Pakistan has notably shifted its approach from conventional warfare against India to more subtle and insidious tactics. Its strategy focuses on defaming India by falsely accusing it of human rights violations and inciting hatred between communities. Numerous donation portals affiliated with Pak’s ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’ and other groups linked to terrorism have been actively working against India for a prolonged period. These digital projects, funded and supported in various ways by entities in Pakistan and associated terror networks, are designed to undermine India's stability and international reputation.
Following are some of the digital projects that claim to be human rights organizations, but in reality, they are linked to Pakistani interests and work to foment hatred and a communal atmosphere in India.
1. Justice For All :-
‘Justice For All’ (JFA) is a Chicago-based organization, founded in 1999 by a Pak national ‘Abdul Malik Mujahid’, former Head (1975-77) of Jamiat-e-Talaba (Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan’s youth wing).
It is the hotbed of anti-India narratives and created multiple fronts in the name of human rights issues to exploit the Indian fault lines. Its core objective is to paint India with labels of fascism, Islamophobia, and genocide.
‘Save India’ and ‘Free Kashmir’ are some of the projects of JFA against India where it operates along with other Pak-ISI/ Jamaat backed fronts such as ‘Stand With Kashmir’ & ISI operative ‘Ghulam Nabi Fai’.
The only prominent Indian member in JFA is SIMI founder ‘Ahmadullah Siddiqi’.
In the name of ‘Rohingya’ & ‘Uighur’, these groups collect Zakat donations, but the money is used to pay to lobby against India. It has paid a huge amount to ‘Fidelis Government Relations’ (FGR), a US Lobby firm for this very purpose.
JFA has hidden all links with Pak from its revamped website, but when searched the archives its earlier website redirected to ‘pakgovnet-kashmir’ of Pak Govt, whose ‘Kashmir’ section endorsed JeI think tank- Islamabad Policy Studies & ‘http://YesPakistan.Org’.
2. Sound Vision :- ( Helping tomorrow’s Muslims today)
‘Sound Vision’ is a US-based Jamaat front with ISI backing. It was founded by Abdul Malik Mujahid in 1988 when he was associated with Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). The ICNA is Jamaat’s offshoot in the West.
It worked as a multimedia wing of ICNA to promote “Islamic teachings in the United States and Canada.
SIMI, founded by ‘Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi’ was banned in 2001 for terror links & later it was declared a terrorist organization. ‘Ahmadullah Siddiqi’ has also served as the Executive Director of Sound Vision which is powering ‘Justice For All’ front.
It runs programs like ‘Muslim Network TV’, ‘MuslimFest’ & ‘Adam’ s World’.
3. The Polis Project :-
Founder and Executive director:- Suchitra Vijayan
The account was created with the name of POLIS on 21st July 2016. The name of the account was changed to The Polis Project on 24th September 2018. It is managed from US and Pakistan.
It is a New-York based ‘research & journalism’ project. Polis Project is also a regular at IAMC & JFA's events.
It is linked with many controversial personalities. Francesca Recchia conducted an interview with Moazzam Begg (a British Pakistani citizen) who was a member of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. He is alleged to have connections with extremists like Omar Saeed Sheikh, Khalil al-Deek, Abu Hamza al-Masri, and Abu Zubaydah.
It propagates misleading narratives to escalate communal unrest in India and tarnish the government's reputation.
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4. Equality Labs :-
Founder :- Thenmozhi Soundararajan
Founded in :- 2015
Equality Labs is funded by ‘Pierre Omidyar’, the billionaire founder of online auction site Ebay. He invested $50million in New Media Venture which in turn funds Equality Labs.
It is associated with Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an organization which is associated with ISI and is known for spreading hate and propaganda against India. IAMC’s founder ‘Sheikh Ubaid’, is associated with Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) which has links with Pakistan-based terrorist organization ‘Lashkar-e-Taiba’. The IAMC has played a prominent role in furthering the hysteria of ‘Muslim genocide’ in India. It has been found actively lobbying against India, in US.
In 2017, Equality Labs received a grant of US $50,000 from Luminate which is a Governance and Citizen Initiative at Omidyar Ntework.
In October 2021, there were anti-Hindu riots in Tripura based on a rumour that a mosque was burnt in Panisagar. The IAMC then played an important role in spreading the fake news through its disinformation campaign.
5. Hindus for Human Rights :-
Founded in October 2019
Founder :- Sunita Vishwanath
Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) presents itself as a leading political advocacy group of progressive Hindu voices to advocate for civil & human rights in South Asia & North America.
Sunita Vishwanath, co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights (#HfHR) is co-host of multiple events with IAMC.
Her other organization ‘Women for Afghan Women’ is funded by Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
HfHR has been one of the most active groups involved in abetting the US nexus of the Islamist circle comprising Jamaat-e-Islami & anti-India lobbying groups. HfHR often engages with the JeI-linked organizations including the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Justice For All (JFA), IAMC, Muslim Brotherhood front and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
6. Hindutva Watch:-
Founder :- Raqib Hammed Naik
Established in April , 2021
In a 2018 article for The Globe Post ‘Raqib Naik’ referred to the terrorist Burhan Wani as a “21-year-old rebel commander.”
