THE TERROR TRIO OF PAKISTAN | HIZB-UL-MUJAHIDEEN, LET AND JEM

The terrorist organisations, driven by Islamist ideology and anti-India sentiment, have close ties with Pakistan’s military-security establishment, and have carried out multiple attacks inside India over the years

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Flanked by top Pakistani military officials, Abdur Rauf, a local cleric and a U.S.-designated terrorist, led prayers for those killed on May 7 by Indian attacks, inside Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) headquarters in Muridke, Punjab. Wrapped in Pakistan’s ‘Star and Cresent’ flag, the slain were awarded ‘state honours’, and wreaths were reportedly laid by Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on their remains.

The Indian government confirmed that five high-profile terrorists were killed during ‘Operation Sindoor’. India said it hit nine terror camps of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), LeT and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan. Hafiz Muhammad Jameel and Mohammad Yusuf Azhar, two brothers-in-law of JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, LeT commanders Mudassar Khadian, Khalid and JeM’s Mohammad Hassan Khan were among the dead.

For more than three decades, these three outfits have been responsible for attacks across India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attack and the recent (April 22) Pahalgam massacre. Here’s a look at each of these outfits, which are backed by Pakistan’s security establishment.

Founded in 1989, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen started operating in PoK’s Muzaffarabad with the aim of integrating Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan. As a militant wing of Pakistan’s Islamist organisation Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Hizb was set up at the behest of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the Pakistani spy agency. The group has a cadre strength of over 1,500, and its chief is Mohammed Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin. It operates in five divisions, targeting Srinagar, Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramulla, Anantnag, Pulwama, Doda, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur. While its headquarters are in PoK, Hizbul has units in both Islamabad and Rawalpindi to communicate with the military and the government.