Ansarul Sharia Pakistan (ASP), the organisation that attacked policemen in the Dhoraji locality on May 21 and SITE Area on June 23, is inspired by al Qaeda and its parent outfit is headed by a Tunisian, a counterterrorism official told according to thenews.com.pk.
Raja Umer Khattab, chief of the Sindh Counter Terrorism Department’s Transnational Terrorists Intelligence Group, said Ansarul Sharia, which meant ‘supporter of Islamic law’, was formed by Saifullah, alias Tusani, who had also participated in the Afghan jihad.
“When he returned home to Tunisia in 2006, he was arrested by the then government and incarcerated. While in prison, he developed ties with other militants there.”
In 2011 the new government freed him and other militants, following which Saifullah formed Ansarul Sharia Tunisia, under which he carried out welfare work and preaching as well as raised funds to support the organisation like the banned outfits operating in Pakistan, added Khattab.
He said Ansarul Sharia was inspired by al Qaeda, which also used local militants for conducting attacks, adding that the Saifullah’s group operated in the same manner by targeting liberal politicians, US-funded schools and other installation. Because of these crimes, the then government banned the organisation.”
The official said the terrorists then fled to Libya and formed Ansarul Sharia Libya, for which they once more hired local militants. “The practice saved their funds, made it easier to achieve their targets and did not require any logistic support.”
The outfit has parted company with the Islamic State, commonly known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, and supports the al Qaeda, but they have their own distinctive identity as is evident by social media, he added.
Khattab said Ansarul Sharia involved three kinds of people: the first and foremost were those associated with its militant wing, the second were those delivering sermons and the third were those raising funds for the organisation. “The group also supports the central command concept as adopted by al Qaeda.”
The official said the pattern of Ansarul Sharia was similar to that of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), adding that investigations and records showed that ASP was hiring those militants who were either expelled, trained or disowned by AQIS, Daesh and other terrorist outfits.
ASP is currently operating out of Afghanistan and its targets for now are law enforcers so as to demoralise their departments, but its future targets can be shrines and bloggers, he added. “There have been reports that the organisation is foreign-funded.”
Khattab said his department was tracking the footprints of ASP and other similar organisations, adding that the new outfit was much stronger and if it was not stopped in Karachi, then it might expand its network to Punjab.
