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Name of
Organization |
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Lashkar-e
Islam (LI) |
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Formation |
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LI was formed
in 2004 by a Deobandi cleric Mufti Munir Shakir, who at
that time used to run an illegal private radio station
in Bara. The aim was to ensure the implementation of
Sharia Law in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa[1].
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Leadership |
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Ex-Leader/Founder: Mufti Munir Shakir
Owner of a
former local fm radio station in district Bara, Mufti is
a religious figure. No information related to the name
and frequency of his radio station is available. With
the help of his radio station (which focused primarily
on the Mufti Munir’s religious teachings), not only did
he gain popularity amongst the locals, but also managed
to spread his religious beliefs based on Deobandi school
of thought. His stint with the organization was only
short lived as he was ejected from his town by the
officials following a rift between a competitor radio
station owner (Pir Saif ur Rehman, founder of a militant
organization, Ansar ul Islam) and his involvement in
different violent cases in the district (mainly violent
clashes between his organization and that of Pir Saif ur
Rehman’s, leading to destruction of infrastructure and
causalities of innocent civilians in the area). Since
then, he is into hiding[2].
Current
Leader: Mangal Bagh
Also referred to as Haji Amir Mangal Bagh, Mangal
belongs to Bara Tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A driver
by profession, Mangal was a confidant of Mufti Munir and
was handed over the charge of the group by Munir after
Munir was ousted by officials of the tribe for inciting
hostility in the region. Mangal has been running the
operations of the outfit since[3].
Other Leaders
• Haleem Shah- Senior Leader
• Haji Zar Khan- Chief Spokesperson[4]
No significant information regarding both these leaders
is available.
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School of
Thought |
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Deobandi
Deobandi
interpretation states that a Muslim’s first loyalty is
to his religion and then to the country of which he is a
resident or citizen. Its practioners also have an
obligation to go to any country to wage jihad to protect
the Muslims of that country. In other words, a global
understanding of their role. The Deobandi interpretation
of Islam is widely practiced in Pakistan. They also
share the Taliban’s restrictive view of women and regard
Shiites as non Muslims and are also against Ahmadis[5].
|
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Structure of
the Organization |
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From the
information acquired, the outfit consists of around
180,000 members and volunteers and different members are
responsible for carrying out different activities[6].
|
|
Financial
Resources |
|
LI mainly
relies on the profits of smuggled goods from across the
border. In 2009, after security forces cut of their
routes, group’s revenue crippled immensely[7]. Moreover, LI
also funds itself via kidnapping for ransom[8].
|
|
Status |
|
Disbanded and
Active[9].
Lashkar e Islam was proscribed by the Pakistan interior
ministry on June 30th 2008 however the outfit still
continues to operate despite the ban. Their last
incidence was July 6th 2010 bomb attack in used car
market in Tirrah valley, Khyber Agency that claimed six
innocent lives[10].
|
|
Recruitment
Tools and Demographics |
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Little is
known about their recruitment sources, however from
different news stories, it can be established that the
outfit acquires recruits from Likeminded tribes in and
around Khyber Agency (Tirah Valley)[11]. No information is
available about the specific tribes. When Mufti Munir
was in charge of the outfit, the group also used to
acquire members with the help of Mufti’s radio channel. |
|
Ideology |
|
Implementation
of Shariah law in Khyber Agency. |
|
Areas of
Operation |
|
LI operates
mostly in Tirah valley, Khyber Agency-Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
[12] |
|
Linkages |
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No information
available |
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Resources |
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Tools |
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Print Media:
According to the information acquired, LI is not active
on print media.
Audio/Video:
Not available
Social
Media:
LI is active on social media. It has pages on Facebook
and also active on Twitter.
Available-Facebook
page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lashkar-e-Islam/132895393416262?nr
Twitter-
https://twitter.com/IslamLong
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Websites:
Not available |
Name Variations
Following are different name
variations that the group is referred to:
• Army of Islam
• Lashkar e Islami
Who they are
Lashkar-e-Islam is a militant
Islamic outfit that is primarily concerned with the execution of Sharia law
within the district Baara- Khyber Agency area of the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan. The group is accused of having contacts
with another militant organization Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, however the
group to date has been denying any such link with TTP. LI has been carrying
out violent activities in the area since its inception in 2004. LI’s chiefly
targets its rival group,
Ansar-ul-Islam (AI) for domination in the area[13].
Moreover, LI also targets sectarian minorities such as Barelvis, Shias as
well as religious minorities such as Christians etc along with Army and
State officials. In 2008, members of the outfit kidnapped 15-20 Christians
and held them for weeks before finally releasing them after negotiations
with the local government. The group also frequently target civilians as an
attempt to put in force Sharia on the local population. The outfit commonly
uses FM radio sermons to provoke the population against minorities. They
kidnap people for ransom and to get control of firearms etc[14].
History
LI was
established in 2004 by Mufti Munir Shakir- owner of an illegal local radio
Fm station. Shakir at that time was facing rising violence between his
followers and those of a competitor radio program run by Pir Saif ur-Rahman. Pir reacted by creating his own militant outfit called Ansar ul-Islam. The
mushrooming of new groups like Ansar ul Islam increased violence in the area
and for this reason, both the leaders of LI and Ansar ul Islam were
eventually driven out by tribal officials. Charge of LI was handed over to
Mangal Bagh, a driver by profession and a more militant Islamist than even
Shakir. Bagh after taking the reins stepped up attacks against Ansar ul
Islam and against Pakistan military operating in the Baara district[15].
In 2008, LI made a pact with Pakistani forces to stop operation against
government personnel in the Khyber Agency on a condition that all their
members should be released from prisons. LI was allowed to operate within
limits in the area as a result of the agreement. Unfortunately, this pact
was only short lived as LI and forces began fighting again in 2009. Since
then, State forces have intensified their operation against the outfit
causing many of the members of the outfit to go into hiding including the
leader of the outfit, Mangal Bagh [16].
Organization's Message
Lashkar-e-Islam
(LI) is a Sunni-Deobandi Islamist organization that aims at implementing
Sharia within their constituency- the Khyber Agency area of the Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan[17].
Target Audience
LI usually
targets Tribesmen living in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency in Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to the group, it has over
180,000 volunteers in Khyber Agency and the number is increasing with time
[18].
Tools
Lashkar e Islam
is active on the social media. They have a Facebook page as well as a
Twitter account where they actively interact with their followers. The
Facebook page has roughly forty (40) members and doesn’t apparently contain
lot of information regarding the operations of the outfit. The Twitter
account also has a few members (total of 9). The followers include activists
of other extremist group such Al-Dawat-Islamia.
Splinter Groups
N/A
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