Realignments...

Jamiatul Ansar, Khudamul Furqan merge
By Mohammad Imran
Daily Times, March 31, 2007

ISLAMABAD: Maulana Abdul Jabbar, the head of the Khudamul Furqan, has merged his banned militant outfit with Maulana Fazalur Rehman Khalil’s Jamiatul Ansar, also a banned organisation, sources told Daily Times on Friday.

Founded by Khalil, Jamiatul Ansar was previously known as Harkatul Mujahideen, which was banned by the Pakistani government following the 9/11 attacks because of the organisation’s involvement in militant activities.

The sources said the merger of the two groups – both from the Deobandi school of thought – took place last month, and common friends had been trying to resolve differences between the two militant commanders over the last three months. The sources said that Maulana Abdul Jabbar would be offered a key position in Jamiatul Ansar, currently being headed by Maulana Badar Munir.

Law-enforcement agencies arrested Maulana Jabbar some three years ago for his alleged involvement in an unsuccessful attempt on President General Pervez Musharraf’s life in Rawalpindi, but he was released in October last year, and he has kept a low profile since.

His outfit, Khudamul Furqan, is also suspected of being involved in terrorist attacks on churches.

Maulana Jabbar got involved in militant activities in the early 1980s after formally joining the Harkatul Ansar, and stayed in Afghanistan till Mulla Omar’s ouster. He later joined the militant outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad, founded by Maulana Masood Azhar, but formed Khudamul Furqan when difference between him and Masood Azhar emerged. Maulana Jabbar later alleged that the top leadership of Jaish-e-Muhammad had facilitating law-enforcement agencies in his arrest.