Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ)

LEADER: Riaz Basar

YEAR ESTABLISHED OR BECAME ACTIVE: 1996

USUAL AREA OF OPERATION: Pakistan

OVERVIEW

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), or Army of Jhangvi, is an extremist organization active in Pakistan. It allegedly has an agenda of liberation and communism. Lashhar-e-Jhangvi believes that the entire nation of Pakistan should only be comprised of a Sunni Muslim population, thus making the group a part of the overall Sunni deobandi movement. In pursuit of this goal LeJ is believed to have engaged in a variety of violent activities directed against Sh'ite Muslims in Pakistan. The U.S. Department of State designated Lashkar-e-Jhangvi as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2003.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is also known by other names such as Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Jhangvie, Laskar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkare Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Jhangwi, Lashkar-i-Jhangwi, Jhangvi Army, Lashkar-e Jhangvi, Lashkar Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Jhanvi (LeJ), Lashkar-i-Jangvi, Lashkar e Jhangvi, Lashkar Jangvi, and Laskar e Jahangvi.

HISTORY

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) is an off-shoot of another Islamic extremist group known as Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) and is reported to have formed during the mid 1990s. Even though LeJ's history is reportedly only a few years old, the impact of events staged by this group has pushed it into the limelight. The parent group of LeJ, Sipah-e-Sahaba, was allegedly co-founded by Maulana (a term used to address scholarly Islamic people) Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. LeJ was named in honor of him.

LeJ is believed to have been formed by SSP members who felt that the group had deviated from its primary focus, which led to dissatisfaction and disagreements among its supporters and prominent group members. Some of these members reportedly decided to form their own organization, and named it Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in honor of Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. The initial movement of LeJ allegedly began under the leadership of Akram Lahori and Riaz Basra, who later came to be known as the founders of this group.

PHILOSOPHY AND TACTICS

LeJ allegedly seeks annihilation of Shi'ite Muslims within Pakistan and the establishment of complete Sunni control of the country. LeJ seeks to achieve its mission by violent means. LeJ has publicly admitted and assumed the responsibility for the killing of numerous Sh'ite Muslims and is thought to be responsible for many other attacks. In an effort to drive off the Shi'ite community, LeJ's agenda also includes attacks on Iranian citizens residing in Pakistan.

Reports suggest that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi primarily employs Jehadis (warriors against those who do not believe in Islamic fundamentalism) with a history of fighting the Afghan Soviet war. A majority of these jehadi activists have allegedly emerged from Sunni Madrassas, where they have been taught that Sunnis are superior to other Muslims.

In order to spread terror among the Shi'ite community, LeJ targets Shi'ite religious leaders, kills people in Shi'ite mosques, and attacks high-profile Shi'ite political leaders. In 1999, after an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the former prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif (a Shi'ite), media reports claimed that he was a chief target of the LeJ. It has been frequently reported by the media that the LeJ's activities are not limited only to Pakistan and that the group is reportedly actively involved in several acts of terror against non-Shi'ite Muslims belonging to other countries, including Iran and Afghanistan. Several LeJ operatives were allegedly involved in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Eventually, the members of Jaish-e-Mohammad, another Pakistan-based extremist group, were implicated for masterminding Pearl's kidnap and subsequent murder. However, authorities did not rule out the involvement of LeJ in the Daniel Pearl case.

Both SSP and LeJ are known to have links with the Taliban in Afghanistan. As of 2005, LeJ has reportedly confirmed its association with other Sunni extremist groups: Harkat-al Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammed. All three groups combined are known to represent the Pakistan wing of al-Qaeda, making them a part of the most dreaded terrorist group in the world.

LEADERSHIP

RIAZ BASAR

Media reports suggest that the initial movements of the LeJ were triggered by Riaz Basra, who claimed the leadership of this off-shoot group in 1996. Reports also claim that Basra was a firm believer in the Sunni sect and was highly motivated to achieve the goal of the group. As a young boy, Basra reportedly quit his primary school to learn religion from Madrassas (Islamic religious schools).

It has been alleged by counter-terrorism experts that the popularity of Riaz Basra rose to new heights when he participated in the provincial assembly elections in Lahore under the JUI (F) ticket in year 1988. He is also reported to be an Afghan war veteran. According to media reports, Riaz Basra had a stronghold on Pakistan politics and was considered to be a dreaded terrorist even by prominent politicians and lawmakers. One of the reports claims that Basra sent a threatening note compelling the then-president of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharief, to stop attending the open courts.

Riaz Basra was accompanied by three other members of LeJ on May 14, 2002, when they were reportedly shot and killed by Pakistani law officials.

KEY EVENTS

1996:

Allama Mureed Abbas Yazdani, Shi'ite leader was assassinated in September 1996, in Islamabad, Pakistan, triggering the LeJ movement.

