During a Friday sermon in Lahore, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the emir of the al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Taiba who is wanted by the US and protected by Pakistan, called on Muslims to wage jihad against America. Saeed’s speech took place the same day a Pakistani intelligence official claimed that Saeed was involved in a de-radicalization program.
Saeed called on Pakistanis and Muslims to join with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, to fight the US to preserve Pakistan and Islam, AFP reported. Saeed gave the speech at the Jamia Markaz al-Qadsia, a mosque run by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. A collection box for donations for jihad was placed at the exits of the mosque. He was accompanied by armed guards who were “carrying weapons with silencers,” the news agency reported.
“Come to us,” Saeed said, calling on Muslims to join Lashkar-e-Taiba. “We will teach you the meaning of jihad…. The time to fight has come.”
“This is the same jihad which caused the USSR to break [in Afghanistan] and now America is failing because of it. Analysts and journalists don’t realise why America is failing, the only reason is jihad,” he continued. According to the AFP report, he also accused the Western press of being biased against Muslims and jihad.
Saeed said the US targets Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamaat-ud-Dawa because the group wages jihad and because the US fears Saeed. The US put out a $10 million bounty for information leading to Saeed’s arrest and prosecution just days ago.
“There are many parties in Pakistan, but America has only sent a message to Jamaat-ud-Dawa, because we do jihad,” Saeed said. “They [US] are even scared of my name.”
Saeed also implied that his terror organization is involved in attacking US forces in Afghanistan.
“America should leave Pakistan and Afghanistan peacefully. Then, we will not come to you with guns but will instead invite you to Islam,” he said. The Lashkar-e-Taiba is known to send fighters in Afghanistan to attack NATO and Afghan forces. In 2010, the US military noted that Lashkar-e-Taiba was working with the Taliban in Nangarhar province.
Saeed’s inflammatory sermon was delivered the same day a Pakistani intelligence official and a police official both claimed that Saeed was involved with “de-radicalization and rehabilitation of former jihadis” in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
“Jamaat-ud-Dawa were consulted, and they approved the de-radicalization plan. They assured us of their intellectual input and resource materials. They also offered teachers,” a Punjab police official told Reuters.
Saeed’s terror organization has been directly linked to numerous terror attacks in South Asia, including the November 2008 terror assault on the Indian city of Mumbai that resulted in the deaths of 165 people. The US and Indian governments have accused Saeed and other Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives and leaders of plotting, financing, and executing the Mumbai attack. A former adviser to President Obama on Afghanistan and Pakistan recently stated that evidence seized at Osama bin Laden’s compound linked the slain al Qaeda emir to the Mumbai attack and Saeed. [See LWJ report, Osama bin Laden helped plan Mumbai attacks.]
Saeed, who formed the Lashkar-e-Taiba at the behest of Abdullah Azzam, bin Laden’s mentor and co-founder of al Qaeda, praised bin Laden after US Navy SEALs killed the al Qaeda emir at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.
“Osama bin Laden was a great person who awakened the Muslim world….. Martyrdoms are not losses, but are a matter of pride for Muslims,” Saeed proclaimed.
“Osama bin Laden has rendered great sacrifices for Islam and Muslims, and these will always be remembered,” Saeed continued, as his followers chanted “Down with America” and “Down with Obama.”
The Pakistani government has protected Saeed, despite his complicity in terror attacks. Saeed is favored not only by Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, which provides Lashkar-e-Taiba with direct support, but also by a wide swath of Pakistani civil society. The Pakistani government has refused to arrest Saeed and has claimed the US and India have not provided evidence linking him to terror attacks.
For more information on Hafiz Saeed, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and its links to al Qaeda and other terror groups, see LWJ report, US offers $10 million bounty for capture of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed.
16 Comments
A well place 70mm guided rocket would shut him up quite nicely. And reduce collateral damage,though anyone in his vicinity is likely to be a henchman.
So much for de-radicalization of Paqistan……Last time some one spoke like this, a hellfire missile came to him (I think in Yemen).
Interestingly the Americans have not put a bounty for the leaders of other islamic terrorist groups fighting against India over Kashmir, such as groups as Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Muhammed and others.
Maybe they think, they’re not much of a threat against America, even though these groups proclaim hatred against America and are also banned in Europe and other places.
I suspect Hafiz had a bounty because of his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which resulted in some American deaths and also his links to Osama Bin Laden in the preparation for the attacks.
