Pakistan rebrands terror outfits in Kashmir

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 19

Pakistan’s ISI has re-launched Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad with new names to equip itself with deniability about the terror outfits known worldwide to be operating from Pakistan soil.

Authoritative sources in police and security forces told The Tribune that at least two new banners had come to their notice — Tehreek-e-Mujahideen-Islami and the Resistant Front. These comprised terrorists from Lashkar and Jaish, but had only been rebranded. The LeT and Jaish are proscribed outfits internationally. Their Pakistan-based leaders — Hafiz Saeed of the LeT and Masood Azhar of Jaish — have been declared ‘global terrorists.’ One of the reasons given by the government for not restoring 4G internet in J&K was the threat emanating from terrorists and Pakistan. The police is finding out whether the recent attacks on security personnel, including the killing of three CRPF personnel in Sopore on Saturday, was carried out by these outfits and whether they have reactivated their old cadre or deployed new recruits to mount attacks ob the forces.

The sources said investigations were on as to how these groups planned to establish their new identities to dodge the international community. “This is not a new strategy, they have been doing it in the past as well. This had happened in 2010 and in 1990s as well,” the source said.

Elaborating, he said the Harkat-ul-Ansar was the first to enter Kashmir in 1993 followed by Lashkar-e-Toiba. Later in 1995, Harkat chose the name of Al-Faran to kidnap foreigners, along with Lashkar. Thereafter, Harkat-cumAl- Faran renamed itself as Harkat-ul-Mujahadeen that later became Jaish-e-Mohammad after Masood Azhar was set free in December 1999 in exchange of the crew and passengers of hijacked Indian airliner parked in Taliban-controlled Kandahar in Afghanistan .