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Pak Terror Groups Use Gaza Aid, Mosque Funds to Finance Global Jihad

Pakistan-based terrorist groups are exploiting humanitarian channels like Gaza relief and mosque construction to raise funds globally. Jaish-e-Mohammed, led by Hammad Azhar, is using aliases and digital payment methods to collect donations under the guise of charity. Lashkar-e-Taiba has shifted to direct digital wallets to bypass scrutiny from the Financial Action Task Force. The report warns these groups aim to establish a global caliphate and questions the West's alertness to their evolving funding tactics.

Key Points: Pak Terror Groups Exploit Humanitarian Channels for Funding

  • JeM fundraising via Gaza aid
  • Mosque construction as cover
  • Shift to digital wallets
  • Evasion of global oversight
  • Goal of global caliphate
3 min read

Pak terror groups exploiting humanitarian channels to raise funds: Report

Report reveals JeM, LeT using Gaza relief, mosque construction & digital wallets to raise terror funds globally, evading FATF scrutiny.

"Pakistan has misled the international community... failed to take corrective institutional actions - Uzay Bulut"

Washington, Jan 28

Pakistan-based Islamic terrorist organisations are diversifying their fundraising tactics and finding ways to evade global oversight. These groups exploit humanitarian activities, mosques, rescue operations and wars to raise funds worldwide - including in the US, while spreading "militant Islamic messages" and bolstering terrorist activities, a report said on Wednesday.

"Pakistan has a checkered past when it comes to money laundering and terrorist financing. It has misled the international community on several occasions. It has failed to take corrective institutional actions which would suppress both terror financing and money laundering," Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut wrote for American media outlet 'PJ Media'.

Bulut noted that the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is fundraising under the guise of Gaza relief aid.

"Hammad Azhar, son of Masood Azhar, is leading JeM's efforts to raise money for terror activities via Gaza Aid. He asks women in Gaza to make videos praising him for his charity works. His social media alias is Qaisar Ahmad, and he asks everyone to donate to his Easypaisa bank account under the name of Khalid Ahmed, a separate alias. He receives donations from Pakistan and Gulf countries," the journalist wrote.

"Another new funding method JeM uses is mosque construction. JeM has reportedly launched a massive fundraising drive in Pakistan under the guise of building over 300 mosques," the report mentioned.

Citing media reports, Bulut said, "The terror outfit started the online fundraising campaign through digital wallets to collect 3.91 billion Pakistani Rupees, that is $14 million US dollars, for constructing 313 new markaz (central) buildings".

According to the report, another terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has switched to direct digital wallets to collect funds instead of bank accounts, in an effort to bypass scrutiny from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.

Ultimately, the ideology driving these terror groups seeks the establishment of a global caliphate consisting of Islamic states, with the aim of expanding dominance over all non-Muslim nations, including the imposition of Sharia law.

"The world has seen many times what happens when Islamic supremacists and jihadists take control of a country - from the Muslim Brotherhood-ruled Egypt to Iran, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, amongst others," the report noted

It questioned how alert the West is "to these terror groups and their new deceitful funding methods", and more alarmingly, how driven the West is "to fight against those Islamist groups whose religiously motivated ambitions have not changed, and who have even gained significant success since the seventh century".

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
As someone who follows global security issues, the shift to digital wallets and mosque construction for funding is a clever, sinister workaround. FATF needs to update its monitoring mechanisms urgently. This isn't just Pakistan's problem; it's a global security threat.
P
Priya S
It breaks my heart to see the name of Gaza aid being misused like this. 😔 Genuine people want to help, and these terrorists exploit that compassion. This is why due diligence is so important before donating to any cause, especially online.
R
Rohit P
The report asks how alert the West is. Frankly, they've been naive for too long. We've been shouting from the rooftops about cross-border terrorism. Maybe now they'll listen. Strong action against terror financing is the only way.
A
Aman W
While the core issue is valid, I feel the article's last paragraph paints with too broad a brush. Linking several countries with diverse political histories solely to "Islamic supremacists" oversimplifies complex geopolitics. The focus should remain on the specific terror groups and their funding tactics.
K
Kavya N
Easypaisa, digital wallets... they are using the very tools of modern finance to spread violence. Our agencies need to be ten steps ahead in tracking these digital footprints. Jai Hind.

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