1998:

Another Shi'ite leader was killed in Peshawar, Pakistan.

1998:

Five people were shot just outside a Pakistani mosque by activists reportedly belonging to LeJ group.

1999:

A prominent Pakistan Television (PTV) official was killed in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, allegedly by LeJ terrorists.

2000:

Two lawyers were killed in Khanewal, while 17 people were shot at a mosque in Malohwali. LeJ is thought to be responsible.

2001:

Several businesspersons, political leaders, religious leaders, and many others of the Shi'ite community were massacred, allegedly by LeJ terrorists.

2002:

Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is murdered by a group of terrorists, allegedly including some LeJ members. LeJ is also thought responsible for the killing of several teachers, doctors, and political leaders.

News reports claim that the LeJ split in October 2000 as a result of two separate opinions emerging within the group. It has been further reported that the split occurred partly because of the ideological differences arising within the prominent member of LeJ after the military coup in Pakistan in October 1999. In 2001, Pakistan's President Parvez Musharraf banned the activities of the organization.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)

DESCRIPTION

Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ) is the militant offshoot of the Sunni sectarian group Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan. LJ focuses primarily on anti-Shia attacks and was banned by Pakistani President Musharraf in August 2001 as part of an effort to rein in sectarian violence. Many of its members then sought refuge in Afghanistan with the Taliban, with whom they had existing ties. After the collapse of the Taliban, LJ members became active in aiding other terrorists with safe houses, false identities, and protection in Pakistani cities, including Karachi, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi. In January 2003, the United States added LJ to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

ACTIVITIES

LJ specializes in armed attacks and bombings. The group attempted to assassinate former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shabaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab Province, in January 1999. Pakistani authorities have publicly linked LJ members to the kidnap and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in early 2002. Police officials initially suspected LJ members were involved in the two suicide car bombings in Karachi in 2002 against a French shuttle bus in May and the US Consulate in June, but their subsequent investigations have not led to any LJ members being charged in the attacks. Similarly, press reports have linked LJ to attacks on Christian targets in Pakistan, including a grenade assault on the Protestant International Church in Islamabad in March 2002 that killed two US citizens, but no formal charges have been filed against the group. Pakistani authorities believe LJ was responsible for the bombing in July 2003 of a Shiite mosque in Quetta, Pakistan. Authorities have also implicated LJ in several sectarian incidents in 2004, including the May and June bombings of two Shiite mosques in Karachi that killed over 40 people.

STRENGTH

Probably fewer than 100.

LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION

LJ is active primarily in Punjab and Karachi. Some members travel between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

EXTERNAL AID

Unknown.

Source: U.S. Department of State. Country Reports on Terrorism. Washington, D.C., 2004.

OTHER PERSPECTIVES

In a 2003 statement released by the United States Treasury Department regarding the designation of LeJ, it was mentioned that "LJ is responsible for the January 2002 kidnapping and killing of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl. LJ is also responsible for a March 2002 bus bombing that killed 15 people, including 11 French technicians." The statement further mentioned that, "LJ also has ties to al Qa'ida and the Taliban. In addition to receiving sanctuary from the Taliban in Afghanistan for their activity in Pakistan, LJ members also fought alongside Taliban fighters. Pakistani government investigations in 2002 revealed that al Qa'ida has been involved with training of LJ, and that LJ fighters also fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance. The Pakistan Interior Minister, speaking of LJ members, stated that "They have been sleeping and eating together, receiving training together, and fighting against the Northern Alliance together in Afghanistan."

SUMMARY

The government of Pakistan banned the activities of LeJ in 2001, and in 2003 the U.S. Department of State declared LeJ as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. In spite of that, the LeJ has reportedly maintained the intensity of its activities as of 2005. In May 2005, media reports have claimed the involvement of LeJ in suicide bombings at the Bari Inam shrine in Pakistan.

Experts are of the opinion that the law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will succeed in curbing the activities of LeJ only after the activities of Sipah-e-Sahaba (the parent organization of LeJ) have been controlled. SSP and also LeJ allegedly receive patronage from the government of Saudi Arabia, which makes it more difficult for the Pakistan government to restrain its violent activities.

SOURCES

Web sites

MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. "Group Profile: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ)." 〈http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=65〉 (accessed October 19, 2005).

South Asian Terrorism Portal. "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi." 〈http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/LeJ.htm〉 (accessed October 19, 2005).

U.S. Treasury Department. "Treasury Department Statement Regarding the Designation of Lashkar i Jhangvi." 〈http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/kd3814.htm〉 (accessed October 19, 2005).

U.S. Department of State. "Designation of Lashkar I Jhangvi as a Foreign Terrorist Organization." 〈http://www.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/remarks/2003/17063.htm〉 (accessed October 19, 2005).

SEE ALSO

Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP)