Saeed's release will help Lashkar's recruitments

The release of Jamaat -ud-Dawaa chief Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed is probably one of the worst thing that could have happened to India. Although the Lashkar-e-Tayiba continued to operate despite its chief being detained, Saeed's release will only motivate more youth to take up jihad, sources in the Intelligence Bureau told rediff.com.

Sabahuddin, who is being tried for his role in the Mumbai terror attacks had confessed that not a single recruitment into the Lashkar-e-Tayiba took place without the knowledge of Saeed. Sabahuddin says that after being identified by the handlers and then meeting with the lower rung of operatives in the LeT, it was mandatory that the recruits meet Saeed before proceeding for any operation.Security experts and the IB says that this is a worrying factor since Saeed's release will only motivate more youth to join the LeT.

When a youth is identified to join the Lashkar, he is handed over tapes of Saeed's speeches. All the youth chosen for this dreaded job are impressed with the way Saeed spoke and his speeches have always been a source of inspiration for many. Sabahuddin says that the handler goes back back to the recruits after a month and once the handler realizes that the person is impressed with the speech, he gives the recruit an incentive of meeting Saeed at the end of the training programme.

IB sources said that the recruitments within the LeT had come down considerably since Saeed's arrest, however now there is a danger of the recruitment process going up considerably, thanks to his release.

Sabhahuddin states clearly in his confession that once his training programme was completed, he was taken to Markaz Taiba which is situated on the Lahore-Islamabad highway by an LeT operator,Muzzamil, and an Inter Services Intelligence agent.Sabahuddin met Hafiz Saeed and his two deputies Abdur Rehman Makki and Abdus Salaam Ghulvi at the Markaz Taiba. After the meeting, Sabahuddin was told to meet Abdullah Mujahid and was told to stay in touch with him for instructions as he was main person acting as a link between the LeT and the ISI.

Another danger related to Saeed's release is the launch of Maldives operations. These plans which were supposed to unfold earlier this year were put on hold due to the arrest of Hafiz Saeed. Sources say that the release would now act as an inspiration for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba cadres to commence operations at Maldives, which again would be worrisome for our country.