Harakat ul Mujahidin (HUM)
Name(s). Jamiat ul-Ansar; Party of the Volunteers; Movement of Holy Warriors; formerly Harakat -ul-Ansar.
Goals and Objectives. HUM is a Pakistan-based Islamic militant organization that seeks to wrest Jammu and Kashmir from Indian control and create an Islamic state encompassing Pakistan and these territories.
Favored Tactics. HUM has attacked Indian military, government, and civilian targets in Kashmir with bombs and various other means. The group has also highjacked airliners.

Brief History. Founded by Fazlur Rehman Khalil, the HUM was initially founded to fight the Afghan insurgency against the Soviet Union in the 1980’s. After the Soviet pullout, HUM turned its focus on Kashmir, where it has carried out attacks against Indian interests in the Indian-controlled territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1998, Khalil signed Osama bin Laden’s fatwa calling for attacks on Americans and other Western targets. In December 1999, HUM hijacked an Indian airliner which resulted in the release of Maulana Masood Azhar, who had been imprisoned by India since 1994 for association with HUM attacks.

After his release, Ahzar broke with the HUM and formed the new Jaish-e- Muhammad, taking many HUM members with him (Jaish-e-Muhammad,). In recent years, HUM activities have decreased significantly, and crackdowns on Islamic militants in Pakistan have left the group under-funded and undersupported.

In February 2000, longtime leader Khalil handed control of the group over to Farooq Kashmiri Khalil, and in 2001, after the HUM was banned by President Pervez Musharraf, Khalil renamed the group Jamiat ul-Ansar.

Favored Tactics. HUM has attacked Indian military, government, and civilian targets in Kashmir with bombs and various other means. The group has also highjacked airliners.

Anti-American Activities. Despite signing Osama bin Laden’s 1998 declaration against the United States, the group has not been known to target U.S. interests primarily. HUM remains focused on Kashmir and Jammu. However, in 2002, Pakistani authorities arrested three members of an HUM subgroup, the al- Almi faction, which admitted to the June 14, 2002 bombing of the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that killed 11 people.

Areas of Operation. HUM is based in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and conducts insurgent and terrorist operations in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. In the past, the group has operated training camps in Afghanistan.

Members of HUM have reportedly participated alongside other Islamic militants in operations in Central Asia, Bosnia, and Burma.

Strength and Composition. HUM is comprised of Islamic radicals from Pakistan and Kashmir, as well as some Arab veterans of the Afghan war against the Soviet Union. The group is believed to have several thousand armed supporters. The group lost much of its strength in 2000 in defections to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM, see below), and its activities have decreased since.

Connections With Other Terrorist Organizations. The leader of HUM signed Osama bin Laden’s 1998 fatwa calling for attacks against American soldiers and civilians. The group is believed to have maintained ties with bin Laden and Al Qaeda, but the nature of these ties is unclear. HUM has also cooperated with other Islamic militant groups operating in Kashmir and Pakistan.

State Supporters and Other Sources of Funding.  HUM receives financial support from sympathizers not only in Pakistan and Kashmir, but also in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The group allegedly also raises funds among Pakistani and Kashmiri expatriates in Europe, primarily Britain.145 Its fund-raising in Pakistan has been largely curtailed since the government crackdown on extremists following 9/11. The government of India has long accused Pakistan of supporting and encouraging militant Islamic groups operating in Kashmir, to include HUM.

Originally Designated. as an FTO October 8, 1997.

Re-designated. October 8, 1999, October 5, 2001.