Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil is founder of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, blamed for the 1999 Kandahar hijacking.
New Delhi: The Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has inducted into its ranks the founder of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, days before the country’s General Elections, scheduled for 25 July. The HuM is a banned organisation with alleged links to Al Qaeda. It was designated as a terrorist organisation by the US in 2001 and later by the United Nations.
According to The News International, PTI leader Asad Umar made the announcement on his official Facebook page. His statement notes that Khalil, the current leader of Ansar-ul-Umma, believed to be a front for the HuM, and numerous of his allies and clerics have pledged their support to PTI.
*تمام مقاطبعے فکر کے علمإ اکرام کے وفد کی NA-54 اور NA61 میں تحریک انصاف کی حمایت کا اعلان *جس مولانا فضل الرحمن…
Asad Umar यांनी वर पोस्ट केले मंगळवार, १७ जुलै, २०१८
The HuM was blamed for the hijacking of an Air India flight in 1999. The Airbus IC 814 was en route from Tribhuvan in Nepal to IGI in Delhi. The Indian government freed Maulana Masood Azhar and two other extremist leaders – Mushtaq Zargar and Omar Saeed Sheikh – in return for the release of the various passengers on board.
A global terrorist
Khalil has himself been designated a terrorist by the US Department in 2014. There have been concerted efforts to arrest and interrogate Khalil on US soil.
An alleged signatory of Osama Bin Laden’s declaration of global jihad, Khalil was arrested by Pakistani authorities for allegedly transporting Pakistani militants into Afghanistan in May 2004. He was released six months later due to lack of evidence.
In 2007, on then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s behest, Khalid was asked to mediate a standoff in Islamabad’s Lal Masjid. It was believed that radical elements were hiding in the compound, which was stormed by military commandos.
In 2017, Khalil apparently tried to launch his own political party, the Islah-e-Watan Party, which was supposed to work for the “promotion of peace and tranquillity in the country.”
He has now officially joined PTI and will in all probability be contesting in the upcoming elections in Pakistan.