Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions
1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida
and associated individuals and entities
1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida
and associated individuals and entities
QI.Q.271.09. ARIF QASMANI
Date on which the narrative summary became available on the Committee’s website: 14.09.2009
Arif Qasmani was listed on 29 June 2009 pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of resolution 1822 (2008) as being associated with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf or in support of”; "supplying, selling or transferring arms and related materiel to" or "otherwise supporting acts or activities of" Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (QE.L.118.05) and Al-Qaida (QE.A.4.01).
Additional information:
Arif Qasmani is the chief coordinator of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba’s (LeT) (QE.L.118.05) dealings with other organizations and has provided significant support for LeT terrorist operations. Qasmani has worked with LeT to facilitate terrorist attacks, including the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India, and the February 2007 Samjota Express bombing in Panipat, India. Qasmani utilized money that he received from Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar (QI.K.135.03), an Indian crime figure and listed terrorism supporter, to facilitate the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India. Qasmani also conducted fundraising activities on behalf of LeT in late 2005.
Arif Qasmani has also provided financial and other support to Al-Qaida (QE.A.4.01). As of late 2006, Qasmani provided funding to Al-Qaida members and facilitated the return of foreign fighters to their respective countries. Between 2004 and 2005, Qasmani provided Al-Qaida with supplies and weapons and facilitated the movement of Al-Qaida leaders in and out of Afghanistan. In return for Qasmani’s support, Al-Qaida provided him with operatives to support the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India, and the February 2007 Samjota Express bombing in Panipat, India. Qasmani also facilitated the movement of Al-Qaida personnel out of Afghanistan in 2001. In 2005, Arif Qasmani provided Taliban leaders with a means to smuggle personnel, equipment and weapons into Afghanistan.
Related listed individuals and entities:
Al-Qaida (QE.A.4.01), listed on 6 October 2001
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (QE.L.118.05), listed on 2 May 2005
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar (QI.K.135.03), listed on 3 November 2003
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (QI.S.263.08), listed on 10 December 2008
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (QI.L.264.08), listed on 10 December 2008
Haji Muhammad Ashraf (QI.A.265.08), listed on 10 December 2008
Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq (QI.B.266.08), listed on 10 December 2008
Mohammed Yahya Mujahid (QI.M.272.09), listed on 29 June 2009
Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi (QI.B.307.12), listed on 14 March 2012
Zafar Iqbal (QI.I.308.12), listed on 14 March 2012
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (QE.L.118.05), listed on 2 May 2005
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar (QI.K.135.03), listed on 3 November 2003
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (QI.S.263.08), listed on 10 December 2008
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (QI.L.264.08), listed on 10 December 2008
Haji Muhammad Ashraf (QI.A.265.08), listed on 10 December 2008
Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq (QI.B.266.08), listed on 10 December 2008
Mohammed Yahya Mujahid (QI.M.272.09), listed on 29 June 2009
Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi (QI.B.307.12), listed on 14 March 2012
Zafar Iqbal (QI.I.308.12), listed on 14 March 2012
‘The Caravan’ magazine carried a report, said to be given by Swami Asseemanand, with baseless allegation, on involvement of RSS Chief in the blasts carried out in Samjhauta Express.
“This is a political conspiracy. Aseemanand has clarified he never said this. We have to see the timing," said RSS leader Ram Madhav.
"We condemn this attempt to bring back the false allegations. Such false allegations were made earlier to defame RSS leadership but they were proved to wrong. Aseemanand, in the court and outside, denied making such statements. Questions arise on the authenticity of the interview. The timing of the interview poses a political conspiracy.
Senior RSS functionary MG Vaidya said that allegation by a media about Aseemanand ji’s statement is baseless. “All of it is a lie, imagination. Such acts will not be done by RSS. The Sangh does not tell someone to explode bombs; its job is character building, creating history. It has no connection with terror”, he said.
NIA sources say during probe Aseemanand did not name any senior RSS leader.
Aseemanand's lawyer J S Rana had issued a statement on Wednesdaycategorically stating that the content of the article was a bundle of lies. The lawyer also said that his client denied having given any such interview and threatened to take legal action against the magazine and its correspondent.
Swami Aseemanand fallout: Hindu Sena protests outside Caravan office
by 56 mins ago
The Caravan magazine, which has created a furore with its latest cover story on jailed RSS activist Swami Aseemanand, is seeing protests outside its New Delhi office, with workers from the RSS and Hindu Sena shouting slogans and burning copies of the magazine's latest issue. Earlier Caravan Executive editor Vinod K Jose tweeted that both its Delhi and Mumbai offices have been receiving threatening calls.
Threat calls to @thecaravanindia in the Delhi and Bombay offices
- Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) February 7, 2014 ]![The Caravan cover story]()
The Caravan cover story
In the story, Aseemanand is quoted as saying that some of the worst recent terror attacks in India, including the bombing of the Samjhauta Express in 2007, which collectively killed more than 100 people, were sanctioned by the RSS. And even worse, he says that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was in the know and had given the plans a tacit nod of approval.
The Caravan cover storyThe report says:
According to Aseemanand, both RSS leaders approved, and Bhagwat told him, “You can work on this with Sunil. We will not be involved, but if you are doing this, you can consider us to be with you.”
Aseemanand continued, “Then they told me, ‘Swamiji, if you do this we will be at ease with it. Nothing wrong will happen then. Criminalisation nahin hoga (It will not be criminalised). If you do it, then people won't say that we did a crime for the sake of committing a crime. It will be connected to the ideology. This is very important for Hindus. Please do this. You have our blessings.'”
Both the BJP and RSS have completely denied the veracity of the report. The BJP has called the story a Congress sponsored plot to take votes away from the party ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, and the RSS have said that the interview never actually happened as claimed by the Caravan journalist.
Aseemanand for his part has issued a handwritten statement in which he has claimed that he did not give any interview to the Caravan magazine. He claimed that a reporter disguised as a lawyer came to meet him on a few occasions but he never took the names of Mohan Bhagwat name or RSS leader Indresh Singh, reported CNN-IBN which has accessed the letter.
Aseemanand in the letter has described the sequence of events and said that she had approached him on various occasions, but he had always denied speaking to her. He also said that she approached him to talk about the social work he was involved in.
Caravan magazine has stood by its article and released two audio recordings of the interview, both of which can be accessed here, where Aseemanand recollects the discussion he had held with the top RSS leaders when they came to visit him in Shabari Dham, Gujarat.
Executive editor Jose has also strongly defended the post. He tweeted, "4 interviews. 9 hr 26 mint long interviews. no sting. no entrapment. genuine, meticulous, persuasive, old-school investigative journalism. Aseemanand has over 20 lawyers in 5 terror cases in 5 states. I hope TV journalists are vetting these lawyers enough. Interviews are genuine. Check our records. Check the jail register. And listen to our tapes.No entrapment/sting. We believe in the real old-fashioned methods of going to people and documents without hiding our identity."
People attributing motives to @thecaravanindia should know the Cong is so guarded to even commit to an investigation http://t.co/taDezkYVx0
- Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) February 6, 2014