Ayub Thakur
Encyclopedia
Muhammad Ayub Thakur was a Kashmiri political activist and founder-president of London-based World Kashmir Freedom Movement
(WKFM), an organisation that claimed to seek a "peaceful political solution" to the Kashmir Conflict
. He founded a "charity organization", Mercy Universal, which was investigated by the British Charity Commission
for links to terrorist groups including Hizbul Mujahideen
in Kashmir. Thakur also agitated for the right of self-determination
for the people of Jammu and Kashmir
. After Thakur's death in 2004, both WKFM and Mercy Universal became much less active. Neither has any full-time employees as of 2011, nor does either have any regular source of legitimate funds.
Thakur was close to Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
, the head of the so-called Kashmiri American Council (KAC), revealed in 2011 to be funded by the Inter-Services Intelligence
, the intelligence agency of the Pakistani military. Thakur was also close to Syed Ali Shah Geelani
, the pro-Pakistan leader of the "hardline" faction of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), the umbrella separatist organisation in Kashmir.
Thakur had lectured extensively on Kashmir issue
. He attended hundreds of seminars and conferences around the world in universities, think tanks and other institutions, including the universities of Oxford
and Cambridge
and United Nations
bodies. Thakur was a self-appointed Trustee of the UK-based alleged "charitable oraganisation", Mercy Universal, which he had founded in 2000. Mercy Universal claims to provide "humanitarian assistance" mainly to the Kashmiri people
., He was the Director of the Justice Foundation, which he founded in 2003 as a registered UK company "to advance the Kashmir cause through public advocacy". The Justice Foundation (also known as the Kashmir Centre) came, as of July 2011, under investigation by British and American authorities for being a de facto front for the Inter-Services Intelligence
agency of the Pakistani Military, based on evidence uncovered by the FBI via the July 2011 arrest and interrogation of Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
in the U.S. In August 2011, London's The Daily Telegraph
revealed that Fai has secretly been serving as a Director of the Justice Foundation.
. He was the eldest of four children.
from the University of Kashmir
. In 1978, after a brief stint at the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (Zakoora, Srinagar) he became lecturer in the Department of Physics
in the same university. He had a keen interest in the social and political issues of Jammu and Kashmir
. He started his political career in early 1970s as a student leader in the University of Kashmir
. He rallied Kashmiri youth and students and founded Jammu and Kashmir Students Islamic Organisation in 1974 and continued to be its patron till 1977. This organisation later merged with another organisation and changed into Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, which he headed from 1977–1981. He was also the president of Kashmir University Students Union and Kashmir University Research Scholars Association.
As a student leader, Dr. Thakur attended international youth and student conferences at Riyadh
, Saudi Arabia
in 1979, Dhaka
, Bangladesh
in 1980 and Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia in the same year. In these conferences, Dr. Thakur put forward the so-called Kashmiri viewpoint and drew the world attention towards the Kashmir problem. In Kuala Lumpur conference in 1980, he was instrumental in passing a resolution condemning the alleged Indian "occupation" of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr. Thakur organised meetings of the youth and students to challenge the Kashmir's accession to India which he considered as "fraudulent". He strongly opposed the accord between unionist Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
in 1974.
he intensified his political activities. He began organising students and colleagues "to form an intellectual response". In August 1980, he and many of his colleagues at university and students organisation, Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba, organised an international conference on the issue of right of self-determination
of Kashmiris as outlined in the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir. The Indian government, however, banned the conference and dismissed Dr. Ayyub from his job as a university teacher, and later imprisoned him along with his colleagues under Public Safety Act (PSA). Thakur claimed that during his five month imprisonment, he was "subjected to inhuman torture of all sorts, but he refused to compromise on his political ideology". After his release in 1981 he began to travel across in Kashmir to mobilise Kashmir youth. He claimed that police "tried to interrupt his activities" every now and then. Claiming to be tired of "playing a cat-and-mouse game with the police", on May 25, 1981 he opted to accept the offer of a lecturer in the King Abdul Aziz University
, Jeddah
in Saudi Arabia
where he served up to 1984.
