The Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) was formed in 1985
in Jhang, Punjab by anti-Shia clerics. This banned terrorist
organization is focused on sectarian violence and the group
was originally supported by Zia-ul-Haq's government in a move
to counter Shia Iran's influence in Pakistan. The funding
for SSP comes from both external and local sources such as
the trader-merchant class in Jhang. SSP was responsible for
the rise in sectarian violence in the 1980s and 1990s. SSP
advocates Deobandi ideology and has served as the basic
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ideological and militant birthing ground for other militant
groups. The group was linked with the 1997 attack on former
prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and they take credit for killing
several Shia doctors in Karachi in 2001. Recently, the SSP
has resurged in Southern Punjab and has links with other
militant outfits. Qari Hussain, the most feared deputy of
Tehreek Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) recently killed leader,
Baitullah Mehsud, came out of SSP and many of the TTP's foot
soldiers are from SSP ranks. (Note. The SSP is also believed
to be behind the violence against Christians in Punjab in
late August and early September 2009. End Note.)
¶10. (C) Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) grew out of SSP and was
founded in Bhakkar, South Punjab. The Deobandi organization
was initially focused on the elimination of Shias, but after
9/11 its attention shifted to fighting the war on terror
against the United States. According to Siddiqa, LeJ was the
first militant group to send recruits to Al-Qaeda, through
LeJ's contacts with wealthy Arabs who visited Southern
Punjab. LeJ has strong connections with prominent
terrorists, including Khaled Sheikh Mohammad and Abu Musab al
Zarqawi. The LeJ and Taliban currently have linked networks
that allow the Taliban to carry out terrorist attacks in
Punjab with LeJ assistance. According to Amir Rana, Director
of Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, LeJ also has powerful
networks in Karachi and Quetta.
¶11. (C) Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) is another SSP breakaway
Deobandi organization that was started by Masood Azhar of
Bahawalpur after he returned from India in 2000. (Note:
Azhar was arrested in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
in 1993, was exchanged by the Indian government for
passengers hijacked to Afghanistan on an Indian Airlines
flight in 1999, and subsequently returned to Pakistan with
the help of Afghanistan's then-Taliban government and
Pakistan's intelligence agencies. End Note.) JeM has had a
long-standing relationship with intelligence agencies, and
according to Rana, it is the only militant outfit still under
Inter-Service Intelligence's (ISI) protective umbrella. JeM
continues to be dedicated to the Kashmir fight; however, the
group maintains ties to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Umar Saeed
Sheikh, Daniel Pearl's convicted murderer, was also part of
JeM.
¶12. (C) Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is an organization based in
the Central Punjab city of Muridke, but has spread across
Southern Punjab as well. It is ideologically Wahhabi, making
it different from its militant Deobandi cousins. LeT, and
its subsequent cover charitable organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa
(JUD), attract a broad range of supporters, including women,
through their welfare work in the Seraiki belt,
earthquake-affected Azad Jammu-Kashmir, and among Swat's
internally displaced population. The Mumbai attacks were
masterminded by LeT operatives and they continue to focus on
militancy against India. The group was created and trained
by Pakistani intelligence services to fight a proxy war
against India. According to Rana, LeT leadership has
ideological and operational disagreements with TTP and does
not allow its militants to attack the Pakistani government.
