View source for Harkat-ul-Mujahideen

{{pp|ecp|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Islamist militant group}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name             = Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| war              = 
| attacks          = [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]]
| image            = Flag of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.svg
| caption          = Flag of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
| active           = 1985–present
| allegiance       = {{flagicon image|Flag of Taliban.svg}} [[Afghanistan]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afintl.com/en/202410090797|title=Many Jihadi Groups In Asia & Africa Pledge Allegiance To Taliban Leader, Group Sources|date=9 October 2024}}</ref>
| ideology         = [[Islamism]], [[Jihadism]]
| leaders          = [[Sajjad Afghani]]<br/>[[Fazlur Rehman Khalil]]
| clans            = 
| headquarters     = [[Pakistan]]
| area             = 
| strength         = 
| partof           = [[United Jihad Council]]<ref name="map">[http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/maps/view/pak Pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319070309/http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/maps/view/pak |date=19 March 2023 }}. ''Mapping Militants''. [[Stanford University]].</ref>
| previous         = 
| next             = 
| allies           = '''State allies'''<br/>
*[[File:Flag_of_Pakistan.svg|21px]] [[Pakistan]]<ref name="cdi.org">[http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=2374&from_page=../index.cfm In the Spotlight: Harkat ul-Jihad-I-Islami (HuJI)]''Center for Defense Information'' 16 August 2004 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311124005/http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=2374&from_page=..%2Findex.cfm |date=11 March 2009 }}</ref>
'''Non-state allies'''<br/>
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Al-Qaeda]]<ref name=cellphone>{{cite news|title=Seized Cellphone Offers Clues To Bin Laden's Pakistani Links|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/asia/24pakistan.html?pagewanted=1&hp|access-date=24 June 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 June 2011|author=Carlotta Gall|author2=Pir Zubair Shah|author3=Eric Schmitt|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119214220/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/asia/24pakistan.html?pagewanted=1&hp|url-status=live}}</ref>
**[[Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Lashkar-e-Taiba.svg}} [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]]
*{{flagicon image|Jaishi-e-Mohammed.svg}} [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind]]
*[[Harkat-ul-Jihadi al-Islami]]
*[[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]]<ref name="map"/>
| opponents        = {{flag|India}}
| battles          = [[Soviet-Afghan war]]<br>[[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]]<br>[[Kargil War]]
| url              = 
| status           = Designated as a terrorist group by
*{{BHR}}<ref name="Mofa.gov.bh">{{cite web |url=https://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=12342&language=en-US |title=Bahrain Terrorist List (individuals – entities) |publisher=Mofa.gov.bh |date=2014-02-13 |access-date=2020-07-24 |archive-date=17 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017055422/https://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=12342&language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref>
*{{flag|Canada}}<ref name="PublicSafetyCanada">{{cite web|url=https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-en.aspx|title=About the listing process|publisher=Public Safety Canada|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202121931/https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-eng.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flag|India}}<ref name="MHA_BanList">{{cite web|title=List of Banned Organisations|url=https://mha.gov.in/banned-organisations|website=Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI|publisher=Government of India|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503233101/https://mha.gov.in/banned-organisations |archive-date= 3 May 2018}}</ref>
*{{flag|United Kingdom}}<ref>{{cite act |title=[[Terrorism Act 2000]] |number=11 |year=2000 |article=2 |articletype=Schedule |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 }} {{Cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |title=Terrorism Act 2000 |access-date=28 April 2018 |archive-date=21 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121085241/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
*{{flag|United States}}<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2011/195553.htm|title=Country Reports on Terrorism 2011 Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations|work=U.S. Department of State|access-date=1 April 2015|archive-date=2 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102184847/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2011/195553.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

'''Harkat-ul-Mujahideen''' ({{langx|ur|{{nq|حرکت المجاہدین}}|lit=Mujahideen movement}}; {{small|abbreviated}} '''HUM''') is a [[Pakistan]]-based [[Islamist]] [[jihadist]] group operating primarily in [[Kashmir]].<ref name="Indictment of John Walker Lindh">[http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/lindhindictment.htm Indictment of John Walker Lindh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029074939/https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/lindhindictment.htm |date=29 October 2021 }} ''American Rhetoric'' February, 2002</ref> The group had links to [[Osama bin Laden]] and [[Mullah Omar]].<ref name="Roy">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA242|title=How We Missed the Story: Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of ... – Roy Gutman – Google Books|date=18 January 2020|isbn=9781601270245|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118124452/https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA242|archive-date=18 January 2020|last1=Gutman|first1=Roy|publisher=US Institute of Peace Press }}</ref>

