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Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Formation
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ),
a Sunni-Deobandi terrorist outfit was formed in 1996 by a break away
group of radical sectarian extremists of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
(SSP), a Sunni extremist outfit, which accused
the parent organisation of deviating from the ideals of its slain co-
founder, Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. It is from Maulana Jhangvi that
the LeJ derives its name. It was formed under the leadership of Akram
Lahori and Riaz Basra. The LeJ is one of the two sectarian terrorist
outfits proscribed on August 14, 2001, by President Pervez Musharraf.
Ideology and Objectives
The LeJ aims to transform
Pakistan into a Sunni state, primarily through violent means. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
is part of the broader Deoband movement
Leadership and Command
Structure
Muhammad Ajmal alias Akram
Lahori is reportedly the present Saalar-i-Aala (‘Commander-in-Chief’)
of the LeJ. Lahori was originally with the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP),
which he had joined in 1990. Subsequently, in 1996, he along with Malik
Ishaque and Riaz Basra founded the LeJ and launched terrorist activities
in Punjab. He has also reportedly established a training camp in Sarobi,
Afghanistan after securing support from the erstwhile Taliban regime
there.
Lahori succeeded Riaz Basra,
who was killed in Mailsi, Multan on May 14, 2002. Lahori is himself
in police custody following his arrest in Orangi Town, Karachi, on June
17, 2002 based on information provided by Shabbir Ahmed––an LeJ cadre
who arrested by Karachi police in Gulzar-i-Hijri on the same day. Police
also recovered two Kalashnikovs and two TT pistols from the possession
of Lahori, who was carrying head money of Rs five million announced
by the Sindh government and another Rs five million announced by the
Punjab government. Five accomplices of Lahori were also arrested on
the same day. At his arrest, a senior member of the LeJ, Qari Ataur
Rahman alias Naeem Bukhari, issued a press statement expressing the
apprehension that Lahori might be killed in a "fake" encounter. Rahman
was himself later arrested from his hideout in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Karachi.
Rahman is allegedly involved in the abduction-cum-murder of US journalist
Daniel Pearl. It is, however, not clear if Lahori has passed on the
mantle to any one else, or continues to head the outfit while being
in detention.
Lahori, according to reports
of July 2, 2002 quoting senior police officials, was involved in 38
cases of sectarian killings in Sindh. These included the killing of
Ehtishamuddin Haider, brother of Federal Interior Minister Moinuddin
Haider, Pakistan State Oil Managing Director Shoukat Raza Mirza. Besides,
he was also involved in the massacre at Imambargah Mehmoodabad and in
the murder of Iranian cadets in Rawalpindi. Lahori reportedly confessed
during interrogation that he was involved in 30 cases of sectarian killings
in Punjab, including those of 24 persons who were attending a Majlis
in Mominpura. Also he revealed that his group had planned to kill Interior
Minister Moinuddin Hiader, but due to tight security measures, murdered
his brother instead. Consequent to the death of Riaz Basra, Lahori was
acting as LeJ chief and he himself reportedly monitored and perpetrated
sectarian killings in Karachi where he was residing for the last one
and a half years.
Lahori’s predecessor was
Basra. He was involved in more than 300 terrorist incidents, including
attacking Iranian missions, killing an Iranian diplomat Sadiq Ganji
in December 1990 and targeting government officials. He was arrested
and tried by a special court for Ganji's killing, but escaped during
trial in 1994 from police custody while being produced in court. He
was Chief of the Khalid bin Walid unit of the Afghan Mujahideen in Afghanistan.
Media reports said Riaz
Basra, along with three of his accomplices, was killed in an encounter
on May 14, 2002. The encounter occurred at Dakota, which had been targeted
twice in the past by the proscribed LeJ. Basra was allegedly in police
custody in Faisalabad since January 2002 and was being interrogated
for the activities of his group. According to reports quoting police
sources, four armed terrorists came to Chak Kot Chaudhry Sher Mohammad
Ghalvi on May 14 and stopped near the house of Chaudhry Fida Hussain
Ghalvi, district chief of the banned Shia group Tehreek-e-Jaferia Pakistan
(TJP). Consequent to a shoot-out between the two
groups the police intervened and in the ensuing encounter Basra and
his associates were killed. Ghalvi asserted that the LeJ cadres had
come to kill him and to emphasise his belief also pointed out that the
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi had killed his brother, Mukhtar, in year 1997. Police
sources said that Basra's identity was established by one of his accomplices,
Kashif, who is under detention for alleged involvement in another sectarian
killing.
Consequent to Basra’s killing,
reports on his arrest in January 2002 have indicated that he was arrested
after the Faisalabad police captured Ajmal alias Sheikh Jamshaid, an
associate of Basra. Ajmal assisted the police in arresting Liaquat Ali
of Kehror Pucca, who was wanted for his alleged involvement in a triple
murder case. After interrogating Liaquat, the police raided a number
of locations in Faisalabad, Lahore, Jhang, Sargodha and certain other
parts of Pakistan. Based on information received from Ajmal and Liaquat,
Riaz Basra was arrested.
Basra is described as a
religious fanatic with extraordinary enthusiasm. Motivated by the Sipah-e-Sahaba
Pakistan and politically active since 1988, he contested elections to
the provincial assembly from Lahore as an SSP nominee. It is under Basra's
leadership that the LeJ rose to become the most dreaded sectarian terrorist
outfit in Pakistan. The intensity of its threat was such that Nawaz
Sharief, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, who was served a threatening
letter by Basra, stopped attending open courts.
The entire leadership of
the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi consists of Jehadis who fought against Soviet
forces in Afghanistan. A majority of its cadres are drawn from the numerous
Sunni madrassas (seminaries) in Pakistan.
Media reports indicate
that the LeJ is an amalgam of loosely co-ordinated sub-units in various
parts of Pakistan, particularly in the districts of Punjab with autonomous
chiefs for each sub-unit. Riaz Basra reportedly controls the LeJ’s units
in Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Sargodha. Another top LeJ terrorist,
Malik Ishaque, currently under detention, was the chief of the units
in Faisalabad, Multan and Bahawalpur divisions and in Bhakkar district.
The success of most of its terrorist operations is attributed to its
multi-cellular structure, whereby the outfit is divided into small groups
that are not in constant contact with each other.
The LeJ is organized into
small cells of approximately five to eight cadres each, who operate
independently of the others. Individual LeJ cadres are reportedly unaware
of the number of cells in existence similar to their own or the structure
of operations. After carrying out an attack LeJ cadres often disperse
and then reassemble at the various training camps to plan future operations.
A news report of October
2000 claimed that the LeJ had split into two factions––one headed by
Riaz Basra (since deceased) and the other by the chief of the outfit's
Majlis-i-Shoora (Supreme Council), Qari Abdul Hai alias Qari Asadullah
alias Talha. The split reportedly occurred due to differences between
the two over resumption of ethnic strife, which had receded after the
military coup in Pakistan in October 1999. While Basra favoured resumption
of terrorist attacks against Shia targets in order to force the government
to comply with the demands of the outfit, Talha opposed the plan as
he reportedly felt it was suicidal not only for the organization but
also for national solidarity. Talha based his opinion on the assumption
that, with a military regime in power, any armed activity would invite
stern action against the LeJ. Qari Hai was Basra’s lieutenant and ran
the latter’s training camp in Sarobi, Afghanistan, until the two fell
out and formed their own respective factions. While the majority of
Hai’s supporters are Karachi-based, Basra’s cadres have their roots
in the Punjab.
Basra figured on a US State
Department list of terrorists who "live in or have lived in, have trained
in, are headquartered in or financed from Afghanistan". Riaz Basra,
who escaped from police custody was wanted by Pakistani authorities
in connection with sectarian terrorism, and had been described in the
US State Department list as a "would be assassin" of the deposed Pakistani
Premier Nawaz Sharief. Basra was allegedly involved in a terrorist incident
on January 3, 1999 in which a bridge on the Lahore-Raiwind road, close
to Nawaz Sharif's house, was blown up shortly before the then Prime
Minister was due to pass by. Basra was also reportedly sighted at various
places in Pakistan in the past five years, and Pakistani newspapers
have often received messages purportedly sent by him claiming responsibility
for certain sectarian terrorist attacks. Although police sources in
Sargodha, on April 5, 1999, reported that he was killed in an encounter,
his mother's testimony and forensic tests have since disproved this.
