On April 25, Investigating Info-warfare and Psy-war OSINT Disinfo Lab published a report on the investigation it had done that revealed a 50-year-old plan hatched by Pakistan to harm India’s interests in global forums.

Codenamed Operation Tupac, it is an ongoing military-intelligence contingency program that has been active since the 1980s and is run by the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan.

In its report, Disinfo Lab stated that various organizations linked to Pakistan and its notorious intelligence agency ISI was responsible for the ratings India got in the recently released United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) annual report. India was grouped as a Country of Particular Concern along with Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and 11 other nations.

There are three particular segments in the report that were used to tarnish the image of India: Fascism, Genocide, and Islamophobia.

Disinfo Lab pointed out that when it comes to India, there is a particular set of organizations that show their concerns about the alleged human rights violations in the country. Some of these organizations are IAMC, Kashmir Civitas, OFMI, London Story, Polis Project, HfHR, Equality Labs, SWK, and others.

Interestingly, all these organizations are located in the US or the UK. The OSINT claimed that all these organizations have interlinked members or are operated by the same members with different names.

Panelists are seen during the Russell Tribunal on Kashmir in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dec. 18, 2021. (Courtesy of Kashmir Civitas)

From Arundhati Roy to Peter Friedrich, Harsh Mandar, Bhajan Singh Bhindar, Abdul Malik Mujahid, and many others have been directly or indirectly lobbying against India on the International platforms.

The umbrella group Justice For All(JFA) and its links with Islamist organizations

All these people and organizations have one single link that is a Pakistan-backed and Chicago-based umbrella group Justice For All (JFA). The organization was formed in 1999 by Abdul Malik Mujahid. He was head of Jamiat-e-Talaba, which is the student wing of Jamaat in Pakistan, between 1975 to 1977. He also led the Islamic Circle of North America, Jamaat’s US wing.

In 1988, Mujahid, the multimedia wing of Mujahid, had formed Sound Vision which is ICNA’s multimedia wing. It supports JFA. To make it simple, ICNA can be termed as a brainchild of Jamaat in South Asia and Muslim Brotherhood in West Asia. The aim of the formation of ICNA was to provide soft power to the Radical Islamists.

Initially, JFA was named Kosova Task Force by ICNA, with Muslim Brotherhood in the front via an organization named Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Later, it was named JFA. The organization provided support information on many fronts, including the Burma Task Force.

Between 2018 and 2020, BTF lobbied USCIRF via Fidelis Govt Relations (FGR) to nominate India as a Country of Particular Concern. As per Disinfo Lab, BTF collected $267,000 in the name of Rohingyas and Uyghurs and paid to FGR.

All these people and organizations have one single link that is a Pakistan-backed and Chicago-based umbrella group Justice For All (JFA)

Members of JFA and Sound Vision

The director of JFA is Hena Zuberi. She is a Pakistani journalist and relative of former Pakistan Army official Colonel Kaleem Zuberi. Hena is editor-in-chief of the propaganda portal MuslimMatters.org. She had extended support for Aafia Siddiqui, infamous by the name Lady Al-Qaeda. Hena also provided aid to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was the mastermind of the 9/11 attack.

Mohammad Khalid Riyaz, Secretary of Sound Vision, is the founder of the Pakistani-American Political Committee or PAK PAC. The group has been described by former Prime Minister Imran Khan as the most powerful and influential Pakistani group overseas. Notably, Riyaz is also linked to Pakistani Physicians of North America or APPNA, which is another powerful lobby front.

In 2019-2020, AAPNA had raised $351,753 via PAK PAC. Out of these funds, $330,740 was spent on lobbying activities. As per the report, politicians like Jim Banks, Sheila Jackson, and Ilhan Omar were influenced by this group and motivated to raise their voices against India, especially on the Kashmir issue. Not to forget, Omar recently visited Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and expressed her “concerns” over the alleged “atrocities against the Muslim population” in the valley on the Indian side.

Notably, in 2012 JAF started a campaign called Bangladesh Alert. Instead of raising a voice and demanding justice for the war crime victims of the Bangladesh war of 1971, the organization aimed the campaign at saving and seeking “justice” for war criminals like Motiur Rahman Nizami. Notably, Nizami was executed by Bangladesh for his involvement in war crimes.

