JAMMU AND KASHMIR ISLAMIC FRONT-secret doc

JAMMU AND KASHMIR ISLAMIC FRONT (C-NA7-00565) 
 
REF: STATE 106548 
 
¶1. (U) CLASSIFIED SECRET BY NEW DELHI ACTING POLITICAL 
COUNSELOR GORDON HELLWIG. REASON 1.5 (C). 
 
¶2. (S) EMBASSY WILL CONTINUE TO PURSUE MORE INFORMATION ON 
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR ISLAMIC FRONT (JKIF) AS REQUESTED IN 
REFTEL.  POST PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION, OBTAINED 
BY THE REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE THROUGH ITS CONTACTS IN THE 
INDIAN INTELLIGENCE BUREAU IN THE HOME MINISTRY, WHICH 
PROVIDED A WRITTEN REPORT ON THE JKIF.  POLOFFS HAVE HEARD 
VERY LITTLE FROM CONTACTS IN KASHMIR VALLEY REGARDING THE 
JKIF, AS MOST OF THEIR TERRORIST OPERATIONS HAVE BEEN 
CONDUCTED OUTSIDE THE VALLEY.  NUMEROUS DISCUSSIONS ON THE 
VARIOUS MILITANT GROUPS IN KASHMIR HAVE NEVER INCLUDED THE 
JKIF AS A MILITANT GROUP OF PROMINENCE IN KASHMIR. 
 
BEGIN TEXT  (ENTIRE TEXT IS CONFIDENTIAL): 
 
JAMMU AND KASHMIR ISLAMIC FRONT (JKIF) 
 
THE GENESIS OF THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR ISLAMIC FRONT (JKIF) 
DATES BACK TO 1989 WHEN ITS PRECURSOR, THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR 
STUDENTS LIBERATION FRONT (JKSLF), WAS FLOATED BY HILAL BEG 
FOLLOWING DIFFERENCES WITH YASIN MALIK, THE THEN COMMANDER- 
IN-CHIEF OF JKLF.  THE JKSLF INDULGED IN HIGH-PROFILE 
KIDNAPPING AND MURDER CASES.  LATER IN APRIL 1991, HILAL BEG 
WAS PERSUADED BY PAKISTAN'S INTER-SERVICES INTELLIGENCE 
DIVISION (ISI) TO RENAME THE JKSLF AS IKHWAN-UL-MUSALMEEN 
(IUM).  THE IUM LED BY HILAL BEG WAS TASKED BY PAKISTAN ISI 
TO CARRY OUT TERRORIST ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE JAMMU AND KASHMIR. 
FOR THIS PURPOSE, HILAL BEG CREATED A NETWORK OF HIS AGENTS 
IN CALCUTTA, BIHAR, ANDHRA PRADESH, KATHMANDU, AND DHAKA. 
THE ARREST OF FOUR MUSLIM TERRORISTS (INCLUDING 3 KASHMIRIS) 
IN OCTOBER 1993 AT HYDERABAD AND CALCUTTA REVEALED THE PLANS 
OF THE IUM TO STAGE BOMBAY-TYPE BLASTS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF 
INDIA BY RECRUITING, TRAINING, AND ORGANISING GROUPS OF 
SABOTEURS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
THE JKIF WAS FORMED IN SEPTEMBER 1995 BY ONE SAJJAD AHMED 
KENU, WHO WAS A WELL-KNOWN ACTIVIST OF THE IUM.  SAJJAD KENU 
HAD ESCAPED FROM SRINAGAR JAIL IN JUNE 1995 AND RESURFACED 
AS THE SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE JKIF IN SEPTEMBER 1995. 
SINCE ITS INCEPTION, THE JKIF HAS BEEN UNDER CONSIDERABLE 
PRESSURE FROM ITS PAKISTAN-BASED LEADERSHIP TO CARRY OUT 
BOMB BLASTS OUTSIDE J&K, PARTICULARLY IN DELHI.  ON NOVEMBER 
21, 1995, THE JKIF KINGPIN KHURSHEED AHMED, A.K.A. NAYEEM 
(SINCE KILLED), ENGINEERED A HIGH INTENSITY BLAST WITH THE 
HELP OF TWO SIKHS, NAMELY HARDEEP SINGH, A.K.A. NEELA, AND 
HIS BROTHER RAJINDER, CLOTH VENDORS IN SRINAGAR.  THIS 
EXPLOSION, IN THE CONNAUGHT PLACE AREA OF NEW DELHI, INJURED 
23 PERSONS AND DAMAGED A LARGE NUMBER OF VEHICLES AND SHOPS. 
BEFORE THIS INCIDENT, ON SEPTEMBER 25, 1995, THE SAME SIKH 
MILITANTS ALSO CAUSED TWO SIMULTANEOUS GRENADE EXPLOSIONS 
NEAR THE RED FORT IN DELHI, INJURING 47 PERSONS.  THE JKIF 
ALSO CAUSED ANOTHER EXPLOSION IN SADAR BAZAR, DELHI, ON 
JANUARY 3, 1996, IN WHICH 7 PERSONS WERE KILLED AND 36 
INJURED. 
 
