=United States State Department |publisher=2001-2009.state.gov |access-date=2020-07-24 |archive-date=17 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117015042/https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name='satp'>{{cite web | url = http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/harkatul_mujahideen.htm | title = Harkat-ul-Mujahideen | access-date = 2011-06-24 | publisher = South Asia Terrorism Portal | archive-date = 29 June 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629184204/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/harkatul_mujahideen.htm | url-status = live }}</ref> The group splintered from Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), a Pakistani group formed in 1980 to fight the Soviet military in Afghanistan.<ref name="cdi.org"/> The Government of India has declared and banned HuM as a jihad organisation.<ref name="MHA_BanList"/>

==Post Soviet–Afghan War== Harkat-ul-Mujahideen was originally formed as a splinter group of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami in 1985.<ref name='satp'/> In 1989, at the end of Soviet–Afghan war, the group entered Kashmiri politics by use of militants under the leadership of Sajjad Afghani and Muzaffar Ahmad Baba Alias Mukhtar. In 1993 the group merged with Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami to form Harkat-ul-Ansar.<ref name='satp'/>

Immediately following the merger India arrested three senior members: Nasrullah Mansur Langaryal, chief of the former Harkat-ul Mujahideen in November 1993; Maulana Masood Azhar, General Secretary in February 1994, and Sajjad Afghani (Sajjad Sajid) in the same month in Srinagar. Muzaffar Ahmad Baba was killed in an encounter at Pandan Nowhatta with the BSF in January 1994.{{Citation needed|date=June 2014}}

As a response the group carried out several kidnappings in an attempt to free their leaders, all of which failed. It was linked to the Kashmiri group al-Faran that kidnapped five Western tourists in Kashmir in July 1995; one, Hans Christian Ostrø, was killed in August 1995 and the other four reportedly were killed in December of the same year.

In 1997, the United States designated Harkat-ul-Ansar as a terrorist organisation, and in response it renamed itself to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.<ref name='satp'/>

In 1999, Sajjad was killed during a jailbreak which led to the hijacking, by the group, of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in December, which led to the release of Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar by the Indian Government. Azhar did not, however, return to the HUM, choosing instead to form the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), a rival militant group expressing a more radical line than the HUM, in early 2000.

==Post 9/11 attacks== The group again came to the attention of the US after the 9/11 attacks, leading President George W. Bush to ban the group, this time under its Harkat-ul-Mujahideen moniker, on 25 September 2001.<ref name='satp'/>

The long-time leader of the group, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, in mid-February 2000 stepped down as HUM ''emir'', turning the reins over to the popular Kashmiri commander and his second-in-command, Farooq Kashmiri. Khalil assumed the position of HUM Secretary General.

HUM is thought to have several thousand-armed supporters located in Pakistani Kashmir, and India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions. It uses light and heavy machine guns, assault rifles, mortars, explosives, and rockets. HUM lost some of its membership due to defections to the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The group is based in Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, and several other towns in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but members conduct insurgent and terrorist activities primarily in Kashmir.

The group's current leader, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, lives openly in the Islamabad suburb of Golra Sharif. He has denied having any contact with Osama bin Laden.<ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/636965/terror-leader-lives-freely-near-pakistani-capital Terror leader lives freely near Pakistani capital] , ''Dawn (newspaper)'', 16 June 2011</ref>

According to ''The New York Times'', Osama Bin Laden's seized cellphones attest Harkat-ul-Mujahideen's continued contact with Osama Bin Laden and its bases and fighters shared with the Taliban over the years following the war in Afghanistan.<ref name=cellphone/>

Since, the formation of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group suffered both in leadership and cadre strength with most of funding and weapons diverted to the new outfit.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Harkat-ul Mujahideen (HuM) Analysis|url=https://www.satp.org/terrorist-profile/india-jammukashmir/harkat-ul-mujahideen-hum-previously-known-as-harkat-ul-ansar|access-date=2024-05-05|website=SATP}}</ref>