Here, it is essential to point out that Motiur Rahman Nizami was awarded by ICNA for his “outstanding contribution to Islam.” Nizami was named for several crimes, including the murder of around 400 people, the rape of 40 women, and the deportation of villagers. He had delivered inciting speeches during the war that incited mobs to rage war against the Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.

On the Sound Vision website, there is a profile dedicated to another war criminal of Bangladesh, Khurram Murad. The website called him a scholar, thinker, and prolific writer. Interestingly, another war criminal of Bangladesh, Ashrafuz Zaman Khan, was a founding member of the Burma Task Force, which has links to IAMC, the organization that has lobbied against India in USCIRF.

The curious links to Pakistan

During the 1990s, the JFA website openly flaunted links to the Pakistani government and think tanks. Two particular names shine from that period are Ghulam Nabi Fai of the Kashmiri American Council and Mushtaq Jeelani of the Kashmiri Canadian Council.

In 2011, Fai had pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from the Pakistani Secret Services Agency ISI to lobby against India on the Kashmir issue in front of US politicians. During the investigation, Disinfo Lab found that Jeelani was funding Relief Organization for Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM), which was Jamaat’s charitable trust via KCC.

The website flaunted links to Pakistani government websites and Pakistani think tank websites such as YesPakistan.org.

Another name that was linked to the think tanks mentioned on JFA’s website was Human Development Foundation or HDF. It is a project by the Pakistani Army. Former president of APPNA and Director of SV Muhammad Khalid Riyaz was one of the co-founders of HDF. Three fronts were named for being linked to HDF that was AAPNA, SIH, and Noor Foundation.

SIH was run by Zaheer Ahmed, an associate of Fai and ISI, as per the FBI. Notably, Ahmed was in touch with Osama Bin Laden and was convicted of financial fraud of his organization.

The director of JFA is Hena Zuberi. She is a Pakistani journalist and relative of former Pakistan Army official Colonel Kaleem Zuberi

The interlinked network against India

JFA has a well-positioned and highly sophisticated web of contacts to target India. The organizations linked to JFA include IAMC, South Vision, ICNA, APPNA, Noor Foundation, SIH, Kashmiri Canadian Council, Kashmiri American Council, Kashmir Information Network, Institute of Policy Studies Pakistan, Institute of Regional Studies Islamabad, Bosnia Task Force, and many others. With the help of these fronts, JFA continuously spreads misinformation and lobby against India.

IAMC was also linked to the infamous conference ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva‘ under Hindus for Human Rights or HfHR. It was also linked to the Organization for Minorities of India or OFMI. The organization was formed by Bhajan Bhinder, a Khalistani ISI handler, along with Khalistani supporter Pieter Friedrich. Notably, Pieter’s role was exposed during Farmer Protests, and it was revealed that he was on security agencies’ radar for a long time.

HfHR’s founding member Raju also heads EKTA. It is an associate organization of IAMC. The sole purpose was to have Hindus on the panel to project that the Hindus, in general, were against Hindutva. Interestingly, HfHR ran Facebook ads to promote previous USCIRF reports.

Disinfo Lab mentioned that another front linked to these organizations and individuals was Equality Labs Thenimozhi Soundararajan. Earlier, they flaunted OFMI and Bhinder’s names on their website, but after Disinfo Lab’s earlier expose, they removed his name.

Pakistan-backed JFA, IAMC, & HfHR had co-sponsored India Genocide Summit 2022. Initially, the Genocide in India narrative was pushed by JFA in 2019 with the help of Genocide Watch founder Gregory Stanton. For the 2022 Summit, speakers included former SIMI founder SQR Illyas, Aakar Patel, Safoora Zargar, Teesta Setalvad, and Kancha Illaiah. All of them have been accused of involvement in anti-India activities.

The complete report by Disinfo Lab can be seen here.

USCIRF recommended India be added to CPCs

In its 2022 report on Religious Freedom, USCIRF has recommended India be added to the list of Countries of Particular Concerns. In its report, the organization alleged India is indulged in atrocities against Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and other minorities. The Organization mentioned several cases like as Naxal sympathizer Father Stan Swamy, tightening rules of FCRA, and others as the basis for the recommendation.

References:

opindia.com