182.182.1.227 at 17:27, 13 September 2023

2023-09-13T17:27:10Z

New page

{{Short description|Pakistan-based jihadist commander}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Abdul Rauf Azhar
| caption =
| birth_date =
| death_date =
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place =[[Bahawalpur]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], Pakistan
| death_place =
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| allegiance = [[Jaish-e-Mohammad]], [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]], [[Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami]]<ref name="Roy">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA242|title=How We Missed the Story: Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of ... – Roy Gutman – Google Books|date=18 January 2020|isbn=9781601270245|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118124452/https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA242|archive-date=18 January 2020|last1=Gutman|first1=Roy|publisher=US Institute of Peace Press }}</ref>
| rank = [[Supreme Commander (Militant)|Supreme Commander]] of [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]]
| unit =
| commands =
| battles =
*[[Kashmir conflict]]
*[[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]]
*[[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]]
| nationality = [[Pakistanis|Pakistani]]
| awards =
| relations =
| blank1 = Religion
| data1 = [[Islam]]
| blank2 = Denomination
| data2 = [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]
| blank3 = Jurisprudence
| data3 =
| blank4 = [[Religious movement|Movement]]
| data4 = [[Deobandi]]
| laterwork =
}}

'''Abdul Rauf''' is a [[Pakistanis|Pakistani]] [[Deobandi]] [[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] [[Islamist]] militant commander of the [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] (JeM), a [[Deobandi]] [[Islamist]] militant organization which has carried out [[Islamist]] militant activities in India & Afghanistan under the support of [[Inter-Services Intelligence|Pakistan's main intelligence agency]].<ref name="satp.org">{{cite news
| url = http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/jaish_e_mohammad_mujahideen_e_tanzeem.htm
| title = Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of the Prophet)
| publisher = [[Institute for Conflict Management]]
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101213083520/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/jaish_e_mohammad_mujahideen_e_tanzeem.htm
| archive-date = 2010-12-13
| url-status = live
| quote = The outlawed JeM is reportedly re-organising itself under its new commander Mufti Abdul Rauf, younger brother of the outfit's chief Maulana Masood Azhar
}}.</ref><ref name="Bbc2009-10-16">{{cite news |author=Amir Mir |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/BBAB/lib00589,12B6157889414728.html |title=Pakistan Army roped in jehadis to hold talks with GHQ hostage takers |date=2009-10-16 |access-date=2015-03-25 |publisher=Middle East Transparent |quote=Special planes were subsequently dispatched to Lahore, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan to bring to Rawalpindi Malik Ishaq, a jailed leader of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Mufti Abdul Rauf, the younger brother of Maulana Masood Azhar who is the acting ameer of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, the chief of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, to hold talks with the hostage takers.}} [http://www.metransparent.com/spip.php?page=article&id_article=8437&lang=en Mirror]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220023200/http://www.metransparent.com/spip.php?page=article&id_article=8437&lang=en|date=2014-02-20}}.</ref><ref name=HindustanTimes>
{{cite news
| url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/US-sanctions-three-Pak-terrorists/Article1-634137.aspx
| title = US sanctions three Pak terrorists
| work = [[Hindustan Times]]
| agency = [[Press Trust of India]]
| date = 2010-12-04
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121020043210/http://www.hindustantimes.com/US-sanctions-three-Pak-terrorists/Article1-634137.aspx
| archive-date = 2012-10-20
| url-status = dead
| quote = US has slapped sanctions against three Pakistan-based key terrorists leaders, including Abdul Rauf Azhar the top commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed in India, who in 2008 was assigned to organise suicide attacks in the country.
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite news
| url = http://www.india-defence.com/reports-3082
| title = Mufti Abdul Rauf New Commander; Reorganizing Terror Group Jaish E Mohammad
| publisher = [[India Defence]]
| date = 2007-04-25
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110807114518/http://www.india-defence.com/reports-3082
| archive-date = 2011-08-07
| url-status = dead
| quote = According to the ''Daily Times''—a leading Pakistani daily—Mufti Abdul Rauf has taken upon himself the task of spearheading the reorganisation of the militant body after Maulana Azhar went underground following two suicide attacks on President General Pervez Musharraf.
}}</ref>