Department of King Abdul Aziz University
, Jeddah
in Saudi Arabia
as Assistant Professor. During his stay, he tried to mobilise support for the Kashmir cause and organised camps for the Kashmiri pilgrims during Hajj
. He married the daughter of a family from Baramulla in 1981. The groom's consent was taken on phone and the bride flew to Jeddah. After 5 years in Jeddah, he was a denied a tenure
d professorship by the university. He had to resign his position, and then moved to London for a post-doctoral research programme. He simultaneously started organising support for the Kashmir issue. Later in 1990, he took over as the founder president of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement (WKFM). He was also self-appointed trustee of the UK-based organisation, Mercy Universal, which he had founded in 2000 and Director of the Justice Foundation, also known as the Kashmir Centre, which he founded in 2003. It was revealed in August 2011 by The Daily Telegraph
of London that Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
was secretly a Director of the Kashmir Centre in London, amidst a joint US-British investigation of the Centre.
All the three organisations founded by Thakur have been investigated by Scotland Yard
, the Charity Commission
and the FBI for financial ties to the Pakistani Military and terrorist groups active in Jammu and Kashmir. Of the three, only the Justice Foundation (Kashmir Centre) is still active as of 2011, while the other two are only sporadically active. As of August 2011, a Brussels-based affiliate of the Kashmir Centre, named the Kashmir Centre-Europe, also came under investigation based on evidence found by the FBI implicating the Inter-Services Intelligence
agency of the Pakistani Military in secretly funding both Kashmir Centres in London and Brussels.
, after impounding his passport. He subsequently obtained British travel papers which he used until his death in 2004. Upon his death, Thakur's family petitioned the Government of India for the privilege of being buried in his ancestral village in Jammu & Kashmir. Since he died a de facto British subject, having forfeited his Indian citizenship, the Indian Government summarily dismissed this petition. However, Thakur's widow retains her Indian citizenship and would be entitled to burial in Jammu & Kashmir, should the family wish it, if she remains an Indian citizen until her death.
aspiration". He was the first Kashmiri leader to offer "conditional and issue-based moral support to the Kashmiri militants". The conference was self-described by Thakur as a "great success" much to the "annoyance" of India.
The Indian Government took the "success of the conference very seriously", and accused Dr. Ayyub Thakur of sending money to the Kashmiri freedom fighters for terrorist activities. Under the direction of various Indian intelligence agencies, many cases ranging from terrorism to sabotage were registered against him. The Indian Government booked him under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act
(TADA). This case later formed the genesis of the Jain Hawala Corruption Case
, in which 38 prominent Indian politicians were charge sheeted and later discharged.
Dr. Ayyub Thakur also attended the 1991 Organisation of the Islamic Conference
(OIC) Foreign minister meeting in Istanbul
, Turkey
, the 1993 OIC summit meeting in Dakar
, Senegal
and World tactics did not yield the desired result. On this occasion Dr. Ayyub Thakur led a delegation and highlighted the Indian "intransigence". World Kashmir Freedom Movement also joined other Kashmiri groups and attended March 1993 session of United Nations Commission on Human Rights
(UNCHR) and later the World Conference on Human Rights
at Vienna
, Austria in June 1993. As the World Kashmir Freedom Movement activities were growing, Indian Government tried to extradite Ayub Thakur on charges of financing terrorism
and secessionist plotting. The British government issued him with a travel document, which he used till his death.
During the visit of British Home Secretary Jack Straw
to India in May 2002, Indian Deputy Prime Minister, LK Advani
in his meeting with him accused Dr. Thakur of diverting funds to the Kashmiri militants for terrorist activities. He first demanded the arrest of Dr. Thakur under the new anti-terrorist laws and when it did not work, demanded his deportation or extradition to India. The Indian Government tried to build the pressure and made repeated demands for his extradition. Moreover, the Indian intelligence agencies allegedly launched a "propaganda campaign" in the Indian media against Dr. Thakur. Later, in August 2002 when Mr. LK Advani
visited UK, he again demanded the extradition of the Dr. Ayyub Thakur.
in the United Kingdom. It claims to work for "the mitigation of peoples suffering in some of the world's poorest communities in South Asia and East Africa". It claims to also provide humanitarian relief in the UK.
