New Lashkar boss Talha Saeed grooming white-collar and child recruits

NEW DELHI: The Lashkar-e-Tayiba, responsible for the Mumbai 26/11 attacks, was hit hard during Operation Sindoor. Since the operation that was carried out to avenge the Pahalgam attacks, the Lashkar-e-Tayiba has tried several times to bounce back, but has not been entirely successful.

The outfit has decided to infuse fresh blood and go back to the basics. The first visible change is in the leadership, with most operations headed by Talha Saeed, the son of Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief Hafiz Saeed. While Hafiz Saeed is kept in the loop relating to all activities, it is Talha who is calling the shots, an Intelligence Bureau official said.

If one looks at the latest recruitments that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba has made in recent months, it becomes clear that Talha is chasing the educated lot. The target audience comprises doctors, engineers and teachers. The outfit now feels that there is a need to have educated cadres, as they bring with them knowledge and can also provide fresher ideas.

Experts say that if Talha can achieve what he wishes, then the Lashkar-e-Tayiba will only get more dangerous. He is looking at white-collar terrorists, and this itself is a dangerous precedent. Over the years, outfits such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda have leaned more towards the educated lot.

Talha also believes that the recruitment of adults alone is not enough. He has ensured that multiple classes are introduced to bring in children as well. The plan is to recruit young boys and girls and then radicalize them at a very young age. For the children, the classes mainly emphasize the Quran for a couple of years. The next step involves radicalization, following which they would be recruited into the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. In the next phase, the same persons would be imparted arms training and then made battle-ready.

Those who are brought in at a very young age would be examined following their training programme. Not all of them will be inducted into the terror network. Based on their skill set, some would be taken into the political outfit. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba is also creating several student wings so that they could infiltrate universities, similar to the lines of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh, officials say. (IANS)

Also Read: ‘Operation Sindoor’: India hit nerve centres of Jaish and Lashkar in Pakistan