==Involvement in hijacking of Indian Airlines==
The Abdul Rauf Azhar is involved in the [[Aircraft hijacking|hijacking]] of an [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] under the support of [[Inter-Services Intelligence|Pakistan's main intelligence agency]] and [[Taliban]] to secure the release of 36 [[Islamist]] jihadists held in prison in India – fellow [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] members specially for his older brother [[Masood Azhar]] including two jihadists like [[Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh|Ahmed Omar Saeed]] and [[Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar|Mushtaq Ahmed]]. The hostage crisis lasted for seven days and ended after India agreed to release the three jihadists out of 36 jihadists, In 2000 the jihadists formed a new outfit named as, [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] and have since been implicated in other militant actions, such as the [[2001 Indian Parliament attack]], 2002 kidnapping and murder of [[Daniel Pearl]], [[2008 Mumbai attacks|2008 Mumbai terror attacks]], [[2016 Pathankot attack]] and the [[2019 Pulwama attack]]. The Abdul Rauf Azhar is one of the most wanted person in [[India]] due to his history of activities against [[India]].<ref name="econt">{{cite news|last1=Dhawan|first1=Himanshi|title=ISI backed Kandahar hijackers: Plane crisis negotiator Ajit Doval|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/isi-backed-kandahar-hijackers-plane-crisis-negotiator-ajit-doval/articleshow/56558139.cms|work=The Economic Times|date=2017|access-date=27 May 2018|archive-date=28 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528053403/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/isi-backed-kandahar-hijackers-plane-crisis-negotiator-ajit-doval/articleshow/56558139.cms|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Roy">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA242|title=How We Missed the Story: Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of ... – Roy Gutman – Google Books|date=18 January 2020|isbn=9781601270245|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118124452/https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA242|archive-date=18 January 2020|last1=Gutman|first1=Roy|publisher=US Institute of Peace Press }}</ref>

==Command of Jaish-e-Mohammed==
Abdul Rauf Azhar took command of the Jaish-e-Mohammed on 21 April 2007, when his older brother, [[Maulana]] [[Masood Azhar]] its former leader, went underground under the support of [[Inter-Services Intelligence|Pakistan's main intelligence agency]].<ref name="satp.org"/>

==Activities in Islamabad==
In 2009 the [[BBC News]] reported Rauf was one of the leaders summoned to [[Islamabad]] to help the Pakistani government negotiate with hostage-takers who had seized 42 civilians.<ref name=Bbc2009-10-16/>

==Designation as a terrorist==
On 2 December 2010, the [[United States Treasury]] designated Abdul Rauf Azhar as a terrorist.<ref name=LongWarJournal2010-12-02>
{{cite news
| url = http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/12/us_designates_pakist.php
| title = US designates Pakistan-based leaders of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Mohammed as terrorists
| work = [[Long War Journal]]
| date = 2010-12-02
| author = Bill Roggio
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101207063250/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/12/us_designates_pakist.php
| archive-date = 2010-12-07
| url-status = live
| quote = Azhar has been identified by the Treasury Department as 'a senior leader' of JeM who 'has urged Pakistanis to engage in militant activities.' In 2007, Azhar served as JeM's 'acting leader'.
}}
</ref>

==Links with other militant organisations==
JeM commander Azhar maintains strong ties with the [[Taliban]] and [[Al-Qaeda]], [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]], [[Haqqani network]] sharing their training camps in [[Afghanistan]], and exchanging intelligence, training and coordination.<ref>{{citation |last=Popovic |first=Milos |title=The Perils of Weak Organization: Explaining Loyalty and Defection of Militant Organizations Toward Pakistan |journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism |volume=38 |number=11 |year=2015 |doi=10.1080/1057610X.2015.1063838 |s2cid=108668097 |page=925}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
| url = https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/pakistan-based-terror-group-jem-let-maintain-training-camps-in-afghanistan-un-report-399496
| title = Pakistan-based terror group JeM, LeT maintain training camps in Afghanistan: UN report
| work = [[The Tribune]]
| date = 2022-05-30
| quote = The report cites a UN Member State as saying that JeM ‘maintains eight training camps in Nangarhar, three of which are directly under Taliban control’
}}.
</ref>

==Links with political organisations==
JeM commander Azhar had strong ties with these [[Islamist]] political organisations [[Milli Muslim League]],[[Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S)]],[[Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek]],[[Sipah-e-Sahaba]] and also had ties with [[Difa-e-Pakistan Council]] the anti-[[NATO]] Pakistani umbrella coalition including links with [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]]-sponsored [[United Jihad Council]], an umbrella organisation of 13–16 separatist organisations that fight in Indian-administered Kashmir.<ref>
{{citation |first=Christopher |last=Snedden |author-link=Christopher Snedden |title=Kashmir: The Unwritten History |publisher=HarperCollins India |year=2013 |isbn=978-9350298985 |orig-year=first published as ''The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir'', 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cPjAAAAQBAJ |page=198}}
</ref>

==See also==
*[[Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar]]
*[[Ahmed Omar Sheikh]]
*[[Ilyas Kashmiri]]
*[[Osama bin laden]]
*[[Zakir Rashid Bhat]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rauf Azhar, Abdul}}
[[Category:Pakistani Islamic religious leaders]]
[[Category:Deobandis]]
[[Category:Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:People from Bahawalpur]]
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Leaders of Islamic terror groups]]
[[Category:Pakistani Islamists]]

Abdul Rauf Azhar - Revision history

182.182.1.227 at 17:27, 13 September 2023