Although it has never had official permission to operate in Jammu and Kashmir, it has claimed to have "rehabilitated than 2,000 people" in the region. Among the alleged beneficiaries are "hundreds of widows and orphan children whose parents were killed by the Indian Army". Mercy Universal claims to "carry out its work without being prejudiced by political views of its organisers" and also claims to "help anybody who is a victim and has suffered during the ongoing struggle". However, the Indian Government has collected extensive evidence of Mercy Universal having funded terrorist activities, and arrested many of its volunteers. Britain's Charity Commission
has investigated charges that the outfit was funding terror
in Kashmir, specifically via the acting a money-laundering front for the Pakistan-based terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen
, led by Sayeed Salahudeen
.
and its various agencies. His ancestral house in Jammu & Kashmir was allegedly raided and his old parents allegedly threatened.
.
World Kashmir Freedom Movement
The World Kashmir Freedom Movement is an umbrella organisation of expatriate Kashmiris from Indian administrated Kashmir working internationally for the promotion of the Kashmir cause. It was set up on 17 June 1990 with Dr...
(WKFM), an organisation that claimed to seek a "peaceful political solution" to the Kashmir Conflict
Kashmir conflict
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region, the northwesternmost region of South Asia....
. He founded a "charity organization", Mercy Universal, which was investigated by the British Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
for links to terrorist groups including Hizbul Mujahideen
Hizbul Mujahideen
Hizbul Mujahideen , founded by Ahsan Dar in 1989, is a Kashmiri militant group active in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1989. Their headquarters are located in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. It is believed the group al-Badr, derived from Hizbul Mujahideen...
in Kashmir. Thakur also agitated for the right of self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
for the people of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
. After Thakur's death in 2004, both WKFM and Mercy Universal became much less active. Neither has any full-time employees as of 2011, nor does either have any regular source of legitimate funds.
Thakur was close to Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai is an American citizen of Kashmiri origin, from Indian-administered Kashmir, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on July 19, 2011 for allegedly working secretly for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence to lobby and influence the U.S. government on the...
, the head of the so-called Kashmiri American Council (KAC), revealed in 2011 to be funded by the Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
, the intelligence agency of the Pakistani military. Thakur was also close to Syed Ali Shah Geelani
Syed Ali Shah Geelani
-Early life:Syed Geelani was born in a town called Zoorimunz, Bandipora, in North Kashmir. After his preliminary education in Sopore, he went on to graduate from the Oriental College in Lahore....
, the pro-Pakistan leader of the "hardline" faction of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), the umbrella separatist organisation in Kashmir.
Thakur had lectured extensively on Kashmir issue
Kashmir conflict
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region, the northwesternmost region of South Asia....
. He attended hundreds of seminars and conferences around the world in universities, think tanks and other institutions, including the universities of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
bodies. Thakur was a self-appointed Trustee of the UK-based alleged "charitable oraganisation", Mercy Universal, which he had founded in 2000. Mercy Universal claims to provide "humanitarian assistance" mainly to the Kashmiri people
Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
., He was the Director of the Justice Foundation, which he founded in 2003 as a registered UK company "to advance the Kashmir cause through public advocacy". The Justice Foundation (also known as the Kashmir Centre) came, as of July 2011, under investigation by British and American authorities for being a de facto front for the Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
agency of the Pakistani Military, based on evidence uncovered by the FBI via the July 2011 arrest and interrogation of Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai is an American citizen of Kashmiri origin, from Indian-administered Kashmir, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on July 19, 2011 for allegedly working secretly for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence to lobby and influence the U.S. government on the...
in the U.S. In August 2011, London's The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
revealed that Fai has secretly been serving as a Director of the Justice Foundation.
Early Life
Muhammad Ayub Thakur was born in 1948 in a farming family in Pudsoo village near Shopian, district Pulwama in Jammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
. He was the eldest of four children.
