Jamaat hawala network back in overdrive to fund terror, influence Bangladesh polls

New Delhi, Jan 5 The Jamaat-e-Islami’s subcontinental hawala network, which has been the main fund-raising front for many terror groups, has become active once again before elections, Intelligence inputs suggest.

The hawala network of the Jamaat, which was lying low for some time, has become fully active once again owing to multiple reasons. While plenty of funds are being pumped into Bangladesh ahead of the elections, it is also raising money to revive the terror infrastructure of groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Both these terror groups had lost a considerable amount of their infrastructure during Operation Sindoor.

After lying low for some months, the ISI has decided to rebuild terror infrastructure in a much bigger way. While the ISI has several other channels to raise funds for terror-related activities, it has asked the Jamaat’s hawala network to raise the bar and collect as much money as possible.

The Jamaat has a huge reach in many countries. Its countless followers and sympathisers are the biggest donors. The Jamaat collects money on the pretext that it wants to further the religion, but in reality, at least 90 per cent of the funds are used to incite violence and support terror groups. The group has also channelised money through its massive hawala network into Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and also Sri Lanka, an official said.

Over the years, the Jamaat, with the help of the ISI, has managed to build a huge illicit financial system. This supports the terror infrastructure of many terror groups. In Pakistan, the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed depend largely on the Jamaat-raised funds. Groups such as the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HuJI) are also totally dependent on the funds raised by the Jamaat.

This development has raised concerns in Indian circles. An Intelligence Bureau official says that the Jamaat is capable of raising money in big numbers and from across the globe. It is currently in overdrive mode and is expected to raise a huge chunk of funds.

The ISI has instructed the Jamaat to step up operations. The ISI wants the outfit to raise money for the Lashkar-e-Tayba and Jaish-e-Mohammed so that the two terror groups can rebuild infrastructure. The funds will also be used for operations, training and logistics.

Through its hawala network, the Jamaat would also look to divert funds into Jammu and Kashmir. The ISI has an ambitious plan of setting up an all-women overground worker (OWG) module. It is also looking at roping in more youth to be part of the OWG network. This exercise would require a lot of money, and hence the Jamaat has been given the responsibility to raise the same, an official pointed out.

Further, the ISI also needs a lot of funds to run its activities in Bangladesh. It has been nurturing several terror groups in Bangladesh and has even roped in cadres from the Lashkar-e-Taiba to train terrorists in the country. The ISI aims to have strong terror groups that can keep the northeastern states and West Bengal on edge.

Further, the ISI has been meddling in the Bangladesh elections. It wants to ensure that there is a Jamaat government in power. The ISI has been diverting a lot of the Jamaat-raised funds to incite violence. It is looking to pump a lot of money into its radical network in the country, so that the violence continues unabated.

The ISI is playing a big game whereby it wants to engineer a Jamaat win. Currently, the Jamaat is behind the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). This has led the ISI to engineer violence so that the elections are postponed. This would give the Jamaat more time and also the possibility of winning an election by rigging it.

An official said that all these exercises that the ISI has planned will require plenty of funding. This explains the reason why it has told the Jamaat to step up operations and collect as much money as possible.

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