Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

HARAKAT UL-MUJAHIDEEN
aka HUM; Harakat ul-Ansar; HUA; Jamiat ul-Ansar; JUA; al-Faran; al-Hadid; al-
Hadith; Harakat ul-Mujahidin
Description: Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997, Harakat ul-
Mujahideen (HUM) seeks the annexation of Indian Kashmir and the expulsion of Coalition
Forces in Afghanistan. Reportedly under pressure from the Government of Pakistan, HUM’s
long-time leader Fazlur Rehman Khalil stepped down and was replaced by Dr. Badr Munir as the
head of HUM in January 2005. HUM operated terrorist training camps in eastern Afghanistan
until Coalition air strikes destroyed them in 2001. Khalil was detained by Pakistani authorities in
mid-2004 and subsequently released in late December of the same year. In 2003, HUM began
using the name Jamiat ul-Ansar (JUA). Pakistan banned JUA in November 2003.
Activities: HUM has conducted a number of operations against Indian troops and civilian targets
in Kashmir. It is linked to the Kashmiri militant group al-Faran, which kidnapped five Western
tourists in Kashmir in July 1995; the five reportedly were killed later that year. HUM was
responsible for the hijacking of an Indian airliner in December 1999 that resulted in the release
of Masood Azhar, an important leader in the former Harakat ul-Ansar, who was imprisoned by
India in 1994 and then founded Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) after his release. Another former
member of Harakat ul-Ansar, Ahmed Omar Sheik was also released by India as a result of the
hijackings and was later convicted of the abduction and murder in 2002 of U.S. journalist Daniel
Pearl.
HUM targets Indian security and civilian targets in Kashmir. In 2005, such attacks resulted in the
deaths of 15 people. In November 2007, two Indian soldiers were killed in Kashmir while
engaged in a firefight with a group of HUM militants. Indian police and army forces have
engaged with HUM militants in the Kashmir region, killing a number of the organization’s
leadership in April, October, and December 2008. In February 2009, Lalchand Kishen Advani,
leader of the Indian opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, received a death threat that was attributed
to HUM. In December 2012, Pakistani police disrupted militants associated with HUM and
Lashkar i Jhangvi who were planning an attack on a congregation hall in Karachi, Pakistan.
Strength: HUM has several hundred armed supporters located in Pakistan-administered
Kashmir; India’s southern Kashmir and Doda regions; and in the Kashmir valley. Supporters are
mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris, but also include Afghans and Arab veterans of the Afghan war.
After 2000, a significant portion of HUM’s membership defected to JEM.
Location/Area of Operation: Based in Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, and several other cities in
Pakistan, HUM conducts insurgent and terrorist operations primarily in Kashmir and
Afghanistan. HUM trains its militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Funding and External Aid: HUM collects donations from wealthy and grassroots donors in
Pakistan. HUM’s financial collection methods include soliciting donations in magazine
advertisements and pamphlets.
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