Riaz Basra was allegedly
permitted to escape from the annual Tableghi congregation in November
2000, in Raiwind. Reports indicate that security force personnel allowed
Basra to escape fearing large-scale bloodshed if he were arrested at
the congregation. Official sources point that Basra is adept at changing
his appearance, and that he has a number of lookalikes within his ranks
and on a number of occasions he has mistakenly been reported killed.
The outfit had suffered
the loss of several of its top leaders and other cadres due to a crackdown
initiated by the Nawaz Sharief administration in 1998.
Pakistani reports indicate
that the active cadre strength of the LeJ is approximately 300. Most
of these cadres are either under arrest in Pakistan or were based in
the various training camps in Afghanistan, from where they regularly
came to Pakistan to carry out terrorist activities. Media reports have
also added that the outfit is never short of cadres, in spite of the
large-scale arrests or the deaths of cadres in encounters. Media reports
in September 2001 have indicated that the LeJ has been fielding newer
cadres to evade arrests.
Two of the LeJ’s most important
training centres are located in Muridke (Sheikhupura) and Kabirwal,
in Khanewal district. It also has a training camp in Afghanistan located
near the Sarobi Dam, Kabul. The present status of the camp is not known.
Qari Asadullah, a top LeJ terrorist has reportedly been supervising
and ensuring the training facilities of Pakistan-origin terrorists at
this camp in collaboration with and support of the erstwhile Taliban
regime. However, in the light of US attacks on Afghanistan, the fate
of LeJ camps in that country is not immediately known. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
cadres are reportedly using police uniforms for their operations in
order to secure easy access to mosques and for easy extrication after
committing a terrorist act.
Media reports indicate
that the occasional successes against the LeJ by the security agencies
have forced the top leadership to remain underground. Rather than risk
arrest by engaging in attacks themselves, they have begun training new
recruits and directing operations.
Linkages
Although SSP chief Maulana
Azam Tariq has repeatedly dissociated himself publicly from the terrorist
activities of the LeJ, security agencies and media reports indicate
that the two outfits are closely linked to each other. For instance,
when LeJ terrorist Sheikh Haq Nawaz Jhangvi was due to be hanged in
February 2001 for terrorist offences, Maulana Tariq, instead of dissociating
himself from the terrorist, led a campaign for the remission of his
sentence and also offered diyat (blood money) to Iran. Sheikh Haq Nawaz
Jhangvi, was hanged in the Mianwali Central Jail. Nawaz was 19 years
old when he murdered the Iranian diplomat in Lahore on December 19,
1990. It took the courts and the authorities 11 years to decide his
fate. During his trial he was kept at different jails in the Punjab.
Prior to his hanging, the Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed two review
petitions filed by him against the death penalty.
Both the SSP and LeJ maintain
that they are not organisationally linked. But, few analysts of the
sectarian conflict in Pakistan believe this to be true. Their cadres
come from the same madrassas as also a similar social milieu. The SSP
leadership has never criticised the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi because the two
organisations share the same sectarian belief system and worldview.
They also have a similar charter of demands, which includes turning
Pakistan into a Sunni state. Both the outfits have consistently resorted
to violence and killings to press their demands, though the SSP has
also been attempting to adopt a political path.
The SSP and LeJ have very
close links with the Taliban militia. They assisted the Taliban in every
way they can both in Afghanistan and within Pakistan. They have fought
alongside the Taliban militia in Afghanistan against the Northern Alliance.
Besides, all three groups are closely linked in their fight against
the Shias, be it in Afghanistan or in Pakistan. LeJ and SSP cadres reportedly
played an active part in the massacres of Shias by the erstwhile Taliban
regime in Afghanistan.
Many hardcore LeJ terrorists
were given sanctuary in Afghanistan by the erstwhile Taliban regime.
The Taliban leadership had consistently refused to hand over 21 wanted
Pakistani terrorists to Islamabad, saying the fugitives, belonging to
the SSP and the LeJ, were not on their soil. Pakistani authorities,
however, repeatedly emphasised that these terrorists continued to live
in the Afghan capital, Kabul before the US attacks in Afghanistan commenced.
The whereabouts of these Afghanistan-based LeJ terrorists, after the
US launched attacks on Afghanistan, is not clear. Although the Taliban
refused to acknowledge the presence of these terrorists, the Pakistani
establishment pointed that they were enjoying its hospitality.
Pakistani Interior Minister
Moinuddin Haider visited Kabul and Kandahar in March 2001 and, among
other things, discussed with the Taliban regime the extradition of Pakistani
fugitives. The Taliban declined to sign an extradition treaty but promised
to search and surrender them. At the time, topping the list of wanted
persons was the then LeJ chief, Riaz Basra, who, like the others on
the list carried a handsome reward on his head. In fact, official sources
later said Basra had visited Karachi and southern Punjab during the
year 2001 for medical treatment. The authorities also added that Basra
had narrowly escaped arrest in the Punjab during his visit when he had
stayed in Pakistan for almost six months.
Besides, Basra Zakiullah
and present chief Lahori, too, figured on the list of most wanted persons.
Official sources hold that LeJ terrorists frequently cross over into
Pakistan from Afghanistan using unfrequented routes, commit bank robberies
and sectarian-related killings.
Being part of the broader
Deoband movement, the LeJ secured considerable assistance from other
Deobandi outfits. It also has an effectual working relationship with
other Deobandi political and terrorist outfits at a personal level,
if not at the organisational level. In Afghanistan, they reportedly
trained along with the Taliban and other Deobandi terrorists from Pakistan
at the same training camps.
The LeJ is also reported
to have links with the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM),
Pakistan-based terrorist outfit active in India’s Jammu and Kashmir.
Many front ranking LeJ terrorists are have reportedly received training
at HuM camps in Afghanistan. According to a media report, many LeJ cadres
secured training at the HuM's Khalid Bin Waleed camp in Afghanistan.
According to the same report, the standard training period consists
of 4-8 weeks during which the trainees are provided extensive training
in handling sophisticated small arms, assembling and handling of Improvised
Explosive Devices (IEDs), other varieties of explosives, as well as
in hit-and-run tactics.
The LeJ also maintains
links with another Pakistan-based terrorist outfit, the Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM).
Jaish Chief Maulana Masood Azhar reportedly wanted to name his outfit
Lashkar-e-Muhammad but was ‘advised’ to avoid the association with the
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Reports hold that the LeJ
has been securing financial assistance from Saudi Arabia. Evidence of
private Arab funding was disclosed with the arrest of several LeJ cadres
responsible for the May 1997 killing of Ashraf Marth, a senior Police
officer who had arrested the killers of Agha Mohammed Ali Rahimi, the
Iranian Cultural Attaché in Multan. A substantial portion of
LeJ’s funding is reportedly derived from wealthy benefactors in Karachi,
Pakistan.
Activities and Incidents
The LeJ's chief area of
operation is within Pakistan, where it has admitted responsibility for
numerous massacres of Shias and targeted killings of Shia religious
and community leaders.
More than 70 doctors and
34 lawyers, various Ulema (religious scholars), teachers and students
of seminaries, politico-religious parties leaders and activists, officials
of various government and private institutions have been assassinated
between June 2000 and June 2002 in Pakistan by the SSP and the LeJ.
All of them were Shias.
The LeJ has also carried
out numerous attacks against Iranian interests and Iranian nationals
in Pakistan. The outfit uses terror tactics with the aim of forcing
the Pakistani State into accepting its narrow interpretations of Sunni
sectarian doctrines as official doctrines. The victims of its terror
tactics have been leaders and workers of rival Shia outfits, bureaucrats,
policemen, and worshippers of the 'other' sect. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
is widely considered to be the most secretive sectarian terrorist outfit
in Pakistan. It has never exposed itself to the Pakistani public or
media. The only means of exposure is through the fax messages and press
releases it sends to newspaper offices claiming responsibility for an
act of terrorism.
