Abdul Rauf is a Pakistani

Deobandi Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law, formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

Islamist militant commander of the

Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000." Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azha ...

(JeM), a

Islamist militant organization which has carried out Islamist militant activities in India & Afghanistan under the support of Pakistan's main intelligence agency..Mirror
.

Involvement in hijacking of Indian Airlines

Abdul Rauf Azhar and

Masood Azhar Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi is a radical Islamist and terrorist, being the founder and leader of the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed, active mainly in the Pakistani-administered portion of the Kashmir region. His actions a ...

are involved in the

hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...

of an

Indian Airlines Flight 814 Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, on Friday, 24 December 1999, whe ...

and is one of the most wanted persons in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

due to their history of activities against

Command of Jaish-e-Mohammed

Abdul Rauf Azhar took command of the Jaish-e-Mohammed on 21 April 2007, when his older brother, Maulana

its former leader, went underground under the support of Pakistan's main intelligence agency.

Activities in Islamabad

In 2009 the

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

reported Rauf was one of the leaders summoned to

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

to help the Pakistani government negotiate with hostage-takers who had seized 42 civilians.

Designation as a terrorist

On 2 December 2010, the

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

designated Abdul Rauf Azhar as a terrorist.

Links with other militant organisations

JeM commander Azhar maintains strong ties with the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

and

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

Haqqani network The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanis ...

sharing their training camps in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, and exchanging intelligence, training and coordination.

Links with political organisations

JeM commander Azhar had strong ties with these Islamist political organisations Milli Muslim League,

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S) Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (S) ( ur, جمیعت علماءِ اسلام (س)) commonly known as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S) is a political party in Pakistan. It was established in 1980, as a breakway faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) founded ...

, Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek,

Sipah-e-Sahaba Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP, , Guardians of the Prophet's Companions), renamed to Millat-e-Islamia, is a Islamist organisation in Pakistan, which also functioned as a political party. It broke away from the main Deobandi Sunni organisation ...

and also had ties with

Difa-e-Pakistan Council The Difa-e-Pakistan Council ( ur, دفاعِ پاکستان کونسل, lit. ''Defence of Pakistan Council'', abbreviated as DPC) is an umbrella coalition of more than 40 Pakistani Political and Religious parties that advocate conservative policies ...

the anti-

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Pakistani umbrella coalition including links with ISI-sponsored

United Jihad Council The United Jihad Council, also known as the Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), is an Islamist Jihad, Jihadist organisation formed by the Pakistan Army for unified command and control over the anti-Indian terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir (s ...

, an umbrella organisation of 13–16 separatist organisations that fight in Indian-administered Kashmir.

References

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