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Harkat-ul-Mujahideen

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Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
LeadersSajjad Afghani
Fazlur Rehman Khalil
Dates of operation1985–present
Allegiance Afghanistan[1]
HeadquartersPakistan
IdeologyIslamism, Jihadism
Notable attacksIndian Airlines Flight 814
StatusDesignated as a terrorist group by
Part ofUnited Jihad Council[7]
AlliesState allies

Non-state allies

Opponents India
Battles and warsSoviet-Afghan war Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir

Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (Urdu: حرکت المجاہدین, lit. 'Mujahideen movement'; abbreviated HUM) is a Pakistan-based Islamist jihadist group operating primarily in Kashmir.[10] The group had links to Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar.[11]

The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by Bahrain, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and the United States. In response the organization changed its name to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.[10][12][13] The group splintered from Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), a Pakistani group formed in 1980 to fight the Soviet military in Afghanistan.[8] The Government of India has declared and banned HuM as a jihad organisation.[6]

Post Soviet–Afghan War

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Harkat-ul-Mujahideen was originally formed as a splinter group of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami in 1985.[13] In 1989, at the end of Soviet–Afghan war, the group entered Kashmiri politics by use of militants under the leadership of Sajjad Afghani and Muzaffar Ahmad Baba Alias Mukhtar. In 1993 the group merged with Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami to form Harkat-ul-Ansar.[13]

Immediately following the merger India arrested three senior members: Nasrullah Mansur Langaryal, chief of the former Harkat-ul Mujahideen in November 1993; Maulana Masood Azhar, General Secretary in February 1994, and Sajjad Afghani (Sajjad Sajid) in the same month in Srinagar. Muzaffar Ahmad Baba was killed in an encounter at Pandan Nowhatta with the BSF in January 1994.[citation needed]

As a response the group carried out several kidnappings in an attempt to free their leaders, all of which failed. It was linked to the Kashmiri group al-Faran that kidnapped five Western tourists in Kashmir in July 1995; one, Hans Christian Ostrø, was killed in August 1995 and the other four reportedly were killed in December of the same year.

In 1997, the United States designated Harkat-ul-Ansar as a terrorist organization, and in response it renamed itself to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.[13]

In 1999, Sajjad was killed during a jailbreak which led to the hijacking, by the group, of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in December, which led to the release of Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar by the Indian Government. Azhar did not, however, return to the HUM, choosing instead to form the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), a rival militant group expressing a more radical line than the HUM, in early 2000.

Post 9/11 attacks

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The group again came to the attention of the US after the 9/11 attacks, leading President George W. Bush to ban the group, this time under its Harkat-ul-Mujahideen moniker, on 25 September 2001.[13]

The long-time leader of the group, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, in mid-February 2000 stepped down as HUM emir, turning the reins over to the popular Kashmiri commander and his second-in-command, Farooq Kashmiri. Khalil assumed the position of HUM Secretary General.

HUM is thought to have several thousand-armed supporters located in Pakistani Kashmir, and India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions. It uses light and heavy machine guns, assault rifles, mortars, explosives, and rockets. HUM lost some of its membership due to defections to the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The group is based in Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, and several other towns in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but members conduct insurgent and terrorist activities primarily in Kashmir.

The group's current leader, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, lives openly in the Islamabad suburb of Golra Sharif. He has denied having any contact with Osama bin Laden.[14]

According to The New York Times, Osama Bin Laden's seized cellphones attest Harkat-ul-Mujahideen's continued contact with Osama Bin Laden and its bases and fighters shared with the Taliban over the years following the war in Afghanistan.[9]

Designation as terrorist organization

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The countries and organizations below have officially listed the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) as a terrorist organization.

Country Date References
 Bahrain [2]
 Canada 27 November 2002 [3]
 India [15]
 United Kingdom 14 October 2005 [16]
 United States 25 September 2001 [5]

Harkat ul-Ansar

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"Harakat al-Ansar" redirects here. For former Baloch jihadist group also known as "Harakat al-Ansar", see Harakat Ansar Iran.

Harkat ul-Ansar (HuA) was an Islamic terrorist organization founded by Abdelkader Mokhtari in 1993. It was the result of a merger between Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). Many of its operations were conducted in Jammu and Kashmir.[17][18]

Soon after its founding, several members of its leadership were arrested by Indian Security Forces. In November 1993, the former head of HuM, Nasrullah Mansur Langrayal, was arrested.[citation needed] In February 1994, the HuA general secretary, Maulana Masood Azhar and chief commander, Sajjad Afghani, were captured in the Chattargul area of Anantnag district.[18]

It was labeled a terrorist organization in 1997 by the United States because of its connections with Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden.[17][19] The ban severely limited the funding of the group, and as a result HuA was reorganized as a reincarnated Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. At the time, Azhar split from the group to form Jaish-e-Mohammed.[17][20] In 1998, U.S.'s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its report stated, "HuA, an Islamic terrorist organisation that Pakistan supports in its proxy war against Indian forces in Kashmir, increasingly is using terrorist tactics against Westerners and random attacks on civilians that could involve Westerners to promote its pan-Islamic agenda." CIA also stated that Hua had abducted at least 13 persons, of which 12 were from western countries in the period from early 1994 to 1998.[21][22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Many Jihadi Groups In Asia & Africa Pledge Allegiance To Taliban Leader, Group Sources". 9 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Bahrain Terrorist List (individuals – entities)". Mofa.gov.bh. 13 February 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b "About the listing process". Public Safety Canada. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  4. ^ Terrorism Act 2000 (11, Schedule 2). 2000. "Terrorism Act 2000". Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b "Country Reports on Terrorism 2011 Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b "List of Banned Organisations". Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI. Government of India. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b Pakistan Archived 19 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Mapping Militants. Stanford University.
  8. ^ a b In the Spotlight: Harkat ul-Jihad-I-Islami (HuJI)Center for Defense Information 16 August 2004 Archived 11 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b Carlotta Gall; Pir Zubair Shah; Eric Schmitt (24 June 2011). "Seized Cellphone Offers Clues To Bin Laden's Pakistani Links". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  10. ^ a b Indictment of John Walker Lindh Archived 29 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine American Rhetoric February, 2002
  11. ^ Gutman, Roy (18 January 2020). How We Missed the Story: Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of ... – Roy Gutman – Google Books. US Institute of Peace Press. ISBN 9781601270245. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020.
  12. ^ "United States State Department". 2001-2009.state.gov. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Harkat-ul-Mujahideen". South Asia Terrorism Portal. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  14. ^ Terror leader lives freely near Pakistani capital Archived 13 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Dawn (newspaper), 16 June 2011
  15. ^ "NIA :: Banned Terrorist Organisations". Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Proscribed Organisations". Terrorism Act 2000 (sched. 2). UK Public General Acts. Vol. 2000 c. 11. 20 July 2000. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013.
  17. ^ a b c "Harkat ul-Ansar". South Asia Terrorism Portal. 2001. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  18. ^ a b Sahni, Sati (1999). "Who are the Harkat-ul-Ansar?". Rediff. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  19. ^ "US puts Harakat and its affiliates on terror list". Dawn news. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  20. ^ "Recast Harkat-ul-Ansar stoking anti-India sentiments in Kashmir". Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  21. ^ "India fortifying case to put Jaish on ban list". The Hindu. 4 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Afridi's cousin killed in J&K: BSF". rediff.com. 12 September 2003. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
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