In 1999, the LeJ, in a
press release, offered a reward of 135 million Pakistani rupees for
anyone who would undertake the killing of Nawaz Sharief, the then Prime
Minister; Shabaz Sharief, his younger brother and the then Chief Minister
of Punjab, and Mushahid Hussein, the then Information Minister. An attempt
was, indeed, made on the life of Nawaz Sharief when a bomb exploded
and destroyed a bridge between Lahore and Raiwind, barely an hour before
he was to pass by on January 2, 1999.
The LeJ reportedly also
uses rafts across the Attock River for shipping arms and ammunition
from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) into Punjab. The new modus
operandi was chosen to hoodwink the authorities after permanent pickets
were set up by the Punjab police on all land routes coming into the
Province from the NWFP, in addition to intensifying patrolling along
all such routes. Earlier, the LeJ had been using two bridges, one near
Taunsa and another near Bhakkar, to transport arms and ammunition.
The LeJ is currently reported
to be finding it hard to execute terrorist strikes because it has become
difficult to smuggle arms into Punjab and also due to the differences
between Riaz Basra and Qari Asadullah.
In October 1997, a Pakistani
news report quoted Malik Ishaque, a top LeJ terrorist currently under
detention, as saying, "I have been instrumental in the killing of 102
human beings."
The LeJ was responsible
for the Lahore Mominpura Cemetery massacre on January 11, 1998, in which
25 Shia Muslims were killed and 50 others injured. Most of the victims
were women and children who had gathered for Qur'an-Khwani (Quranic
recital) at the cemetery. Aziz Gujar, Haroon Mansoor, Riaz Basra and
Akram Lahori were the main accused in this massacre. While the first
two were arrested, Basra and Lahori evaded arrest.
Acting upon information
secured from LeJ chief Lahori and Rahman, both of who are now under
detention, police recovered 134 Kalashnikov rifles, rockets, landmines,
explosives, chemicals, and poison-filled capsules. Karachi Police have
also arrested the wife and a son of Lahori. Lahori was also taken to
Punjab and, based on his information, police and agents of US Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided various places and arrested several
suspected terrorists.
The Sindh government on
October 15, 2001 announced head money for the arrest of 12 proclaimed
offenders involved in heinous sectarian terrorist attacks. According
to the announcement, seven absconders belong to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi while
five are activists of another proscribed terrorist outfit, the Sipah-e-Muhammad
Pakistan (SMP). The Sindh government announced
Rs 1 million cash reward for each of the three Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorists,
Qari Abdul Hai alias Qari Asad alias Talha, resident of District Alipur,
Muzaffargar; Atta-ur-Rehman alias Nadeem Bukhari, resident of Paposh
Nagar, Karachi, and Asif Ramzi, resident of Karachi. Half a million
rupees cash reward each was fixed for another three LeJ cadres - Asif
Ramzi alias Chotto alias Hafiz, resident of Muhammad Nagar, Karachi;
Muhammad Rashid; and Lal Muhammad alias Lal Bhai alias Faqeer, resident
of Orangi Town, Karachi. Rs 0.25 million cash reward was fixed for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
cadre Muhammad Umer alias Haji Sahib, resident of Shah Faisal Colony,
Karachi.
Karachi Police on June
29 published photos of 10 terrorists wanted in connection with the murder
of US journalist Daniel Pearl and for the two car-bomb attacks on Western
targets in Karachi. At least 16 persons, including 12 French nationals,
were killed and 26 persons injured in a bomb blast in Karachi on May
8, 2002. In the second attack, near the US Consulate in Karachi on June
14, 12 persons were killed. At least five of the 10 terrorists identified
are believed to be LeJ cadres. It was also the first occasion that police
identified LeJ as being involved in all the three incidents. One of
the photographed men, Asif Ramzi, is listed as wanted in the Pearl murder
case and also for sectarian killings, with a three million rupees-reward
offered for his capture. Another suspect, Naveedul Hassan, is listed
as wanted in the June 14 terrorist incident and his capture carries
two million rupee-award. Sharib is listed as wanted in both the Consulate-attack
and the May 8-attack.
According to senior investigators,
the Al Qaeda network is suspected
to have worked with LeJ cadres to plan both the car-bomb attacks. Intelligence
sources have indicated that certain LeJ terrorists arrested in Karachi
in June 2002 have been allegedly working with the Al Qaeda to strike
at targets in Pakistan.
Some of the killings which
have reportedly been carried out by the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are:
2008
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July 27: A top leader of the banned
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) was arrested from Quetta for his alleged
involvement in several acts of sectarian terrorism. Shafiq-ur-Rehman
was involved in suicide bombings on a mosque in 2003 and on an Ashura
procession in 2004. The two attacks left over 100 people dead and
about 180 injured, Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Akbar told
a press conference.
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July 14: Security agencies arrested
a top al Qaeda operative along with his two accomplices in Punjab's
southern city of Multan. Tanzanian national Muhammad Al Misri, Anwar
Muawiya and Muhammad Shahid were arrested from a shutdown 'Neel
Wali Factory' located on the Abdali Road. Unnamed officials said
that Al Misri is closely linked with al Qaeda's top hierarchy and
is also suspected to be behind the series of suicide attacks in
Pakistan following the crackdown on the Lal Masjid (Red mosque).
Anwar, a resident of Abbotabad, belongs to the banned Sunni group
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), the sources said, adding Shahid, another
LeJ activist, is a local of Multan.
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April 11: JeM and LeT, the Pakistan-based
terrorist groups, are among the 44 outfits designated as 'Foreign
Terrorist Organisations' (FTO) by the US. Besides these two, other
groups active in India - the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami
and Pakistan-based HuM - are also in the FTO list issued by the
office of the coordinator for counter terrorism of the US Department
of State. "FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against
terrorism and are effective means of curtailing support for terrorist
activities and pressurising groups to get out of the terrorism business,"
a State Department statement said. Other groups of the South Asia
include LTTE and LeJ.
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February 27: Police in Jhang said
that they had arrested three terror suspects carrying two suicide
jackets and chemicals in Shorkot on February 26-night. Jhang District
Police Officer Amjad Javed stated that the terrorists, identified
as Ghulam Shabir, Muhammad Amin and Muhammad Ramazan, were arrested
from Mir Wala Bridge and were attempting to target prominent politicians.
The three men were suspected to be members of the outlawed Sunni
militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), APP reported local police
officer Pervez Tareen Sardar as having said.
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February 26: Police in Lahore arrested four members
of the banned Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) from
Nawankot bus stand in the Kotwali area and seized from them explosives
and weapons. The accused confessed, during preliminary interrogation,
that they had planned sabotage activities including bomb blasts
in Lahore, besides assassination of key political and religious
personalities and senior police officials. The arrested militants
were identified as Muhammad Asif Ali alias Hasan Moosa, Abdur Rahman,
Mureed Ahmad and Fahad Munir. Police officials said that Munir was
the nephew of LeJ leader Riaz Basra.
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February 10: The security agencies
arrested 40 people suspected to be activists of banned militant
groups. Sources said that the operation was launched after the list
of militant activists was revised by security agencies after the
suicide attack outside the Lahore High Court on January 10. The
Ghaziabad police arrested 30 men from a rented house near Muhammadpura
railway crossing. Separately, police raided the RA Bazaar and arrested
seven suspects. The arrested belonged to the banned Sunni group
LeJ and were allegedly involved in the Rawalpindi blast. During
another raid in Saddar Bazaar, police arrested three members of
the LeJ.
The Mughalpura Superintendent of Police, P. Sajjad Manj, said Rustam
Ali, who was a member of the proscribed SSP, owned the house. However,
he escaped the raid. Two Kalashnikovs, three 222s, a shotgun and
rifles were seized from them.
