The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)is working closely with Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan and has drawn up plans with the Pakistan Army to target Indian and United States (US) assets and interests in the war-torn country, sources said on July 22, reports Hindustan Times. During a recent meeting between LeT operatives and a team of Pakistan Army and the country’s spy agency Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI) in Jaba area of Dangam District in Kunar Province of Afghanistan, the terror group was directed to attack Indian and US assets, the people, including intelligence officials and diplomats in New Delhi and Washington, said on condition of anonymity. LeT commanders were tasked to carry out different types of attacks, including with suicide bombers sent from Pakistan, they added. The move comes at a time when Pakistan is under intense pressure from the US and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to crack down on LeT and other groups such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD)and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
LeT founder Hafiz Saeed was recently arrested on terror financing charges in Pakistan. This also coincides with reports by the Pentagon and a United Nations (UN) panel about the presence of hundreds of LeT cadres in Afghanistan. The Pentagon report put the number of LeT operatives at 300, while the UN report said 500 fighters are active in Kunar and Nangarhar Provinces alone. “LeT’s presence in Afghanistan has been observed to be steadily on the rise. According to recent inputs, Hafiz Saeed’s son Talha Saeed is taking more interest in operational affairs in Afghanistan,” said an official who didn’t want to be named. The information on LeT activities has been shared with the US and Afghanistan.