==Designation as terrorist organisation==

The countries and organisations below have officially listed the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) as a terrorist organisation.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- |Country |Date |References |- |{{BHR}} | |<ref name="Mofa.gov.bh"/> |- |{{flag|Canada}} |27 November 2002 |<ref name="PublicSafetyCanada"/> |- |{{flag|India}} | |<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nia.gov.in/banned_org.aspx|title=NIA :: Banned Terrorist Organisations|access-date=1 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110115355/http://www.nia.gov.in/banned_org.aspx|archive-date=10 January 2016}}</ref> |- |{{flag|United Kingdom}} |14 October 2005 |<ref>{{cite act |title=Terrorism Act 2000 |title-link=Terrorism Act 2000 |date=2000-07-20 |orig-section=sched. 2 |chapter=Proscribed Organisations |reporter=UK Public General Acts |volume=2000 c. 11 |chapter-url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121085241/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |archive-date=2013-01-21 |url-status=live}}</ref> |- |{{flag|United States}} |25 September 2001 |<ref name="auto"/> |}

==Harkat ul-Ansar== {{Redirect|Harakat al-Ansar|former Baloch jihadist group also known as "Harakat al-Ansar"|Harakat Ansar Iran}} '''Harkat ul-Ansar''' ('''HuA''') was an Islamic terrorist organisation founded by Abdelkader Mokhtari in 1993. It was the result of a merger between Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). Many of its operations were conducted in Jammu and Kashmir.<ref name=satp-hua>{{cite web | title = Harkat ul-Ansar | publisher = South Asia Terrorism Portal | date = 2001 | url = http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/harkat_ul_ansar_or_harkat_ul_jehad_e_islami.htm | access-date = 2009-02-04 | archive-date = 4 February 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090204072846/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/harkat_ul_ansar_or_harkat_ul_jehad_e_islami.htm | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=rediff1999>{{cite news | last = Sahni | first = Sati | title = Who are the Harkat-ul-Ansar? | publisher = Rediff | date = 1999 | url = http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/31harkat.htm | access-date = 2009-02-04 | archive-date = 5 November 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211105214521/https://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/31harkat.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>

Soon after its founding, several members of its leadership were arrested by Indian Security Forces. In November 1993, the former head of HuM, Nasrullah Mansur Langrayal, was arrested.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} In February 1994, the HuA general secretary, Maulana Masood Azhar and chief commander, Sajjad Afghani, were captured in the Chattargul area of Anantnag district.<ref name=rediff1999/>

It was labeled a terrorist organisation in 1997 by the United States because of its connections with Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden.<ref name=satp-hua/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1123996|title=US puts Harakat and its affiliates on terror list|access-date=8 August 2014|publisher=Dawn news|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119214219/https://www.dawn.com/news/1123996|url-status=live}}</ref> The ban severely limited the funding of the group, and as a result HuA was reorganised as a reincarnated Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. At the time, Azhar split from the group to form Jaish-e-Mohammed.<ref name=satp-hua/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Recast-Harkat-ul-Ansar-stoking-anti-India-sentiments-in-Kashmir/articleshow/19206329.cms|title=Recast Harkat-ul-Ansar stoking anti-India sentiments in Kashmir|access-date=26 May 2013|publisher=Times of India|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409020311/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/recast-harkat-ul-ansar-stoking-anti-india-sentiments-in-kashmir/articleshow/19206329.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1998, U.S.'s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its report stated, "HuA, an Islamic terrorist organisation that Pakistan supports in its proxy war against Indian forces in Kashmir, increasingly is using terrorist tactics against Westerners and random attacks on civilians that could involve Westerners to promote its pan-Islamic agenda." CIA also stated that Hua had abducted at least 13 persons, of which 12 were from western countries in the period from early 1994 to 1998.<ref name="The Hindu India fortifying">{{cite news |title=India fortifying case to put Jaish on ban list |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-fortifying-case-to-put-jaish-on-ban-list/article26426600.ece |access-date=14 March 2019 |work=The Hindu |date=4 March 2019 |language=en-IN |archive-date=28 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028113929/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-fortifying-case-to-put-jaish-on-ban-list/article26426600.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Afridi's cousin">{{cite news |title=Afridi's cousin killed in J&K: BSF |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/12jk.htm |access-date=14 March 2019 |work=rediff.com |date=12 September 2003 |archive-date=2 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102121943/https://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/12jk.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Jihadist groups in Jammu and Kashmir Category:Jihadist groups in Pakistan Category:Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist Category:Organisations designated as terrorist by India Category:Organisations designated as terrorist by the United Kingdom Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States Category:Al-Qaeda allied groups Category:1985 establishments in Pakistan Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Canada Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Bahrain Category:2000 millennium attack plots Category:Organisations based in Azad Kashmir Category:Deobandi jihadist organizations