{{Short description|Islamist-Jihadist Pakistani militant organization}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Redirect|LeT|other uses|Let (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox War Faction | name = Lashkar-e-Taiba | native_name = {{nq|لشکرِ طیبہ}} | other_name = {{Nobold|{{lang|ur|{{nq|جماعت الدعوہ}}}}}} | image = [[File:Flag of Lashkar-e-Taiba.svg|border|200px]] | native_name_lang = ur | caption = Flag of Lashkar-e-Taiba | dates = 1985/1986<ref name=reuters20090706 /><ref name="satp">{{cite web |title=Lashkar-e-Toiba 'Army of the Pure' |publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal |year=2001 |url=http://satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117041048/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba.htm |archive-date=17 January 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=cronin />–present | headquarters = [[Muridke]], [[Punjab Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]] | allegiance = {{flag|Pakistan}}<ref name="Winchell">{{citation |title=Pakistan's ISI: The Invisible Government |first=Sean P. |last=Winchell |journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence |volume=16 |pages=374–388 |number=3 |year=2003 |doi=10.1080/713830449 |s2cid=154924792 |ref={{sfnref|Winchell, Pakistan's ISI: The Invisible Government|2003}}}}</ref><ref name="eastasiaforum.org"/><ref name="Didier Chaudet"/><ref name="tankel201104"/> | founders = {{unbulleted list|[[Hafiz Muhammad Saeed]]|Zafar Iqbal Shehbaz|[[Abdullah Yusuf Azzam]]{{Assassinated}}|[[Amir Hamza (Lashkar-e-Taiba)|Amir Hamza]]|[[Abdul Rehman Makki]]{{Natural Causes}}|[[Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi]]}} | leader1_title = [[Emir|Ameer]] | leader1_name = [[Hafiz Muhammad Saeed]] | leader2_title = [[Naib]] [[Emir|Ameer]] | leader2_name = Zafar Iqbal<ref name="Zafar Iqbal">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/zafar-iqbal |title=Zafar Iqbal |publisher=[[United Nations]] |date=14 March 2012}}</ref> (co-founder of ''Jamaat-ud-Dawa'') | leader3_title = Spokesman | leader3_name = Muhammad Yahya Mujahid<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mohammed Yahya Mujahid – United Nations Security Council |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/mohammed-yahya-mujahid |access-date=29 June 2009}}</ref> | motives = Integration of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] with Pakistan<ref name="Harvey">Encyclopedia of Terrorism, pp. 212–213, By [[Harvey W. Kushner]], Ill. Ed., Sage, 2003, {{ISBN|978-0-7619-2408-1}}</ref><ref name="Dawn-Who is Lashkar-e-Tayyiba">{{cite news |url=http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/world/who-are-the-lashkar-e-tayiba-yn |title=Who is Lashkar-e-Tayiba |work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|location=[[Pakistan]]|date=3 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706221147/http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/world/who-are-the-lashkar-e-tayiba-yn |archive-date=6 July 2017}}</ref> | partof = [[United Jihad Council]]<ref name="map"/> | status = Active | clans = *[[The Resistance Front]]{{efn|TRF is active in the [[insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]]. Lashkar-e-Taiba and [[Hizbul Mujahideen]] leaders form the core of the TRF. United Liberation Front, a group of [[Al-Badr (Jammu and Kashmir)|Al-Badr]], also works with the TRF.<ref name="hindustantimes20200508">{{Cite web |title=Pak launches terror's new face in Kashmir, Imran Khan follows up on Twitter |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pak-launches-terror-s-new-face-in-kashmir-imran-khan-follows-up-on-twitter/story-vDmvByzkeowrW8OKruhS3M.html |last=Gupta |first=Shishir |date=8 May 2020 |website=Hindustan Times }}</ref><ref name="indianexpress.com">{{Cite web |title='Pakistan trying to securalise Kashmir militancy': Lashkar regroups in Valley as The Resistance Front |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/jammu-kashmir-lashkar-regroups-as-the-resistance-front-6394158/ |date=5 May 2020 |website=The Indian Express }}</ref><ref name="Gupta">{{Cite web |title=New J&K terror outfit run by LeT brass: Intel |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/new-j-k-terror-outfit-run-by-let-brass-intel/story-wLZ5ACFQJMHVa8kt7weTPO.html |last=Gupta |first=Shishir |date=8 May 2020 |website=Hindustan Times }}</ref><ref name="The Economic Times">{{Cite news |last1=Pubby |first1=Manu |last2=Chaudhury |first2=Dipanjan Roy |date=29 April 2020 |title=The Resistance Front: New name of terror groups in Kashmir |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/the-resistance-front-new-name-of-terror-groups-in-kashmir/articleshow/75440416.cms }}</ref><ref name="CNN News18">{{cite news |title=Security Forces Have Eliminated Over 100 Militants in Jammu and Kashmir This Year, Say Officials |url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/security-forces-have-eliminated-over-100-militants-in-jammu-and-kashmir-this-year-say-officials-2659491.html |publisher=CNN News18 |date=8 June 2020}}</ref>}} *[[Virginia jihad network]]<ref name="Markon">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082500460.html |title=Teacher Sentenced for Aiding Terrorists |last=Markon |first=Jerry |date=26 August 2006 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108055542/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082500460.html |archive-date=8 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> *Jamaat-ud-Dawa<ref name="map">[http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingresistance/cgi-bin/maps/view/pak Pakistan]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. ''Mapping Militants''. [[Stanford University]].</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Treasury Issues Sanctions Against Lashkar-E Tayyiba Financial Facilitators |url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm448 |publisher=U.S. Department of the Treasury |access-date=31 July 2018}}</ref> *[[Milli Muslim League]]<ref name="Ishfaq-2019">{{cite web |last1=Ishfaq |first1=Sarmad |title=South Asia's Most Notorious Militant Groups |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/12/south-asias-most-notorious-militant-groups/ |website=The Diplomat |date=31 December 2019}}</ref> *[[Jamaat al-Dawah ila al-Quran wal-Sunnah]] (negated)<ref name=DatelineAu2009>{{cite news |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/transcript/id/600462/n/The-Terror-Trail |title=The Terror Trail |publisher=[[Dateline (Australian TV program)|Dateline]] |year=2009 |author=Evan Williams |archive-date=25 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525105717/http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/transcript/id/600462/n/The-Terror-Trail |url-status=dead}}</ref> * [[Tehreek-e-Azaadi Jammu and Kashmir]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kaur Sandhu|first1=Kamaljit|title=Kashmir: High alert around Uri power plant after intel inputs of possible terror plot|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kashmir-uri-high-alert-power-plant-terror-plot-nhpc-981299-2017-06-06|publisher=[[India Today]]|date=6 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Web Desk |date=2024-07-01 |title=AJK prison break mastermind was wanted by India: sources |url=https://english.aaj.tv/news/330367807/ajk-prison-break-mastermind-was-wanted-by-india-sources |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=[[Aaj TV]] |language=en}}</ref> | area = Worldwide, predominantly in the [[Indian subcontinent]] * [[Pakistan]]<ref name="Harvey" /> * [[India]]<ref name="tankel201104"/> * [[Afghanistan]]<ref name="nytimes.com"/><ref name="satp"/><ref name="cronin">{{cite report |last=Kurth Cronin |first=Audrey |author2=Huda Aden |author3=Adam Frost |author4=Benjamin Jones |date=6 February 2004 |title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations |url=https://fas.org/irp/crs/RL32223.pdf |url-status=live |publisher=Congressional Research Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304065259/http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RL32223.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/pakistan-based-terror-group-jem-let-maintain-training-camps-in-afghanistan-un-report-399496 |title=Pakistan-based terror group JeM, LeT maintain training camps in Afghanistan: UN report |work=[[The Tribune]] |date=30 May 2022 |quote=The report cites a UN Member State as saying that JeM ‘maintains eight training camps in Nangarhar, three of which are directly under Taliban control’ |archive-date=7 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607171809/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/pakistan-based-terror-group-jem-let-maintain-training-camps-in-afghanistan-un-report-399496 |url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Australia]]<ref name=hogan>Shandon Harris-Hogan. "The Australian Neojihadist network: Origins, evolution and structure." ''Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict'', Volume 5, Issue 1. Global Terrorism Research Centre. Monash University. Victoria: Australia. (2012): pp. 18–30.</ref><ref name=Koschade>Koschade, Stuart Andrew. "The internal dynamics of terrorist cells: a social network analysis of terrorist cells in an Australian context." (2007).</ref> * [[United States]]<ref name="cia.gov">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/press-release-archive-1997-1/pr61797.html |title=Statement by CIA and FBI on Arrest of Mir Aimal Kansi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926231331/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/press-release-archive-1997-1/pr61797.html |archive-date=26 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> * [[Bangladesh]]<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0805/Pakistani-militants-expand-abroad-starting-in-Bangladesh |title=Pakistani militants expand abroad, starting in Bangladesh |journal=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=5 August 2010 }}</ref> * [[Nepal]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Militants hiding in Poonch forests getting help from Nepal? |date=28 October 2021 |via = [[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcK5wvvVsdA&ab_channel=HindustanTimes |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/BcK5wvvVsdA |archive-date=21 December 2021 |url-status=live }}{{cbignore}}</ref> | active = 1985/1986-present | ideology = {{Plain list| * [[Ahl-e-Hadith]]{{sfnp|Fair, Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba|2018|p=91}} * [[Salafi jihadism]]<ref name=haqqani /><ref name=Salafi >{{cite web |last1=Stephen |first1=Tankel |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba in Perspective |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/04/23/lashkar-e-taiba-in-perspective/ |publisher=[[Foreign Policy Magazine]] |date=2010}}</ref> * [[Sunni Islamism]]<ref name=haqqani>{{cite journal |last1=Haqqani |first1=Husain |year=2005 |title=The Ideologies of South Asian Jihadi Groups |journal=[[Current Trends in Islamist Ideology]] |publisher=[[Hudson Institute]] |volume=1 |pages=12–26 |url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/Ideologies.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412080139/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/Ideologies%2Epdf |archive-date=12 April 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Globalecco">{{Cite web |url=https://globalecco.org/ctx-v1n1/lashkar-e-taiba |title=The Financing of Lashkar-e-Taiba |date=June 2018 |website=Global Ecco |archive-date=11 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111065644/https://globalecco.org/ctx-v1n1/lashkar-e-taiba |url-status=dead}}</ref> * [[Pan-Islamism]]<ref name="economictimes.indiatimes.com">{{Cite news |title=Hafiz Saeed asks govt to curb foreign bid to bolster ISIS in Pak for targeting shia minority. He also urged the Shia and Sunni sects to shun their differences and live in peace and unite for Muslim rule in the region |newspaper=The Economic Times |date=17 October 2015 |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/hafiz-saeed-asks-govt-to-curb-foreign-bid-to-bolster-is-in-pak/articleshow/49429890.cms?from=mdr }}</ref> * [[Shia–Sunni relations|Sunni–Shia unity]]<ref name="economictimes.indiatimes.com"/> * [[Islamic fundamentalism]]<ref name=hindu20081206/><ref name=saAnalysis>{{cite news |url=http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers4/paper374.html |title=The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) |author=Raman, B. |date=15 December 2001 |publisher=South Asia Analysis Group |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613182244/http://southasiaanalysis.org/papers4/paper374.html |archive-date=13 June 2010 }}</ref> * [[Ghazwa-e-Hind]]<ref name="Haqqani2015">{{cite web |last1=Haqqani |first1=Husain |title=Prophecy & the Jihad in the Indian subcontinent |url=https://www.hudson.org/research/11167-prophecy-the-jihad-in-the-indian-subcontinent |publisher=Hudson Institute |date=27 March 2015 |quote=For example, Lashkar-e-Taiba has often spoken of Ghazwa-e-Hind as a means of liberating Kashmir from Indian control. The group's founder, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, has declared repeatedly that '[i]f freedom is not given to the Kashmiris, then we will occupy the whole of India including Kashmir. We will launch Ghazwa-e-Hind. Our homework is complete to get Kashmir.' Pakistani propagandist Zaid Hamid has also repeatedly invoked Ghazwa-e-Hind as a battle against Hindu India led from Muslim Pakistan. According to Hamid, 'Allah has destined the people of Pakistan' with victory and 'Allah is the aid and helper of Pakistan.'}}</ref> * [[Anti-Hindu sentiment|Anti-Hindu]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ashley |first1=J. Tellis |title=The Menace That Is Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/files/LeT_menace.pdf |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |date=March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MMP: Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/lashkar-e-taiba |publisher=Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kozak |first=Warren |title=Warren Kozak: Remembering the Terror in Mumbai |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204630904577055863900368528.html |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=24 November 2011}}</ref> * [[Anti-Communism]]<ref name="tellis2010f">{{cite news |author=Ashley J. Tellis |url=http://carnegieendowment.org/files/0311_testimony_tellis.pdf |title=Bad Company – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and the Growing Ambition of Islamist Mujahidein in Pakistan |date=11 March 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411035030/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/0311%5Ftestimony%5Ftellis%2Epdf |archive-date=11 April 2010 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |quote=The group's earliest operations were focused on the Kunar and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan, where LeT had set up several training camps in support of the jihad against the Soviet occupation.}}</ref> * [[Anti-Sovietism]]<ref name="Tellis Bad Company" /> * [[Anti-Zionism]]<ref name="adl.org">Anti-Defamation League, [http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/LET_Targets_Jews_West.htm "LET Targets Jewish and Western Interests" 2 December 2009] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006083239/http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/LET_Targets_Jews_West.htm |date=6 October 2012}})</ref><ref name="AP">[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/nyregion/29chabad.html Jewish Zionist Center Is Stormed by Pak-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba Islamist Group, and 6 Israeli Hostages Died] The New York Times (28 November 2008)</ref><ref name="Remembering the Terror in Mumbai">Warren Kozak, [https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204630904577055863900368528 Remembering the Terror in Mumbai] The Wall Street Journal</ref> * [[Antisemitism]]<ref name="adl.org"/><ref name="AP"/> * [[Pakistani nationalism]]<ref name="Winchell">{{citation |title=Pakistan's ISI: The Invisible Government |first=Sean P. |last=Winchell |journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence |volume=16 |pages=374–388 |number=3 |year=2003 |doi=10.1080/713830449 |s2cid=154924792 |ref={{sfnref|Winchell, Pakistan's ISI: The Invisible Government|2003}}}}</ref><ref name="eastasiaforum.org"/><ref name="Didier Chaudet"/><ref name="tankel201104"/> }} | position = [[Far-right politics|Far-right]]<ref name="eastasiaforum.org">{{cite web |date=27 December 2017 |title=Democracy between military might and the ultra-right in Pakistan |url=http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/12/27/democracy-between-military-might-and-the-ultra-right-in-pakistan/ |website=East Asia Forum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305202435/http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/12/27/democracy-between-military-might-and-the-ultra-right-in-pakistan/ |archive-date=5 March 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Didier Chaudet">{{cite web |language=fr |author=Didier Chaudet |date=3 July 2012 |title=L'extrême-droite pakistanaise est-elle une menace pour les Etats-Unis? |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/didier-chaudet/difa-e-pakistan--extreme-droite-menace-etats-unis_b_1633325.html |website=Huffington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307022859/https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/didier-chaudet/difa-e-pakistan--extreme-droite-menace-etats-unis_b_1633325.html |archive-date=7 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> | attacks = * [[2000 terrorist attack on Red Fort|December 2000 terrorist attack on Red Fort]] * [[2001 Indian Parliament attack]] * [[2005 Delhi bombings]] * [[August 2007 Hyderabad bombings]]<ref name = "IBN">{{cite web |url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/3-held-for-hyd-blasts-centre-points-fingers-at-let-jem/47558-3.html |title=3 held for Hyd blasts; Centre points fingers at LeT, JeM |publisher=PTI/ IBN Live |date=27 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184506/http://www.ibnlive.com/news/3-held-for-hyd-blasts-centre-points-fingers-at-let-jem/47558-3.html |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> * [[2008 Mumbai attacks|2008 Mumbai attacks (26/11)]] * [[2010 Pune bombing]] *[[2025 Pahalgam attack]] | designated_as_terror_group_by = {{hlist| |[[United States]] |[[Canada]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Currently listed entities |date=21 December 2018 |url=https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-en.aspx#43}}</ref> |[[Australia]] |[[India]] |[[United Kingdom]] |[[Russia]] |[[Japan]]<ref>[https://www.moj.go.jp/psia/ITH/organizations/SW_S-asia/LeT.html 公安調査庁 – ラシュカレ・タイバ（LeT）]. [[Ministry of Justice (Japan)]].</ref> |[[Israel]] |[[Pakistan]] |[[EU]] |[[UN]]<ref>{{cite web |date=30 January 2016 |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/79#designated |website=Stanford University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726031820/https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/79#designated |archive-date=26 July 2018 |url-status=live}} </ref>}} | size = Unknown | war = {{tree list}} * [[Kashmir conflict]] ** [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]] * [[Afghan conflict]] ** [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet–Afghan War (1979-1989)]]<ref name="Tellis Bad Company">{{cite news |author=Ashley J. Tellis |url=http://carnegieendowment.org/files/0311_testimony_tellis.pdf |title=Bad Company – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and the Growing Ambition of Mujahidein in Pakistan |date=11 March 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411035030/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/0311%5Ftestimony%5Ftellis%2Epdf |archive-date=11 April 2010 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |quote=The group's earliest operations were focused on the Kunar and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan, where LeT had set up several training camps in support of the jihad against the Soviet occupation.}}</ref><ref name="tellis2010">{{cite news |author=Ashley J. Tellis |url=http://carnegieendowment.org/files/0311_testimony_tellis.pdf |title=Bad Company – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and the Growing Ambition of Islamist Mujahidein in Pakistan and Afghanistan |date=11 March 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411035030/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/0311%5Ftestimony%5Ftellis%2Epdf |archive-date=11 April 2010 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |quote=The group's earliest operations were focused on the Kunar and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan, where LeT had set up several training camps in support of the jihad against the Soviet occupation.