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January 18: Two LeJ militants escaped
from a sub-jail located inside the headquarters of the Anti-Terrorist
Force (ATF) in the Quetta cantonment area. Usman Saifullah and Shafiqur
Rehman were tried by an Anti-Terrorism Court in several cases of
sectarian killings, a senior police officer said. The court had
sentenced Usman to death for sectarian attacks and Shafiq to life
imprisonment in another case. Police said Usman had masterminded
numerous sectarian killings and attacks on imambargah (congregation
hall for Shia rituals) in Quetta and he had been arrested from Karachi
in June 2006. Shafiq was arrested from Mastung in Balochistan in
2007. After the escape, police detained 13 jail and ATF personnel
who had been on duty.
Security officials have indicated
that the LeJ orchestrated the January 17 suicide attack on an imambargah
in Peshawar. "Use of a gun and then a suicide blast is signature
method of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi," they said. "The bomber first fired
some shots and then blew himself up. The modus operandi is the hallmark
of Lashkar militants and it shows they have plans to stoke up sectarian
hatred," a senior security official said. The unnamed officials
said the LeJ had forged close ties with tribal warlord Baitullah
Mehsud.
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January 16: The Chakwal police said
that they had arrested a suicide bomber and seized eight kilograms
of explosive material and other bomb devices from him. Chakwal District
Police Officer Maqsood Khan said police raided a house in the Thoha
Mehram Khan village and arrested Abdul Ghafoor. "Ghafoor has confessed
to have had a plan to kill former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry
Pervaiz Elahi and Chakwal District Nazim Sardar Ghulam Abbas at
a public meeting that was to be held in Talagang," Khan said, adding
that the meeting had been postponed in the wake of former prime
minister Benazir Bhutto’s killing in Rawalpindi. Khan also stated
that Ghafoor and his associates were now planning to attack Muharram
processions in Chakwal and Talagang. He said 23-year-old Ghafoor
was a member of the banned LeJ and HuM. "He also has links with
the terrorist group that attacked a Pakistan Air Force bus in Sargodha
last year," the officer said.
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January 14: The Interior Ministry
has warned security agencies that militants of the LeJ and Taliban
are plotting to attack eminent political and religious leaders and
religious places in nine cities during Muharram.
2007
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October 3: Afghan security forces arrested four Pakistanis
suspected of being suicide bombers from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
They were reportedly arrested after a raid on a house in the outskirts
of the city along with some suicide jackets. All the four hailed
from the Punjab province of Pakistan and identified them as Mohammad
Hussain, Abdul Rauf, M. Shoaib and Hassan. He said that they were
being interrogated and they had disclosed that they belonged to
the proscribed LeJ.
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August 26: Police killed Fayyaz Dada, a former member
of the banned Sunni militant outfit LeJ who had joined a local gang
allegedly dealing in drugs, in Karachi, capital of the Sindh province.
Senior police official Fayyaz Khan told AFP that "We had arrested
Fayyaz Dada for his alleged involvement in the parcel bomb attacks
[October 2003]. He was later released on bail and joined a local
drug mafia."
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July 25: Police in Quetta, capital of Balochistan
province, arrested Zahoor alias Choota Waqar, an activist of the
LeJ. Zahoor belongs to Dera Murad Jamali and is wanted for the killing
of important Shiite personalities of Quetta, and two bomb blasts
in Shia places of worship.
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June 11: The Karachi Police has arrested three terrorists
and identified the suicide bomber who was allegedly responsible
for the Nishtar Park incident in Karachi on April 11, 2006. Two
LeJ cadres were arrested during raids in two different areas of
Karachi. Based on their information, the police conducted an operation
in Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, where it arrested the third alleged
terrorist. All three of them, police claimed, had confessed to their
involvement in the suicide attack. The suicide bomber has been identified
as Siddiq and is said to have hailed from Mansehra in the NWFP.
Police said that the attack was planned at Wana in South Waziristan
under supervision of LeJ and the local al Qaeda. Karachi Police
sources said that the Abdullah Mehsud group was involved in the
attack and his cousin Abid Mehsud, resident of Orangi Town in Karachi,
planned the attack.
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June 5: Police said that they had arrested two suspected
militants wanted in the 2002 abduction-cum-murder of US journalist
Daniel Pearl. Attaur Rehman and Faisal Bhatti, both members of the
outlawed Sunni group LeJ were arrested along with weapons and explosives
while they were in a car traveling towards Balochistan on June 4
in Kashmor, a town northeast of Karachi (capital of Sindh province).
However, a lawyer for the duo's families said they were arrested
by security agencies in 2003 and have been secretly held in custody
since then.
-
March 9: Police arrested one Jalil Ahmed Ababaki
alias Abubakar of the banned militant group LeJ from the Sukkur
district. Jalil was allegedly planning a suicide attack today on
a Muharram procession and that a hand grenade, 1.5 kilogrammes of
explosive material, seven detonators, four steel switches, two plastic
switches, five screws and a jacket used for suicide bombing were
recovered from his possession. He also informed that Ababaki belonged
to the group of Usman alias Saifullah, who leads Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
in Balochistan and is wanted by the Provincial Government with a
head money of PKR 1 million.
-
February 28: Police arrested a suspected
cadre of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and seized seven kilograms of explosives
in a raid in Hyderabad on February 28, reports Daily Times. Khalid
Korai, a police officer said, "Azimud Din was arrested from
a home in Sarfaraz Colony neighbourhood in Hyderabad."
-
February 24: Meanwhile, "Police
have arrested 40 students and six teachers of Aziz-ul-Aloom, a seminary
in Cheechawatni," a police official said, according to Daily
Times. "Maulana Alam Tariq, the late Maulana Azam Tariq’s brother,
is among the arrested," he informed. "The suspects were
members of the Sunni extremist group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi [LeJ],"
police sources said.
-
February 15: Police raided a house
on Misrial Road in Rawalpindi on February 15 and arrested two men
wanted for sectarian attacks on Shias, according to Daily Times.
On information that the two men, Usman Chotu and Arshad Satti, cadres
of the outlawed Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), planned to
carry out suicide attacks, the city police raided the house and
arrested them after a brief scuffle. The police also seized five
hand grenades, two Kalashnikovs and some explosive material from
them.
-
February 4: The Lahore Police on
February 4 announced that it had arrested five militants of the
proscribed Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), including one carrying
a head money of PKR One million. Superintendent of Police Umar Virk
disclosed that they had arrested the five militants, including Rizwan
– for whom the Punjab and Sindh governments had put a bounty of
Rs 500,000 each – from the Sattukatla area. He said that Rizwan
had taken charge of the LeJ after Akram Lahori’s arrest. His accomplices
were identified as Ziauddin, Alam, Abdul Sattar alias Riaz and Amjad
alias Kala.
-
January 22: The Karachi unit Amir
(chief) of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), identified as Mohammad
Ali alias Mama, was arrested by the police during a raid in the
Korangi area of Karachi on January 22-night. Superintendent of Police
Fayyaz Khan told Daily Times that Ali was a suspect in the murders
of Lyari’s Qari Habibur Rehman and Maulana Abdul Kareem Naqshbandi.
He is reported to have become the LeJ Karachi unit chief about a
year ago. Khan added that Ali trained at Kabul’s Shah Ismail training
center in 2000. He said the police believed that Ali was planning
a terrorist act during the forthcoming Muharram period. Police sources
said that a list of possible targets was allegedly recovered from
Ali’s possession and included the names of some police officers
and Shia and Sunni clerics.
2006
-
December 31: The intelligence agencies have unearthed
a plan of the outlawed Sunni group LeJ to target prominent Shia
leaders and scholars and carry out suicide attacks on Shia worship
places in various parts of the country. In a report to the Interior
Ministry, the agencies said that the LeJ has reactivated its activists
for attacks on Shias and their mosques and Imambargahs. The report
indicates that LeJ activists could target Shia leaders and scholars
in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Khanewal, Layya, Bhakkar,
Jhang, Sargodha, Rahimyar Khan, Karachi, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu,
Kohat, Parachinar, Hangu, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Mirpur Khas and
Quetta.
