...the
Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is
banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
boss Hafiz Saeed
...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat...
after it decided to ban the charities that he was receiving. Pakistain further indicated that they would take over the institutions that he runs to bring in the charity.
Saeed used outfits such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa
...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba...and Falah-e-Insaniyat
...the current false nose and mustache of Jamaat ud-Dawa, which was the false nose and mustache of Lashkar e-Taiba...
to receive charity. This money was in turn to nurture cadres of Lashkar-e-Taiba which carried out attacks in India. It had been found that the same funds were used to sponsor the Mumbai 26/11 attack.
While Saeed would rely on funds from Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, there were three key persons who managed the entire show. The three men -- Muhammad Ijaz Safarash, Alexander McLintock and Abdul Aziz Nuristani -- would arrange for the funds and then send it to Saeed's organizations through various channels, the main one being hawala.
The question is will this new action by Pakistain dry up funds for Saeed? Indian officials tracking the Lashkar-e-Taiba say that Saeed has faced such situations in the past. He, however, beat the system by coming up with news organizations. For instance, when the JuD was banned he came up with the FeI. He would do something similar now.
However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
to ensure that Saeed's funds dry up considerably, the establishment needs to act on the above-mentioned persons. Each of them plays a key role in ensuring that the funds reach Saeed without any problem. Indian officials also point to the fact that the new action by Pakistain may not be linked to its war on terror. It is also a way of ensuring that he does not have funds to fight the elections. Saeed had recently launched the Milli Moslem League and said that he would be fighting the 2018 elections in Pakistain.
Can Pakistain act against these three men?
Muhammad Ijaz Safarash: He is the key player when it comes to bringing in funds for Saeed. Based out of Saudi Arabia, he has been providing financial assistance to the Lashkar-e-Taiba since the past decade. The Indian agencies got wind of him when in 2003, a conversation between him and the commander in chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, was intercepted.Safarash played the lead role in setting up charity boxes in Saudi Arabia. A huge amount of funds would be collected which would later be transferred to Pakistain. Apart from this, he would also tap wealthy businessmen and seek donations. Safarash also ensures that several operatives of the Lashkar-e-Taiba who were on the run got adequate protection in Saudi Arabia.
Alexander McLintock: He is a key player not just for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, but also the al-Qaeda and Taliban
...Arabic for
students...
. Today, he is more connected with the Lashkar-e-Taiba and has played the lead in channelising funds for the outfit.
A Scottish by birth, this 52-year-old embraced Islam when he was 20 years old. He decided to support the cause of these terror groups by opening the al-Ramah Welfare Organisation. The primary role of this organization was to raise funds through donations. A Financial Intelligence Unit note mentions that Alexander over the past 15 years has channelised at least 25 million dollars for these terror groups.
Abdul Aziz Nuristani: He is the local point man for Hafiz Saeed. He plays one of the most important roles in the channelising of funds. He is based out of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.and it is his Jamia Asariya Madrasa which has played the frontal role in collecting funds for the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. This Madrasa ironically falls under the sanctions list, but Pakistain is yet to act against it.
Through this Madrasa, Nuristani gives a legitimate face to the funds that are coming in. Both McLintock and Safarash have often sent money directly to the Madrasa. Apart from this donations are collected in the Gulf in the name of this Madrasa. Prior to be being placed on the sanctions list, a probe by the international agencies showed that the Madrasa had been collecting money under the garb of relief work and routing them into the coffers of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.