}}</ref> ** [[Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)]]<ref name="Tellis Bad Company"/><ref name="tellis2010"/><ref name="Shaffer 2006 267">{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Brenda |title=The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEOd-cDWVwQC&pg=PA267 |year=2006 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-19529-4 |page=267 |quote=Pakistani involvement in creating the movement is seen as central}}</ref> ** [[Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)]]<ref name="Shaffer 2006 267">{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Brenda |title=The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEOd-cDWVwQC&pg=PA267 |year=2006 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-19529-4 |page=267 |quote=Pakistani involvement in creating the movement is seen as central}}</ref> ** [[Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)]]<ref name="SAGE"/> ** [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]<ref name="Khaama Press">{{cite news |url=https://www.khaama.com/8-foreign-terrorists-killed-wounded-as-afghan-forces-target-lashkar-e-taiba-compound-03612/ |title=8 foreign terrorists killed, wounded as Afghan forces target Lashkar-e-Taiba compound |newspaper=The Khaama Press News Agency |publisher=Khaama Press |date=13 June 2019 |last1=Says |first1=Amail Khan Yar}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news |title=Militant Group Expands Attacks in Afghanistan Indian Targeted by Laskar-e-taiba |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 June 2010 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/world/asia/16lashkar.html |last1=Rubin |first1=Alissa J.}}</ref> {{tree list/end}} | allies = '''Non-state allies''' * {{flagicon image|Jaishi-e-Mohammed.svg}} [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] * {{flagicon image|Flag of Tehrik-i-Taliban.svg}} [[Pakistani Taliban]]<ref name="Taliban mock">{{Cite web |title='Failed To Liberate Kashmir': Taliban mock 'incompetent' Pak Army; Refute Indian proxy charge |publisher=Hindustan Times |date=4 April 2023 |via=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdC3IKY-fgk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=TTP condemned the Indian attack and expressed soldiery with Masood Azhar TTP also slams Pakistan Army over killing of Masood Azhar's family |date=8 May 2025 |url=https://newsvibesofindia.com/ttp-slams-pakistan-army-over-killing-of-masood-azhars-family-members-in-indian-attack/}}</ref> * [[Hizbul Mujahideen]] * {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami]] * {{flagicon image|Flag of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.svg}} [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] * {{flagicon image|Al-Badr flag.svg}} [[Al-Badr (India)|Al-Badr]] * [[Al Rashid Trust]] * [[Indian Mujahideen]]<ref name="START Indian Mujahideen">{{cite web |title=Indian Mujahideen |publisher=[[National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism]] |year=2012 |url=https://www.start.umd.edu/baad/database/indian-mujahideen-2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909070625/https://www.start.umd.edu/baad/database/indian-mujahideen-2012 |archive-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> * [[People’s Anti-Fascist Front]]<ref name="Tracking Terrorism">{{cite web |url=https://trackingterrorism.org/group/peoples-anti-fascist-front-paff-jammu-and-kashmir/ |title=People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) – Jammu & Kashmir |website=Tracking Terrorism}}</ref> * {{flagicon|Islamic State}} [[Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam]]<ref name="archives.dawn.com">[https://www.dawn.com/archives/34839 Sri Lankan report links LTTE with LeT] ''Dawn'' – 9 March 2009</ref> * {{tree list}} ** {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Al-Qaeda]] *** {{flagicon image|Flag of AQIS.svg}} [[Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent|AQIS]] **** {{flagicon image|Flag of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.svg}} [[Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind|AGH]]{{tree list/end}} '''State allies''' * {{flag|Pakistan}} * {{flag|China}} (politically)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Riedel |first=Bruce |date=26 June 2015 |title=The China–Pakistan axis and Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/the-china-pakistan-axis-and-lashkar-e-taiba/ |website=Brookings}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lashkar-e-Tayyaba: China's Handmaid in Balochistan |publisher=Hudson Institute |url=https://www.hudson.org/national-security-defense/lashkar-e-tayyaba-china-s-handmaid-in-balochistan |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> | opponents = '''State opponents''' * {{flag|India}} * {{flag|United States}}<ref name="Markon"/><ref name="cia.gov"/><ref name="AD">Anti-Defamation League, [http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/tarek_mehanna_arrest.htm "Massachusetts Man Arrested for Attempting to Wage ‘Violent Jihad’ against America" 22 October 2009] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109083826/http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/tarek_mehanna_arrest.htm |date=9 January 2013 }}</ref><ref name="FBI – Help Us Catch a Terrorist">{{cite web |title=FBI – Help Us Catch a Terrorist |publisher=Fbi.gov |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/october/help-us-catch-a-terrorist/help-us-catch-a-terrorist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007005531/http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/october/help-us-catch-a-terrorist/help-us-catch-a-terrorist/ |archive-date=7 October 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fox 2012">{{cite web |last=Miller|first=Joshua Rhett |title=FBI offering $50G reward for Massachusetts man wanted for supporting Al Qaeda |publisher=Fox News Channel |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-offering-50g-reward-for-massachusetts-man-wanted-for-supporting-al-qaeda/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006155313/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/03/massachusetts-man-sought-for-supporting-al-qaeda-50g-reward-offered/ |archive-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> * {{flag|Israel}}<ref name="Remembering the Terror in Mumbai"/> ''Formerly'': * {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} Soviet Union <small>(1987–1989)</small><ref name="Tellis Bad Company" /> * {{flagdeco|Republic of Afghanistan (1987–1992)}} Republic of Afghanistan <small>(1987–1992)</small> * {{flagdeco|Islamic State of Afghanistan}} [[Afghan Northern Alliance|Northern Alliance]]<ref name="SAGE">{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Gus |title=The Sage Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition |publisher=SAGE |page=341 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FAVqklkq2uUC&pg=PA341 |isbn=978-1-4129-8016-6 |date=2011}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2021}} * {{flagdeco|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan}} [[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]] <small>(until 2021)</small><ref name="Khaama Press"/> }} {{Salafi}} '''Lashkar-e-Taiba''' ('''LeT'''){{efn|{{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|لشکرِ طیبہ}}}} {{IPA|hns|ˈləʃkəɾ eː ˈtəjjɪbaː|}}; literally 'Army of the Good', translated as '''Army of the Righteous''' or '''Army of the Pure''', and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba''.}} is a Pakistani [[Islamism|Islamist]] [[Jihadism|Jihadist]] [[militant]] organization driven by a [[Salafi jihadism|Salafi jihadist]] ideology.<ref name="Gunaratna">{{Cite book |last1=Gunaratna |first1=Rohan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3XQDAAAQBAJ |title=Handbook Of Terrorism In The Asia-pacific |last2=Kam |first2=Stefanie Li Yee |date=2016-06-22 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-1-78326-997-6 |pages=341}}</ref><ref name="Freeman">{{Cite book |editor-last=Freeman |editor-first=Michael |title=Financing Terrorism: Case Studies |date=2016-04-15 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-13506-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UfUGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT111}}</ref> The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of [[Kashmir]] with Pakistan.<ref>John Moore, [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/modern.html The evolution of Islamic Terrorism] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912020220/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/modern.html |date=12 September 2017}}, PBS</ref> It also seeks the destruction of [[India]], [[Hinduism]], and [[Judaism]] through [[jihad]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> It was founded in 1985–1986 by [[Hafiz Muhammad Saeed|Hafiz Saeed]], Zafar Iqbal Shehbaz, [[Abdullah Yusuf Azzam|Abdullah Azzam]] and several other Islamist [[Afghan mujahideen|mujahideen]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of Global Jihad |url=http://www.brookings.edu/events/2011/0118_pakistan_america.aspx |publisher=Brookings.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127080018/http://www.brookings.edu/events/2011/0118_pakistan_america.aspx |archive-date=27 January 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Riedel |first=Bruce |title=The 9/11 Attacks' Spiritual Father |publisher=Brookings.edu |date=26 January 2012 |url-status=dead |url=http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0911_riedel.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127015845/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0911_riedel.aspx |archive-date=27 January 2012}}</ref> with funding from [[Osama bin Laden]]<ref name="Atkins">{{cite book |last1=Atkins |first1=Stephen E. |author-link=Stephen E. Atkins |title=Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0313324857 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/173 173] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Globalecco" /> during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]]. It has been [[List of designated terrorist groups|designated as a terrorist group]] by the [[United Nations]] and numerous other countries and been responsible for terrorist attacks on civilians in India, such as the [[2000 Red Fort attack]], [[2005 Delhi bombings]], [[2006 Mumbai train bombings]], [[2008 Mumbai attacks]] and the [[2025 Pahalgam attack]].
It has been supported by Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI), and is often viewed as a proxy militant organization used by [[Pakistan]] against [[India]] in the [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|insurgency]] in Indian-administered [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Tellis |first=Ashley J. |title=The Menace That Is Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2012/03/the-menace-that-is-lashkar-e-taiba?lang=en |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |date=13 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>C. Christine Fair, In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Oxford University Press (2018), pp. 3</ref>
Its affiliated front organisations include the [[Milli Muslim League]], a political party, and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the group's "charity wing". The group differs from most other militant groups in Pakistan in following the Islamic interpretation of [[Ahl-i Hadith]] (which is similar to [[Wahhabism]] and [[Salafism]]), and in foreswearing attacks on the government of Pakistan and sectarian attacks on Pakistanis "who have professed faith" in Islam.<ref name="tankel201104" /><ref name="Ishfaq-2019" /><ref name="Macander-CSIS-2021" />
==Objectives==
While the primary area of operations of LeT's jihadist activities is the [[Kashmir Valley]], their professed goal is not limited to challenging India's sovereignty over [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. LeT sees the issue of [[Kashmir Conflict|Kashmir]] as part of a wider global struggle.<ref name=randjan2009>{{cite book |first=Angel |last=Rabasa |author2=Robert D. Blackwill |author3=Peter Chalk |author4=Kim Cragin |author5=C. Christine Fair |author6=Brian A. Jackson |author7=Brian Michael Jenkins |author8=Seth G. Jones |author9=Nathaniel Shestak |author10=Ashley J. Tellis |title=The Lessons of Mumbai |publisher=The [[RAND Corporation]] |year=2009 |url=http://rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP249/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120091831/http://rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP249/ |archive-date=20 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Once Kashmir is liberated, LeT seeks to use it "as a base of operations to conquer India and force Muslim rule to the Indian subcontinent."<ref name="tankel201104"/>
LeT’s ideology is fundamentally anti-Western, with the [[British Raj]] held responsible for the decline of the [[Mughal Empire]]. Consequently, LeT opposes any form of Western or British influence in Pakistan and the broader South Asian region. In its publications and on various platforms, the organization has consistently articulated its primary political goals, which include the destruction of India, [[Hinduism]], and [[Judaism]]. The organization considers jihad a religious duty for all Muslims, with the establishment of a caliphate as its central religious and political objective.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Riedel |first=Bruce |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7864/j.ctt4cg8f4 |title=Avoiding Armageddon: America, India, and Pakistan to the Brink and Back |date=2013 |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8157-2408-7 |pages=16 |jstor=10.7864/j.ctt4cg8f4 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Goertz |first1=Stefan |title=The new terrorism: actors, strategies and tactics |last2=Streitparth |first2=Alexander E. |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-14591-0 |location=Cham |pages=68}}</ref>
[[C. Christine Fair]], who has analyzed LeT propaganda since 1995, notes that the militant organization has consistently condemned what it describes as a "Brahmanic-Talmudic-Crusader" alliance of Hindus, Jews, and Christians, whom it accuses of collaborating to undermine the [[Ummah]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Subrahmanian |first=V. S. |title=Computational analysis of terrorist groups: Lashkar-e-Taiba |date=2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4614-4769-6 |location=New York, NY |pages=33}}</ref>
Its followers are proponents of the South Asian group Ahl-e-Hadith (AeH) Islam, which is considered Salafist.<ref name="Macander-CSIS-2021">{{cite news |last1=Macander |first1=Michelle |title=Examining Extremism: Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://www.csis.org/blogs/examining-extremism/examining-extremism-lashkar-e-taiba |agency=CSIS |date=28 October 2021}}</ref> It has adopted maximalist agenda of global [[jihad]] including attacks on civilians. The group justifies its ideology on [[Jihad verse|verse 2:216]] of the [[Quran]]. {{blockquote |Fighting has been made obligatory upon you ˹believers˺, though you dislike it. Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.<ref name="Q.2:216">{{cite web |title=Surah al-Baqarah, 216. [Translation by Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran] |url=https://quran.com/al-baqarah/216 |website=Quran.com |access-date=19 August 2023}}</ref>}} Extrapolating from this verse, the group asserts that military jihad is a religious obligation of all Muslims and defines the many circumstances under which it must be carried out. In a pamphlet entitled "Why Are We Waging Jihad?", the group states that all of India along with many other countries were once ruled by Muslims and were Muslim lands, which is their duty to take it back from the non-Muslims. It declared United States, India, and Israel as "existential enemies of Islam".<ref name=haqqani /><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4416771.stm Who are the Kashmir militants] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228011213/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4416771.stm |date=28 February 2017}}, [[BBC News]], 6 April 2005</ref> LeT believes that jihad is the duty of all Muslims and must be waged until eight objectives are met: Establishing Islam as the dominant way of life in the world, forcing disbelievers to pay [[jizya]], exacting revenge for killed Muslims, punishing enemies for violating oaths and treaties, defending all Muslim states, and recapturing occupied Muslim territory. The group construes lands once ruled by Muslims as Muslim lands and considers it as their duty to get them back. It embraces a pan-Islamist rationale for military action.<ref name="tankel201104">{{citation |first=Stephen |last=Tankel |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba: Past Operations and Future Prospects |series=National Security Studies Program Policy Paper |publisher=New America Foundation |place=Washington, DC |date=27 April 2011 |url=http://newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/Tankel_LeT_0.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507114538/http://newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/Tankel_LeT_0.pdf |archive-date=7 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=haqqani />
In the wake of the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]] investigations of computer and email accounts revealed a list of 320 locations worldwide deemed as possible targets for attack. Analysts believed that the list was a statement of intent rather than a list of locations where LeT cells had been established and were ready to strike.<ref> {{cite news |last=Ramesh |first=Randeep |title=Mumbai attackers had hit list of 320 world targets |work=The Guardian |date=19 February 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/19/mumbai-attacks-list-targets |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906045003/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/19/mumbai-attacks-list-targets |archive-date=6 September 2013 |url-status=live}} </ref>
Unlike other Pakistan-based Salafi-jihadist militant organizations, LeT has "publicly [renounced] sectarian violence against other Islamic sects".<ref name="Macander-CSIS-2021"/> While it has waged violent jihad outside of Pakistan, ''inside'' the country, the group has spent considerable effort and resources on "preaching and social welfare".<ref name="tankel201104"/> This along with its professed opposition to not fighting "those who have professed Faith" in Islam (where [[Sectarian violence in Pakistan|thousands of Muslims have been killed in sectarian attacks]]), has built up significant goodwill among Pakistanis, especially pious Muslims and the poor (helping to protect the group from foreign pressure on the Pakistan government to stop LeT's killing of foreigners).<ref name="tankel201104"/> Although it views Pakistan's ruling powers as hypocrites (self-proclaimed but insincere Muslims), it doesn't support revolutionary jihad at home because the struggle in Pakistan "is not a struggle between Islam and disbelief". The pamphlet "Why do we do Jihad?" states, "If we declare war against those who have professed Faith, we cannot do war with those who haven’t." The group instead seeks to reform errant Muslims through [[Dawah|dawa]]. It aims to bring Pakistanis to LeT's interpretation of Ahl-e-Hadith Islam and thus, transforming the society in which they live.<ref name="tankel201104"/>
LeT's leaders have argued that Indian-administered [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] was the closest occupied land, and observed that the ratio of occupying forces to the population there was one of the highest in the world, meaning this was among the most substantial occupations of Muslim land. Thus, LeT cadres could volunteer to fight on other fronts but were obligated to fight in Indian-administered Kashmir.<ref name="tankel201104"/>
In January 2009, LeT publicly declared that it would pursue a peaceful resolution in the Kashmir issue and that it did not have global jihadist aims, but the group is still believed to be active in several other spheres of anti-Indian militancy.<ref name="Roul-A">{{cite journal |last=Roul |first=Animesh |title=Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba Chooses Between Kashmir and the Global Jihad |journal=Terrorism Focus |volume=6 |issue=3 |publisher=Jamestown Foundation |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2009 |url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=34421 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208061011/http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=34421 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The disclosures of [[Abu Jundal]], who was sent to India by the Saudi Arabian government, however, revealed that LeT is planning to revive militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and conduct major attacks in India.
