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India: Lashkar-e-Toiba, including the group's whereabouts; and the treatment of its supporters

Formed in 1990 and variously referred to as Laskar-e-Taiba and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-e-Toiba is the military wing of the Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI), an Islamic "fundamentalist" organization based in Muridke, Punjab, in Pakistan (BBC 25 Nov. 2002; SATP 2003; United States 21 May 2002; ibid. 20 Dec. 2001; CDI 12 Aug. 2002).

Lashkar was reported to have been headquartered in Muridke near Lahore (SATP 2003; United States 21 May 2002). Its headquarters have also been placed in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan (ibid.). A South Asian Terrorism Portal (SATP) report stated that, according to a statement made by a Lashkar spokesperson, the group had moved its headquarters from Muridke to Muzaffarabad in 2001 (SATP 2003). Reportedly, the group, whose members are mostly non-Kashmiri (CDI 12 Aug. 2002), has several hundred members in Kashmir, Pakistan, and in the Indian regions of southern Kashmir and Doda (United States 20 Dec. 2001).

A report prepared by the US Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism describes the group as "one of the three largest and best-trained groups fighting in Kashmir against India..." (United States 21 May 2001). While one of the group's stated goals is the succession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian state and its "inclusion into a pan-Islamic entity in the Pakistani model" (CDI 12 Aug. 2002), a pamphlet entitled Why Are We Waging Jihad reportedly broadens the geographic scope of Lashkar's agenda to include the "restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India" (SATP 2003).

While not on Canada's list of proscribed entities (Canada 12 Feb. 2003), the group has been banned in Pakistan (CNN 24 Sept. 2002; CDI 12 Aug. 2002; The Indian Express 15 Jan. 2002) and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States (United States 30 Jan. 2003) and Great Britain (BBC 25 Nov. 2002; see also GBR37325.E of 25 May 2001). India, which holds both Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed responsible for the 13 December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament (Asia Times 3 Jan. 2002; The Indian Express 15 Jan. 2002; SATP 2003; see also PAK40411.E of 10 February 2003), banned the group on 25 October 2001 under its Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (SATP 2003; India 28 Mar. 2002).

According to a 15 January 2002 article, police in New Delhi had arrested four people connected to Lashkar-e-Toiba who were believed to have been planning to disrupt the Indian Republic Day parade (The India Express 15 Jan. 2002).

A 17 December 2001 article reported that four Lashkar members had been killed when they attempted to storm an Indian Border Security Force (BSF) camp in Tral, Kashmir, on 16 December 2001 (The Tribune 17 Dec. 2001). The same article reported that on the same day two "infiltrators," including a local commander of the Lashkar-e-Toiba had been killed in a gun battle near the Line of Control in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district (ibid.).

According to a 5 July 2001 article, Lashkar-e-Toiba had "suffered a major setback in its recruitment drive" when the Indian military and police rescued 10 youths who "were being forcibly taken to a training camp in the Kishtwar area of Doda district" on 3 July 2001 (The Tribune 5 July 2001).

For a comprehensive chronology of the major incidents involving the Lashkar-e-Toiba in Jammu and Kashmir, India, between March 2003 and January 1996, please refer to the attached South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) report entitled "Lashkar-e-Toiba, 'Army of the Pure'."

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Asia Times [Hong Kong]. 3 January 2002. Syed Saleem Shahzad."Musharraf Must Once Again Dance to a New Beat." <http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA03Df01.html> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

BBC News. 25 November 2002. "Lashkar-e-Toiba." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2510613.stm> [Accessed 17 Mar. 2003]

Canada. 12 February 2003. Department of the Solicitor General of Canada. "List Entities." <http://www.sgc.gc.ca/national_security/counter-terrorism/Entities_e.asp> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

Center for Defense Information (CDI). 12 August 2002. "In the Spotlight: Lashkar-i-Taiba ('Army of the Pure')." <http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/LT-pr.cfm> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

CNN. 24 September 2002. "Police Gain Control of Kashmir Battle Site." <http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asipcf/south/09/24/kashmir.violence.poll/> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

India. 28 March 2002. The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002. Act No. 15 of 2002. <http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/document/actandordinances/POTA.htm> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

The Indian Express [New Delhi]. 15 January 2002. "Police Foil Lashkar Plot to Distrupt R-Day Parade." <http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=6505> [Accessed 17 Mar. 2003]

South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP). 2003. "Lashkar-e-Toiba, 'Army of the Pure'." <http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba.htm> [Accessed 17 Mar. 2003]

The Tribune [Chandigarh]. 17 December 2001. " Bid to Storm BSF Camp, 4 Militants Shot." <http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011217/main6.htm> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

_____. 5 July 2001. "10 Youth Rescued From Clutches of Militants." <http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010705/j&k.htm> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

United States. 30 January 2003. Office of Counterterrorism. "Foreign Terrorist Organizations." <http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2003/17067.htm> [Accessed 20 Mar. 2003]

_____. 21 May 2002. Office of the coordinator for Counterterrorism. Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001. <http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2001/html/10252.htm> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

_____. 20 December 2001. Office of the Press Secretary. "Day 100 of the War on Terrorism: More Steps to Shut Down Terrorist Support Networks." <http://state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2001/6991.htm> [Accessed 19 Mar. 2003]

Attachment

South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP). 2003. "Lashkar-e-Toiba, 'Army of the Pure'." <http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba.htm> [Accessed 17 Mar. 2003]

Topics: Militias,