New Delhi, Aug 25 : The Lashkar-e-Taiba is undertaking a massive expansion drive across Pakistan. The outfit has, over the last year, built seven markaz and mosques only in Sindh province, according to information gathered by the Indian agencies. The Pakistani establishment is heavily funding these facilities.
In addition to funding received by the state, the Lashkar has also been undertaking massive fundraising drives.
Money has also been received from foreign countries in the name of charities.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that these facilities coming up in such big numbers and that, too, in such a short span of time, is a clear signal that the Lashkar is expanding in a major fashion.
The top commanders of the outfit travel to various parts of Pakistan in heavily guarded convoys. Top Lashkar figures such as Saifullah Kasauri, Talha Hafiz Saeed, and Nadeem Faisal are leading this initiative.
They go to several places and hold meetings with Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives, the official added. These markaz and Mosque facilities are mainly set up to recruit youths, raise funds and also plan mobilisation activities.
These facilities also serve as outreach hubs for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The outfit, which had suffered major losses during 'Operation Sindoor', has been on a rebuilding spree.
It lost one of its biggest training facilities in Muridke during the operation that was carried out to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 people were killed.
While the focus is currently on Sindh province, such outreach and expansion programmes will eventually be conducted in all other parts of Pakistan.
An official said that for such programmes, the Lashkar is also heavily using its political and politically affiliated outfits. These groups are being pushed in the front so that they could give such a programme legitimacy, the official said.
Another official said that the Lashkar has also been sending its cadres to election rallies and big events so that they could mingle with the people and put forward their agenda.
Further, the outfit has been meeting with several political parties and their leaders in the last couple of months. This is mainly with the intention of trying to enter the mainstream, and the intention is to try and legitimise themselves.
This helps in remaining in the mainstream and also avoiding international scrutiny, especially from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Another official said that all this is happening with the blessings of the state. The convoys in which the likes of Talha Saeed or Kasauri travel are escorted by police personnel. This makes it clear that the ISI has instructed the police force to ensure the security of these persons who are internationally designated terrorists, the official also said.
Officials say that while on one hand such programmes are being undertaken to legitimise the Lashkar, on the other hand its terror-related activities remain intact. There is a massive build-up of terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and they are waiting to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir along with operatives of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen.
An official said that the Lashkar has also been reaching out to its assets in Jammu and Kashmir and advising them to conduct similar outreach programmes.
These assets have also been told to mingle with the political class so that they do not come under scrutiny.
An outreach programme such as this in Jammu and Kashmir is a worrying signal in terms of security. It is aimed at boosting recruiting and taking the youth into their fold for terror-related activities, an official said.
Lashkar-e-Taiba steps up outreach through new markaz amid massive expansion across Pakistan