==Leadership== * [[Hafiz Muhammad Saeed]] – founder of LeT and ''aamir'' of its political arm, JuD.<ref name=TimesofIndia-2008-12-05-Lashkar-chief>{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/We-didnt-attack-Mumbai-says-Lashkar-chief/articleshow/3794903.cms |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103080104/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-12-05/india/27905413_1_terror-attacks-terror-list-muridke |url-status=live |archive-date=3 January 2013 |title=We didn't attack Mumbai, says Lashkar chief |date=5 December 2008 |work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> Shortly after the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]] Saeed denied any links between the two groups: "No Lashkar-e-Taiba man is in Jamaat-ud-Dawa and I have never been a chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba." On 25 June 2014, the United States declared JuD an affiliate of LeT.<ref name = 'PatrikaGroup'>{{cite news |title=US names jud as terror outfit, sanctions 2 let leaders |url=http://www.patrika.com/news/us-names-jud-as-terror-outfit-sanctions-2-let-leaders/1014377 |work=Patrika Group |language=hi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628223538/http://www.patrika.com/news/us-names-jud-as-terror-outfit-sanctions-2-let-leaders/1014377 |archive-date=28 June 2014}}</ref> * [[Abdul Rehman Makki]] – second in command of LeT. Until his death, he was the brother-in-law of [[Hafiz Muhammad Saeed]].<ref name=toi_brother-in-lawc>{{cite news |last=Parashar |first=Sachin |title=Hafiz Saeed's brother-in-law Abdul Rehman Makki is a conduit between Lashkar-e-Taiba and Taliban |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Hafiz-Saeeds-brother-in-law-Abdul-Rehman-Makki-is-a-conduit-between-Lashkar-e-Taiba-and-Taliban/articleshow/12539443.cms |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103074453/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-05/pakistan/31293871_1_hafiz-saeed-indian-agencies-mullah-omar |url-status=live |archive-date=3 January 2013 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |date=5 April 2012}}</ref> The US has offered a reward of $2 million for information leading to the location of Makki.<ref name=rewardsforjustice.net>{{cite web |title=Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki |url=http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/index.cfm?page=makki&language=english |work=Articles |publisher=Rewards for Justice Website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424071335/http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/index.cfm?page=makki&language=english |archive-date=24 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Walsh> {{cite news |last=Walsh |first=Declan |title=U.S. Offers $10 Million Reward for Pakistani Militant Tied to Mumbai Attacks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/world/asia/us-offers-10-million-reward-for-pakistani-militant.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=3 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629213147/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/world/asia/us-offers-10-million-reward-for-pakistani-militant.html |archive-date=29 June 2017 |url-status=live}} </ref> * [[Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi]] – released on bail from custody of Pakistan military<ref name="LakhviArrestWaPo"> {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120800331.html |title=Pakistan Arrests Suspected Mastermind of Mumbai Attacks |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=9 December 2008 |first=Candace |last=Rondeaux |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217232147/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120800331.html |archive-date=17 February 2011 |url-status=live}} </ref> – senior member of LeT. Named as one of the masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.<ref name=IndianExpress-2008-12-04>{{Cite news |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Lakhvi-and-Muzammil-of-LeT-masterminded-Mumbai-attacks-/394219 |title=Lakhvi, Yusuf of LeT planned Mumbai attack |agency=Associated Press |date=4 December 2008 }}</ref><ref name=buncombe>{{cite news |last=Buncombe |first=Andrew |title='Uncle' named as Mumbai terror conspirator |work=The Independent |date=8 December 2008 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/uncle-named-as-mumbai-terror-conspirator-1057699.html |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211104909/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/uncle-named-as-mumbai-terror-conspirator-1057699.html |archive-date=11 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 18 December 2014 (two days after the [[2014 Peshawar school massacre|Peshawar school attack]]), the Pakistani anti-terrorism court granted Lakhvi bail against payment of surety bonds worth Rs. 500,000.<ref>{{cite news |title=ATC approves bail of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in Mumbai attacks case |work=Dawn |location=Pakistan |date=18 December 2014 |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1151617/atc-approves-bail-of-zakiur-rehman-lakhvi-in-mumbai-attacks-case |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223121845/http://www.dawn.com/news/1151617/atc-approves-bail-of-zakiur-rehman-lakhvi-in-mumbai-attacks-case |archive-date=23 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> * Yusuf Muzammil – senior member of LeT and named as a mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks by surviving gunman [[Ajmal Kasab]].<ref name=IndianExpress-2008-12-04 /> * [[Zarrar Shah]] – in Pakistani custody – one of LeT's primary liaisons to the ISI. A US official said that he was a "central character" in the planning behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.<ref name="ZarrarShahMention"> {{cite news |last=Schmitt |first=Eric |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/world/asia/08terror.html |title=Pakistan's Spies Aided Group Tied to Mumbai Siege, Eric Schmitt, et al., NYT, 7 December 2008 |location=Mumbai (India);Pakistan |work=The New York Times |date=7 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110221217/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/world/asia/08terror.html |archive-date=10 November 2012 |url-status=live}} </ref> Zarrar Shah has boasted to Pakistani investigators about his role in the attacks.<ref name="NYTZarrarRole"> {{cite news |last=Oppel |first=Richard A. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/world/asia/01pstan.html |title=Pakistani Militants Admit Role in Siege, Official Says, Richard Oppel, Jr., NYT, 2008-12-31 |location=India;Pakistan |work=The New York Times |date=31 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215130506/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/world/asia/01pstan.html |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live}} </ref> * Muhammad Ashraf – LeT's top financial officer. Although not directly connected to the Mumbai plot, after the attacks he was added to the UN list of people that sponsor terrorism.<ref name="NYTUNSanctions">{{cite news |last=Worth |first=Robert F. |title=Indian Police Name 2 More Men as Trainers and Supervisors of Mumbai Attackers |work=The New York Times |date=10 December 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/world/asia/11mumbai.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402115547/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/world/asia/11mumbai.html |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Geo TV reported that six years earlier Ashraf became seriously ill while in custody and died at Civil Hospital on 11 June 2002.<ref name=UNdeclares4>{{cite news |title=Four Pakistani militants added to UN terrorism sanctions list |publisher=UN News Center |date=11 December 2008 |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29272&Cr=terror&Cr1= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223150428/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29272&Cr=terror&Cr1= |archive-date=23 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> * [[Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed Bahaziq]] – the leader of LeT in Saudi Arabia and one of its financiers. Although not directly connected to the Mumbai plot, after the attacks he was added to the UN list of people that sponsor terrorism.<ref name="NYTUNSanctions" /><ref name=UNdeclares4 /> * [[Nasr Javed]] – a Kashmiri senior operative, is on the [[list of individuals banned from entering the United Kingdom]] for "engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs."<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/hate-promoters-banned-UK-named |title=Home Office name hate promoters excluded from the UK |date=5 May 2009 |publisher=UK Home Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507181855/http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/hate-promoters-banned-UK-named |archive-date=7 May 2009}}</ref> * Abu Nasir (Srinagar commander) * Zafar Iqbal<ref name="Zafar Iqbal"/> is a senior leader<ref name="Zafar Iqbal"/> and co-founder of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.<ref name="Zafar Iqbal"/> Born in one of the Pakistani, well-known, prosperous [[landlord]],(zamindar) of Gujrat Sardar Ali Khan's house. He formed in the late 1980s with current LeT emir Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and LeT financier and senior member Mahmoud Mohammad Bahaziq. Zafar Iqbal has served in various Lashkar-e-Tayyiba/Jamaat-ud-Dawa (LeT/JuD) senior leadership positions. Zafar Iqbal<ref name="Zafar Iqbal"/> has also been involved in LeT/JuD fundraising activities. Iqbal traveled to [[Jeddah]], [[Saudi Arabia]] to request financial support from former [[Al-Qaida]] leader [[Osama bin Laden]]. As of late 2010, Iqbal was in charge of the LeT/JuD finance<ref name="Zafar Iqbal"/> department.<ref name="Zafar Iqbal"/> As of early 2010, Iqbal was also the director of the LeT/JuD education. As of 2010, Iqbal<ref name="Zafar Iqbal"/> was also the president of the LeT/JuD medical wing and secretary of a university trust created by LeT/JuD to carry out unspecified activities on behalf of the group.
==History==
===Formation=== In 1985, [[Hafiz Mohammed Saeed]] and Zafar Iqbal<ref name="Zafar Iqbal"/> formed the ''Jamaat-ud-Dawa'' (Organization for Preaching, or JuD) as a small missionary group dedicated to promoting an [[Ahl-e-Hadith]] version of Islam. In the next year, Zaki-ur Rehman Lakvi merged his group of anti-Soviet jihadists with the JuD to form the ''Markaz-ud Dawa-wal-Irshad'' (Center for Preaching and Guidance, or MDI). The MDI had 17 founders originally, and notable among them was [[Abdullah Azzam]]. Azzam would be killed in a [[car bomb]]ing orchestrated by [[KHAD|Khad]] in 1989.
The LeT was formed in Afghanistan's [[Kunar province]] in 1990<ref name="satp" /> and gained prominence in the early 1990s as a military offshoot of MDI.<ref name="cronin"/> MDI's primary concerns were [[dawah]] and the LeT focused on jihad although the members did not distinguish between the two groups' functions. According to Hafiz Saeed, "Islam propounds both dawa[h] and jihad. Both are equally important and inseparable. Since our life revolves around Islam, therefore both dawa and jihad are essential; we cannot prefer one over the other."<ref name="tankel201104"/>
Most of these training camps were located in [[North-West Frontier Province]] (NWFP) and many were shifted to Pakistan-administered [[Azad Kashmir]] for the sole purpose of training volunteers for terrorism in India. From 1991 onward, militancy surged in India, as many Lashkar-e-Taiba volunteers were infiltrated into Indian-administered [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] from Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir with the help of the [[Pakistan Army]] and ISI.<ref name="tellis2010f"/> As of 2010, the degree of control that Pakistani intelligence retains over LeT's operations is not known.
===Designation as terrorist group=== On 28 March 2001, in Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 1261, British [[Home Secretary]] [[Jack Straw]] designated the group a [[Terrorism Act 2000|Proscribed Terrorist Organization]] under the [[Terrorism Act 2000]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo020116/text/20116w06.htm |title=Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards |date=16 January 2002 |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605032943/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo020116/text/20116w06.htm |archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/1261/contents/made |title=Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 1261: The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organizations) (Amendment) Order 2001 |date=28 March 2001 |publisher=legislation.gov.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218033836/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/1261/contents/made |archive-date=18 December 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>
On 5 December 2001, the group was added to the [[Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List|Terrorist Exclusion List]]. In a notification dated 26 December 2001, [[United States Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]], designated Lashkar-e-Taiba a [[U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|Foreign Terrorist Organization]].<ref name=satp />
Lashkar-e-Taiba was banned in Pakistan on 12 January 2002.<ref name=bbcprofile>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3181925.stm |title=Profile: Lashkar-e-Toiba |date=4 December 2008 |publisher=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205062329/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3181925.stm |archive-date=5 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
It is banned in India as a designated terrorist group under the [[Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act]].