Political activities
Dr. Ayub Thakur obtained his Doctorate (Phd.) in Nuclear PhysicsNuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
from the University of Kashmir
University of Kashmir
-Faculties/Departments:* Arts** Department of Arabic** Department of Urdu** Department of English** Department of Kashmiri** Department of Foreign Languages** Department of Library and Information Science** Department of Linguistics...
. In 1978, after a brief stint at the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (Zakoora, Srinagar) he became lecturer in the Department of Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
in the same university. He had a keen interest in the social and political issues of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
. He started his political career in early 1970s as a student leader in the University of Kashmir
University of Kashmir
-Faculties/Departments:* Arts** Department of Arabic** Department of Urdu** Department of English** Department of Kashmiri** Department of Foreign Languages** Department of Library and Information Science** Department of Linguistics...
. He rallied Kashmiri youth and students and founded Jammu and Kashmir Students Islamic Organisation in 1974 and continued to be its patron till 1977. This organisation later merged with another organisation and changed into Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, which he headed from 1977–1981. He was also the president of Kashmir University Students Union and Kashmir University Research Scholars Association.
As a student leader, Dr. Thakur attended international youth and student conferences at Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in 1979, Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
in 1980 and Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia in the same year. In these conferences, Dr. Thakur put forward the so-called Kashmiri viewpoint and drew the world attention towards the Kashmir problem. In Kuala Lumpur conference in 1980, he was instrumental in passing a resolution condemning the alleged Indian "occupation" of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr. Thakur organised meetings of the youth and students to challenge the Kashmir's accession to India which he considered as "fraudulent". He strongly opposed the accord between unionist Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
in 1974.
Imprisonment and Dismissal
After becoming lecturer at the University of KashmirUniversity of Kashmir
-Faculties/Departments:* Arts** Department of Arabic** Department of Urdu** Department of English** Department of Kashmiri** Department of Foreign Languages** Department of Library and Information Science** Department of Linguistics...
he intensified his political activities. He began organising students and colleagues "to form an intellectual response". In August 1980, he and many of his colleagues at university and students organisation, Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba, organised an international conference on the issue of right of self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
of Kashmiris as outlined in the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir. The Indian government, however, banned the conference and dismissed Dr. Ayyub from his job as a university teacher, and later imprisoned him along with his colleagues under Public Safety Act (PSA). Thakur claimed that during his five month imprisonment, he was "subjected to inhuman torture of all sorts, but he refused to compromise on his political ideology". After his release in 1981 he began to travel across in Kashmir to mobilise Kashmir youth. He claimed that police "tried to interrupt his activities" every now and then. Claiming to be tired of "playing a cat-and-mouse game with the police", on May 25, 1981 he opted to accept the offer of a lecturer in the King Abdul Aziz University
King Abdulaziz University
King Abdulaziz University was founded in 1967 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Designed by English architect John Elliott, it had 2,000 teachers and more than 37,000 students in 2000/2001....
, Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
where he served up to 1984.
In Exile
In 1981, Thakur joined the Nuclear EngineeringNuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
Department of King Abdul Aziz University
King Abdulaziz University
King Abdulaziz University was founded in 1967 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Designed by English architect John Elliott, it had 2,000 teachers and more than 37,000 students in 2000/2001....
, Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
as Assistant Professor. During his stay, he tried to mobilise support for the Kashmir cause and organised camps for the Kashmiri pilgrims during Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
. He married the daughter of a family from Baramulla in 1981. The groom's consent was taken on phone and the bride flew to Jeddah. After 5 years in Jeddah, he was a denied a tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
d professorship by the university. He had to resign his position, and then moved to London for a post-doctoral research programme. He simultaneously started organising support for the Kashmir issue. Later in 1990, he took over as the founder president of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement (WKFM). He was also self-appointed trustee of the UK-based organisation, Mercy Universal, which he had founded in 2000 and Director of the Justice Foundation, also known as the Kashmir Centre, which he founded in 2003. It was revealed in August 2011 by The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
of London that Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai is an American citizen of Kashmiri origin, from Indian-administered Kashmir, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on July 19, 2011 for allegedly working secretly for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence to lobby and influence the U.S. government on the...
was secretly a Director of the Kashmir Centre in London, amidst a joint US-British investigation of the Centre.