The group has been designated as a [[terrorist organization]]<!-- see link for inclusion of national bodies --> by Bahrain, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and the United States.  In response the organization changed its name to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.<ref name="Indictment of John Walker Lindh"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm |title=United States State Department |publisher=2001-2009.state.gov |access-date=2020-07-24 |archive-date=17 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117015042/https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name='satp'>{{cite web | url = http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/harkatul_mujahideen.htm | title = Harkat-ul-Mujahideen | access-date = 2011-06-24 | publisher = South Asia Terrorism Portal | archive-date = 29 June 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629184204/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/harkatul_mujahideen.htm | url-status = live }}</ref> The group splintered from [[Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami]] (HuJI), a Pakistani group formed in 1980 to fight the Soviet military in Afghanistan.<ref name="cdi.org"/> The [[Government of India]] has declared and banned HuM as a jihad organisation.<ref name="MHA_BanList"/>

==Post Soviet–Afghan War==
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen was originally formed as a splinter group of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami in 1985.<ref name='satp'/>  In 1989, at the end of [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet–Afghan war]], the group entered [[Kashmir]]i politics by use of militants under the leadership of [[Sajjad Afghani]] and Muzaffar Ahmad Baba Alias Mukhtar. In 1993 the group [[wikt:merge|merged]] with Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami to form [[Harkat-ul-Ansar]].<ref name='satp'/>

Immediately following the merger [[India]] arrested three senior members: Nasrullah Mansur Langaryal, chief of the former Harkat-ul Mujahideen in November 1993; [[Masood Azhar|Maulana Masood Azhar]], General Secretary in February 1994, and [[Sajjad Afghani]] (Sajjad Sajid) in the same month in [[Srinagar]]. Muzaffar Ahmad Baba was killed in an encounter at Pandan Nowhatta with the [[Border Security Force|BSF]] in January 1994.{{Citation needed|date=June 2014}}

As a response the group carried out several [[kidnapping]]s in an attempt to free their leaders, all of which failed. It was linked to the Kashmiri group [[al-Faran]] that kidnapped five Western tourists in Kashmir in July 1995; one, [[Hans Christian Ostrø]], was killed in August 1995 and the other four reportedly were killed in December of the same year.

In 1997, the [[United States]] designated Harkat-ul-Ansar as a terrorist organization, and in response it renamed itself to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.<ref name='satp'/>

In 1999, Sajjad was killed during a jailbreak which led to the hijacking, by the group, of [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] in December, which led to the release of [[Maulana Masood Azhar]], [[Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh]] and [[Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar]] by the Indian Government. Azhar did not, however, return to the HUM, choosing instead to form the [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] (JEM), a rival militant group expressing a more radical line than the HUM, in early 2000.

==Post 9/11 attacks==
The group again came to the attention of the US after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11 attacks]], leading President [[George W. Bush]] to ban the group, this time under its Harkat-ul-Mujahideen moniker, on 25 September 2001.<ref name='satp'/>

The long-time leader of the group, [[Fazlur Rehman Khalil]], in mid-February 2000 stepped down as HUM ''emir'', turning the reins over to the popular Kashmiri commander and his second-in-command, Farooq Kashmiri. Khalil assumed the position of HUM Secretary General.

HUM is thought to have several thousand-armed supporters located in Pakistani Kashmir, and India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions. It uses light and heavy machine guns, assault rifles, mortars, explosives, and rockets. HUM lost some of its membership due to defections to the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The group is based in [[Muzaffarabad]], [[Rawalpindi]], and several other towns in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but members conduct insurgent and terrorist activities primarily in Kashmir.

The group's current leader, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, lives openly in the [[Islamabad]] suburb of [[Golra Sharif]]. He has denied having any contact with Osama bin Laden.<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/2011/06/16/terror-leader-lives-freely-near-pakistani-capital.html Terror leader lives freely near Pakistani capital] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313041521/http://www.dawn.com/2011/06/16/terror-leader-lives-freely-near-pakistani-capital.html |date=13 March 2012 }}, ''[[Dawn (newspaper)]]'', 16 June 2011</ref>

According to ''The New York Times'', Osama Bin Laden's seized cellphones attest Harkat-ul-Mujahideen's continued contact with Osama Bin Laden and its bases and fighters shared with the [[Taliban]] over the years following the [[war in Afghanistan (2001–present)|war in Afghanistan]].<ref name=cellphone/>

Since, the formation of [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]], the group suffered both in leadership and cadre strength with most of funding and weapons diverted to the new outfit.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Harkat-ul Mujahideen (HuM) Analysis|url=https://www.satp.org/terrorist-profile/india-jammukashmir/harkat-ul-mujahideen-hum-previously-known-as-harkat-ul-ansar|access-date=2024-05-05|website=SATP}}</ref>

