Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed

Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed
Major (Retd.) Pakistan army
Personal details
NationalityPakistani

Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, also known as Pasha, is a retired Major in the Pakistan army, accused of involvement with terrorism.[1] He is listed on the NIA Most Wanted list.

Biography

Abdur Rehman retired in 2007 from the Pakistan army as a Major.[2] He worked closely with Lashkar-e-Taiba and coordinated the activities of a Chicago man, David Headley. He was arrested in 2009 in Pakistan on unspecified charges and later released.[3][4][5]

An Associated Press story on 24 November 2009 said that five Pakistan army officers, including a retired brigadier and two active lieutenant colonels, had been detained for questioning in Pakistan.[6] They had all been in telephone contact with Headley. But the next day, Pakistan military spokesman Athar Abbas said that "security agencies" had only detained a single former army major in connection with the FBI case.[7][8][9]

Accusations by the FBI

A joint FBI complaint against a Chicago man David Headley and Abdur Rehman charges Rehman with conspiracy in planning to attack the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten and its employees.

Headley is accused of reporting to Ilyas Kashmiri, an Islamic militant commander associated with both Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba, to conduct surveillance of public areas in Mumbai in preparation for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[3] Kashmiri was also a former Pakistani military officer.[3] Kashmiri was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in June 2011.[10]

Accusations by the NIA

Another individual named in the FBI complaint as "LeT member A", a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, gave instructions to Headley on which locations to scout for future attacks, including both the Danish newspaper and locations in India,[5] such as the National Defense College in New Delhi. Indian intelligence officials believe that LeT member A is Sajid Mir,[11] Lashkar's head of international operations and surveyed targets in India as a cricket fan.[12] Sajid Mir was a ranking member of the Pakistani army until several years ago.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Additional Charges Unsealed Alleging Retired Pakistani Major Conspired in Danish Plot.US Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois (7 December 2009). "Chicagoan Charged with Conspiracy in 2008 Mumbai Attacks in Addition to Foreign Terror Plot in Denmark". Department of Justice. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010.
  2. ^ Reporter Nirupama Subramanian in Islamabad was told by Gen Athar Abbas that Abdur Rehman retired just two years ago. Special Correspondent (16 January 2010). "Headley attended Lashkar training camps in Pakistan". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ a b c DAVID JOHNSTON and ERIC SCHMITT (18 November 2009). "Ex-Military Officer in Pakistan Is Linked to 2 Chicago Terrorism Suspects". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Johnson, Carrie (8 December 2009). "U.S. charges Chicago man with conspiring in Mumbai attacks". Washington Post.
  5. ^ a b PRNewswire-USNewswire (27 October 2009). "Two Chicago Men Charged in Connection With Alleged Roles in Foreign Terror Plot". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 November 2009.
  6. ^ Ashraf Khan (24 November 2009). "Pakistani officials: 5 army officers detained". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 15 December 2009.
  7. ^ Zeeshan Haider (25 November 2009). "Pakistan court charges Mumbai attack suspects". Washington Post. Reuters.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ Shah, Saeed (24 November 2009). "Pakistani army officer arrested for alleged link to U.S. terror plot". McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved 1 December 2009. [dead link‍]
  9. ^ Khan, Zarar (2 December 2009). "Pakistan holding retired officer in US terror case". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  10. ^ "Drone strike kills Ilyas Kashmiri". 5 June 2011.
  11. ^ Swami, Praveen (8 December 2009). "American jihadist helped plan 26/11 carnage". The Hindu.
  12. ^ a b Jeff Coen and Josh Meyer (15 December 2009). "Second Chicago terrorism suspect linked to Mumbai attack". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  13. ^ Strict visa rule for Pakistan cricket fans, PRESS TRUST INDIA, New Delhi, Nov 25 2012, greaterkashmir.com