THE JKIF WAS CONTROLLED FROM PAKISTAN BY PAKISTAN ISI AND 
TIGER MEMON (PRIME ACCUSED IN THE BOMBAY BOMB BLAST CASES OF 
1993).  THEIR CONTACT IN PAKISTAN-OCCUPIED KASHMIR WAS BILAL 
BEG, WHO WAS RUNNING AN INDOCTRINATION CAMP NEAR 
MUZAFFARABAD, FUNDED EXTENSIVELY BY THE ISI TO CARRY OUT 
TERRORIST ACTS IN INDIA, ONE COLONEL FAROOQ OF PAKISTAN ISI 
TASKED BILAL BEG AND TIGER MEMON TO UTILISE KATHMANDU-BASED 
ACTIVISTS LATEEF AND JAVED KRAWAH TO SET OFF BLASTS IN DELHI 
BEFORE THE LOK SABHA [UPPER HOUSE OF THE INDIAN PARLIAMENT] 
ELECTIONS.  A TEAM OF COMMITTED JKIF CADRES WAS GIVEN A TWO 
WEEK SPECIALISED CAPSULE COURSE IN EXPLOSIVES NEAR THE 
AFGHAN BORDER IN MARCH-APRIL 1996.  ON MAY 21, 1996, THIS 
JKIF TEAM SET OFF A VERY HIGH INTENSITY EXPLOSION AT LAJPAT 
NAGAR, NEW DELHI, IN WHICH 13 PERSONS WERE KILLED AND 40 
OTHERS INJURED.  THE RDX USED IN THIS BLAST WAS BROUGHT FROM 
KATHMANDU.  ALTHOUGH OTHER ACCUSED, NAMELY FAROOQ KHAN, 
A.K.A. ANWAR SADAT LATIF, JAVED CHHOTA, MEHMOOD KILLE, NAZA 
(ALL KASHMIRIS) AND NAUSHAD (A DELHI MUSLIM) WERE ARRESTED, 
JAVED KRAWAH AND RIAZ, A.K.A. RIAZ MULLA, MANAGED TO ESCAPE. 
ACCORDING TO THE LATEST REPORTS, JAVED KRAWAH IS IN PAKISTAN 
AT PRESENT.  THE SUBSEQUENT EXPLOSION IN A RAJASTHAN 
ROADWAYS BUS NEAR DAUSA ON MAY 22, 1996 WAS ALSO ENGINEERED 
BY THE JKIF.  ANOTHER JKIF TEAM UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF 
ABDUL GANI, A.K.A. ASSADULLAH, WAS SENT TO EXECUTE A BOMB 
BLAST IN AHMEDABAD.  THE BLAST WAS PREVENTED BY THE TIMELY 
ARREST OF TEAM MEMBERS IN AHMEDABAD AND THE SEIZURE OF THEIR 
HIGH GRADE EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL. 
 
JKIF AGAIN PLANNED A CHAIN OF EXPLOSIONS IN DELHI BEFORE 
REPUBLIC DAY 1997 AT THE BEHEST OF PAKISTAN ISI AND TIGER 
MEMON.  ONE FAIYAZ AHMED SHAH, A.K.A. FAROOQ, TASKED BY 
BILAL AHMED BEG AND JAVED KRAWAH IN PAKISTAN, WAS GIVEN 20 
KG OF RDX AND MONEY IN KATHMANDU.  BEFORE HE COULD EXECUTE 
THE PLAN, FAIYAZ AHMED SHAH, A.K.A. FAROOQ, ALONG WITH 
GHULAM RASOOL MIR, A.K.A. GOGA, AIJAZ AHMED CHOUDHARY, NAZIR 
AHMED, AND MANZOOR AHMED DANPOSH, A.K.A. JAN, WERE ARRESTED 
IN KATHMANDU ON DECEMBER 11, 1996. 
 
FOR ALL THESE VIOLENT ACTIVITIES, THE JKIF HAS BEEN 
EXTENSIVELY USING KATHMANDU AS ITS BASE WITH THE ACTIVE 
CONNIVANCE OF PAKISTAN ISI.  TO DISPATCH MEN AND MATERIAL, 
AND TO EXECUTE EXPLOSIONS IN INDIA, KATHMANDU WAS INVARIABLY 
MADE THE NODAL POINT AND JKIF EXPLOITED THE VULNERABLE 
KATHMANDU-BASED KASHMIRI BUSINESSMEN FOR SUCH ACTIVITIES 
SINCE THEY HAD A READYMADE AND CLEAN PAST.  JKIF KINGPIN 
JAVED KRAWAH HIMSELF USED TO RUN A CARPET BUSINESS IN 
KATHMANDU.