It was [[Designated terrorist organisations in Australia|listed as a terrorist organization]] in Australia under the ''Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002'' on 11 April 2003 and was re-listed on 11 April 2005 and 31 March 2007.<ref name="ANS1">{{cite web |title=Listed terrorist organizations |url=http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025195553/https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=25 October 2016 |publisher=Australian National Security}}</ref><ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_reg_es/ccar200712n267o2007414.html |title=Criminal Code Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 12) (SLI No 267 of 2007) |publisher=Austlii.edu.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025225804/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_reg_es/ccar200712n267o2007414.html |archive-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=live}} </ref>
On 2 May 2008, it was placed on the Consolidated List established and maintained by the committee established by the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267]] as an entity associated with [[al-Qaeda]]. The report also proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a front group of the LeT.<ref>[http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/12/un_declares_jamaatud.php UN declares Jamaat-ud-Dawa a terrorist front group] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202023430/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/12/un_declares_jamaatud.php |date=2 February 2017}} ''Long War Journal'' – 11 December 2008</ref> [[Bruce Riedel]], an expert on terrorism, believes that LeT with the support of its Pakistani backers is more dangerous than al-Qaeda.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/Lashkar-e-Taiba-now-more-dangerous-than-al-Qaeda-US-expert/Article1-886143.aspx |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba now more dangerous than al Qaeda: US expert |date=10 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713013200/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/Lashkar-e-Taiba-now-more-dangerous-than-al-Qaeda-US-expert/Article1-886143.aspx |archive-date=13 July 2012}}</ref>
===Aftermath of Mumbai attacks=== [[File:Lashkar e Taiba Wall.jpg|thumb|Pakistani street art of the Lashkar e Taiba]] According to a media report, the US accused JuD of being the front group for the prime suspects of the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the organization that trained the 10 gunmen involved in these attacks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/04/201243111015364712.html |title=Hafiz Saeed rejects US terrorism accusations |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=3 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910092436/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/04/201243111015364712.html |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Listen | filename = Talk Nation Radio - 2008-12-09 Journalist Graham Usher in Islamabad, Pakistan.vorb.oga | title = A report for Canada's Talk Nation Radio on the regional tensions arising from the Mumbai attacks | description = Journalist [[Graham Usher (journalist)|Graham Usher]] discusses the tensions between Pakistan and India arising from the attacks. In the report from Islamabad, broadcast on 9 December 2008, he also discusses the regional role of the United States. | pos = }}
On 7 December 2008, under pressure from the US and India, [[Pakistan Army]] launched an operation against LeT and raided a ''markaz'' (center) of the LeT at Shawai Nullah, 5 km from [[Muzaffarabad]] in Pakistan administered [[Azad Kashmir]]. The army arrested more than twenty members of the LeT including [[Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi]], the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. They are said to have sealed off the center, which included a [[madrasah]] and a mosque alongside offices of the LeT according to the government of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/09/stories/2008120960721300.htm |title=Shut down LeT operations, India tells Pakistan |author=Subramanian, Nirupama |work=The Hindu |date=8 December 2008 |location=Chennai, India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212105203/http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/09/stories/2008120960721300.htm |archive-date=12 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
On 10 December 2008, India formally requested the [[United Nations Security Council]] to designate JuD as a terrorist organization. Subsequently, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain gave an undertaking, saying,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-likely-to-ban-Jamaat-ud-Dawa/articleshow/3817081.cms |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126031320/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-12-10/india/27910122_1_ban-jamaat-ud-dawa-consequential-actions-jud |url-status=live |archive-date=26 January 2013 |title=Pakistan likely to ban Jamaat-ud-Dawa |work=The Times of India |date=10 December 2008 }}</ref> {{blockquote |After the designation of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JUD) under (resolution) 1267, the government on receiving communication from the Security Council shall proscribe the JUD and take other consequential actions, as required, including the freezing of assets.}}
A similar assurance was given by Pakistan in 2002 when it clamped down on the LeT; however, the LeT was covertly allowed to function under the guise of the JuD. While arrests have been made, the Pakistani government has categorically refused to allow any foreign investigators access to Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.
On 11 December 2008, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on JuD, declaring it a global terrorist group. Saeed, the chief of JuD, declared that his group would challenge the sanctions imposed on it in all forums. Pakistan's government also banned the JuD on the same day and issued an order to seal the JuD in all [[Subdivisions of Pakistan|four provinces]], as well as Pakistan-administered [[Azad Kashmir]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-bans-Jamaat-arrests-Hafiz-Saeed/articleshow/3824291.cms |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716054724/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-12-12/pakistan/27919623_1_jamaat-leaders-johar-town-exit-control-list |url-status=live |archive-date=16 July 2012 |title=Pakistan bans Jamaat-ud-Dawa, shuts offices |work=The Times of India |date=11 December 2008 }}</ref> Before the ban JuD, ran a weekly newspaper named ''Ghazwah'', two monthly magazines called ''Majalla Tud Dawaa'' and ''Zarb e Taiba'', and a fortnightly magazine for children, ''Nanhe Mujahid''. The publications have since been banned by the Pakistani government. In addition to the prohibition of JuD's print publications, the organization's websites were also shut down by the Pakistani government.
After the UNSC ban, [[Hindu]] minority groups in Pakistan came out in support of JuD. At protest marches in [[Hyderabad (Pakistan)|Hyderabad]], Hindu groups said that JuD does charity work such as setting up water wells in desert regions and providing food to the poor.<ref name="Reuters_Pak_Hindus_Rally">{{cite news |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-37059320081216 |title=Pakistani Hindus rally to support Islamic charity |author=Hamid Shaikh |date=16 December 2008 |work=Reuters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508111114/http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-37059320081216 |archive-date=8 May 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Hindus rally for Muslim charity">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7786495.stm |title=Hindus rally for Muslim charity |date=16 December 2008 |publisher=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216231427/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7786495.stm |archive-date=16 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, according to the [[BBC]], the credibility of the level of support for the protest was questionable as protesters on their way to what they believed was a rally against price rises had been handed signs in support of JuD.<ref name="Hindus rally for Muslim charity" /> The JuD ban has been met with heavy criticism in many Pakistani circles,{{By whom|date=February 2010}} as JuD was the first to react to the [[2005 Kashmir earthquake|Kashmir earthquake]] and the [[2008 Ziarat earthquake|Ziarat earthquake]]. It also ran over 160 schools with thousands of students and provided aid in hospitals as well.<ref name=aj20100218>{{cite news |title=Jamaat chief rejects Indian charges |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=18 February 2010 |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/02/201021785121810598.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203110956/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2010/02/201021785121810598.html |archive-date=3 February 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In January 2009, JuD spokesperson, [[Abdullah Muntazir]], stressed that the group did not have global jihadist aspirations and would welcome a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. He also publicly disowned LeT commanders Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and [[Zarrar Shah]], who have both been accused of being the masterminds behind the Mumbai attacks.<ref name="Roul-A" />
In response to the UN resolution and the government ban, the JuD reorganized itself under the name of Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awal (TTQA).<ref name="Roul-A" />
On 25 June 2014, the United States added several of LeT affiliates including Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Al-Anfal Trust, Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, and Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awwal to the list of foreign terrorist organizations.<ref>{{cite web |title=US adds LeT's parent Jama'at-ud-Dawa to list of Terror Organizations |url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/06/us-adds-lets-parent-jamaat-ud-dawa-to-list-of-terror-organizations/ |work=IANS |publisher=news.biharprabha.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708055744/http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/06/us-adds-lets-parent-jamaat-ud-dawa-to-list-of-terror-organizations/ |archive-date=8 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
According to Stephen Tankel, writing in 2011, {{blockquote |despite the "chorus" of diplomats, security officials and military officers" calling for Pakistan to clamp down on LeT, Pakistan has and will continue to resist. This is because LeT is "one of the few militant outfits that officially refrain from launching attacks in Pakistan", which, with the group's trained fighters and resources would be very bad for the stability of Pakistan if it did. Secondly, the Pakistani army and its powerful [[Inter-Services Intelligence |Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate]] (ISI) have long considered LeT to be the country’s most reliable proxy against India and the group still provides utility in this regard as well as the potential for leverage at the negotiating table. Thus, the consensus is that, at least in the short-term, taking steps to dismantle the group would chiefly benefit India, while Pakistan would be left to deal with the costs.<ref name="tankel201104"/>}}
===Milli Muslim League=== {{main|Milli Muslim League}}
[[Jamaat-ud-Dawa]] members on 7 August 2017 announced the creation of a [[political party]] called ''Milli Muslim League''. Tabish Qayoum, a JuD activist working as the party spokesman, stated they had filed registration papers for a new party with Pakistan's electoral commission.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pakistan-politics-jihad/charity-run-by-hafiz-saeed-launches-political-party-in-pakistan-idINKBN1AN1IN |title=Charity run by Hafiz Saeed launches political party in Pakistan |work=Reuters |first=Asif |last=Shahzad |date=7 August 2017 }}</ref> Later in August, JuD under the banner of the party fielded a candidate for the 2017 by-election of [[Constituency NA-120]]. Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nation.com.pk/national/13-Aug-2017/na-120-by-polls-jud-fields-candidate |title=NA-120 by-polls: JUD fields candidate |newspaper=[[The Nation (Pakistan)|4=The Nation]] |date=13 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909094952/http://nation.com.pk/national/13-Aug-2017/na-120-by-polls-jud-fields-candidate |archive-date=9 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The registration application of the party was rejected by ECP on 12 October.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/milli-muslim-league-registration-rejected-ecp-171012072803257.html |title=Milli Muslim League registration rejected by ECP |publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]] |date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012085514/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/milli-muslim-league-registration-rejected-ecp-171012072803257.html |archive-date=12 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Hafiz Saeed]] announced in December, a few days after release from house arrest on 24 November, that his organization will contest the [[2018 Pakistani general election|2018 elections]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/hafiz-saeed-backed-mml-to-contest-elections-in-2018/article21256381.ece |title=Hafiz Saeed-backed MML to contest polls |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=4 December 2017}}</ref>
===Name changes=== In February 2019, after the Pulwama attack, the Pakistan government placed the ban once again on Jamat-ud-Dawa and its charity organisation [[Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation]] (FIF).<ref name="TH_Feb2019">{{cite news |title=Jamat-ud-Dawa, its charity arm Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation change name, bypass ban |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/jud-fif-change-name-bypass-ban/article26358300.ece |work=The Hindu |date=24 February 2019 }}</ref> To evade the ban, their names were changed to Al Madina and Aisar Foundation respectively and they continued their work as before.<ref name="DailyTimesRename">{{cite news |title=Ban not fully enforced |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/357982/ban-not-fully-enforced/ |work=Daily Times |date=23 February 2019}}</ref>
===People's Anti-Fascist Front=== {{Main|People's Anti-Fascist Front}}
The PAFF was originally thought to be a faction of Lashkar-e-Taiba according to Indian officials.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://trackingterrorism.org/group/peoples-anti-fascist-front-paff-jammu-and-kashmir/ |title=People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) – Jammu & Kashmir }}</ref> The Indian police claimed it is an offshoot of [[Jaish-e-Muhammad]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/4/kashmir-police-arrest-suspect-in-murder-of-top-prison-official |title=Kashmir police arrest suspect in murder of top prison official }}</ref> The PAFF was created during the wake of the [[2019 Kashmir Protests]] after the [[Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir|revocation of autonomy]] of the [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1713436 |title=Prison chief killed in India-occupied Kashmir as Amit Shah visits |date=4 October 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://scroll.in/latest/1034232/jammu-and-kashmir-director-general-prisons-found-dead-at-home-police-suspect-murder |title=Jammu and Kashmir police deny any terror link in murder case of DGP Hemant Lohia |date=4 October 2022 }}</ref> The PAFF has claimed responsibility of many attacks in Kashmir against Indian forces.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/jks-new-terror-outfit-peoples-anti-fascist-front-releases-attention-grabbing-video-watch/628324 |title=J&K's new terror outfit 'People's Anti-Fascist Front' releases attention-grabbing video |date=28 July 2020}}</ref>
===Influence in Kashmir=== {{Main|Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir}}
After the [[Mujahideen]] victory against the [[Soviet-Afghan war|Soviet Union occupation in Afghanistan]], Lashkar-e-Taiba and Mujahideen fighters, with the aid of [[Pakistan]], slowly infiltrated [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] with the goal of spreading a radical [[Islamism|Islamist Ideology]] to [[Jihad]] against [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir]].<ref name="Dawn-Who is Lashkar-e-Tayyiba"/>
In July 2025, [[Indian Security Forces|Indian security forces]] carried out a high-profile counter-terrorism operation near [[Srinagar]], killing three [[Pakistanis|Pakistani]] terrorists affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba. Among those neutralised was Suleiman Shah, also known as Hashim Moosa, identified as the mastermind behind the 22 April [[Pahalgam attack|Pahalgam terror attack]] that claimed 26 civilian lives. The operation, codenamed Operation Mahadev, also eliminated two other LeT operatives—Abu Hamza and Yasir, both linked to the same attack.
Suleiman, a former [[Pakistan Army]] soldier, had a ₹20 lakh{{nbsp}}({{lakh | 20}}) bounty on his head and was classified as a high-value target. The joint operation was launched by the [[Indian Army]], [[CRPF Valley QAT|CRPF]], and [[Jammu and Kashmir Police]] based on specific intelligence in the Mulnar area of Harwan. The success of the operation is seen as a significant setback to Lashkar-e-Taiba, coming shortly after the [[United Nations]] banned [[The Resistance Front]] (TRF), a proxy outfit of LeT.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Pahalgam Mastermind Suleiman Shah Among 3 Terrorists Killed in Op Mahadev: Sources|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pahalgam-attack-terrorists-killed-encounter-breaks-out-in-srinagars-lidwas-army-says-operation-mahadev-underway-8964904?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll}}</ref>
==Activities== The group operates terrorist training camps and does humanitarian work. Across Pakistan, the organization runs 16 Islamic institutions, 135 secondary schools, an ambulance service, mobile clinics, blood banks and seminaries according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.<ref name="satp" />
In 2002, the group's annual religious congregation (''[[ijtema]]'') was the second-largest gathering among Pakistan's religious parties, with around 1 million participants, after [[Tablighi Jamaat]] (2 million) but ahead of other traditional Islamist parties such as the [[Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan|Jamaat-e-Islami]] (500,000).<ref name="shafqat2002">{{cite book |last=Shafqat |first=Saeed |title=Pakistan: Nationalism Without a Nation |publisher=[[Zed Books]] |year=2002 |isbn=9781842771174 |editor=[[Christophe Jaffrelot]] |location=London |pages=131 |chapter=From Official Islam to Islamism: The Rise of Dawat-ul-Irshad and Lashkar-e-Taiba}}</ref>
The group actively carries out suicide attacks on [[Indian Armed Forces]] in Jammu and Kashmir.