All the three organisations founded by Thakur have been investigated by Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, the Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
and the FBI for financial ties to the Pakistani Military and terrorist groups active in Jammu and Kashmir. Of the three, only the Justice Foundation (Kashmir Centre) is still active as of 2011, while the other two are only sporadically active. As of August 2011, a Brussels-based affiliate of the Kashmir Centre, named the Kashmir Centre-Europe, also came under investigation based on evidence found by the FBI implicating the Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
agency of the Pakistani Military in secretly funding both Kashmir Centres in London and Brussels.
Impounding of Indian Passport
The Government of India stripped Thakur of his citizenship in 1993 for treasonTreason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, after impounding his passport. He subsequently obtained British travel papers which he used until his death in 2004. Upon his death, Thakur's family petitioned the Government of India for the privilege of being buried in his ancestral village in Jammu & Kashmir. Since he died a de facto British subject, having forfeited his Indian citizenship, the Indian Government summarily dismissed this petition. However, Thakur's widow retains her Indian citizenship and would be entitled to burial in Jammu & Kashmir, should the family wish it, if she remains an Indian citizen until her death.
World Kashmir Freedom Movement
The World Kashmir Freedom Movement (WKFM) is an umbrella organisation of expatriate Kashmiris from Indian administrated Kashmir that has claimed to be "working internationally for the promotion of the Kashmir cause". It was set up on 17 June 1990 with Dr. Ayyub Thakur as it president and has claimed that it has offices in Europe, Americas and Middle East. As of 2011, none of these offices remain open and it is not known when they closed and how active they were before closing. In July 1991, the World Kashmir Freedom Movement organised an "international conference on Kashmir" in Washington, D.C. Some non-ranking US congressmen, members of the British Parliament (almost entirely backbenchers) and European Parliament as well as certain academics participated in the conference and "supported tri-partite talks for the resolution of Kashmir". During his address to the conference, Thakur urged Kashmiri militants to "renounce the misuse of force no matter how compelling the self-determinationSelf-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
aspiration". He was the first Kashmiri leader to offer "conditional and issue-based moral support to the Kashmiri militants". The conference was self-described by Thakur as a "great success" much to the "annoyance" of India.
The Indian Government took the "success of the conference very seriously", and accused Dr. Ayyub Thakur of sending money to the Kashmiri freedom fighters for terrorist activities. Under the direction of various Indian intelligence agencies, many cases ranging from terrorism to sabotage were registered against him. The Indian Government booked him under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, commonly known as TADA, was an Indian law active between 1985 and 1995 for the prevention of terrorist activities in Punjab. It came into effect on 23 May 1985. It was renewed in 1989, 1991 and 1993 before being allowed to lapse in 1995 due to increasing...
(TADA). This case later formed the genesis of the Jain Hawala Corruption Case
Hawala scandal
The Hawala scandal or hawala scam was an Indian political scandal involving payments allegedly received by politicians through four hawala brokers, the Jain brothers...
, in which 38 prominent Indian politicians were charge sheeted and later discharged.
Dr. Ayyub Thakur also attended the 1991 Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Upon the groups's renaming, some sources provided the English-language translation "Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation", but and have since indicated the preferred English translation omits the "the". is an international organisation consisting of 57...
(OIC) Foreign minister meeting in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the 1993 OIC summit meeting in Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and World tactics did not yield the desired result. On this occasion Dr. Ayyub Thakur led a delegation and highlighted the Indian "intransigence". World Kashmir Freedom Movement also joined other Kashmiri groups and attended March 1993 session of United Nations Commission on Human Rights
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006...
(UNCHR) and later the World Conference on Human Rights
World Conference on Human Rights
The World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War...
at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria in June 1993. As the World Kashmir Freedom Movement activities were growing, Indian Government tried to extradite Ayub Thakur on charges of financing terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and secessionist plotting. The British government issued him with a travel document, which he used till his death.
