INDIA

Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen: Belated Ban 

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) on February 5, 2019, through a notification, banned the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) based militant group, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for promoting terrorism and radicalising and recruiting youth for terrorist activities in India. The UMHA stated,

Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen is the 41st terrorist organization  banned by the Government of India. Earlier, on December 26, 2018, the Ministry had banned the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and all its manifestations under the UAPA.

Formed in June 1990 by Yunus Khan, a close associate of Mohammed Abdullah Tairi, chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Jamaat-e-Ahle-Hadith, TuM's prime objective was to merge the Indian State of J&K with Pakistan and also promote a pan-Islamist identity. TuM is currently headed by Jamil-ur-Rehman of Lajora in the Pulwama District of J&K.

However, the outfit has a limited presence in J&K. It is believed to have carried out several 'joint operations' in the Kashmir Valley along with LeT, with the support of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) Government. The outfit suffered major setbacks in its early years when its founder Yunus Khan, then 'commander-in-chief', was killed in an encounter in 1991. Later, in 1999, Security Forces (SFs) killed its then 'commander' Abu Waseem Salafi.

Since March 2000, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, TuM has been found involved in the killing of one civilian and seven SF personnel (data till February 8, 2019). On the other hand, the outfit lost 30 of its own cadres during this period. In the latest incident, on November 1, 2018, the Army killed a recently TuM recruit, Naseer Teli, in an encounter in the Pohrupath area of Handwara in Kupwara District.  

The outfit was almost dysfunctional between 2006 and 2014, as it had suffered huge setbacks in SF operations. According to SATP, at least 20 TuM militants, including its top leaders (two 'deputy chief commanders', one 'area commander' and five 'district commanders'), were killed by the SFs between 2000 and 2005.

TuM has, however, tried to revive its activities since 2015, and has claimed responsibility for at least three separate grenade attacks in J&K in which a total of 24 persons (20 SF personnel and four civilians) were injured. Though no TuM-linked incident was reported in 2016, Islamic State's (aka Daesh) propaganda wing Amaq News Agency had claimed that they carried out their 'first attack' in Zakura area of Srinagar on November 17, 2017, in which one Police officer and a militant, Mugees Ahmad Mir, were killed. Mugees Ahmad Mir was TuM's Pulwama 'district commander'. Also, militants responsible for the two major incidents in 2018 (June 22 - four militants, one trooper and one civilian killed; March 12 - three militants were killed) were affiliated to TuM, but are believed to have been inspired by Daesh.

The present ban comes at a time when the TuM leadership has distanced itself from Daesh, declaring that "they see no scope for the IS and al-Qaeda in J&K". Nevertheless, authorities are apprehensive that transnational jihadi groups may utilize logistics of small and inactive local outfits, and seek to promote their pan-Islamist ideologies among the 'Pakistan-oriented' militants groups.

Nijeesh N.
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management