Some breakaway Lashkar-e-Taiba members have been accused of carrying out attacks in Pakistan, particularly in [[Karachi]], to mark its opposition to the policies of former president [[Pervez Musharraf]].<ref name=bbcprofile /><ref> [http://ibnlive.in.com/news/indians-in-pak-ready-to-work-for-let-headley/160600-2.html Indians in Pak ready to work for LeT: Headley] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620022822/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/indians-in-pak-ready-to-work-for-let-headley/160600-2.html |date=20 June 2011}}, Press Trust of India, 18 June 2011</ref><ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/news/some-karachibased-indians-willing-to-work-with-let-headley/805527/ Some Karachi-based Indians willing to work with LeT: Headley], Agencies, Sat 18 June 2011</ref>
===Publications=== [[Christine Fair]] estimates that, through its editing house Dar al Andalus, "LeT is perhaps the most prolific producer of ''[[jihadi]]'' literature in Pakistan." By the end of the 90s, the Urdu monthly magazine ''Mujallah al-Dawah'' had a circulation of 100 000, another monthly magazine, ''Ghazwa'', of 20 000, while other weekly and monthly publications target students (''Zarb-e-Tayyaba''), female students (''Tayyabaat''), children and those who are literate in English (''Voice of Islam'' and ''Invite'') or Arabic (''al-Ribat''). It also published, every year, around 100 booklets, in many languages.<ref>C. Christine Fair, ''In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba'', Oxford University Press (2018), pp. 86–87</ref> It has been described as a "profitable department, selling [[lakh|lacs]] of books every year."<ref>[[Muḥammad_ʻĀmir_Rānā]] & Amir Mir, ''A to Z of Jehadi Organizations in Pakistan'', Mashal Books (2004), p. 327</ref>
===Antisemitism=== Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based [[Islamic terrorism|Islamic terrorist]] group, has also expressed antisemitic views. The organization declares the [[Jews|Jewish people]] to be "Enemies of [[Islam]]" and designates Israel as an "Enemy of Pakistan".<ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20071226011450/http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/2001/01/05/stories/040555ra.htm Lashkar-e-Toiba: Spreading the jehad]}} Accessed 8 October 2006</ref>
The [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic Jewish]] ([[Chabad]]) religious centre [[Nariman House]] in [[Mumbai]] was hit by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants during the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India. The sole surviving perpetrator of the attack, [[Ajmal Kasab]], was eventually captured by Indian security forces.<ref name="PakAdmitsNYT">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/world/asia/08pstan.html "Gunman in Mumbai Siege a Pakistani"], ''New York Times'', 7 January 2009</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=7 January 2009|title=Surviving gunman's identity established as Pakistani|work=Dawn|url=http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/surviving-gunmans-identity-established-as-pakistani-ss|url-status=dead|access-date=7 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320220451/http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/surviving-gunmans-identity-established-as-pakistani-ss|archive-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> Antisemitic views were evident from the testimonies of Kasab following his arrest and trial.<ref name="Rubenstein2011">{{cite book|last=Rubenstein|first=Richard L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UyNR4AAevwIC&pg=PA181|title=Jihad and Genocide|date=16 May 2011|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-6203-5|pages=181–182|access-date=8 January 2012}}</ref>
=== Markaz-e-Taiba === The LeT headquarters called ''Markaz-e-Taiba'' is in Nangal Saday, about 5 km north of [[Muridke]], on the eastern side of the G.T. road; about 30 km from [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]]. Established in 1988, it is spread over {{convert|200|acre|km2}} and contains a madrassa, hospital, market, residences, a fish farm and agricultural tracts. The initial sectarian religious training, ''Daura-e-Sufa'' is imparted here to the militants.<ref name="telegraphManipur">{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061228/asp/guwahati/story_7192271.asp |title=Lid off Lashkar's Manipur mission |author=Dholabhai, Nishit |work=The Telegraph |date=28 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021165839/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061228/asp/guwahati/story_7192271.asp |archive-date=21 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Supporters of Pakistan-based militant groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and the al-Qaeda-linked '''313 Brigade''', posted videos on TikTok, YouTube, and Google from here. The videos, verified and geolocated by [[Sky News]], showed armed men and children engaging in martial arts training, and captions promoting jihad. Hashtags like "#313" and terms such as "mujahid" were used to signal affiliation with banned groups. Analysts noted that the posts formed part of a coordinated propaganda campaign aimed at recruitment and spreading extremist ideology.<ref name="Sky 12 May 2025">{{Cite web |title=Terror group supporters posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google from site targeted in Indian airstrikes |url=https://news.sky.com/story/terror-group-supporters-posted-on-tiktok-youtube-and-google-from-site-targeted-in-indian-airstrikes-13363716 |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Sky News }}</ref>
In May 2025, the [[Indian Air Force|Indian Airforce]] bombed the camp as part of [[2025 India–Pakistan conflict|Operation Sindoor]] in retaliation for the [[Pahalgam attack]].<ref name="Sky 12 May 2025" /><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP0adf772Qo On the ground from Muridke's Markaz-e-Taiba in Pakistan after India's air strike], BBC News India, via YouTube, 7 May 2025.</ref> In a viral video, Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Qaasim vowed to rebuild the destroyed Markaz camp in Muridke "even bigger" following its destruction. Standing amid the rubble, he admitted the camp's role in training numerous Mujahideen and Talaba, and declared that they would reconstruct the facility on a larger scale, reaffirming its importance in producing fighters who, according to him, had achieved “Faiz (Victory).”<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-19 |title=‘We will rebuild even bigger’: On video, Lashkar commander admits Operation Sindoor destroyed Pak's Muridke camp |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/we-will-rebuild-even-bigger-on-video-lashkar-commander-admits-operation-sindoor-destroyed-pak-muridke-camp-101758265830124.html |access-date=2025-09-22 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref>
===Training camps=== The LeT militant training camps are in a number of locations in Pakistan. These camps, which include the base camp, Markaz-e-Taiba in [[Muridke]] near [[Lahore]] (mentioned above) and the one near Manshera, are used to impart training to militants. In these camps, the following trainings are imparted: * the 21-day religious course (''Daura-e-Sufa'')<ref name=telegraphManipur /> * the 21-day basic combat course (''Daura-e-Aam'')<ref name="hindu20081206">{{cite news |last=Swami |first=Praveen |date=2 December 2008 |title=A journey into the Lashkar |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/02/stories/2008120259961000.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205005025/http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/02/stories/2008120259961000.htm |archive-date=5 December 2008}}</ref> * the three-month advanced combat course (''Daura-e-Khaas'')<ref name=hindu20081206/><ref name="saAnalysis" />
A [[2008 Mumbai attacks|26/11]] conspirator, [[Zabiuddin Ansari]], alias Abu Jundal, was arrested in 2012 by Indian intelligence agencies and was reported to have disclosed that paragliding training was also included in the training curriculum of LeT cadres at is camps in [[Muzaffarabad]] in Pakistan-administered [[Azad Kashmir]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Paragliding-part-of-LeT-training-camp-Jundal/Article1-880615.aspx |title=Paragliding part of LeT training camp: Jundal |date=29 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617024138/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Paragliding-part-of-LeT-training-camp-Jundal/Article1-880615.aspx |archive-date=17 June 2013}}</ref>
These camps have been tolerated since inception by Pakistan's [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI) agency because of their usefulness against India and in Afghanistan although as of 2006 they had been instructed not to mount any operations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7141272 |title=The trouble with Pakistan by Economist |newspaper=The Economist |date=6 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202022548/http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7141272 |archive-date=2 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Update after|2010|09|23}} A French anti-terrorism expert, Jean-Louis Bruguière, in his ''Some Things that I Wasn't Able to Say'' has stated that the regular Pakistani army officers trained the militants in the LeT militant training camps until recently. He reached this conclusion after interrogating a French militant, Willy Brigitte, who had been trained by the LeT and arrested in Australia in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_pakistani-army-ran-muslim-extremist-training-camps-anti-terrorist-expert_1311559 |title=Pakistani Army ran Muslim extremist training camps: Anti-terrorist expert |date=14 November 2009 |work=[[Daily News and Analysis]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117111832/http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_pakistani-army-ran-muslim-extremist-training-camps-anti-terrorist-expert_1311559 |archive-date=17 November 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6916408.ece |title=Pakistani Army ran Muslim extremist training camps, says anti-terrorist expert |last=Bremner |first=Charles |date=14 November 2009 |work=[[The Times]] }}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
====Other training camps==== In 1987, LeT established two militant training camps in [[Afghanistan]]. The first one was the Muaskar-e-Taiba at [[Jaji District|Jaji]] in [[Paktia Province]] and the second one was the Muaskar-e-Aqsa in [[Kunar Province]].<ref>Rao, Aparna, Michael Bollig & Monika Böck. (ed.). (2008) ''The Practice of War: Production, Reproduction and Communication of Armed Violence'', Oxford: Berghahn Books, {{ISBN|978-1-84545-280-3}}, pp. 136–137</ref> US [[intelligence analysts]] justify the [[extrajudicial]] detention of at least one [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp|Guantanamo detainee]] because they allege he attended a LeT training camp in Afghanistan. A memorandum summarising the factors for and against the continued detention of [[Saudi detainees at Guantanamo Bay|Bader Al Bakri Al Samiri]] asserts that he attended a LeT [[Afghan training camp|training camp]].
[[Mariam Abou Zahab]] and [[Olivier Roy (political scientist)|Olivier Roy]] in their ''Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection'' (London: [[C. Hurst & Co.]], 2004) mentioned three training camps in Pakistan-administered [[Azad Kashmir]], the principal one is the Umm-al-Qura training camp at [[Muzaffarabad]]. Every month five hundred militants are trained in these militant camps. Muhammad Amir Rana in his ''A to Z of Jehadi Organizations in Pakistan'' (Lahore: Mashal, 2004) listed five training camps. Four of them, the Muaskar-e-Taiba, the Muaskar-e-Aqsa, the Muaskar Umm-al-Qura and the Muaskar Abdullah bin Masood are in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir and the Markaz Mohammed bin Qasim training camp is in [[Sanghar District]] of [[Sindh]]. Ten thousand militants had been trained in these militant camps up to 2004.
As of 2022, Lashkar-e-Taiba maintains multiple training camps in Afghanistan alongside [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] which are used for both training and recruitment.<ref name="JG">{{cite web |date=9 October 2024 |title=Many Jihadi Groups In Asia & Africa Pledge Allegiance To Taliban Leader, Group Sources |url=https://www.afintl.com/en/202410090797}}</ref><ref name="UR">{{cite news |date=30 May 2022 |title=Pakistan-based terror group JeM, LeT maintain training camps in Afghanistan: UN report |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/pakistan-based-terror-group-jem-let-maintain-training-camps-in-afghanistan-un-report-399496 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607171809/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/pakistan-based-terror-group-jem-let-maintain-training-camps-in-afghanistan-un-report-399496 |archive-date=7 June 2022 |work=[[The Tribune]] |quote=The report cites a UN Member State as saying that JeM ‘maintains eight training camps in Nangarhar, three of which are directly under Taliban control’}}.</ref>
===Funding=== The government of Pakistan began to fund the LeT during the early 1990s and by around 1995 the funding had grown considerably. During this time the army and the ISI helped establish the LeT's military structure with the specific intent to use the militant group against Indians. The LeT also obtained funds through efforts of the MDI's Department of Finance.<ref name="tankel201104"/>
Until 2002, the LeT collected funds through public fundraising events usually using charity boxes in shops. The group also received money through donations at MDI offices, through personal donations collected at public celebrations of an operative's martyrdom, and through its website.<ref name="tankel201104"/> The LeT also collected donations from the Pakistani immigrant community in the [[Persian Gulf]] and United Kingdom, Islamic Non-Governmental Organizations, and Pakistani and Kashmiri businessmen.<ref name="satp" /><ref name="tankel201104"/><ref>[https://fas.org/irp/world/para/lashkar.htm Lashkar-e-Taiba] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723125658/http://fas.org/irp/world/para/lashkar.htm |date=23 July 2015}}, Federation of American Scientists Intelligence Resource Program</ref> LeT operatives have also been apprehended in India, where they had been obtaining funds from sections of the Muslim community.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/28lashkar.htm |title=Meet the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's fundraiser |work=Rediff.com |date=31 December 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120000114/http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/28lashkar.htm |archive-date=20 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Although many of the funds collected went towards legitimate uses, e.g. factories and other businesses, a significant portion was dedicated to military activities. According to US intelligence, the LeT had a military budget of more than $5 million by 2009.<ref name="tankel201104"/>
==== Drug and arms trade ==== The group also maintains a vast smuggling network, smuggling weapons and drugs from Afghanistan, through Pakistan, to India.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rahmati |first=Fidel |date=2025-04-24 |title=India uncovers major drug-terror network linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://www.khaama.com/india-uncovers-major-drug-terror-network-linked-to-lashkar-e-taiba/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |work=Khaama Press |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="TI"/> These are likely brought from Lashkar-e-Taiyaba training camps in Afghanistan<ref name="JG"/><ref name="UR"/> and stored in their Pakistani counterparts before being brought to India.<ref name="TI">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-04 |title=How arms for Nato are ending up with gangs and terrorists in India |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kashmir-punjab-terrorism-arms-ammunitions-for-nato-us-made-america-afghanistan-gangs-terrorist-india-2593339-2024-09-04 |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref>
Lashkar-e-Taiba's drugs include [[Heroin|herion]] and [[Methamphetamine|meth]] while weapons include American-made [[M4 carbine|M4 Carabine assault rifles]] among other drugs and weapons.{{efn|<ref name="M4">{{Cite web |last=Ranjan |first=Mukesh |date=2024-08-21 |title=US-made M4 carbine assault rifles in J&K terrorists' hands a serious threat |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Aug/21/us-made-m4-carbine-assault-rifles-in-jk-terrorists-hands-a-serious-threat |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mohananey |first=Avinash |date=2025-04-24 |title=Pakistan terror groups have limitless America-made M4 rifles |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/pakistan-terror-groups-have-limitless-america-made-m4-rifles/articleshow/120572092.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2025-07-25 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/operation-keller-in-kashmir-lashkar-e-taiba-command-cell-busted-huge-arms-seizure-follows-encounter/ar-AA1ELokD?ocid=weather-verthp-feeds |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=www.msn.com}}</ref><ref name="HC">{{Cite web |last=Online {{!}} |first=E. T. |date=2025-05-14 |title=J&K: Huge cache of arms, ammunition recovered after 3 Lashkar terrorists gunned down |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/jk-huge-cache-of-arms-ammunition-recovered-after-3-lashkar-terrorists-gunned-down/videoshow/121159533.cms |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=The Economic Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranjan |first=Mukesh |date=2024-08-19 |title=US-made M4 carbine assault rifles in terrorists' hands in Jammu pose serious threat says security officials |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Aug/19/us-made-m4-carbine-assault-rifles-in-terrorists-hands-in-jammu-pose-serious-threat-says-security-officials |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>}} Indian security forces have been seizing arms cashes almost daily.{{efn|<ref name="M4"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-05-14 |title=Operation Keller in Kashmir: Lashkar-e-Taiba command cell busted, huge arms seizure follows encounter |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/operation-keller-in-kashmir-lashkar-e-taiba-command-cell-busted-huge-arms-seizure-follows-encounter-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/121164300.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2025-07-25 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref><ref name="IU">{{Cite web |last=ANI |date=2025-05-19 |title=2 terrorist associates arrested in J&K's Shopian, arms recovered, investigation underway |url=https://theprint.in/india/2-terrorist-associates-arrested-in-jks-shopian-arms-recovered-investigation-underway/2630144/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="HC"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-29 |title=2 Lashkar terrorists arrested in J&K's Shopian, arms and grenades recovered |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/terrorists-arrested-in-jammu-and-kashmir-shopian-arms-hand-grenades-recovered-army-crpf-2732240-2025-05-29 |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name="TI"/>}} The investigations done by India's NIA (National Intelligence Agency) have exposed major drug operations conducted by Lashkar-e-Taiba.<ref name="IU"/><ref name="TI"/>
This smuggling has only strengthened the group's relation's with the Indian [[D-Company]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Dawood is a terrorist, has 'strategic alliance' with ISI, says US |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dawood-is-a-terrorist-has-strategic-alliance-with-ISI-says-US/articleshow/5418149.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003232824/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dawood-is-a-terrorist-has-strategic-alliance-with-ISI-says-US/articleshow/5418149.cms |archive-date=3 October 2017 |access-date=2017-06-07 |work=The Times of India}}</ref><ref name="TI"/>