-
December 16: Militants belonging to banned Jihadi
outfits are planning suicide attacks on army installations in Pakistan
and foreign troops in Afghanistan in revenge for the October 31-aerial
strike on a Madrassa (seminary) in Bajaur. Maulvi Inayatur Rehman
and Maulana Faqir Mohammad of the TNSM have pledged before their
supporters to target VIPs in Pakistan and US and NATO forces in
Afghanistan. British and U.S. diplomats and nationals are also possible
targets of the militants. Leaders of the LeJ, HuM and Khudam-ul-Islam
have also pledged to cooperate with the TNSM and called for a joint
strategy. The training and enrolment of suicide bombers is the sole
responsibility of the LeJ, reports indicate.
-
November 3: The Sindh High Court acquits a cadre
of the banned Sunni outfit LeJ sentenced to life imprisonment by
an anti-terrorist court for killing nine people at a mosque in Karachi
during October 1999. An anti-terrorism court in Karachi in May 2002
had awarded life imprisonment to Dildar Hussain alias Dilawar and
Saeed Awan, both LeJ activists, for killing nine people and injuring
six others at a mosque in the Al-Falah colony.
-
October 13: Security agencies have arrested eight
people allegedly involved in the Ayub Park blast and for planting
anti-tank rockets at different locations in Islamabad last week.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested people
had links with the al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi LeJ and had visited
Afghanistan many times.
-
October 1: LeJ, the outlawed Sunni group, has reportedly
started a recruitment drive and is forming new cells at the district
and provincial levels. Matiur Rehman, who is believed to have links
with the al Qaeda and is one of the prime suspects in the London
airline plot, murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, the multiple
assassination plots on President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz, and the attack on the US Consulate in Karachi in March
2006 has been tasked with reorganising Lashkar cells. Abdullah Faryad,
the LeJ chief at Ditta Khel in the Punjab province, is helping him.
September 3: Pukhtoon militants who fought against the US-led invasion
of Afghanistan have formed a new anti-Shia militant group. The new
militant group is led by Mufti Ilyas and Hazrat Ali of Darra Adam
Khel. The group has no links with any other militant groups, including
the banned LeJ, and is active in Quetta, Karachi and other major
cities in Pakistan. The group has established a supply line of weapons
and ammunition between Darra Adam Khel and Karachi.
-
August 21: Police arrests two suspected
members of the outlawed Sunni group LeJ in Bahawalpur. One of the
arrested men is allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate President
Pervez Musharraf.
-
August 9: Hafiz Shafiqur Rehman, a
member of the outlawed Sunni group LeJ, convicted of murdering a
rival Shia cleric in 1997, is hanged at the Multan jail.
-
August 1: An Anti-Terrorism Court in
Multan hands death sentences on seven counts to two LeJ activists,
Zahid Husain alias Zada and Shahabuddin, for killing six people,
including five police personnel. The court also awarded life imprisonment
on seven counts to their accomplice Ghulam Shabbir alias Doctor.
-
July 20: SF personnel arrest three
LeJ cadres, Abdullah, Sajid and Mohammed Akram, from Khuzdar in
the Balochistan province.
-
July 18: Security force personnel arrest
a LeJ cadre, Arshad Ali alias Movia/Saif ullah, during a raid in
Hyderabad in the Sindh province.
-
July 6: Six cadres of the LeJ, including
the outfit’s deputy leader Mohammad Shakir, are arrested for planning
attacks targeting a polo festival at Shandur town, bordering the
Chitral and Gilgit districts.
-
June 21: Security agencies arrest an
activist of the proscribed Sunni group LeJ, identified as Ameer
Usman Kurd alias Saifullah, from Karachi’s Mauripur area.
-
June 12: Six activists of the outlawed
Sunni group LeJ are arrested from Multan in the Punjab province.
Police said that one of the arrested, identified as Nasir, had a
Rupees 500,000 bounty on his head.
-
June 9: Six LeJ activists, allegedly
involved in murder, robbery and sectarian terrorism cases, are arrested
during a raid at Rahim Yar Khan in the Punjab province. Suicide-bombing
gadgets and a number of weapons had been seized during the raid.
-
June 7: The Interior Ministry directs
police chiefs of the four provinces, Islamabad and Northern Areas
to provide security to prominent Shia leaders and Imambargahs (Shia
place of worship). The ministry issues the directive after intelligence
agencies reported that activists of the banned Sunni group LeJ were
planning to kill Shia leaders.
-
May 30: The Multan Anti Terrorism Court
sentenced Qari Omar Hayat, an activist of the outlawed Sunni group
LeJ, to death on sixteen counts of murder. Hayat was arrested for
killing 16 Shias while they were listening to a sermon in a mosque
in Muzaffargarh on January 4, 1999. The court also fined the convict
Rs 4.8 million. However, 11 co-accused were acquitted of the charges
against them because the prosecution failed to prove their involvement.
-
May 5: Karachi Police claims that six
Lahori group cadres of the outlawed Sunni group LeJ, believed to
be involved in the killing of doctors to fan sectarian violence,
have been arrested.
-
April 3: An anti-terrorism court in
the Sahiwal district of Punjab province has sentenced to death a
LeJ activist, Naveed Akhtar, for killing advocate Syed Abid Hussain
Bukhari and his son Haidar Abbas on July 30, 1997.
-
March 31: The Sindh High Court allows
the appeals of four LeJ activists, including its chief Akram Lahori,
and set aside their convictions on murder recorded by an anti-terrorism
court. They were found guilty by the trial court of killing six
men and injuring five others while they were praying at the Ali
Murtaza mosque in Mehmoodabad on October 4, 2001. Attaullah and
Azam were sentenced to death while Lahori and Tassaduq Hussain were
given life imprisonment.
-
February 26: A Lashkar-e-Jhangvi activist,
identified as Muhammad Saleem, is arrested in the Jallah Jeem Town
of Mailsi in Punjab province.
-
February 13: A Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorist,
Munir Baloch, is arrested in the Balochistan province.
-
January 4: Three LeJ terrorists, Maqsood
Ahmed Qureshi alias Abbas alias Faisal, Azhar-ul-Haq alias Tariq
and Nawaz Khan alias Shosha, are arrested by the Rangers from the
Korangi Industrial Area in Karachi.
2005
-
December 13: Police arrest Ihsanullah
Shah alias Bara Shah, a member of the LeJ, from the Sadiqabad area
in Punjab province. The government had announced a reward of Rupees
500,000 for his capture. Ihsanullah Shah was the kingpin in weapons
supply to terrorists.
-
December 5: Intelligence agencies have
uncovered a plot by leaders of the banned Sunni outfits, SSP and
LeJ, who had directed their operatives to form suicide squads to
kill Shia members of the Legislative Council of the Northern Areas.
-
November 18: An anti-terrorism court
in Karachi indicts five LeJ activists for killing a police constable
and an under trial prisoner during an attack on a prisoners’ van
on February 28, 2002 near Bohra Pir in the Nabi Bux police limits.
-
November 3: According to intelligence
reports submitted to the Interior Ministry, the LeJ and Jamiat-ul-Furqan
(formerly Jaish-e-Mohammed) are trying to "cultivate" a relative
of the President who is not on good terms with him or against his
policies.
-
November 1: The Karachi Police arrests
Muhammad Kashif, an activist of the LeJ, during a raid in the Sultanabad
area. The Government of Sindh had fixed Rupees 0.5 million for his
capture.
-
October 31: Police in Islamabad arrests
four terrorists, including two members of the banned LeJ, who were
allegedly planning suicide attacks on a Shia mourning procession
in Rawalpindi.
-
October 30: The Lahore Police arrests
a LeJ cadre, Awais alias Faisal, from the Model Town area.
-
October 21: The Karachi Police arrests
an activist of the LeJ, identified as Hafiz Qasim Rasheed belonging
to the Asif Choto group and carrying a head money of 500,000, after
an encounter in the Orangi area.
-
September 24: Security agencies, acting
on information secured from the arrested LeJ chief Asif Choto, arrested
two would-be suicide bombers from a house in Rawalpindi as they
made last-minute preparations for attacks.
Security forces arrest Asif Choto, chief of the LeJ, from Motorway
near Islamabad. Choto, a ‘most wanted terrorist’, carried a head
money of Rupees 25 million. Authorities regard 29-year-old Asif
Choto as the man who introduced suicide bombing in Pakistan. Three
more LeJ terrorists are arrested from a house in Rawalpindi.
