Does Lashkar get financial support from Pakistans spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence?
That I don’t know. There have been reports about that, including their connections with the ISI. When I was in Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed had been arrested, released and arrested and released again. Lashkar was banned in 2002. I don’t know exactly what its connections with the ISI are. But it is very well known that this group has an agenda similar to that of the ISI in regard to Kashmir and India. So, it is likely that they cooperate. And given the public sentiments in Pakistan, there’s not a lot that the Pakistani government can do because if they move against these groups all of a sudden, you will see thousands of people in the streets protesting. Kashmir is still a very emotional issue in Pakistan. Does Lashkar work closely with Al Qaeda? I don’t think that’s the case. If you go back to its origin, you will see that Lashkar is the armed wing of Jamaat-ud Dawa, the Islamic centre at Muridke, 75 km from Lahore [Images]. That centre was apparently set up partly with financing from Osama bi