====Use of charity aid to fund relief operations==== LeT assisted victims after the [[2005 Kashmir earthquake]].<ref name="bbc20061005">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5402756.stm |title=UN quake aid went to extremists |publisher=BBC News |date=5 October 2006 |author=Kate Clark |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528142916/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5402756.stm |archive-date=28 May 2012 |url-status=live |author-link=Kate Clark (journalist)}}</ref> In many instances, they were the first on the scene, arriving before the army or other civilians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-461/i.html |title=Jihadis in Kashmir: The Politics of an Earthquake |last=McGirk |first=Jan |date=October 2005 |publisher=Qantara |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201170519/http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-461/i.html |archive-date=1 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
A large amount of funds collected among the Pakistani expatriate community in Britain to aid victims of the earthquake were funnelled for the activities of LeT although the donors were unaware. About [[Pound sterling|£]]5 million were collected, but more than half of the funds were directed towards LeT rather than towards relief efforts. Intelligence officials stated that some of the funds were used to prepare for [[2006 transatlantic aircraft plot|an attack that would have detonated explosives on board transatlantic airflights]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Partlow |first=Joshua |author2=Kamran Khan |title=Charity Funds Said to Provide Clues to Alleged Terrorist Plot |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 August 2006 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/14/AR2006081401196.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006081254/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/14/AR2006081401196.html |archive-date=6 October 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other investigations also indicated the aid received for earthquake relief was used to increase fighter recruitment.<ref>{{usurped |[https://web.archive.org/web/20080103021234/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/11/17/stories/2005111705951200.htm Quake came as a boon for Lashkar leadership]}}, ''The Hindu'', 17 November 2005</ref>
===Notable incidents=== * [[1998 Wandhama massacre]]: 23 Kashmiri [[pandit]]s were murdered on 25 January 1998.<ref name="bbc20011214">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/865818.stm |title=Violent 'army of the pure' |date=14 December 2001 |publisher=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227093323/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/865818.stm |archive-date=27 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> * In March 2000, Lashkar-e-Taiba militants are claimed to have been involved in the [[Chittisinghpura massacre]], where 35 [[Sikhs]] in the town of [[Chittisinghpura]] in [[Kashmir]] were killed. An 18-year-old male, who was arrested in December of that year, admitted in an interview with a ''[[New York Times]]'' [[correspondent]] to the involvement of the group and expressed no regret in perpetrating the anti-Sikh massacre. In a separate interview with the same correspondent, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed denied knowing the young man and dismissed any possible involvement of LeT.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/dec/31sikh.htm |title=Lashkar militant admits killing Sikhs in Chittisinghpura |work=Rediff.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018141614/http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/dec/31sikh.htm |archive-date=18 October 2012 |url-status=live}} </ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bearak |first=Barry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001231mag-kashmir.html |title=A Kashmiri Mystery |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=31 December 2000 }}</ref> In 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) associate [[David Headley]], who was arrested in connection with the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], reportedly confessed to the [[National Investigation Agency]] that the LeT carried out the Chittisinghpura massacre.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lashkar-behind-Sikh-massacre-in-Kashmir-in-2000-says-Headley/Article1-617459.aspx |title=Lashkar behind Sikh massacre in Kashmir in 2000, says Headley |work=Hindustan Times |date=25 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114013820/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lashkar-behind-Sikh-massacre-in-Kashmir-in-2000-says-Headley/Article1-617459.aspx |archive-date=14 January 2011}}</ref> He is said to have identified an LeT militant named Muzzamil as part of the group which carried out the killings apparently to create communal tension just before Clinton's visit.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101026/j&k.htm#2 Chittisinghpura Massacre: Obama’s proposed visit makes survivors recall tragedy ] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116225028/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101026/j%26k.htm#2 |date=16 November 2017}}. ''The Tribune'', Chandigarh. 25 October 2010.</ref> * The LeT was also held responsible by the government for the [[2000 terrorist attack on Red Fort]], New Delhi.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20001228/main1.htm Red Fort attackers’ accomplice shot] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226190316/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20001228/main1.htm |date=26 February 2007}},''The Tribune''</ref> LeT confirmed its participation in the Red Fort attack.<ref name=reuters20090706>{{cite news |title=Q+A – Who is Pakistan's Hafiz Mohammad Saeed? |work=Reuters |date=6 July 2009 |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-40835920090706?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=11584&sp=true |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225072104/https://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-40835920090706?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=11584&sp=true |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 February 2019 }}</ref> * LeT claimed responsibility for an attack on the [[Srinagar Airport]] that left five Indians and six militants dead.<ref name=reuters20090706 /> * The group claimed responsibility for an attack on Indian security forces along the border.<ref name=reuters20090706 /> * The Indian government blamed LeT, in coordination with [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]], for a 13 December 2001 [[2001 Indian Parliament attack|assault on parliament]] in Delhi.<ref name=prashant>{{cite news |last=Prashant |first=Pandey |title=Jaish, Lashkar carried out attack with ISI guidance: police |work=The Hindu |date=17 December 2001 |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/12/17/stories/2001121700210100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114073003/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/12/17/stories/2001121700210100.htm |archive-date=14 January 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> * [[2002 Kaluchak massacre]] 31 killed 14 May 2002. Australian government attributed this massacre to Lashkar-e-Taiba when it designated it as a terrorist organization. * [[2003 Nadimarg Massacre]] 24 Kashmiri pandits gunned down on the night of 23 March 2003. * [[29 October 2005 Delhi bombings|2005 Delhi bombings]]: During [[Diwali]], Lashkar-e-Taiba bombed crowded festive Delhi markets killing 60 civilians and maiming 527. It claimed the attack under the pseudonym of "Islami Inqilabi Mahaz" (Islamic Revolutionary Front) on a jihadist website.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Sanjoy |last=Majumder |date=31 October 2005 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4390460.stm |title=Who is behind the Delhi bombings? |location=[[Delhi]] |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=31 October 2005 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/30/AR2005103000900.html |title=Group Says It Staged Indian Blasts |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/15dblast.htm |title=Delhi Metro was in LeT's cross-hairs |work=Rediff.com |date=15 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118194110/http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/15dblast.htm |archive-date=18 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> * [[2006 Varanasi bombings]]: Lashkar-e-Taiba was involved in serial blasts in [[Varanasi]] in the state of [[Uttar Pradesh]]. 37 people died and 89 were seriously injured.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/mar/09up.htm |title=Lashkar behind blasts: UP official |work=Rediff.com |date=9 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703201047/http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/mar/09up.htm |archive-date=3 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> * [[2006 Doda massacre]] 34 Hindus were killed in Kashmir on 30 April 2006. * [[11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings|2006 Mumbai train bombings]]: The investigation launched by Indian forces and US officials have pointed to the involvement of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Mumbai serial blasts on 11 July 2006. The Mumbai serial blasts on 11 July claimed 211 lives and maimed about 407 people and seriously injured another 768.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060714/main1.htm |title=350 rounded up in Maharashtra |work=The Tribune |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717032627/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060714/main1.htm |archive-date=17 July 2006 }}</ref> * On 12 September 2006 the propaganda arm of the Lashkar-e-Taiba issued a [[fatwa]] against [[Pope Benedict XVI]] demanding that Muslims assassinate him for [[Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy|his controversial statements]] about [[Muhammad]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Raman, B. |date=2 October 2006 |publisher=South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG) |title=LeT Issues Fatwa to Kill the Pope (Paper no. 1974) |url=http://www.saag.org/papers20/paper1974.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012053305/http://www.saag.org/papers20/paper1974.html |archive-date=12 October 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> * On 16 September 2006, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba militant, Abu Saad, was killed by the troops of 9-Rashtriya Rifles in Nandi Marg forest in Kulgam. Saad belongs to [[Lahore]] in Pakistan and also oversaw LeT operations for the past three years in Gul Gulabhgash as the outfit's area commander. Apart from a large quantity of arms and ammunition, high denomination Indian and Pakistani currencies were also recovered from the slain militant.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Top Lashkar-e-Taiba militant killed |date=16 September 2007 |newspaper=NDTV |url=http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=Top+Lashkar-e-Toiba+militant+killed+++++%0D&id=93264 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311134440/http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=Top%2BLashkar-e-Toiba%2Bmilitant%2Bkilled%2B%2B%2B%2B%2B%0D&id=93264 |archive-date=11 March 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> * [[2008 Mumbai attacks]]: Between 26 and 29 November 2008, Lashkar-e-Taiba was the primary suspect behind the terrorist attacks Mumbai, which included hostage taking, bombing, and mass shootout, but the outfit denied any part.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/asie-pacifique/article/2008/11/27/le-bilan-des-attentats-de-bombay-s-alourdit_1124194_3216.html#ens_id=1123577 |title=Chaos reigns throughout Bombay |date=27 November 2008 |work=[[Le Monde]] |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204063537/http://www.lemonde.fr/asie-pacifique/article/2008/11/27/le-bilan-des-attentats-de-bombay-s-alourdit_1124194_3216.html#ens_id=1123577 |archive-date=4 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> The lone surviving gunman, [[Ajmal Amir Kasab]], captured by Indian authorities admitted the attacks were planned and executed by the organization, with the support from Pakistan Army and ISI.<ref name=Reuters>{{cite news |title=Three Pakistani militants held in Mumbai |work=Reuters |date=28 November 2008 |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINSP20287920081128 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203073550/http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINSP20287920081128 |archive-date=3 December 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Hindu>{{cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112862080100.htm |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba responsible for Mumbai terroristic act |location=Chennai, India |work=The Hindu |date=28 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201100010/http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112862080100.htm |archive-date=1 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> United States intelligence sources confirmed that their evidence suggested Lashkar-e-Taiba is behind the attacks.<ref>{{cite news |title=US Intelligence focuses on Pakistani Group |date=28 November 2008 |newspaper=The New York Times |author=Mark Mazzetti |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/world/asia/29intel.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113205354/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/world/asia/29intel.html |archive-date=13 January 2018 |url-status=live |author-link=Mark Mazzetti}}</ref> A July 2009 report from Pakistani investigators confirmed that LeT was behind the attack.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hussain |first=Zahid |title=Islamabad Tells of Plot by Lashkar |location=Islamabad |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=28 July 2009 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124872197786784603?mod=googlenews_wsj |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009144837/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124872197786784603?mod=googlenews_wsj |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> * On 7 December 2008, under pressure from USA and India, the Pakistan Army launched an operation against LeT and Jamat-ud-Dawa to arrest people suspected of 26/11 Mumbai attacks.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/08/pakistan.india.mumbai.arrests/index.html#cnnSTCText |publisher=CNN |title=Pakistan raids camp over Mumbai attacks |date=8 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121063238/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/08/pakistan.india.mumbai.arrests/index.html#cnnSTCText |archive-date=21 January 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> * In August 2009, LeT issued an ultimatum to impose [[Hijab|Islamic dress code]] in all colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, sparking fresh fears in the tense region.<ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Times of India]] |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/4944357.cms |title=Impose Islamic dress code in colleges: LeT |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830225457/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/4944357.cms |archive-date=30 August 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> * In September and October 2009, Israeli and Indian intelligence agencies issued alerts warning that LeT was planning to attack Jewish religious places in Pune, India and other locations visited by Western and Israeli tourists in India. The gunmen who attacked the Mumbai headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement during the November 2008 attacks were reportedly instructed that, "Every person you kill where you are is worth 50 of the ones killed elsewhere."<ref name="adl.org"/> * News sources have reported that members of LeT were planning to attack the U.S. and Indian embassies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 26 November 2009, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. At least seven men were arrested in connection to the plot, including a senior member of LeT.<ref name="adl.org" /> * [[2016 Uri attack|2016 Uri Attack]]: According to India's [[National Investigation Agency]], LeT also had a hand in the terrorist attack against an [[Indian Army]] brigade headquarters near the town of [[Uri, Jammu and Kashmir|Uri]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=archive |first=From our online |date=2017-01-19 |title=NIA says LeT behind Uri, Handwara attacks |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/Jan/19/nia-says-let-behind-uri-handwara-attacks-1561321.html |website=The New Indian Express }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-01-19 |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba behind Uri, Handwara terror attacks, says NIA |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/lashkar-e-taiba-behind-uri-handwara-terror-attacks-says-nia/articleshow/56667690.cms? |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> * On 6 October 2016, three militants who attempted to storm an Indian Army camp in [[Handwara]], located in the border district of Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir, were killed by security forces. According to a senior official from India's [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]], the attackers were identified as members of LeT.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-10-19 |title=Lashkar hand seen in Handwara attack |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Lashkar-hand-seen-in-Handwara-attack/article16075900.ece |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
=== The Resistance Front (TRF) === {{main|The Resistance Front}}
[[The Resistance Front]] (TRF) is believed to be a proxy organization associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Established in 2019, TRF has been accused by the [[Government of India|Indian government]] of engaging in various activities that threaten peace and security in the [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] region. These activities include planning attacks on security forces and civilians, coordinating weapon transportation for proscribed terrorist groups, recruitment of militants, infiltration across borders, and smuggling of weapons and narcotics. In January 2023, TRF was banned under the [[Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act]] (UAPA), and its commander, [[Sheikh Sajjad Gul]], was designated as a terrorist. This action followed suspicions of TRF's involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate Kashmiri journalist [[Shujaat Bukhari]] in June 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lavania |first=Sudeep |title=Terrorist outfit lays claim to J & K tourist attack: What is The Resistance Front |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/terrorist-outfit-pahalgam-jammu-and-kashmir-attack-the-resistance-front-9960086/ |newspaper=The Indian Express}}</ref> In April 2025, TRF claimed responsibility for [[2025 Pahalgam attack]]<ref>{{Cite web |title='Act of war': What happened in Kashmir attack that killed 26 tourists? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/23/act-of-war-what-happened-in-kashmir-attack-that-killed-26-tourists |website=Al Jazeera }}</ref><ref name="aljazeera20250423">{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Yashraj |date=23 April 2025 |title=What is The Resistance Front, the group claiming the deadly Kashmir attack? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/23/what-is-the-resistance-front-the-group-behind-the-deadly-kashmir-attack |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423160643/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/23/act-of-war-what-happened-in-kashmir-attack-that-killed-26-tourists |archive-date=23 April 2025 |website=Al Jazeera }}</ref><ref name="cnn20250424">{{Cite web |last1=Mogul |first1=Rhea |last2=Iyer |first2=Aishwarya |last3=Saifi |first3=Sophia |date=24 April 2025 |title=A tourist massacre in Kashmir is escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Here's what we know |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/24/india/pahalgam-india-pakistan-attack-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html |website=CNN }}</ref> and they later retracted their claim of responsibility.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 April 2025 |title='False, hasty & part of an orchestrated campaign': LeT terror proxy TRF backtracks; denies responsibility of Pahalgam attack |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/false-hasty-part-of-an-orchestrated-campaign-let-terror-proxy-trf-backtracks-denies-responsibility-of-pahalgam-attack/articleshow/120642326.cms?from=mdr |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref>