==Designation as terrorist organization==

The countries and organizations below have officially listed the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) as a terrorist organization.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
|Country
|Date
|References
|-
|{{BHR}}
|
|<ref name="Mofa.gov.bh"/>
|-
|{{flag|Canada}}
|27 November 2002
|<ref name="PublicSafetyCanada"/>
|-
|{{flag|India}}
|
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nia.gov.in/banned_org.aspx|title=NIA :: Banned Terrorist Organisations|access-date=1 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110115355/http://www.nia.gov.in/banned_org.aspx|archive-date=10 January 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|United Kingdom}}
|14 October 2005
|<ref>{{cite act |title=Terrorism Act 2000 |title-link=Terrorism Act 2000 |date=2000-07-20 |orig-section=sched. 2 |chapter=Proscribed Organisations |reporter=UK Public General Acts |volume=2000 c. 11 |chapter-url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121085241/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |archive-date=2013-01-21 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|United States}}
|25 September 2001
|<ref name="auto"/>
|}

==Harkat ul-Ansar==
{{Redirect|Harakat al-Ansar|former Baloch jihadist group also known as "Harakat al-Ansar"|Harakat Ansar Iran}}
'''Harkat ul-Ansar''' ('''HuA''') was an [[Islam]]ic terrorist organization founded by [[Abdelkader Mokhtari]] in 1993. It was the result of a merger between Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and [[Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami]] (HuJI). Many of its operations were conducted in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]].<ref name=satp-hua>{{cite web
  | title = Harkat ul-Ansar
  | publisher = South Asia Terrorism Portal
  | date = 2001
  | url = http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/harkat_ul_ansar_or_harkat_ul_jehad_e_islami.htm
  | access-date = 2009-02-04
  | archive-date = 4 February 2009
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090204072846/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/harkat_ul_ansar_or_harkat_ul_jehad_e_islami.htm
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref><ref name=rediff1999>{{cite news
  | last = Sahni
  | first = Sati
  | title = Who are the Harkat-ul-Ansar?
  | publisher = Rediff
  | date = 1999
  | url = http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/31harkat.htm
  | access-date = 2009-02-04
  | archive-date = 5 November 2021
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211105214521/https://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/31harkat.htm
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref>

Soon after its founding, several members of its leadership were arrested by [[Indian Security Forces]]. In November 1993, the former head of HuM, Nasrullah Mansur Langrayal, was arrested.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} In February 1994, the HuA general secretary, [[Maulana Masood Azhar]] and chief commander, [[Sajjad Afghani]], were captured in the Chattargul area of [[Anantnag district]].<ref name=rediff1999/>

It was labeled a terrorist organization in 1997 by the [[United States]] because of its connections with [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] terrorist [[Osama bin Laden]].<ref name=satp-hua/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1123996|title=US puts Harakat and its affiliates on terror list|access-date=8 August 2014|publisher=Dawn news|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119214219/https://www.dawn.com/news/1123996|url-status=live}}</ref> The ban severely limited the funding of the group, and as a result HuA was reorganized as a reincarnated Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.  At the time, Azhar split from the group to form [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]].<ref name=satp-hua/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Recast-Harkat-ul-Ansar-stoking-anti-India-sentiments-in-Kashmir/articleshow/19206329.cms|title=Recast Harkat-ul-Ansar stoking anti-India sentiments in Kashmir|access-date=26 May 2013|publisher=Times of India|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409020311/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/recast-harkat-ul-ansar-stoking-anti-india-sentiments-in-kashmir/articleshow/19206329.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1998, U.S.'s [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) in its report stated, "HuA, an Islamic terrorist organisation that Pakistan supports in its proxy war against Indian forces in Kashmir, increasingly is using terrorist tactics against Westerners and random attacks on civilians that could involve Westerners to promote its pan-Islamic agenda." CIA also stated that Hua had abducted at least 13 persons, of which 12 were from western countries in the period from early 1994 to 1998.<ref name="The Hindu India fortifying">{{cite news |title=India fortifying case to put Jaish on ban list |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-fortifying-case-to-put-jaish-on-ban-list/article26426600.ece |access-date=14 March 2019 |work=The Hindu |date=4 March 2019 |language=en-IN |archive-date=28 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028113929/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-fortifying-case-to-put-jaish-on-ban-list/article26426600.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Afridi's cousin">{{cite news |title=Afridi's cousin killed in J&K: BSF |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/12jk.htm |access-date=14 March 2019 |work=rediff.com |date=12 September 2003 |archive-date=2 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102121943/https://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/12jk.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Deobandi organisations]]
*[[1995 kidnapping of Western tourists in Kashmir]]
*[[Ansar Al-Mujahideen]]
*[[Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami]]
*[[Jaish-e-Mohammed]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Kashmir conflict}}
{{Kashmir separatist movement}}
{{Terror outfits}}

[[Category:Jihadist groups in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Jihadist groups in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist]]
[[Category:Organisations designated as terrorist by India]]
[[Category:Organisations designated as terrorist by the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States]]
[[Category:Al-Qaeda allied groups]]
[[Category:1985 establishments in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Canada]]
[[Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Bahrain]]