-
September 19: Two suspected LeJ cadres,
Ahmed Saeed and Mukhtar Ahmed, are arrested carrying explosives
and bomb-making manuals aboard a bus near Faisalabad.
-
June 7: The Crimes Investigation Department
of Sindh police arrested two Lashkar-e-Jhangvi activists for their
alleged involvement in the suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Gulshan-e-Iqbal
area of Karachi on May 30. Mufti Altaf alias Mufti Shahid and Qari
Bilal Farooqi were arrested near Kamran Chowk in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar
police jurisdiction of Karachi and five kilograms of explosives,
four dynamite sticks and a hand grenade were also recovered from
their possession.
-
June 4: Anti-Terrorism Court in Karachi
sentenced a LeJ terrorist to death for masterminding two suicide
attacks at two mosques, Masjid Hyderi and Masjid Ali Raza, that
killed at least 45 people. Judge Haq Nawaz said the convict, Gul
Hasan, was found guilty of masterminding attacks on these mosques
in Karachi in May 2004, in which around 127 people were also injured.
-
May 31: The Lahore Police is reported
to have arrested a suspected member of the LeJ from Harbanspura.
The man, identified as Qazi Manzoor and hailing from southern Punjab,
had escaped from Karachi and the Lahore Police arrested him from
a house in Harbanspura and subsequently took him to an undisclosed
location for interrogation.
-
May 30: Three persons were arrested
from Sargodha in the Punjab province on suspicion of having links
to the May 27-suicide attack at a Shia mosque in Islamabad in which
at least 25 people were killed and over 100 wounded. Dawn has reported
that the three, Zafar Iqbal, Mansoor Ahmad and Saeed alias Mistri,
belonged to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
-
May 20: The Police in Multan said that
they had arrested three LeJ cadres who are suspected of having links
with the Al Qaeda. An unnamed police official was quoted as saying
in The News that Ali Sher, Haji Ejaz and Pir Jamil were arrested
five days ago during a raid at their hideouts on the outskirts of
Multan.
-
May 18: Two LeJ cadres were arrested
during a raid at a hotel in Lahore. Unconfirmed reports identified
them as Mohammed Khaliq and Maulvi Mohammed Sadiq. The latter was
wanted by the police for a suspected role in the killing of an Iranian
diplomat in 1992 and is believed to be a fund-raiser for the Al
Qaeda, an unnamed intelligence official said.
-
May 12: The Police at Multan in the
Punjab province announced the arrest of Amir Shehzad and Khawaja
Ibrahim, members of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi suspected of plotting
a series of attacks, including one on the Parliament. District Police
Officer, Sikandar Hayat, told Reuters they were part of a network
of up to 23 members who had been recruiting ‘suicide attackers’
for assaults on the National Assembly and Shias.
-
May 9: Five LeJ terrorists were reportedly
arrested from Karachi for their alleged involvement in 15 sectarian
killings. "The suspects have confessed their involvement in the
killing of six employees of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research
Commission in October 2003," an unnamed police official was quoted
as saying in Dawn. They were also allegedly involved in the murder
of nine people at a mosque in the Al Falah area during February
2003.
-
April 15: According to Daily Times,
the Intelligence Bureau has informed Syeda Abida Hussain, former
federal minister, that the LeJ was planning to assassinate her.
-
April 8: Australia has re-listed six
groups as terrorist organisations, warning that anyone associated
with them faces up to 25 years in jail. Attorney-General Philip
Ruddock named the six organisations as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Mohammad,
both Pakistan-based and Asbat al-Ansar, Egyptian Islamic Jihad,
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Islamic Army of Aden.
-
March 30: An anti-terrorism court in
Karachi sentenced an Afghanistan-born activist of the LeJ to death
on two counts in the murder case of two Iranian owners of a bakery.
Ghulam Hussain, the 45-year-old Iranian owner of Subhanullah Bakery,
and his 18-year-old nephew were shot dead by Abdul Wahab Afghani
at their shop on M. A. Jinnah Road in Karachi on February 27, 2004.
-
March 6: A Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorist,
Haji Nisar Ahmad, who was wanted in different terrorist cases across
Pakistan, was reportedly arrested at Okara in the Punjab province.
-
March 4: A LeJ terrorist, Ramzan Mengal,
is reported to have been arrested from Quetta, capital of the Balochistan
province, for his alleged involvement in a number of sectarian killings
in the city. Mengal was arrested from the New Saraib area, Capital
City Police Officer, Rafi Pervez Bhatti, said. He was responsible
for a number of sectarian killings between 2001 and 2004 and carried
a Rupees 1 million bounty on his head.
-
February 27: The Karachi Police is
reported to have arrested two LeJ cadres along with hand-grenades
near a Church in the Sadar area. The arrested terrorists were identified
as Ishaque alias Saad and Imran alias Bakreywala.
-
February 25: An Anti-Terrorism Court
in Multan is reported to have sentenced to death two activists of
the LeJ. Ghulam Shabbir and Zahid Hussain were sentenced on four
counts for killing three police personnel in Multan on May 26, 1999.
While the Court fined them Rupees 100,000 each, three persons were
acquitted.
-
February 18: Two suspected terrorists
of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi reportedly blew themselves up
with hand grenades during an exchange of fire with the police at
Ghilzai road in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. Police
said the two bombers were planning to attack an Ashura-e-Muharrum
procession of the Shias that was to pass through Ghilzai road on
the same night.
-
February 14: Seven LeJ activists, who
were allegedly involved in two sectarian attacks during 2003 in
which at least 100 people died, were arrested in the Balochistan
province. The arrests occurred during separate raids in Dera Murad
Jamali, a town about 300 kilometers southeast of provincial capital
Quetta, said Police Officer, Choudhury Mohammed Yaqoob.
-
February 11: An anti-terrorism court
in Multan proclaimed two death sentences to Muhammad Tariq, an activist
of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, for killing two Shias on June 6, 1998,
in Multan. However, the court acquitted four of his associates.
According to Daily Times, "Tariq and his accomplices assaulted Dr
Shafqat Raza’s clinic in Timber Market on June 6, 1998 and opened
fire. Dr Raza’s younger brother Nusrat Raza and a patient died on
the spot."
-
February 8: Karachi Police is reported
to have arrested four terrorists suspected of planning suicide attacks
on Shia processions during the holy festival of Muharram. Police
found approximately 17 kilograms of explosives and other material
used for bomb making during an overnight raid on a hideout in the
Civil Lines area. One of the four, identified as Mohammed Asghar,
belonged to the LeJ, said Gul Hameed Soomo, Additional Inspector
General of Police. The other three – Mohsin Khan, Saeed Omar and
Mohammed Zahid – belonged to the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen al-Almi (HuMA)
group, he added. Police sources also said the suspects had been
trained in Wana, South Waziristan.
-
January 26: A team of Special Investigation
Group personnel has reportedly identified the killer of Shia leader
Syed Agha Ziauddin Rizvi in Gilgit as Mukhtiar Ahmad, an activist
of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
-
January 24: Daily Times reported that
officials of the Karachi Central Prison (KCP) recovered a hit list
of police officials from the chief of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi,
Akram Lahori, during the last week of December 2004. The list reportedly
contained names of police officials involved in an operation against
hardcore elements of extremist religious parties. Sources said Prison
officials recovered the letter during a search of Lahori’s luggage
after he was shifted to the KCP from Kot Lakhpat jail in December
-
January 7: Five LeJ terrorists were
reportedly arrested from the Harbanspura area in Lahore. According
to Daily Times, the detainees who included a woman were taken to
an unidentified location for further investigations, sources said,
adding that a large number of weapons including grenades, automatic
rifles and bullets were seized.
-
January 4: Police in the Chitral district
of NWFP arrests two LeJ activists for their alleged involvement
in an attack on the offices of Aga Khan Health Services and killing
two of its workers on December 26, 2004. District Police Officer
of Chitral, Muhammad Saeed Khan, was quoted as saying in The News
that the accused were locals, identified as Juma Khan and Rafiq.
2004
-
December 13: The Multan Police arrests
five LeJ cadres.
