Bahaziq

Johann on BRF has provided some information on Indian-born Saudi national and Saudi resident Bahaziq, who is a financier for the LeT. My interest regarding Bahaziq is to see if the anti-terrorism effort extends to Saudi Arabia, or whether, as always, they get a free pass.

I'm copying the information here for future reference.

My request for information was after reading this US Treasury release from May 27, 2008.

Here is a picture of him from the Fall of 1992, taken in Bosnia by a Newsweek journalist who managed to secure an interview at the training camp in Travnik. At that point he didnt reveal his origins in the subcontinent, speaking in Arabic and english.



In hindsight His position as first among equals among mujaheddin commanders in Bosnia was a reflection of the resources that Javed Nasir, the D-G of the ISI put in to the Bosnian jihad at that point.

Interestingly enough, this was at the time of the attacks on Bombay in 1993, and the US threat to put Pakistan on the terrorist state sponsor list unless they got rid of Nasir.

Abdel Azziz is a very important high level liaison between the Arab and Pakistani jihadi movements, which is not surprising given that the LeT are Wahhabis/salafis.

I have a translated interview published in a jihadi magazine from 1994 if anyone is interested

It is *highly* unlikely the Saudis will either try him or extradite him. They havent really handed over anyone to the Americans either. The most they will do as long as there is pressure is shut down his overt fundraising operations, offices and curtail his speaking at gatherings.

PS: The Hindu has this:

Mahmoud Bahaziq is among the most enigmatic figures in the Lashkar command structure. Under circumstances which are unclear, he obtained hard-to-get Saudi Arabian nationality, and has lived in that country for most of his life.According to the USTD, Bahaziq “is credited with being the main financier of the LET and its activities in the 1980s and 1990s.” He “coordinated LET’s fundraising activities with Saudi non-governmental organisations and Saudi businessmen.” Indian investigators had first learned of Bahaziq’s activities in2000, during an investigation into the activities of Mohammad AzamGhauri—one of the co-founders of the Lashkar’s operations in India. Hyderabad resident Ghauri, who was killed by police, is thought tohave received funds from Bahaziq in Mumbai.

Later, in August, 2001, the Hyderabad Police learned that Bahaziq hadfunded Abdul Aziz, who was arrested while attempting to set upjihadist cells in the city. According to police records, Aziz, an electrician, met Bahaziq while working in Saudi Arabia. Aziz served in Bosnia in 1994, and then fought alongside Chechen Islamists in 1996. Bahaziq is believed to have been arrested by Saudi Arabia in 2006, on charges of financing terrorism. There has been no public word, however, on the status of his trial.