Indian Defence Review

Details of the HUM, JEM & LET

The report gave the following details of the HUM, the JEM and the LET.

The HUM

“Formerly known as the Harkat-ul-Ansar, the HUM is an Islamic militant group based in Pakistan that operates primarily in Kashmir. Long-time leader of the group, Fazlur Rahman Khalil, in mid-February stepped down as HUM Amir, turning the reins over to the popular Kashmiri commander and his second-in–command, Farooq Kashmiri.

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Khalil, who has been linked to bin Laden and signed his fatwa in February 1998 calling for attacks on US and Western interests, assumed the position of HUM Secretary General. Continued to operate terrorist training camps in eastern Afghanistan.

Activities

“Has conducted a number of operations against Indian troops and civilian targets in Kashmir. Linked to the Kashmiri militant group Al-Faran that kidnapped five Western tourists in Kashmir in July 1995; one was killed in August 1995 and the other four reportedly were killed in December of the same year. The new millennium brought significant developments for Pakistani militant groups, particularly the HUM.

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Most of these sprang from the hijacking of an Indian airliner on December 24 by militants believed to be associated with the HUM. The hijackers negotiated the release of Masood Azhar, an important leader in the former Harkat-ul-Ansar imprisoned by the Indians in 1994.

The new millennium brought significant developments for Pakistani militant groups, particularly the HUM.

Azhar did not, however, return to the HUM, choosing instead to form the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), a rival militant group expressing a more radical line than the HUM.

Strength

“Has several thousand armed supporters located in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and India’s southern Kashmir and Dada regions. Supporters are mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris and also include Afghans and Arab veterans of the Afghan War. Uses light and heavy machine guns, assault rifles, mortars, explosives, and rockets. HUM lost some of its membership in defections to the JEM.

Location/Area of Operation

“Based in Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, and several other towns in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but members conduct insurgent and terrorist activities primarily in Kashmir. The HUM trains its militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

External Aid

“Collects donations from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf and Islamic states and from Pakistanis and Kashmiris. The sources and amount of HUM’s military funding are unknown.”

The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) is an Islamist group based in Pakistan that has rapidly expanded in size and capability since Maulana Masood Azhar

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed)

“The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) is an Islamist group based in Pakistan that has rapidly expanded in size and capability since Maulana Masood Azhar, a former ultra fundamentalist Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA) leader, announced its formation in February. The group’s aim is to unite Kashmir with Pakistan. It is politically aligned with the radical, pro-Taliban, political party, Jamiat-i Ulema-i Islam (JUI-F).

Activities

“The JEM’s leader, Masood Azhar, was released from Indian imprisonment in December 1999 in exchange for 155 hijacked Indian Airlines hostages in Afghanistan. The 1994 HUA kidnappings of US and British nationals in New Delhi and the July 1995 HUAIAI Faran kidnappings of Westerners in Kashmir were two of several previous HUA efforts to free Azhar. Azhar organised large rallies and recruitment drives across Pakistan throughout 2000.

In July, a JEM rocket-grenade attack failed to injure the Chief Minister at his office in Srinagar, India, but wounded four other persons. In December, JEM militants launched grenade attacks at a bus stop in Kupwara, India, injuring 24 persons, and at a marketplace in Chadoura, India, injuring 16 persons. JEM militants also planted two bombs that killed 21 persons in Qamarwari and Srinagar.

Strength

“Has several hundred armed supporters located in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and in India’s southern Kashmir and Doda regions. Following Maulana Masood Azhar’s release from detention in India, a reported three quarters of Harkat-ul–Mujahideen (HUM) members defected to the new organisation, which has managed to attract a large number of urban Kashmiri youth.

Supporters are mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris and also include Afghans and Arab veterans of the Afghan War. Uses light and heavy machine guns, assault rifles, mortars, improvised explosive devices, and rocket grenades.

Supporters are mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris and also include Afghans and Arab veterans of the Afghan War. Uses light and heavy machine guns, assault rifles, mortars, improvised explosive devices, and rocket grenades.

Location/Area of Operation

“Based in Peshawar and Muzaffarabad, but members conduct terrorist activities primarily in Kashmir. The JEM maintains training camps in Afghanistan.

External Aid

“Most of the JEM’s cadre and material resources have been drawn from the militant groups Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI) and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM). The JEM has close ties to Afghan Arabs and the Taliban. Osama bin Laden is suspected of giving funding to the JEM.”

LET Collects donations from the Pakistani community in the Persian Gulf and United Kingdom, Islamic NGOs, and Pakistani and Kashmiri businessmen. The amount of LET funding is unknown. The LET maintains ties with religious/ military groups around the world

Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) (Army of the Righteous)

“The LET is the armed wing of the Pakistan-based religious organisation, Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MOl) – a Sunni anti–US missionary organisation formed in 1989. One of the three largest and best-trained groups fighting in Kashmir against India, it is not connected to a political party. The LET leader is MOI chief, Professor Hafiz Mohammed Saeed.

Activities

“Has conducted a number of operations against Indian troops and civilian targets in Kashmrr since 1993. The LET is suspected of eight separate attacks in August that killed nearly 100, mostly Hindu Indians. LET militants are suspected of kidnapping six persons in Akhala, India, in November 2000 and killing five of them. The group also operates a chain of religious schools in the Punjab.

Strength

“Has several hundred members in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and in India’s southern Kashmir and Doda regions. Almost all LET cadres are foreigners – mostly Pakistanis from seminaries across the country and Afghan veterans of the Afghan wars. Uses assault rifles, light and heavy machine guns, mortars, explosives, and rocket propelled grenades.

Location/Area of Operation

“Based in Muridke (near Lahore) and Muzaffarabad. The LET trains its militants in mobile training camps across Pakistan administered Kashmir and Afghanistan.

External Aid

“Collects donations from the Pakistani community in the Persian Gulf and United Kingdom, Islamic NGOs, and Pakistani and Kashmiri businessmen. The amount of LET funding is unknown. The LET maintains ties with religious/ military groups around the world, ranging from the Philippines to the Middle East and Chechnya through the MOI fraternal network.”

Most terrorists continued to rely on conventional tactics, such as bombing, shooting, and kidnapping, but some terrorists ““ such as Osama bin Laden and his associates -continued to seek CBRN capabilities

WMD and Cyber Terrorism

The report commented as follows on WMO and Cyber terrorism:

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Terrorism

At the dawn of a new millennium, the possibility of a terrorist attack involving WMO – chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN), or large explosive weapons – remained real. As of the end of 2000, however, the most notorious attack involving chemical weapons against a civilian target remained Aum Shinrikyo’s Sarin nerve agent attack against the Tokyo subway in March 1995.