Fazlur Rehman Khalil | |
|---|---|
| فضل الرحمن خليل | |
| Emir ofAnsar-ul-Umma | |
| Assumed office 2004 | |
| Preceded by | None (office created) |
| Vice President ofDifa-e-Pakistan Council | |
| Assumed office 2012 | |
| Leader | Sami-ul-Haq (2012-2018) Ahmed Ludhianvi (2018-) |
| Emir ofHarkat-ul-Mujahideen | |
| In office 1996–2000 | |
| Preceded by | Sajjad Afghani |
| Succeeded by | Farooq Kashmiri |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1963 (age 61–62) |
| Political party | Ansar-ul-Umma |
| Alma mater | Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | |
Fazlur Rehman Khalil (Urdu:فضل الرحمن خليلc. 1963) isPakistaniIslamic scholar and former militant leader, who is the founder ofHarkat-ul-Mujahideen and Vice President ofDifa-e-Pakistan Council and current leader ofAnsar-ul-Umma, which is accused of being afront organization of the banned HuM.[1]
He also runs theJamiaKhalid Bin Walid, amadrasa or Islamic seminary located in the Shams Colony ofIslamabad’sGolra district.[2]
He is sanctioned as aSpecially Designated Global Terrorist under theSpecially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List by theUnited States Department of the Treasury'sOffice of Foreign Assets Control; where he is listed as aMawlānā andQāriʾ born in 1963 in Pakistan with addresses inRawalpindi andIslamabad.[3]
He is considered to be close to theAfghan Taliban and former Pakistani Prime MinisterImran Khan.[4][5]
Born into aPashtun family in 1963 in Pakistan,[6] Fazal ur Rehman was a student in theJamia Naumania, amadrassa inDera Ismail Khan, when he left to join theAfghan Jihad in 1981, at the age of 16, without telling his parents, while in Afghanistan he'd fight in the ranks of commandersJalaluddin Haqqani andYunus Khalis as well meetingOsama bin Laden, who would become a long-time friend.[7]
Fazal ur Rehman cofoundedHarakat-ul-Jihad-ul-Islami (HuJI) in 1980 with Irshad Ahmad andQari Saifullah Akhtar, all three had graduated fromJamia Uloom-ul-Islamia Banuri Town in Karachi. He would later go on to found and lead Harkat-ul-Mujahedeen.[8] Fazal ur Rehman was a signatory of Osama bin Laden's 1998fatwa called theInternational Front Against Jews and Crusaders.[1][5]
He stepped down as emir of HuM in February 2000 and his second-in-command, Farooq Kashmiri, assumed leadership of the group.[9][10]
In May 2004, Pakistani authorities arrested Fazal ur Rehman. After six months he was released due to lack of evidence. AfterHamid and Umer Hayat reported to theFederal Bureau of Investigation in June 2005 that they had received training at anAl Qaeda camp run by Fazal ur Rehman, he went into hiding.[11][12]
In March 2006, eight assailants dragged Fazal ur Rehman and his driver from a mosque inTarnol, about three miles northwest of Islamabad. He was held for five hours, beaten and left in front of a mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad.[13]
Fazal ur Rehman was considered a close friend of theLal Masjid leaders,Abdul Aziz andAbdul Rashid Ghazi. This relationship led theMusharraf government to task him with negotiating an end to theRed Mosque standoff in July 2007.[14]
In 2013, during a hearing of the murder case ofAbdul Rashid Ghazi, Khalil recorded his statement to the court. He stated that Ghazi was amenable to a peaceful settlement and that he had persuaded him to agree to the government's demands, culminating in a five-point agenda to end the standoff and that Ghazi had also agreed to surrender, yetOperation Sunrise was carried out regardless.[15][16][17][18]