Lashkar-e-Jhangvi

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
لشکر جھنگوی
FoundersRiaz Basra †
Malik Ishaq †
Akram Lahori Executed
Ghulam Rasool Shah †
LeaderRiaz Basra †
Malik Ishaq †
Akram Lahori Executed
Ghulam Rasool Shah †
Asif Ali †[1]
Qari Mohammad Yasin †[2]
Dates of operation1996–present
Split fromSipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
MotivesExtermination of the Shia community in Pakistan
HeadquartersAfghanistan[3][4]
Active regionsPakistan
Afghanistan
IdeologyIslamism
Deobandi supremacism
Islamic fundamentalism[5]
Takfirism[6][7]
Anti-Shi'ism
Notable attacks
StatusActive. Designated as a terrorist organization by

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ; Urdu: لشکر جھنگوی, Army of Jhangvi), is a Deobandi supremacist, terrorist[8] and militant organisation based in Afghanistan.[9] The organisation operates in Pakistan and Afghanistan[10][9] and is an offshoot of anti-Shia party Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). The LeJ was founded by former SSP activists Riaz Basra, Malik Ishaq, Akram Lahori, and Ghulam Rasool Shah.[11]

The LeJ has claimed responsibility for various mass casualty attacks against the Shia community in Pakistan,[12] including multiple bombings that killed over 200 Hazara Shias in Quetta in 2013. It has also been linked to the Mominpura Graveyard attack in 1998, the abduction of Daniel Pearl in 2002, and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009.[13][14] A predominantly Punjabi group,[15] the LeJ has been labelled by Pakistani intelligence officials as one of the country's most dangerous organisations.[16]

Basra, the first Emir of LeJ, was killed in a police encounter in 2002. He was succeeded by Malik Ishaq, who was also killed, along with Ghulam Rasool Shah, in an encounter in Muzaffargarh in 2015.[17] LeJ was banned by Pakistan in August 2001.[18] The LeJ remains active, and has been designated as a terrorist organization by Australia,[19] Canada,[20] Pakistan,[21] United Kingdom,[22] United States[23] and the United Nations.[24]

  1. ^ "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's chief Asif Chotu killed along with 3 associates in Pakistan". The Indian Express. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  2. ^ "TTP-JA confirms key Pakistani terrorist killed in US drone strike - The Express Tribune". 22 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Pakistani Extremists Carve A Sanctuary In Southern Afghanistan". RFERL. Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Alami group chief survives insider attack in Afghanistan". Khaama Press. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Profile: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi". BBC News. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. ^ Abou-Zahab, Mariam (2004). "The Sunni-Shia Conflict in Jhang (Pakistan)". In Ahmad, Imtiaz; Reifeld, Helmut (eds.). Lived Islam in South Asia: Adaptation, Accommodation & Conflict. Jor Bagh, New Delhi: Social Science Press. ISBN 8187358157.
  7. ^ Murphy, Eamon (2013). The Making of Terrorism in Pakistan: Historical and Social Roots of Extremism. Routledge. pp. 129, 131. ISBN 9780415565264.
  8. ^ "State designates leader of Lashkar-e-Jhanghvi as global terrorist". The Long War Journal. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Pakistani Extremists Carve A Sanctuary In Southern Afghanistan". Gandhara Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 23 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Is Lashker-e-Jhangvi Taking Advantage of Pakistan and Afghanistan's Bilateral Tensions?". The Diplomat. 27 January 2017.
  11. ^ Farooqi, Asif (11 January 2013). "Profile: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi - BBC News". BBC News. Bbc.com. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  12. ^ Roul, Animesh (2 June 2005). "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi: Sectarian Violence in Pakistan and Ties to International Terrorism". Terrorism Monitor. 3 (11). Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  13. ^ "Pakistani Shi'ites call off protests after Quetta bombing arrests". Reuters. 19 February 2013.
  14. ^ Notezai, Muhammad Akbar (11 August 2015). "Malik Ishaq and Pakistan's Sectarian Violence". The Diplomat. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Pakistan Shias killed in Gilgit sectarian attack". BBC News. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012. A predominantly Punjabi group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is linked with the 2002 murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl and other militant attacks, particularly in the southern city of Karachi.
  16. ^ "Iran condemns terrorist attacks in Pakistan". Tehran Times. 17 February 2013. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  17. ^ Ahmad, Tufail (21 March 2012). "Using Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Other Internet Tools, Pakistani Terrorist Group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Incites Violence against Shi'ite Muslims and Engenders Antisemitism". The Middle East Media Research Insititue, memri.org. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  18. ^ "List of banned organisations in Pakistan". 24 October 2012.
  19. ^ Department, Attorney-General’s. "Lashkar-e Jhangvi". www.nationalsecurity.gov.au. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  20. ^ "About the listing process". www.publicsafety.gc.ca. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  21. ^ "Proscribed Organizations – NACTA – National Counter Terrorism Authority NACTA Pakistan". Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Pakistani group joins US terror list". BBC News South Asia. 30 January 2003. Retrieved 30 January 2003.
  24. ^ "LASHKAR I JHANGVI (LJ) | United Nations Security Council Subsidiary Organs". 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2019.