During the visit of British Home Secretary Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
to India in May 2002, Indian Deputy Prime Minister, LK Advani
Lal Krishna Advani
Lal Kishanchand Advani known as Lal Krishna Advani is a Veteran Indian politician. A former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004...
in his meeting with him accused Dr. Thakur of diverting funds to the Kashmiri militants for terrorist activities. He first demanded the arrest of Dr. Thakur under the new anti-terrorist laws and when it did not work, demanded his deportation or extradition to India. The Indian Government tried to build the pressure and made repeated demands for his extradition. Moreover, the Indian intelligence agencies allegedly launched a "propaganda campaign" in the Indian media against Dr. Thakur. Later, in August 2002 when Mr. LK Advani
Lal Krishna Advani
Lal Kishanchand Advani known as Lal Krishna Advani is a Veteran Indian politician. A former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004...
visited UK, he again demanded the extradition of the Dr. Ayyub Thakur.
Mercy Universal
In 2000, World Kashmir Freedom Movement president and its leaders formed Mercy Universal, self-described as an "International Humanitarian Organisation" registered with the Charity CommissionCharity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
in the United Kingdom. It claims to work for "the mitigation of peoples suffering in some of the world's poorest communities in South Asia and East Africa". It claims to also provide humanitarian relief in the UK.
Although it has never had official permission to operate in Jammu and Kashmir, it has claimed to have "rehabilitated than 2,000 people" in the region. Among the alleged beneficiaries are "hundreds of widows and orphan children whose parents were killed by the Indian Army". Mercy Universal claims to "carry out its work without being prejudiced by political views of its organisers" and also claims to "help anybody who is a victim and has suffered during the ongoing struggle". However, the Indian Government has collected extensive evidence of Mercy Universal having funded terrorist activities, and arrested many of its volunteers. Britain's Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
has investigated charges that the outfit was funding terror
Terror
Terror may refer to:*Fear, an emotional response to threats and danger*Terror, a political strategy of the asymmetrical use of threats and violence against enemies using means that fall outside the routine forms of political struggle operating within some current regime*Terrorism, the fact of...
in Kashmir, specifically via the acting a money-laundering front for the Pakistan-based terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen
Hizbul Mujahideen
Hizbul Mujahideen , founded by Ahsan Dar in 1989, is a Kashmiri militant group active in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1989. Their headquarters are located in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. It is believed the group al-Badr, derived from Hizbul Mujahideen...
, led by Sayeed Salahudeen
Sayeed Salahudeen
Syed Salahudeen or Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah, is the head of the Hizbul Mujahideen, militant outfit in Kashmir and head of an alliance of Kashmiri militant organizations, the Muttahida Jihad Council, that supports the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir's accession to Pakistan...
.
Family Allegedly "Harassed"
During the last 15 years all of his family members, relatives and friends have claimed they were subjected to "harassment" by the Indian armyIndian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
and its various agencies. His ancestral house in Jammu & Kashmir was allegedly raided and his old parents allegedly threatened.
Death
He died at the age of 55, in London on March 10, 2004 after contracting an illness. He was suffering from pulmonary fibrosis. His funeral was held at the London Central Mosque, Regent Park, and he was laid to rest at the Garden of Peace, in Greenford, West London, close to where he had been living for many years. The Indian Government refused to allow his remains to be returned to his ancestral village, since he had been stripped off his Indian citizenship in 1993, and accordingly lost his right to be buried in Jammu and Kashmir.Family
Thakur is survived by his widow, a son and two daughters, all of whom reside in London. His wife remains an Indian citizen but has not visited Jammu & Kashmir since her husband's death in 2004. His three children are British subjects. His son Muzammil is a small businessman who has been occasionally active in the affairs of the London-based Justice Foundation (Kashmir Centre), founded by his father. Muzammil Thakur's visa applications to visit India have been denied by Indian consular authorities in London, given the nature of the Kashmir Centre's activities and its financial ties to the Pakistani Military and to terrorist groups such as Hizbul MujahideenHizbul Mujahideen
Hizbul Mujahideen , founded by Ahsan Dar in 1989, is a Kashmiri militant group active in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1989. Their headquarters are located in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. It is believed the group al-Badr, derived from Hizbul Mujahideen...
.