Lashkar i Jhangvi

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Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ; English: Army of Jhang) is an Islamic terrorist organization affiliated with Al Qaeda that has operated in Pakistan since 1997 after notorious hitman of Sipah-e-Sahaba, Riaz Basra, broke away from the sectarian outfit over differences with his seniors, and made his own neo-Wahabi terrorist outfit named after the late founder of the original Sipah-e-Sahaba, Haq Nawaz Jhangvi who was killed in a retaliatory bomb attack by Shia militants. Riaz Basra gained notoreity when he orchestrated the brutal assassination of Iranian diplomat Sadiq Ganji and also was involved in the killing of a few Iranian Air Force cadets who were on a visit to Pakistan in the early 1990s when sectarian violence was at its peak. Both acts incidently happened in the northern city of Rawalpindi and greatly affected Pakistan-Iran relations at that time.

Being a Sunni Muslim/Wahabi organisation, LJ initially directed most of its attacks against the Pakistani Shia Muslim community. It also claimed responsibility for the 1997 killing of four U.S. oil workers in Karachi. Lashkar i Jhangvi attempted to assassinate Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999. Jhangvi himself was gunned down in 2002 when an attack he was leading on a Shia settlement near Multan failed, and was killed due to the cross-fire between his group and the police who were assisted by armed Shia residents of the locality.

LJ members kidnapped and killed U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl in January 2002. In March 2002 LJ terrorists bombed a bus, killing 15 people, including 11 French technicians.

On March 17, 2002 at 11:00 AM, two members of the Lashkar i Jhangvi bombed the International Protestant Church in Islamabad during a church service. Five people were killed and 40 people were injured, mostly expatriates. In July 2002 Pakistani police killed one of the alleged perpetrators and arrested four Lashkar i Jhangvi members in connection with the church attack. The LJ members confessed to the killings and said the attack was in retaliation for the U.S. attack on Afghanistan.

LJ has ties to the Taliban. In addition to receiving sanctuary from the Taliban in Afghanistan for their activity in Pakistan, LJ members fought alongside Taliban fighters. Pakistani government investigations in 2002 revealed that Al Qaeda has been involved with training of LJ, and that LJ fighters also fought alongside the Taliban against the Afghan Northern Alliance. The Pakistan Interior Minister, speaking of LJ members, stated that "They have been sleeping and eating together, receiving training together, and fighting against the Northern Alliance together in Afghanistan."

The Government of Pakistan designated the LJ a terrorist organization, and it is classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under U.S. law. As a result, its finances are blocked worldwide by the U.S government.