-
December 10: An Anti-Terrorism Court
in Islamabad convicts four LeJ terrorists to death for the year
2002 massacre of 14 people. On February 26, 2002, LeJ cadres had
stormed into the Shah Najaf mosque in Rawalpindi and killed 14 people.
-
October 27: The terrorist who blew
himself up at the entrance of a Shia mosque in Mochi Gate in Lahore
on October 10, killing at least three people and injuring eight,
was identified as a resident of Haripur and is linked to the banned
LeJ.
-
October 13: In Lahore, a LeJ terrorist,
who is allegedly involved in a number of sectarian killings and
several bombings, was arrested from Khairpur. Khawaja Muhammad Waseem
was heading a group of three highly trained men and bomb specialists.
-
September 25: At least three police
personnel and a suspected Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorist were killed
when unidentified gunmen attacked a senior Pakistani police officer
in Quetta.
-
September 21: The Quetta police said
that it had arrested a gang of sectarian terrorists trained in Afghanistan
and suspected of involvement in the massacre of dozens of minority
Shia Muslims. City police chief Pervaiz Rafi Bhatti said, "We have
arrested [in recent weeks] 10 most wanted men accused of involvement
in sectarian killings". Among those arrested were reportedly the
"mastermind" Daud Badani and his accomplices who belonged to the
LeJ.
-
September 2: Two cadres of the outlawed
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, identified as Liaqat alias Abid and Rauf alias
Mitha, were arrested from Lahore during the last week for allegedly
planning to carry out terrorist strikes targeting Shia mosques.
Over a dozen pistols, two AK-47 rifles and 18 rockets with launchers
were seized from their Jhang hideout.
-
August 19: Police in Multan are reported
to have arrested Muhammad Shafiq alias Hasnain Ali, a LeJ terrorist,
from an undisclosed location. Shafiq was wanted in several cases
of terrorism, including the two murder cases registered with the
Civil Lines and Samasatta police stations of the Bahawalpur district.
-
July 19: Police in Multan arrested
Hidayatullah and Mohammed Shahid, two LeJ terrorists. They were
reportedly re-organising the network and possessed a hit list of
police officials and Shia clerics, said Hamid Mukhtar Gondal, District
Police Officer (DPO). The DPO also said Hidayatullah and other members
of his group in 1999 opened fire on a Shia mosque in village Karam
Dad, 75km west of Multan, killing 15 people.
-
July 6: An Anti-Terrorism Court in
Karachi awarded death penalty on many counts, imprisonment and fine
to three detained cadres of the LeJ. The judge reportedly convicted
and sentenced the accused, identified as Attaullah, Azam and Muhammad
Riaz, in about five cases. The three activists were convicted in
five separate terrorism cases, including the killing of a Shia cleric
in May 2001. They also reportedly killed a Shia doctor and a businessman
the same year.
-
July 1: The LeJ has prepared women
suicide bombers for attacking Shia places of worship in Karachi,
a suspected mastermind of bomb blasts at two mosques is reported
to have disclosed to the police. Police officer Manzoor Mughal said
that Gul Hasan had disclosed during interrogation that LeJ had brainwashed
a few girls aged between 16 and 20 years. The girls, reportedly
persuaded to explode themselves in the women's areas of mosques,
would be wearing veils or school uniform, carrying handbags. Hasan
had trained the suicide bombers who attacked the Hyderi mosque on
May 7, and the Ali Raza mosque on May 31, killing 47 people.
-
June 14: The paramilitary Rangers in
Karachi announced the arrest of a LeJ terrorist who was allegedly
involved in the two suicide bombings in Quetta in the last two years,
which killed over 100 Shias. Dawood Badini is reported to have been
arrested on June 12 from the Federal B Area in Karachi where he
had taken refuge after fleeing from Quetta. Director-General of
Pakistan Rangers (Sindh), Maj. Gen. Javed Zia stated that Badini
masterminded a series of terrorist attacks targeting the Shia community
in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province. He is alleged to have
masterminded the killing of 12 Shia police recruits on June 8, 2003,
and the killing of at least 54 Shias in a mosque in July 2003.
-
May 31: The outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
is reported to be the prime suspect in a suicide attack on a Shia
mosque in Karachi that killed at least 24 people on May 31. Police
have suspected the suicide bomber belonged to the LeJ, said senior
investigating officer Gul Hasan Sammo. "Lashkar is our main suspect
as it made similar attacks on Shias in the past," he said.
-
May 16: The two suicide bombers involved
in the March 2-attack on a Shia procession in the Liaquat Bazaar
area of Quetta were identified as members of the outlawed Sunni
group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
-
May 11: An Anti-Terrorism Court in
Karachi convicted two LeJ activists and sentenced them to life imprisonment
in a February 2003-bomb blast case. Abdul Wahab Afghani and Shah
Nawaz alias Shani were prosecuted on charges of planting a bomb
in a parking area near the PSO House on February 3, 2003. One person
died while two others were injured in the explosion.
-
April 25: Police in Karachi arrested
a terrorist affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi from the Nazimabad
area and recovered one Kalashnikov and two TT pistols from him.
-
April 16: Two LeJ terrorists, including
a suspect in the abduction-cum-murder of Wall Street Journal reporter
Daniel Pearl, were arrested in Lahore. Malik Tasaddaq was arrested
on suspicion of involvement in Pearl’s killing, Punjab Inspector
General Police Saadatullah Khan said.
-
April 1: Police in Karachi reportedly
foiled an attack on Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali with
the arrest of a terrorist affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The
man was found with about six kilograms of explosives, a hand grenade,
several detonators and bomb making material, said Police Inspector
Amjad Kiyani.
-
March 7: Police in Karachi arrests
two terrorists of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi during a raid in
the Zaman Town area.
-
March 5: Senator Lt General (retd.)
Javed Ashraf Qazi said in Parliament that the proscribed Sunni group
LeJ "…are producing zombies to kill their Muslim brothers."
-
February 26: Police in Lahore arrests
Muavie Ramzi, a terrorist of the proscribed Sunni group LeJ carrying
Rupees one million as head money.
-
February 17: The Karachi Police formally
announced the arrests of two LeJ terrorists.
-
February 11: The Karachi Police arrests
two activists of the outlawed Sunni group LeJ from the Gulistan-e-Jauhar
area.
-
January 21: The Crime Investigation
Department recovers some belongings of the late Asif Ramzi, who
headed a group of the banned LeJ, and killed in December 2002 while
making explosives in a house in Korangi, from a house in Karachi
where two activists of the outlawed Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Almi,
Inamullah and Shakeel were arrested.
2003
-
December 19: The Karachi police arrests
two LeJ activists from an undisclosed locality.
-
December 9: Police in Karachi arrests
a terrorist affiliated to the outlawed Sunni group LeJ from the
Korangi area.
-
November 15: An Anti-Terrorism Court
in Karachi awards death sentence to Muhammad Ajmal alias Akram Lahori,
'commander-in-chief' of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and three of his
associates.
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October 6: Maulana Azam Tariq, leader
of the outlawed Sunni group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Member
of National Assembly, is assassinated along with four others in
Islamabad.
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September 28: Karachi Police arrest
Muhammad Aslam Jhangvi, a front ranking LeJ terrorist. Allegedly
involved in the killing of 12 persons in Mailsi in year 2000, the
Government had announced a reward of Rupees 3 million for his arrest.
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September 26: Karachi Police announces
the arrest of three LeJ terrorists. They also reportedly recovered
six bombs and 17 detonators which police believe were meant for
use against Western targets in Karachi in the next few days. They
were arrested from the Shadman Town area of Karachi where police
recovered a bunker in which the bombs and other explosives had been
concealed.
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September 24: An anti-terrorism court
in Karachi sentences Attaullah, a terrorist of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
(LeJ), for killing a security guard of a Shia mosque. The court,
however, acquitted three other cadres of the outfit in the murder
case.
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September 21: Police in Karachi arrest
three LeJ terrorists during separate raids in the city.