== Loss of leadership and key figures == #[[David Headley]] (born Daood Sayed Gilani) - he performed surveillance missions in [[Mumbai]] to scout targets for the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], and in [[Copenhagen |Copenhagen, Denmark]] to help plot an attack against the [[Denmark|Danish]] newspaper ''[[Jyllands-Posten]]'', which had [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|published cartoons of Muhammad]]. Arrested at [[O'Hare International Airport]] in [[Chicago]] in October 2009 while trying to leave for Pakistan to deliver Denmark footage. Currently serving 35 years in prison for his role in Mumbai and Copenhagen.<ref name="SweeneySentence">{{cite news |last=Sweeney |first=Annie |date=24 January 2013 |title=Chicago man gets 35 years in Mumbai terror attack |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-sentencing-today-for-chicago-man-in-mumbai-terror-attack-20130124,0,3301876.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124183315/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-sentencing-today-for-chicago-man-in-mumbai-terror-attack-20130124,0,3301876.story |archive-date=24 January 2013 |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION |url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/iln/chicago/2009/pr1207_01a.pdf |website=justice.gov}}</ref> #[[Tahawwur Hussain Rana]] - a Canadian citizen of Pakistan origin and former [[Pakistan Army]] captain, he provided material support to David Headley.<ref name="NYT181109">{{cite news |last1=Johnston |first1=David |last2=Schmitt |first2=Eric |title=Ex-Military Officer in Pakistan Is Linked to 2 Chicago Terrorism Suspects |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/world/asia/19mumbai.html |work=The New York Times |date=18 November 2009}}</ref> Arrested in Chicago along with Headley, while trying to deliver Denmark footage. Sentenced to 14 years for providing material support for the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]] in 2013, but released in 2020 due to COVID-19.<ref name="LAT20130117">{{cite web |date=17 January 2013 |title=Businessman Tahawwur Rana gets 14 years for role in terrorism plots |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-tahawwur-rana-terrorism-plots-20130117,0,37764.story |work=The Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Arrested again in May 2023 following extradition request to India.<ref name="bbc180523">{{cite news |title=Tahawwur Rana: US court approves extradition of 26/11 Mumbai attack accused |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65630608 |date=18 May 2023}}</ref> Extradited to India in April 2025 and currently in custody of [[National Investigation Agency]] for interrogation and sentencing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Shekhar |date=11 April 2025 |title=Delhi court sends 26/11 attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana to 18-day NIA custody |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Apr/10/delhi-court-sends-2611-attack-accused-tahawwur-hussain-rana-to-18-day-nia-custody |website=The New Indian Express }}</ref> #Abrar, Intelligence Chief of LeT in Afghanistan was arrested and 8 other militants were killed by [[National Directorate of Security|NDS]] in Nangarhar Province.<ref name="Khaama Press"/> #Abu Dujana, Chief of Lashkar-e-taiba in [[Kashmir Valley]] was killed by Indian security forces on 2 August 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/abu-dujana-ruthless-terrorist-with-a-weakness-for-women-10-points-1732103 |title=Abu Dujana, Ruthless Terrorist with a Weakness For Women: 10 Points |publisher=NDTV |access-date=2 August 2017}}</ref> #Abu Qasim, operations commander of the militant group, was killed in a joint operation by the Indian army and the special operations group of the [[Jammu and Kashmir police]] on 30 October 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/nMpIgp1DTqw7pRJ2WBK0BO/LashkareTaiba-leader-Abu-Qasim-killed-by-army-JK-police.html%3ffacet=amp |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Abu Qasim killed by army, J&K police |newspaper=LiveMint |access-date=30 October 2015}}</ref> #Junaid Mattoo, Lashkar-e-Taiba commander for Kulgam was killed in an encounter with security forces in Arvani.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/top-lashkar-terrorist-junaid-matoo-killed-in-jammu-and-kashmir-encounter-say-forces-1713388 |title=Top Lashkar Terrorist Junaid Mattoo Killed in Jammu And Kashmir Encounter, Say Police |work=NDTV.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005195022/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/top-lashkar-terrorist-junaid-matoo-killed-in-jammu-and-kashmir-encounter-say-forces-1713388 |archive-date=5 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> #Waseem Shah, responsible for recruiting fresh cadres and involved in many attacks on security forces in south Kashmir was killed on 14 October 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.news18.com/news/india/let-commander-waseem-shah-another-militant-killed-in-pulwama-encounter-1546103.html |title=LeT Commander Waseem Shah, The Don of Heff, Killed in Pulwama Encounter |date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014234538/http://www.news18.com/news/india/let-commander-waseem-shah-another-militant-killed-in-pulwama-encounter-1546103.html |archive-date=14 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> # Six top LeT commanders including Owaid, son of [[Abdul Rehman Makki]] and nephew of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, wanted commanders Zargam and Mehmood, were killed on 18 November 2017. Mehmood was responsible for killing a constable on 27 September and two [[Garud Commando Force|Garud commandos]] on 11 October.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-zaki-ur-rehman-lakhvi-s-nephew-among-six-terrorists-killed-in-kashmir-2560957 |title=Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi's nephew among six terrorists killed in Kashmir |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927040803/https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-zaki-ur-rehman-lakhvi-s-nephew-among-six-terrorists-killed-in-kashmir-2560957 |archive-date=27 September 2018 |url-status=live |date=19 November 2017}}</ref> # [[Azam Cheema]], main conspirator of the [[2006 Mumbai train bombings|2006 bombings]] on the [[Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway)|Western Line]] of [[Mumbai Suburban Railway|Mumbai Suburban Rail Network]]. Died of a heart attack on 28 February 2024.<ref>{{cite news |title=LeT intel chief Cheema, 26/11 key conspirator, dies in Pakistan |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/let-intel-chief-cheema-26/11-key-conspirator-dies-in-pakistan/articleshow/108149016.cms |access-date=30 September 2024 |work=The Times of India |date=2 March 2024}}</ref> # [[Abdul Rehman Makki]], the second-in-command of LeT, died of a heart attack in December 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 December 2024 |title=LeT Deputy Leader Makki dies in Pakistan |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/26/11-mastermind-and-lets-deputy-leader-abdul-rehman-makki-dies-in-pakistan/articleshow/116706190.cms }}</ref> # Faisal Nadeem, also known as Zia-ur-Rehman and Abu Qatal, was a top LeT commander linked to several major attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, including the 2023 Dhangri massacre and the 2024 Reasi bus attack. A close aide of Hafiz Saeed, he coordinated LeT operations across Kashmir and maintained militant networks in India. According to Indian sources, Nadeem had infiltrated the Jammu region in the early 2000s and again in 2005. He was reportedly shot dead by unidentified assailants in Jhelum, Pakistan, on 16 March 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bajwa |first=Harpreet |date=2025-03-16 |title=Top LeT commander Zia-ur-Rehman shot dead in Pakistan |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2025/Mar/16/top-let-commander-zia-ur-rehman-shot-dead-in-pakistan |website=The New Indian Express }}</ref> # Shahid Kuttay, a top LeT commander, was among three terrorists killed in an encounter with Indian security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on 13 May 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-05-14 |title=Operation Keller: Top LeT chief Shahid Kuttay & two more terrorists killed in an encounter in J&K's Shopian |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/encounter-between-terrorists-security-forces-underway-in-jks-shopian/articleshow/121129624.cms? |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Three suspected LeT terrorists killed in encounter Kashmir's Shopian |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/jammu-and-kashmir/three-let-terrorists-killed-in-encounter-in-kashmirs-shopian-3537808? |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Deccan Herald }}</ref> # Abu Saifullah Khalid, also known as Razaullah Nizamani, the mastermind of the 2006 attack on the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] headquarters in Nagpur, who headed the LeT’s operations from Nepal since 2000, was reportedly killed by three gunmen in Pakistan’s Sindh province on 18 May 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-19 |title=Lashkar man behind attacks on RSS HQ, IISc gunned down in Pakistan |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/lashkar-e-taiba-terrorist-razaullah-nizamani-killed-gunmen-pakistan-10014381/ |website=The Indian Express }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=PTI |date=2025-05-18 |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Razaullah Nizamani killed by unidentified gunmen in Sindh |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/lashkar-e-taiba-terrorist-razaullah-nizamani-killed-by-unidentified-gunmen-in-sindh/article69590616.ece |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> After Indian agencies dismantled Lashkar’s Nepal module, Khalid shifted to Pakistan, where he maintained coordination with senior LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) leaders, including Yusuf Muzammil, Muzammil Iqbal Hashmi, and Muhammad Yusuf Taibi. In the years prior to his death, he was reportedly tasked with recruiting operatives and raising funds for LeT in Sindh’s Badin and Hyderabad districts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-19 |title=Who was Saifullah Khalid, LeT's elusive shadow commander killed in Pak |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/razaullah-nizamani-khalid-abu-saifullah-lashkar-terrorist-killed-pakistan-nepal-sindh-rss-office-crpf-camp-attack-2726766-2025-05-19 |website=India Today}}</ref> # Sheikh Yusuf Afridi, a key figure and close aide of [[Hafiz Saeed]], shot dead by unidentified gunmen on 28 April 2026 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.<Ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/hafiz-saeeds-close-aide-and-key-let-figure-sheikh-yousaf-afridi-shot-dead-in-pakistan/cid/2158118|title= Top LeT commander Sheikh Yusuf Afridi, close aide of Hafiz Saeed, shot dead in Pakistan}}</ref>
==External relationships==
===Support from Saudi Arabia=== {{see also|Saudi Arabia and terrorism|State-sponsored terrorism#Saudi Arabia}}
According to a secret December 2010 paper signed by the US secretary of state, "[[Saudi Arabia]] remains a critical financial support base for [[Al-Qaeda]], the [[Taliban]], LeT and other terrorist groups."<ref>{{cite web |title=US embassy cables: Hillary Clinton says Saudi Arabia 'a critical source of terrorist funding' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/220186 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221111314/https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/220186 |archive-date=21 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> LeT used a Saudi-based front company to fund its activities in 2005.<ref name="Guardian-WikiLeaks">{{cite web |last=Walsh |first=Declan |title=WikiLeaks cables portray Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023137/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding |archive-date=15 December 2016 |url-status=live}} </ref><ref>{{cite web |title=US embassy cables: Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists raise funds in Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/220186 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221111314/https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/220186 |archive-date=21 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Role in India-Pakistan relations=== LeT attacks have increased tensions in the already contentious [[India–Pakistan relations|relationship between India and Pakistan]].<ref name="cfrprofile">{{cite web |author=Jayshree Bajoria |date=14 January 2010 |title=Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) (a.k.a. Lashkar e-Tayyiba, Lashkar e-Toiba; Lashkar-i-Taiba) |url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/17882/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605151918/http://www.cfr.org/publication/17882/ |archive-date=5 June 2010 |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |publisher=National Counterterrorism Center, United States |title=Groups |url=https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups/lt.html |access-date=16 April 2024 |website=www.dni.gov}}</ref> Part of the LeT strategy may be to deflect the attention of Pakistan's military away from the tribal areas and towards its border with India. Attacks in India also aim to exacerbate tensions between India's Hindu and Muslim communities and help LeT recruitment strategies in India.<ref name=randjan2009 />
LeT cadres have also been arrested in different cities of India. On 27 May, a LeT militant was arrested from Hajipur in Gujarat. On 15 August 2001, a LeT militant was arrested from [[Bhatinda]] in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Lashkar militant arrested |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010817/punjab1.htm |agency=Tribune News Service |date=16 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207033049/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010817/punjab1.htm |archive-date=7 December 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Mumbai police's interrogation of LeT operative, Abu Jundal revealed that LeT has planned 10 more terror attacks across India and he had agreed to participate in these attacks.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/LeT-has-planned-10-terror-strikes-in-India-Jundal/Article1-902877.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728062826/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/LeT-has-planned-10-terror-strikes-in-India-Jundal/Article1-902877.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 July 2012 |title=LeT has planned 10 terror strikes in India: Jundal |work=Hindustan Times }}</ref> A top US counter-terrorism official, Daniel Benjamin, in a news conference on 31 July 2012, told that LeT was a threat to the stability in South Asia urging Pakistan to take strong action against the terror outfit.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Americas/LeT-a-threat-to-stability-in-South-Asia-Pak-should-act-against-it-US/Article1-906292.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801101651/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Americas/LeT-a-threat-to-stability-in-South-Asia-Pak-should-act-against-it-US/Article1-906292.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 August 2012 |title=LeT a threat to stability in South Asia, Pak should act against it: US |work=Hindustan Times }}</ref> Interrogation of Jundal revealed that LeT was planning to carry out aerial attacks on Indian cities and had trained 150 paragliders for this. He knew of these plans when he visited a huge bungalow in eastern Karachi where top LeT men, supervised by a man called Yakub were planning aerial and sea route attacks on India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/abu-jundal-lashkar-planning-aerial-attacks-on-cities-in-india-253673?pfrom=home-india |title=Abu Jundal: Lashkar planning aerial attacks on Indian cities, has trained paragliders |date=11 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812010046/http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/abu-jundal-lashkar-planning-aerial-attacks-on-cities-in-india-253673?pfrom=home-india |archive-date=12 August 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
====Inter-Services Intelligence involvement==== The [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]] have provided financial and material support to LeT.<ref name="Atkins"/> In 2010, [[Interpol]] issued warrants for the arrest of two serving officers in the Pakistan Army for alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nelson |first=Dean |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8050866/Interpol-issues-Pakistan-army-arrest-warrants-over-Mumbai-attacks.html |title=Interpol issues Pakistan army arrest warrants over Mumbai attacks |work=The Telegraph |date=8 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022052608/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8050866/Interpol-issues-Pakistan-army-arrest-warrants-over-Mumbai-attacks.html |archive-date=22 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The LeT was also reported to have been directed by the ISI to widen its network in the Jammu region where a considerable section of the populace comprised Punjabis. The LeT has a large number of activists who hail from Indian Punjab and can thus effectively penetrate into Jammu society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eyespymag.com/terrorgroupsL-M.htm |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba |work=Eyespymag |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212222910/http://www.eyespymag.com/terrorgroupsL-M.htm |archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref> A 13 December 2001 news report cited a LeT spokesperson as saying that LeT wanted to avoid a clash with the Pakistani government. He claimed a clash was possible because of the suddenly conflicting interests of the government and of the militant outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir even though the government had been an ardent supporter of Muslim freedom movements, particularly that of Kashmir.
Pakistan denies giving orders to LeT's activities. However, the Indian government and many non-governmental think-tanks allege that the Pakistani ISI is involved with the group.<ref name="satp" /> The situation with LeT causes considerable strain in [[Indo-Pakistani relations]], which are already mired in suspicion and mutual distrust.
===Role in Afghanistan=== The LeT was created to participate in the [[Mujahideen]] conflict against the [[Mohammad Najibullah|Najibullah]] regime in [[Afghanistan]]. In the process, the outfit developed deep linkages with Afghanistan and has several Afghan nationals in its cadre. The outfit had also cultivated links with the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|first Taliban regime]] in Afghanistan and also with [[Osama bin Laden]] and his [[Al Qaeda|al-Qaeda]] network. Lashkar-e-Taiba is also a Punjabi group, but its [[Ahl-e Hadith]] faith ([[Salafi movement|Salafi]]) and close relationship with the Pakistani military establishment have contributed to a historically rocky relationship with Deobandi militant groups and other Anti-Salafi Taliban elements,<ref name=Salafi /> thus, the Taliban has a less ideological interest in letting LeT operate from Afghan soil.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taliban's Kashmir policy: Rhetoric, ideology, and interests |url=https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/talibans-kashmir-policy |publisher=Observer Research Foundation |date=21 September 2022 |quote=LeT is looked upon with scepticism by several Deobandi outfits. This is for two reasons: ideological contradictions between the LeT’s Ahl-i-Hadith ideology and Deobandism; and LeT’s closeness to the ISI and acting as its proxy on several occasions. Relatively, the Taliban, thus, has a less ideological interest in letting LeT operate from Afghan soil, but the LeT’s proximity to the ISI ensures some bargaining and leveraging power to the Taliban.}}</ref> Even while refraining from openly displaying these links, the LeT office in [[Muridke]] was reportedly used as a transit camp for third country recruits heading for Afghanistan.