Osama also claimed he is not the one who carried out the 9/11 but it was a Jewish plot. Hafeez also claims 26/11 Mumbai attack was a conspiracy by Indian RAW. In this General Hamid Gul of ISI joins him with various dis information claims. Why these fellows cannot accept their own actions if it is Jihad.?
Vienna,April 8,2012
It is interesting to note the Reuters report on
de-radicalization role.Worth identifying are
the roles of judiciary,”Nawab” Sharrif brothers
and of course slightly sidelined armed forces
with Inter Services Intelligence.The stake holders
in Pakistan keep buying and selling stakes for
fast gains or cut losses.Longwar watchers have
sleepless times ahead.
Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring
TTTMM India– Kulamarva Balakrishna
Hell fire missle for his father Hamid gull should be sent USA wake up and distroy terrorists in safe heavens of Islamabad its the right time to take forces from Afghanistan to porkistan
I think that America is afraid of Hafiz Saeed, that’s why they are using false ways to arrest him. Pakistan government should not arrest Hafiz Saeed sb., all the Pakistani nation is with him. Atleast I am with him…
Its worth noting the results of the RfJ program according to the CNN:
“The program was established in 1984 and has paid about $100 million to more than 70 people for information about terrorists.”
abr, you can stand first in line to go down the tubes with him–no one would miss you or your God-forsaken Paqistan. If the US wanted to bump off your sick idol they could do it in a nanosecond. So could India. But these are civilized peoples relative your kind who kill unarmed, unprotected journalists like Daniel Pearl and Saleem Shehzad who would certainly not have been standing in the queue to Hell that you are.
The listing in RfJ is not aimless. The time will come soon enough where he will squirm in front of the Intnl Court and be tried for being the murderer of innocent people that he is. Now go hide under the rock from where you came.
Angry Birds- You can be with him all you want, but America will get him sooner or later, just like we did OBL. And we fear no one, least of all a half baked terrorist coward like saeed. This guy is a dead man walking…your HERO’S days are numbered:)
@angry birds, why do I think that you could have just as easily substituted Osama Bin Laden for Hafiz Saeed in your comment here?
You saw what happened to Osama, so be afraid, very afraid, for your best friend, Saeed and anyone “with him”. The question is not if, but when he will meet with justice for his crimes of terrorism. The real angry birds are circling over him.
You do your Jihad. We will send our Drones.
@AngryBirdsRio
Your attitude is exactly why your nation and mine have been at de factor war for the last several years. You think terrorism and murder are perfectly fine ways to conduct yourselves and relations between peoples. Hafiz Saeed organization’s organization was caught red-handed conducting terrorist attacks, including the Mumbai attacks, and attacks directly on Americans in Kabul. Not just committing murder, but murder of innocent, ordinary people going about their lives, not involved in government, not carrying guns, nothing.
And yet you defend him.
Why would you think America would be “afraid” of him if you think he is a gentle, peaceful man who just wants to help people, and would never hurt a fly. I suspect that you know full well what he is about, and that you are happy when he kills Hindus, Jews, Christians, Americans, Westerners, Ahmadis, Shias, Hazaras, etc.
It strikes me that Pakistan, or rather the T wing of the ISI and its supporters such as you, want to continue down the path of jihad and murder of anyone with even a slightly different religion. The only way to resolve this issue is for the gloves to come off, for us to say clearly what we think you are doing, and for you to say what you really think. And then let the chips fall where they must. Good Luck to you in the coming conflict.
angry bird you dont have brain dude supporting a terrorist is also terrorism go fight the pain inside you, i can feel your pain just by looking at ur damn name you angry terrorist
Pakistan will eventually reap it what it has sown in its own country. Are there no Intellctuals in pakistan willing to speak out against this rubbish? The Government has allowed the Mullahs and Madrassas to create a population which seemingly is totally ignorant and indoctrinated. The Pakistani people continue to show their ignorance.
Islam is not associated with any country under the Caliphate Pakistan would not even exist as a country anymore, there is no room more nationalism under fundamentalist Islam.
Neonmeat,
“Are there no Intellctuals in pakistan willing to speak out against this rubbish?”
Good question Neonmeat, apparently not! Paqistanis are so heavily conditioned from decades of twisted ideology, misrule and corruption. It is impossible to foresee any change coming from within. It may take an unpredictable event like Baluchistan breaking away or some other massive jolt from the outside before there is an awakening. I suspect the most likely scenario is that there will be another major terrorist attack against India or the West followed by a concerted intervention to sort them out.
As for Paqi intellectuals, it is a contradiction in terms. The more educated they are, save a couple of benign journalists, the more dangerous. True intelligence cannot survive such a heavily conditioned morbid society.