Lashkar, Al-Qaeda have Rohingya links, say government sources

Jammu: Banned terrorist outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Al-Qaeda have been trying to develop links with Rohingya Muslims who've taken refuge in India.

Sources in the government told Zee Media that the Pakistan-based terror groups are trying to recruit the young Rohingyas and train them in militancy.

The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that the ''Rohingyas are a serious security threat'' and are ''staying in India illegally''.

Sources further said that the government has proof to link Rohingyas to Pakistan-based terror groups such as LeT, Al-Qaeda and so on.

Terror group Aqamul Mujahideen (AMM) is one of the main factors in establishing the connection between LeT and Rohingyas.

AMM, which allegedly has links with LeT, was the mastermind behind attacks on Myanmar border outposts last year. The group also has ties with Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) cell in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to intelligence agencies, AMM is a breakaway group from the Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami Arakan (HUJI-A), headed by Abdus Qadoos Burmi, a Pakistani national of Rohingya origin.

Reports also suggest that both terror groups have recruited new cadres from the Rohingya youth in Rakhine and refugee camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazaar. They believe that the AMM cadre was trained along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

These factors point towards Pakistan's interest in keeping Rakhine province on the boil to foil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Act East Policy.

The anchor of this policy is the Rs 29-billion Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project connecting Rakhine's capital Sittwe to India's landlocked Northeast region. Many believe that Sittwe has similar significance for India to reach Bay of Bengal, as Gwadar in Baluchistan in Pakistan has for China to connect its mainland to Arabian Sea, says a DNA report.

According to information, on May 4, 2017, an IED blast took place at Buthidaung Townshi in Myanmar's Rakhine, killing four.

Two of the four killed – Abdul Rahim and Anarthullah – were assembling the device and were reportedly Pakistani. The other two were local Rohingyas. The Pakistani nationals had returned to Rakhine after spending 20 years away Afghanistan and Pakistan (Af-Pak) region.

The incident reflects on the deep ties between Pakistan-based terror groups and Rohingyas.

Nearly 40,000 Rohingya Muslims have taken refugee in India, with 7,000 living in 23 settlements across Jammu.

On Sunday, Delhi Police arrested man for suspected links with al Qaeda. The accused`s mission was to set up base Manipur or Mizoram and radicalise Rohingya Muslims to fight the militancy in Myanmar, police said.