Amir Hamza, one of many founding members of the banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and an necessary ideologue of the group, was hospitalised after an incident at his home in Lahore, reported media. Referring to pro-Lashkar Telegram teams, a Occasions of India report said that Hamza’s wounds had been termed by sympathisers as the result of an “accident.” The circumstances of the incident, nevertheless, are nonetheless not clear, and Pakistani officers have made no official assertion.
Hamza, 66, is claimed to be getting remedy at a army hospital in Lahore, the place safety has been severely bolstered. He’s reportedly underneath shut watch by Pakistan’s Inter-Providers Intelligence (ISI), with tight management over entry to the hospital.
The information comes mere days after senior LeT recruiter Abu Saifullah was murdered by unidentified attackers in Pakistan, resulting in speculations on enhanced vulnerabilities on the a part of LeT management. Saifullah, additionally known as Nizamani, was being protected by the federal government however was fatally attacked close to a street crossing in Matli whereas he had simply left his residence.
An previous hand on the Afghan jihad, Hamza has been one in every of LeT’s prime ideologues for years, well-known for his impassioned speeches and extremist writings. His books, such because the 2002 title Qafila Da’wat aur Shahadat (“Caravan of Proselytising and Martyrdom”), have helped unfold LeT’s extremist ideology. He has additionally been the editor of LeT’s in-house journal.
Following the 2018 monetary crackdown towards LeT-affiliated charities Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Falah-e-Insaniat Basis, Hamza is claimed to have publicly distanced himself from LeT and launched a splinter group, Jaish-e-Manqafa, which is believed to have performed militant actions in Jammu and Kashmir.
Hamza is now listed as a worldwide terrorist by the US Treasury Division, which calls him a key participant in LeT’s fundraising, recruitment, and makes an attempt to get jailed operatives launched.
The assault additionally adopted a time of elevated tensions between India and Pakistan, within the aftermath of India’s Operation Sindoor, a collection of focused strikes carried out from Could 7 to Could 10 on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation was initiated in retaliation towards the April 22 terror assault in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, the vast majority of whom had been vacationers.
The cross-border operation generated virtually 100 hours of escalated hostilities, among the many most extreme escalations between the nuclear-armed neighbours in current occasions. There was a declared ceasefire on either side on the evening of Could 10.
Whereas suspicions are mounting in regards to the inner safety of Pakistan-based terror teams, the Amir Hamza case might presage extra turmoil amongst extremist ranks at the same time as regional tensions dangle delicately poised.
Who Is Amir Hamza?
Amir Hamza, alias Maulana Ameer Hamza, is a key co-founder and head ideologue of the banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Hamza was born on Could 10, 1959, in Gujranwala, Punjab province of Pakistan. He’s an Afghan jihad veteran and key determine within the growth of LeT’s extremist ideology.
Famend for his impassioned oratory and prolific writing, Hamza performed a key function in molding Lashkar’s propaganda equipment. He was the editor of the group’s official journal and actively contributed to spreading its ideological discourses. In 2002, he wrote the extensively distributed militant pamphlet Qafila Da’wat aur Shahadat (“Caravan of Proselytizing and Martyrdom”), which outlined the group’s imaginative and prescient for world jihad.
Previous to taking over his propaganda function, Hamza was a practical militant and is reported to have been energetic in India within the early 2000s. He’s accused of being concerned, together with murdered operative Abu Saifullah, in planning the 2005 terror strike on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru—one of many earliest main LeT assaults in India outdoors Kashmir.
In response to world stress and monetary repression towards LeT and its entrance teams equivalent to Jamaat-ud-Dawah and the Falah-e-Insaniat Basis, Hamza broke away from the group in 2018. He subsequently began a splinter group often known as Jaish-e-Manqafa, which is claimed to have maintained small-scale fundraising and propaganda actions, significantly concentrating on Jammu and Kashmir.
Hamza continues to be a US Treasury sanctions-listed designated terrorist and high-value goal due to his lengthy involvement in recruitment, ideological indoctrination, and LeT logistics spanning a long time.
His current hospitalisation in Lahore, underneath shut safety preparations by Pakistan’s Inter-Providers Intelligence (ISI), has once more highlighted his sustained affect and the nuanced dynamics of Pakistan’s terror networks.