On Sunday, February 26, unidentified men killed Syed Khalid Raza, a former commander of the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Al Badr. The dreaded terrorist was shot outside his residence in Gulistan-e-Johar Block 7 area of Karachi, Pakistan.
#BREAKING: Syed Khalid Raza, an ex terror group Al Badr commander killed in Karachi, Pakistan by unidentified gunmen. Last week Hizbul Mujahideen commander Bashir Ahmed Peer alias Imtiyaz Alan was killed in Rawalpindi by unidentified gunmen. Setback for Pakistan Army and ISI.
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 27, 2023
For almost 8 years in the 1990s, Syed Khalid Raza was the commander of the Al-Badr terror group in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Jamaat e Islami President Karachi, the deceased was also associated with JeI Talba Wing.
Wanted Hizbul terrorist Bashir Ahmad Peer alias Imtiaz Alam shot dead by unknown assailants in Rawalpindi, Pakistan
The dreaded terrorist’s death came a week after Imtiaz Alam alias Bashir Ahmed Peer, one of India’s most wanted terrorists, was killed in similar circumstances in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Imtiaz was a founding member of the outlawed terror organization Hizbul Mujahideen, serving as its third commander. On Monday (February 20, 2023), he was killed in front of a shop by two unidentified assailants.
Pakistan-based terrorist organization Al Badr
Pakistan-based Al-Badr terrorist outfit, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States, was formed in June 1998 to strengthen the ‘Kashmiri freedom struggle’ and ‘liberate’ the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir and merge it with Pakistan.
It is one of several terrorist offshoots of the Jamaat-e-Islami and has often worked in tandem with the notorious Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM).
Al Badr’s origins may be traced back to 1971 when Pakistan-sponsored Islamic terrorists carried out a pogrom against the Bengali-speaking populace in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Subsequently, Al Badr became a part of the Hizb-i-Islami, an Islamic terrorist organization based in Afghanistan, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. It first appeared in Kashmir in 1990, when it launched a jihad against India under the banner of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Under the aegis of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the HM was formed in 1990 as an armed branch of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Nevertheless, in 1998, Al Badr developed differences with the HM and broke away to form an independent separatist organization.
In places where it operated, Al Badr also began imposing its fanatical interpretations of Islamic law. This had a terrible social impact, particularly on women. For example, in a major terrorist incident in 2002, three ladies were killed in the Jammu region. In 2003, the organization warned women in rural regions under its control, of the risks of not following Islamic precepts (wearing veils, giving up education at age 14, and so on). It also criticized the India-Pakistan truce in 2003, stating that Pakistan should concentrate on the jihad against India rather than “spending time pursuing a diplomatic settlement.”
Modus Operandi
To further its agenda, the terror organization resorted to violence and attacked government officials, security forces, and even civilians. It wreaked havoc and disrupted peace using weapons supplied by Pakistan and other terrorist organizations. Other than the LeT and the JeM, the Al Badr is the only group that has incorporated suicide (Fidayeen) attacks into its strategy. It disseminateed propaganda through its Urdu journal ‘Al Badr,’ which was founded in Pakistan in 1999.
Source of funding for Al Badr
The ISI, along with the Jamaat-e-Islami, have long been significant supporters of the organization, though relations with the Jamaat have been strained. It openly solicited funds in Pakistan for its operations, with almost no resistance from the authorities.
In 2012, for example, it held a two-day public rally in Rawalpindi to collect funds. Yet, it is claimed that the organization has been suffering from a lack of funding in recent years, forcing it to close multiple training camps.
Upon its formation, the group separated itself from both the HM and the Jamaat, operating as an autonomous entity. It continues to get funding from Pakistan’s ISI for its terrorist operations in the Kashmir Valley while marginalizing local separatist organizations. As part of this agenda, it carried out strikes on the Indian military, government facilities, and personnel.
Notably, Al Badr fought on Pakistan’s side against Indian forces during the 1999 Kargil War. According to reports, the group’s ‘Chief Commander,’ Bakht Zameen, was directing militant operations from his headquarters in Skardu near the Ladakh border, where its terrorists crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to target Indian troops.
In 2000, the terrorist organization increased its terrorist activities in the Kashmir Valley and started using suicide attack tactics to wage jihad in the valley. Notably, Al Badr is the only terrorist organization in the Valley that employs such techniques, aside from the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed.
The terror organization seems to be undergoing a massive revival on the terror map of Jammu and Kashmir. Though a significant number of terror attacks have been reported, the number of counter-attacks is also on the rise. The Indian Army is working painstakingly along with the intelligence agencies, trying to stifle cross-border terrorism.