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September 17: A report on the August
11-sectarian clash in Kalore Kot sent to Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz
Elahi indicates that the LeJ is regrouping in Punjab and public
gatherings by Maulana Azam Tariq's Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan (the
new name for the proscribed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan) are the main
cause of increasing sectarian disharmony in the province.
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September 11: Police in Multan arrest
three suspected LeJ terrorists during a raid on a house in the Dunyapur
area.
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September 6: Karachi Police arrest
Farooq, a LeJ terrorist, from the Pak Colony area. He is reported
to have revealed that he was planning to attack a mosque in the
area.
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August 19: Two LeJ activists are awarded
death sentence by a court in Karachi for their role in the killing
of six persons at a mosque on October 4, 2001.
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July 16: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claims responsibility
for the July 4-Quetta mosque attack in which at least 53 persons
were killed.
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July 5: Police in Lahore arrest seven
LeJ terrorists from a house in the Ghaziabad area on suspicion that
they were involved in the July 4-Quetta massacre.
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June 24: Police arrest Hafiz Tayyab,
an LeJ terrorist, during a raid on a house in Buraywala, a remote
village 150 kilometers northeast of Multan
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June 23: Police in Multan arrest five
LeJ terrorists, including its Punjab provincial chief.
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June 9: Four LeJ terrorists are arrested
during raids in different parts of Lahore. Muhammad Saeed, one of
those arrested, had a reward of Rupees 600,000 for his arrest.
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May 29: Qari Abdul Hayee, acting chief
of LeJ, is arrested during a surprise raid conducted at Basti Allah
Buksh in Sher Sultan, Muzaffargarh district.
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May 28: Crime Investigation Department
of Karachi police arrests three LeJ terrorists and recover an unspecified
quantity of weapons and a motorcycle allegedly used by their leader
Asif Ramzi, who died in a blast on December 19, 2002.
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May 13: According to a media report,
a former 'commander' of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM),
Abdul Jabbar, has joined the LeJ and is likely to head it. Jabbar,
who joined the JeM in March 2000, is reported to have trained most
of the LeJ cadres. He was reportedly expelled from the Jaish in
March 2003.
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April 26: An Anti-terrorism court in
Karachi sentences to death Akram Lahori, LeJ chief, and his two
associates on three counts of sectarian murders.
-
April 16: A Multan Anti-Terrorist Court
acquits six LeJ activists for lack of evidence in a case of sectarian
killing.
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April 11: Anti-Terrorism court in Karachi
awards death sentence to a LeJ activist, Faisal alias Pehlwan, for
assassinating Sunni Tehrik chief Saleem Qadri and four others in
the Baldia Town on May 18, 2001.
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April 7: Police in Multan arrest three
LeJ terrorists after an unsuccessful attempt to kill a police officer
in Vehari area, in a suicide attack.
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April 1: Pakistani authorities claim
they have arrested Shabbir Ahmed alias Fauji, acting LeJ chief,
in Sameejabad locality, Multan. Ahmed, carrying a head money of
Rs one million on his head, is accused of involvement in the killing
of several minority Muslim Shias.
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March 13:Front ranking LeJ terrorist
Muhamad Farhan Dada alias Abu Bakar is arrested in Karachi.
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March 12: Sindh Police chief Syed Kamal
Shah says that an LeJ terrorist arrested on March 7 has confessed
to his involvement in the massacre of nine Shias at a mosque in
Karachi on February 22.
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February 7: Police in Mailsi arrest
a LeJ terrorist allegedly involved in the October 28, 2001 Bahawalpur
massacre.
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January 30: The United States designates
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.
-
January 22: Self-styled LeJ chief Akram
Lahori and his two associates deny before an anti-terrorism court
in Karachi their involvement in the July 2001-murder of Shaukat
Mirza, the Managing Director of a public sector organisation.
2002
-
December 19: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
chief Ramzi and six others are killed in an explosion at a house
in Allahwala Town, Korangi area, Karachi.
-
December 9: Sindh Home
Department announces a reward of rupees three million for the arrest
of LeJ terrorist Saud Memon wanted in several cases of sectarian
violence.
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November 25: Attaullah
alias Qasim, under-trial prisoner and accomplice of LeJ chief Akram
Lahori, escapes from Karachi Central Prison. He is re-arrested later
by police from Osmania Colony.
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November 12: Karachi
police claim arrest of front ranking LeJ terrorist Mohammad Asif
alias Asif Shadmanwala.
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November 1: Capt Syed
Imran Zaidi, a doctor, is killed by LeJ terrorists at his clinic
on Wazeer Ali Road, in Lahore.
-
Police in Jhang arrest
six LeJ terrorists for alleged involvement in terrorist activities.
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October 17: Six suspected
LeJ cadres are arrested from various places in Karachi in connection
with the October 16-parcel bomb explosions.
-
October 16: LeJ claims
responsibility for three-parcel bomb explosions in Karachi in which
eight police personnel and a civilian are injured.
-
September 30: Suspected
LeJ terrorists kill a Shia school-teacher in an attack on a primary
school in Shakoor village, Charsada district.
September 29: Two LeJ terrorists kill
themselves to avoid arrest while a third manages to escape after
an 18-hour-long encounter with Jhang police near Jamiabad.
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September 8: Four LeJ terrorists killed
in Kehror Pucca area, Lodhran district, in an encounter.
-
August 22: Two front-ranking
LeJ terrorists carrying a collective head money of Rupees 0.6 million
arrested from their hideout near Chak in Vehari.
-
July 28: Six LeJ terrorists
killed in an encounter near Bahawalpur.
-
July 22: Vehari police
arrest four LeJ terrorists in connection with the October 28, 2001-Bahawalpur
church attack in which a police personnel and 17 Christians, including
five children, were killed and nine more injured.
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July 20: Four LeJ cadres
arrested by Jhang police.
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July 9: Two LeJ terrorists
arrested in Multan.
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July 3: Hafiz Mohammad
Ishfaq, a front ranking LeJ terrorist, arrested in Badhber area,
Peshawar, for alleged involvement in a number of sectarian killings.
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July 1: Akram Lahori,
front ranking LeJ terrorist, confesses of involvement in 38 cases
of sectarian killings in Sindh.
-
June 29: Karachi police
publish photos of five LeJ terrorists wanted in the abduction-cum-murder
case of US journalist Daniel Pearl and also two car-bomb attacks
on Western targets in Karachi.
-
June 27: Two arrested
LeJ terrorists, Akram Lahori and Attaur Rehman alias Naim Bukhari,
confess to their involvement in the June 14-car bomb blast outside
the US Consulate General in Karachi.
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June 25: Multan Anti-terrorism
Court sentences two LeJ activists to death on two counts for killing
two persons on April 26, 2000, in Khanewal.
-
June 17: Karachi police
arrest Akram Lahori, front ranking LeJ terrorist and five accomplices
from a hideout in Orangi Town.
-
June 3: Multan Anti-terrorism
Court awards capital punishment on two counts to an LeJ cadre for
killing two police personnel on August 13, 2000.
-
May 30: Gujranwala
anti-terrorism court issues death warrants to two LeJ cadres for
killing a former Gujranwala police personnel and his driver on May
6, 1997.
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May 14: LeJ chief Riaz Basra and three
associates killed in an encounter in Mailsi, Multan.
-
April 4: LeJ ‘commander’ killed in
an encounter in Gulshan town near Karachi.
-
April 4: Lal Din alias Arif Lalu, alleged
Karachi unit chief of LeJ, killed in Sindh encounter.
-
March 13: Three LeJ terrorists killed
in Vehari encounter.
-
March 11: Top-LeJ terrorist wanted
in approximately 150 acts of terrorism killed in Bahawalpur encounter.
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January 1: Riaz Basra, LeJ chief, reported
detained after returning from Afghanistan. He and several of his
associates are reportedly arrested from North Waziristan during
the week ending December 30, 2001.
2001
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December 16: Sub-divisional police
officer, promoted to the rank in recognition of his work against
sectarian outfits, and his driver killed by suspected LeJ terrorists
in Johar Town, Lahore.
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July 26: Shaukat Raza Mirza, Managing
Director, Pakistan State Oil, and his driver were shot dead in Karachi.
2000
1999
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