Qasim Gujjar: Lashkar-e-Taiba Militant Behind Attacks in Kashmir Designated as Terrorist by India

Qasim Gujjar: Lashkar-e-Taiba Militant Behind Attacks in Kashmir Designated as Terrorist by India

Executive Summary:

• On March 7, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs designated 41-year-old Kashmiri militant Mohammad Qasim Gujjar as a terrorist. Gujjar has been involved in multiple high-profile attacks, financed and supplied arms to terrorists, and is a major recruiter for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Gujjar has been especially effective at radicalizing relatives of deceased militants.

On March 7, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) designated the 41-year-old firebrand militant Mohammad Qasim Gujjar as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). [1] In early April, the Jammu and Kashmir Police announced a one million rupee (approx. $11,980) reward for the whereabouts of Gujjar, who is also known as “Suleman” in Kashmir militant circles (Rising Kashmir, April 2).

A resident of the village of Angralla in the Reasi District of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Gujjar has been implicated in a series of high-profile attacks. These reflect his extensive involvement in terrorist activities, including the coordination and supply of arms and ammunition as well as the rising use of drone technology to evade traditional surveillance and border controls. The MHA’s notification elaborates on Gujjar’s role in identifying strategic locations for the drop-off of military-grade equipment, thereby enabling militant operations within India. Further, Gujjar has been involved in the planning and execution of multiple attacks, including bombings, which have caused numerous deaths and injuries (Press Information Bureau, March 7).

According to the police, Gujjar radicalized others, recruiting them into cells in Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a group which he also worked to help finance. These new “hybrid” cells are intended to expand the operational capabilities of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) within India through both direct contact and digital means, including social media platforms (Hindustan Times, March 7).

Orchestrating Terror

Qasim Gujjar first became a militant in Kashmir in 2002 but fled the country to the Pakistan-administered section of Kashmir in 2009. Trained in LeT camps located there, Gujjar returned to the Indian part of Kashmir to launch attacks after the abrogation of Article 370 (the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir State’s constitutional autonomy) in mid-2019. Although he was on the radar of the security apparatus in the region, Gujjar only became a wanted militant after masterminding several major violent incidents, such as attacks on Hindu devotees in Jammu and a grenade attack on a local political leader. Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested several militants, including Mohd Auraf Sheikh, who were affiliated with Gujjar and carried out subversive activities on his instruction (Indian Express, May 5, 2023; The Print, March 8).

Gujjar had orchestrated a twin bombing on January 21, 2023, in the Narwal area of Jammu, which injured seven people. This occurred one week before India’s Republic Day celebration. Previously, a grenade attack was carried out targeting a local BJP leader, Jasbir Singh, at his residence at Khandli Chowk in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri District on August 13, 2021. The BJP leader’s nephew was killed, and six of his relatives were seriously injured in the attack (India Today, August 13, 2021). After prolonged investigations into the incident, in January 2023, police charged an already arrested LeT operative, Altaf Hussain Shah, and the elusive Gujjar for the grenade attack (Daily Excelsior, January 17, 2023).

Gujjar was one of the masterminds behind the attack on Hindu pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on May 13, 2022. Four people were killed in the attack, and more than two dozen people were injured when the militants set fire to the pilgrim’s bus using a sticky bomb. Hitherto unknown terrorist group Jammu Kashmir Freedom Fighters (JKFF) had claimed responsibility for carrying out this incident at the time. JKFF’s statement blamed “the Hindutva [radical Hindu nationalist] regime in India for changing the demography of Jammu and Kashmir.” Since 2020, hybrid groups like JKFF have emerged to localize the militant movement in Kashmir, including The Resistance Front (TRF), People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), and Ghaznavi Forces, which have perpetrated attacks against civilians and security forces as proxies for Pakistan-based LeT and Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM). They also use drones to transport arms and ammunition across borders. Police believe Gujjar has been playing a pivotal role in supplying and coordinating the delivery of arms as well as channeling funds for these terrorist groups (Hindustan Times, November 24, 2022; Kashmir Horizon, April 2).

Conclusion

Qasim Gujjar remains one of the LeT’s prime “influencers” and utilizes social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to recruit new members. This has been especially effective, given his focus on relatives of deceased militants. Gujjar encouraged them to join the militant campaign in Kashmir and approximately 50 individuals from the Reasi District, especially the Mahore Area, crossed into Pakistan-administered Kashmir to operate as his accomplices (The Print, March 8). In his role as an “influencer,” Gujjar not only inspired these recruits but also facilitated their activities by providing funding and weapons to support attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

In addition, Gujjar is also a prime suspect in a series of recent violent attacks, including the June 9 attack on a passenger bus returning from Shiv Khori shrine in Reasi District. The indiscriminate firing at the Hindu pilgrims’ bus killed nine people and injured more than 30 others. An LeT front group claimed responsibility for the operation (The Print, June 10).

In the volatile Kashmir region, the recent uptick in attacks appears to be an effort by militant groups and their promoters to maintain relevance and momentum. Sporadic violent incidents involving civilian casualties and military fatalities are aimed at destabilizing the region’s security apparatus. Amid these realities, the designation of Gujjar as a terrorist by the Indian government is part of an effort to curb individual militant masterminds who can influence and incite attacks in Kashmir.

Notes:

[1] Ministry Of Home Affairs Notification, The Gazette of India, No, 1063, March 07, 2024. https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/Individual_Terrorists/MOHAMMADQASIMGUJJAR_07032024.pdf