Guantanamo detainee [[Khalid Bin Abdullah Mishal Thamer Al Hameydani]]'s [[Combatant Status Review Tribunal]] said that he had received training via Lashkar-e-Taiba.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wid.ap.org/documents/detainees/khalidmishalalhameydani.pdf |title=Khalid Bin Abdullah Mishal Thamer Al Hameydani's Combatant Status Review Tribunal |archive-date=31 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031181730/http://wid.ap.org/documents/detainees/khalidmishalalhameydani.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Lashkar-e-Taiba's directed attacks against Indian targets in Afghanistan. Three major attacks occurred against Indian government employees and private workers in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news |title=Militant Group Expands Attacks in Afghanistan |newspaper=The New York Times |date=16 June 2010 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/world/asia/16lashkar.html |last1=Rubin |first1=Alissa J.}}</ref>
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals of [[Taj Mohammed (Guantanamo detainee)|Taj Mohammed]] and [[Rafiq Bin Bashir Bin Jalud Al Hami]], and the [[Administrative Review Board]] hearing of [[Abdullah Mujahid]] and [[Zia Ul Shah]] allege that they too were members or former members of Lashkar-e-Taiba.<ref name=CsrtMohammed>{{cite web|url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/Detainee/csrt_arb/Set_36_2493-2577.pdf |title=Summarized transcripts (pdf), from Taj Mohammed's ''Combatant Status Review Tribunal'' |pages=49–58 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016203619/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/Detainee/csrt_arb/Set_36_2493-2577.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2012 }}</ref><ref name=CsrtAlHami>[http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/Detainee/csrt_arb/Set_34_2426-2457.pdf Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Rafiq Bin Bashir Bin Jalud Al Hami's ''Combatant Status Review Tribunal''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210224227/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/Detainee/csrt_arb/Set_34_2426-2457.pdf |date=10 February 2013}} – pages 20–22</ref><ref name=ArbMujahid>[http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/Detainee/csrt_arb/ARB_Transcript_Set_11_21662-22010..pdf Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Abdullah Mujahid's ''Administrative Review Board hearing'']{{Dead link |date=July 2015}} – page 206</ref><ref name=ArbShah>[http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/Detainee/csrt_arb/ARB_Transcript_Set_5_20000-20254.pdf Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Zia Ul Shah's ''Administrative Review Board hearing''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408032048/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/Detainee/csrt_arb/ARB_Transcript_Set_5_20000-20254.pdf |date=8 April 2013}} – page 1</ref>
After the Taliban's restoration in 2021, it cracked down on Salafi groups in Afghanistan due to the conflict with the [[Islamic State]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Fate of Salafis Under Taliban: From Imam Removal To Mysterious Killings |url=https://www.afintl.com/en/202501203473 |publisher=Afghanistan International |access-date=20 January 2025}}</ref> Unlike the Deobandi group Jaish-e-Mohammed, despite claims of Taliban links, the LeT's ties to Salafism have led to evidence of a strengthened alliance with [[IS-KP]], a sworn enemy of the Taliban.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Abhinandan |first1=Mishra |title=Pakistan’s covert ISKP–LeT alliance confirms Ehsanullah Ehsan’s warning |url=https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/pakistans-covert-iskplet-alliance-confirms-ehsanullah-ehsans-warning-s-154950/ |access-date=7 October 2025 |agency=The Sunday Guardian}}</ref>
=== Role in Nepal === At the seminar held in July 2025 titled "Terrorism in South Asia: Challenges to Regional Peace and Security", organized by the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement in Kathmandu, [[Sunil Bahadur Thapa]], Advisor to the [[President of Nepal]], warned that groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]], pose serious threats to India and could potentially use Nepal as a transit route.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-08 |title="Terrorism knows no borders": Experts call for joint regional efforts to combat its menace |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/terrorism-knows-no-borders-experts-call-for-joint-regional-efforts-to-comba-21-76.html |access-date=2025-07-11 |website=myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Experts in Nepal underscore greater collaboration among South Asian nations to combat terrorism |url=https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2025/07/09/fes36-nepal-terrorism-experts.html |access-date=2025-07-11 |website=The Week |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-07-09 |title=LeT-Jaish terrorists from Pakistan may use Nepal as transit to enter India |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/let-jaish-terrorists-from-pakistan-may-use-nepal-as-transit-to-enter-india/articleshow/122347480.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2025-07-11 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref>
===Links with other militant groups=== While the primary focus for the Lashkar is the operations in Indian Kashmir, it has frequently provided support to other international terrorist groups. Primary among these is the al-Qaeda Network in Afghanistan. LeT members also have been reported to have engaged in conflicts in the [[Philippines]], [[Bosnia]], the Middle East and [[Chechnya]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) |publisher=Center for Defense Information (CDI) |date=12 August 2002 |url=http://www.cdi.org/program/issue/document.cfm?DocumentID=1620&IssueID=56&StartRow=21&ListRows=10&appendURL=&Orderby=DateLastUpdated&ProgramID=39&issueID=56 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211212410/http://www.cdi.org/program/issue/document.cfm?DocumentID=1620&IssueID=56&StartRow=21&ListRows=10&appendURL=&Orderby=DateLastUpdated&ProgramID=39&issueID=56 |archive-date=11 February 2009}}</ref> There are also allegations that members of the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] conducted arms transfers and made deals with LeT in the early 1990s.<ref name="archives.dawn.com">[https://www.dawn.com/archives/34839 Sri Lankan report links LTTE with LeT] ''Dawn'' – 9 March 2009</ref>
====Al-Qaeda==== * The Lashkar is claimed to have operated a military camp in post–11 September Afghanistan, and extending support to the ousted Taliban regime. The outfit had claimed that it had assisted the Taliban militia and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan during November and December 2002 in their fight against the US-aided [[Afghan Northern Alliance|Northern Alliance]].<ref name="SAGE"/> * A leading al-Qaeda operative [[Abu Zubaydah]], who became operational chief of al-Qaeda after the death of [[Mohammed Atef]], was caught in a [[Al-Qaeda guest houses, Faisalabad|Lashkar safehouse at Faisalabad]] in Pakistan.<ref name=cfrprofile/><ref name=wsj2008124> {{cite news |last=Schmidt |first=Susan |author2=Siobhan Gorman |title=Lashkar-e-Taiba Served as Gateway for Western Converts Turning to Jihad |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=4 December 2008 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122834970727777709?mod=googlenews_wsj |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022051604/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122834970727777709?mod=googlenews_wsj |archive-date=22 October 2017 |url-status=live}} </ref> * A news report in the aftermath of [[11 September attacks]] in the U.S. has indicated that the outfit provides individuals for the outer circle of bin Laden's personal security.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} * Other notable al-Qaeda operatives said to have received instruction and training in LeT camps include [[David Hicks]], [[Richard Reid (shoe bomber)|Richard Reid]] and [[Dhiren Barot]].<ref name=wsj2008124 />
====Jaish-e-Mohammed==== News reports, citing security forces, said that the latter suspect that on 13 December 2001 [[2001 Indian Parliament attack|attack]] on India's Parliament in New Delhi, a joint group from the LeT and the [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] (JeM) were involved. The attack precipitated the [[2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff]].
====Hizb-ul-Mujahideen==== The Lashkar is reported to have conducted several of its major operations in tandem with the [[Hizb-ul-Mujahideen]].They conducted various operations together and it's believed that they still work together in Jammu and Kashmir.
==== Ties to Khalistan militants ==== In the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, India submitted a list of 20 individuals to Pakistan, including known members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Khalistani militant outfits such as the [[International Sikh Youth Federation]] (ISYF). Among them was ISYF chief [[Lakhbir Singh Rode]], based in Lahore, wanted for arms smuggling and inciting communal violence. The ISYF, along with [[Babbar Khalsa|Babbar Khalsa International]] (BKI), had reportedly maintained ties with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and received training and logistical support from Islamist groups like LeT since the early 2000s.<ref name="Jamestown Sikh Militants">{{Cite web |title=India's Sikh Militants Forming Ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistani Intelligence |url=https://jamestown.org/program/indias-sikh-militants-forming-ties-with-lashkar-e-taiba-and-pakistani-intelligence/ |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=jamestown.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
Beginning in the mid-1990s, ISYF operatives are believed to have trained alongside LeT cadres, with both groups sharing facilities and resources in Pakistan. By 2005, Indian intelligence warned of renewed militancy, citing collaboration between ISYF, LeT, and ISI in training militants for infiltration and attacks in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. The ISYF is believed to have been the first Sikh militant group to establish contact with ideologues from Markaz-e-Dawat-ul-Irshad, the Salafist organization that served as the parent body of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).<ref name="Jamestown Sikh Militants" />
====Ties to attacks in the United States==== * The Markaz campus at Muridke in Lahore, its headquarters, was used as a hide-out for both [[Ramzi Yousef]], involved in the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]], and [[Mir Aimal Kansi]], convicted and executed for the January 1993 killing of two [[Central Intelligence Agency]] officers outside the agency's headquarters in [[Langley, Virginia]].<ref name="cia.gov" /> * A group of men dubbed the [[Virginia Jihad Network]] attended LeT training camps and were convicted in 2006 of conspiring to [[provide material support to the LeT]].<ref name="Markon" /> The leader of the group, [[Ali al-Timimi]], urged the men to attend the LeT camps and to "go abroad to join the mujahideen engaged in jihad in Afghanistan." The men also trained with weapons in Virginia.<ref> Anti-Defamation League, [http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/chicago_men_denmark_attack.htm "Chicago Men Charged with Plotting Terrorist Attack in Denmark" 2 December 2009] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201133550/http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/chicago_men_denmark_attack.htm |date=1 December 2009}} </ref> * Two U.S. citizens, [[Syed Haris Ahmed]] and [[Ehsanul Sadequee]] were arrested in 2006 for attempting to join LeT. Ahmed traveled to Pakistan in July 2005 to attend a [[terrorist training camp]] and join LeT. The men also shot videos of U.S. landmarks in the Washington, D.C. area for potential terrorist attacks. They were convicted in Atlanta during the summer of 2009 for conspiring to [[provide material support to terrorists]].<ref> Anti-Defamation League, [http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/syed_haris_ahmed_conviction.htm "Americans Convicted on Terrorism Charges in Atlanta" 12 June 2009] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006083302/http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/syed_haris_ahmed_conviction.htm |date=6 October 2012}} </ref> * U.S. citizen [[Ahmad Abousamra]] was indicted in November 2009 for providing material support to terrorists. He allegedly went to Pakistan in 2002 to join the Taliban and LeT, but failed.<ref name="AD"/> The [[F.B.I.]] issued a $50,000 reward for his capture on 3 October 2012.<ref name="FBI – Help Us Catch a Terrorist" /><ref name="Fox 2012" />
=== Impact on Pakistani external relations === In 2015 the Pakistan Army ordered 12 [[Bell AH-1Z Viper|Bell AH-Z Viper]] attack helicopters, with an option of 3 more to replace its ageing [[AH-1F Cobra]]s and were to be delivered by 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=IANS |date=2018-09-15 |title=US orders nine AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters for Pakistan |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/us-orders-nine-ah-1z-viper-attack-helicopters-for-pakistan-1.1704712 |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Bilal |date=2016-12-27 |title=Lockheed Martin awarded TSS contract for Pakistani AH-1Z - Quwa |url=https://quwa.org/daily-news/lockheed-martin-awarded-tss-contract-for-pakistani-ah-1z/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |language=en-US}}</ref> Following cancellation of $300 million military aid to Pakistan by the US government in 2018, the helicopters were put into storage at [[Davis–Monthan Air Force Base|Davis-Monthan AFB]], [[Arizona]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Iqbal |first1=Anwar |date=23 February 2017 |title=Pakistan recalibrating capabilities to fight terrorists |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1316454 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127083824/https://www.dawn.com/news/1316454 |archive-date=27 January 2018 |access-date=26 January 2018 |work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=7 December 2018 |title=Pakistan Army attack helicopter options |url=https://asianmilitaryreview.com/2018/12/pakistan-army-attack-helicopter-options/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209212722/https://asianmilitaryreview.com/2018/12/pakistan-army-attack-helicopter-options/ |archive-date=9 December 2018 |access-date=9 December 2018 |work=asianmilitaryreview.com}}</ref> The reasoning for this cancellation by Trump was due Pakistan's support for groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. In 2020 Pakistan considered ditching the Bell AH-Z Viper deal for either Turkish or Chinese helicopters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Quwa |date=2020-03-08 |title=Pakistan May Revise Attack Helicopter Procurement Plans - Quwa |url=https://quwa.org/quwa-premium-excerpt/pakistan-may-revise-attack-helicopter-procurement-plans-2/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |language=en-US}}</ref> By 2022 Pakistan fully ditched this deal for Turkish [[TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK|T129 ATAK]] and Chinese [[Changhe Z-10|Z-10ME]] Helicopters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan junks deal for Turkish helicopters, 'hopeful' of getting Chinese gunships |url=https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2022/01/06/pakistan-junks-deal-for-turkish-helicopters-hopeful-of-getting-chinese-gunships.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=The Week |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chavez |first=Leilani |date=2024-02-20 |title=China unveils export version of attack helicopter |url=https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2024/02/20/china-unveils-export-version-of-attack-helicopter/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Defense News |language=en}}</ref> The 12 Bell AH-Z Vipers which were meant for Pakistan, are now planned to be sold to Ukraine instead as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Malyasov |first=Dylan |date=2024-09-15 |title=Ukraine in talks to buy 12 Viper helicopters |url=https://defence-blog.com/ukraine-in-talks-to-buy-12-viper-helicopters/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=defence-blog.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2025 Germany turned down Pakistan’s request for AIP technology for its submarines due to its support for Lashkar-e-Taiba. Germany instead, sold this technology to India for the submarines of its own navy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Ritu |date=2025-01-24 |title=Germany Snubbed Pakistan For AIP-Tech; Now Set To Boost Indian Navy's Might With Cutting-Edge Submarines |url=https://www.eurasiantimes.com/germany-snubbed-pakistan-for-aip-tech-now/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=EURASIAN TIMES |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany snubs Pakistan, refuses to provide hi-tech submarines; will jointly build same with India; submarines are…, capable of… |url=https://www.india.com/news/india/germany-snubs-pakistan-refuses-to-provide-hi-tech-submarines-will-jointly-build-same-with-india-submarines-are-capable-of-7566367/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=www.india.com |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Pakistan}} {{colbegin}} * [[Ghazwa-e-Hind]] * [[Abdul Rauf Asghar]] * [[Al-Qaeda]] * [[All Parties Hurriyat Conference]] * [[Burhan Wani]] * [[Kashmir conflict]] * [[Lascar]] * [[List of designated terrorist groups]] * [[List of organizations banned by the Government of India]] * [[Afzal Guru]] * [[Syed Ali Shah Geelani]] {{colend}}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist |refs= <ref name="Winchell">{{citation |title=Pakistan's ISI: The Invisible Government |first=Sean P. |last=Winchell |journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence |volume=16 |pages=374–388 |number=3 |year=2003 |doi=10.1080/713830449 |s2cid=154924792 |ref={{sfnref|Winchell, Pakistan's ISI: The Invisible Government|2003}}}}</ref> }}
== Bibliography == * {{citation |last1=Bacon |first1=Tricia |title=Preventing the Next Lashkar-e-Tayyiba Attack |journal=The Washington Quarterly |volume=42 |pages=53–70 |year=2019 |s2cid=159406934 |doi=10.1080/0163660X.2019.1594135 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/23854299 }} * {{citation |last=Davis |first=Anthony |chapter=Lashkar-e-Taiba |title=Global Jihadist Terrorism |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |year=2021 |pages=84–105 |chapter-url=https://www.elgaronline.com/downloadpdf/edcollchap-oa/edcoll/9781800371293/9781800371293.00012.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Davis, Lashkar-e-Taiba|2021}}}} * {{citation |first=C. Christine |last=Fair |author-link=C. Christine Fair |title=In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 |isbn=9780190062033 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zR2DDwAAQBAJ |ref={{sfnref|Fair, Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba|2018}}}} * {{citation |last=Tankel |first=Stephen |title=Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iu1wBAAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-023803-2 |ref={{sfnref|Tankel, Storming the World Stage|2014}}}} * {{citation |last=Yasmin |first=Samina |title=Jihad and Dawah: Evolving Narratives of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat Ud Dawah |location=London |publisher=Hurst |year=2017 |isbn=9781849047104 |ref={{sfnref|Yasmin, Jihad and Dawah|2017}}}}
==External links== {{External links|section|date=December 2023}} * [https://rewardsforjustice.net/rewards/lashkar-e-tayyiba-let/ Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT)]. [[Rewards for Justice Program|Rewards for Justice]]. * [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/05/AR2008120501582.html Profile of Lashkar-e-Taiba], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 2008-12-05 * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3181925.stm Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba] – [[BBC News]] * [https://www.c-span.org/video/?296999-2/lashkar-taibi-pakistan Lashkar-e-Taibi and Pakistan] (conference video), Jamestown Foundation, [[C-SPAN]] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060911224716/http://www.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/lashkaretaiba.asp Report on the Lashkar-e-Toiba by the Anti-Defamation League] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120513000855/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba.htm Report on Lashkar-e-Toiba by the South Asia Terrorism Portal] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061021173831/http://saag.org/papers20/paper1972.html Should Mohd. Afzal Guru be executed?] International Terrorism Monitor—Paper # 132. * [http://www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/sikand20Nov2003.html Islamist Militancy in Kashmir: The Case of the Lashkar-i Tayyeba] by Prof. [[Yoginder Sikand]] * [http://harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2008/12/the-fidayeen-of-lashkaretaiba.html Background on the ''fidayeen'' tactics of Lashkar-e-Toiba] * [https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/blog/2006/11/kashmir_quake_a.html PBS report about Jamat-ud-Dawa's relief work in Kashmir] * [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/17/MNGJEF9G0M1.DTL ''San Francisco Chronicle'' article about the Ad-Dawa relief work] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204023100/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/17/MNGJEF9G0M1.DTL |date=4 December 2008 }} * [https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo44805 Protecting the Homeland Against Mumbai-Style Attacks and the Threat from Lashkar-E-Taiba: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, 12 June 2013]
{{2008 Mumbai attacks}} {{Kashmir conflict}} {{Kashmir separatist movement}} {{Militant Islamism in South Asia}} {{al-Qaeda direct franchises}} {{War on Terrorism}} {{Authority control}}
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