Tuesday, December 14, 2010
China blocked U.N. sanctions against terror group at Pakistan's behest
From The Hindu
Until the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008, China, “at the behest of Pakistan,” blocked the United Nations Security Council from listing Jamaat-ud-Dawa, widely acknowledged as a front for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, under the UNSC Resolution 1267. LeT has been held responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
The United States' frustration with China for impeding sanctions against JuD through the UN Committee on al-Qaeda- and Taliban-associated entities was made evident in a recent cable, classified as “Secret,” from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The cable also noted that while JuD chief Hafiz Muhammed Saeed served as the head of LeT too, the LeT's operational commander was Zaki ur-Rehman Lakvi, responsible for the group's military operations budget of approximately $5.2 million.
Issued to the U.S. embassies in Islamabad and elsewhere, the cable was dated August 10, 2009 and was published online by WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website, over the weekend.
Part of negotiation
China's actions on the UNSC prior to the Mumbai attacks were outlined as part of a broader process of negotiation in which the U.S. government sought to oppose a request by the JuD for “focal point de-listing,” under which a window of UN Secretariat could be approached by entities listed UNSC Resolution 1730 to petition for de-listing.
Commenting on the background of U.S. efforts to block the de-listing petition filed by lawyers representing JuD, the State Department cable noted that the UNSC Committee had added LeT to its Consolidated List in 2005, citing its affiliation with al-Qaeda.
The cable went on to note that while the addition of JuD and its leader, Muhammad Saeed, “followed closely on the heels of the LeT-perpetrated attacks in Mumbai,” the U.S.' request, preceding the attacks, “were placed on hold by China at the behest of Pakistan.”
The cable further indicated the U.S.' frustration with the pace of Pakistani efforts to curb the activities of JuD in the aftermath of its listing, contrary to numerous official comments in Washington at the time.
“Raise funds freely'
According to the cable, “In spite of Pakistani acquiescence to the listings in December 2008, we continue to see reporting indicating that JuD is still operating in multiple locations in Pakistan, and that the group continues to openly raise funds.”
The State Department added that it was unclear what steps, if any, the government of Pakistan has taken to freeze JuD assets or otherwise implement UN 1267 sanctions, which included an asset freeze, a travel ban, and an arms embargo. Defending its decision to oppose the JuD petition for de-listing, U.S. officials said in the cable that the intelligence community assessed that LeT used the JuD name as an alias and JuD “provides cover and protection for LeT's militant activities in Pakistan.”
Same entity
The cable further noted that LeT and JuD shared many senior leaders and both organisations stemmed from the same original entity, Markaz-ud-Dawawal-Irshad, founded around 1986.
Until the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008, China, “at the behest of Pakistan,” blocked the United Nations Security Council from listing Jamaat-ud-Dawa, widely acknowledged as a front for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, under the UNSC Resolution 1267. LeT has been held responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
The United States' frustration with China for impeding sanctions against JuD through the UN Committee on al-Qaeda- and Taliban-associated entities was made evident in a recent cable, classified as “Secret,” from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The cable also noted that while JuD chief Hafiz Muhammed Saeed served as the head of LeT too, the LeT's operational commander was Zaki ur-Rehman Lakvi, responsible for the group's military operations budget of approximately $5.2 million.
Issued to the U.S. embassies in Islamabad and elsewhere, the cable was dated August 10, 2009 and was published online by WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website, over the weekend.
Part of negotiation
China's actions on the UNSC prior to the Mumbai attacks were outlined as part of a broader process of negotiation in which the U.S. government sought to oppose a request by the JuD for “focal point de-listing,” under which a window of UN Secretariat could be approached by entities listed UNSC Resolution 1730 to petition for de-listing.
Commenting on the background of U.S. efforts to block the de-listing petition filed by lawyers representing JuD, the State Department cable noted that the UNSC Committee had added LeT to its Consolidated List in 2005, citing its affiliation with al-Qaeda.
The cable went on to note that while the addition of JuD and its leader, Muhammad Saeed, “followed closely on the heels of the LeT-perpetrated attacks in Mumbai,” the U.S.' request, preceding the attacks, “were placed on hold by China at the behest of Pakistan.”
The cable further indicated the U.S.' frustration with the pace of Pakistani efforts to curb the activities of JuD in the aftermath of its listing, contrary to numerous official comments in Washington at the time.
“Raise funds freely'
According to the cable, “In spite of Pakistani acquiescence to the listings in December 2008, we continue to see reporting indicating that JuD is still operating in multiple locations in Pakistan, and that the group continues to openly raise funds.”
The State Department added that it was unclear what steps, if any, the government of Pakistan has taken to freeze JuD assets or otherwise implement UN 1267 sanctions, which included an asset freeze, a travel ban, and an arms embargo. Defending its decision to oppose the JuD petition for de-listing, U.S. officials said in the cable that the intelligence community assessed that LeT used the JuD name as an alias and JuD “provides cover and protection for LeT's militant activities in Pakistan.”
Same entity
The cable further noted that LeT and JuD shared many senior leaders and both organisations stemmed from the same original entity, Markaz-ud-Dawawal-Irshad, founded around 1986.
Labels: cablegate, China, terrorism, U.S. secret cables, UN sanctions, Wikileaks
Monday, December 06, 2010
Lashkar militants planned attack on Narendra Modi
From The Hindu
Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were planning “operations... involving a car,” against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, according to a recent secret diplomatic cable of the United States State Department released by WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website.
The cable, created on June 19 2009, was sent from the office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to “Security Officer, Collective Priority,” and the U.S. embassies in Tripoli, Casablanca and Johannesburg. Some of the information in the cable had been redacted by WikiLeaks, yet it bore Ms. Clinton’s name at the end and was categorised as “Secret,” “No Foreign,” and it was “derived from multiple sources.”
Under the category of “key concerns,” the notes on LeT member Shafiq Khan, and alternatively a person identified only as “Hussein,” said that they continued operational planning on three tasks in early June of 2009.
These plans were associated with a “possible operation against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendar Modi, the establishment of a training camp, and unspecified work involving a car.”
The cable added that Hussein would coordinate his activities with an India-based colleague identified as Sameer.
Providing some geographic information for the operations, the cable further said that the Pakistan-based Shafiq Khafa had been seeking out information on possible training sites for the operations in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. It added that Khafa had an associate identified as “S.J.” with whom he was making these preparations in mid-June.
Quoting a “credible tearline,” or segment of an intelligence source, the cable went on to note that Khafa’s network was “striving to stand up two teams in southern India that rely on the support of LeT members based in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Nepal.”
However it cautioned that although specific details of planned LeT attacks remained unknown, intelligence obtained in late May of that year indicated that “Khafa’s cells were engaged in surveillance activities of potential targets, likely in southern India.”
Reports in May further suggested a Sri Lanka link, explaining that the establishment of a facilitation team in that country might then lead to Kerala or Tamil Nadu being used as a base of operations.
“The estimated time of completion for setting up the facilitation route and camps to be two to three months,” the cable said.
Labels: cablegate, Gujarat Chief Minister, LeT, Narendra Modi, terrorism, U.S. secret cables, Wikileaks
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