Naik has been a recipient of a Pulitzer Center grant. It is pertinent to note that the Pulitzer Center secures funding from entities such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Omidyar Network, Ford Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Presently, in addition to HW, Naik is affiliated with Two Circles.net, a disinformation network engaged in a concerted information warfare campaign against India.
Hindutva Watch (HW) website was exposed for having backend assistance from Pak. An ‘interactive map’ of alleged human rights abuses in India on HW’s website, was developed & provided by Pak national ‘Sardar Adil Kayani’, who also works for Pak's ruling party - Pakistan Muslim League (N).
Raqib was groomed by pro-Jamaat & SIMI sympathizer ‘Kashif Ul Huda’. Kashif runs ‘Urdustan’ & 'IndianMuslims' which endorsed ‘Dalitstan’ that runs project to break India into Dalitstan, Mughalistan, Khalistan, & so forth.
Funding Pattern:-
(A) The initial step is to depict the country as a violator of human rights, where people, particularly minorities, live under perpetual threat. This includes portraying the media as constrained and incapable of revealing the true plight of the oppressed communities. Consequently, it is no wonder that Western agency ranked India 159 out of 180 in the Press Freedom Index 2024.
(B) Then the social media influencers who evolve into activists come into picture and possess significant sway in molding public narratives around human rights infringements. At this stage the perception has already set into the people’s mind that mainstream media is controlled by government and a huge mass starts to believe all the selectively curated facts narrated by these activists. Hiring of activists to condemn human rights situation in India has become a new trend by Pak terror organizations. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in Western Activists highlighting human rights issues in India.
Audrey Truschke: - Published book on ‘Aurengzeb’ in 2015, and since then started talking about India/Hindutva/Kashmir.
CJ Werleman: - An Anti-Muslim bigot, gets a change of heart and becomes an Anti- Islamophobia crusader in 2016.
Andrew Korybko: - Started writing articles, critical of India in Global Village Space and other Pak establishment front m edia.
Helene Sejlert: - A Swedish born human right activist and freelance political analyst started speaking on #FreeKashmir.
Pieter Friedrich: - Pieter Friedrich of OFMI, has a proven track record of hatred towards Hindu. He protested at multiple Indian and Hindu events, demeaning and verbally harassing both Hindu children and adults who were participating peacefully. He also promotes violence and hate against world leaders such as non-violence icon, Mahatma Gandhi. He was exposed as a part of Khalistani network & the 'resource person' in the #GretaThunberg farmers' protest Toolkit case. He is also employed by IACSJ along with CJ Werleman & Equality Lab.
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Some of the individuals linked with such organizations are as follows:-
SL No | Organizations | Individuals associated |
1. | USCIRF | Anurima Bhargava |
2. | Equality Labs | Sheik Ubaid |
3. | Hindus for Human Rights | Nadine Maenza |
4. | Indian American Muslim Council | Arundhati Roy |
5. | Stand With Kashmir | Peiter Friedrich |
6. | Organization for Minorities in India (OFMI) | Angana P Chatterji |
7. | Documentation Of The Oppressed (DOTO) Database | Harsh Mander |
8. | Quill Foundation | Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai |
(C) In today's digital landscape, traditional fundraising methods such as zakat -religious contributions have transformed with the rise of the internet and the widespread adoption of social media, online fundraising has surged, dramatically expanding the scope and reach of donation drives. This shift is largely fueled by narratives shared by activists who claim that minorities face significant challenges in countries like India. In response, a myriad of fundraising platforms, with links to Pakistani agencies, have sprung up, ostensibly to support minority empowerment, human rights, and other noble causes.
LaunchGood: -
Founded in 2013
Founder: - Chris Abdur Rahman Blauvelt (Born as Christian and Converted to Islam at the age of 16)
Associated with ISNA (Islamic Society of North America)
The purpose behind creating this organization is to serve the Muslim community worldwide via crowd funding and providing aid. It is the least transparent platform for fund collection disclosures.
It Launched 68 campaigns for Kashmir alone in the name of helping Kashmir orphans, feeding the poor and helping the widows.
Some of the major organizations that have collected funds on LaunchGood include ICNA Relief Canada, Human Concern International (Canada), Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD), and Islamic Relief UK. Human Concern International has been reported to have links with Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaida.
Former Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan, Rustam Shah Mohmand, was also accused of financing terrorism during the arrest of Ali Nawaz, the head of Human Concern International (Pakistan office) back in 2019.
Muslim Aid :-
Muslim Aid has no ground presence in India but it preys on sympathy of people to collect donations in the name of Covid -19 crisis unfolding in India. After raking in millions in donations, the Muslim Aid USA has not made any significant contribution towards India.
The funds being collected by Muslim Aid for helping India during its COVID crisis was done by three of its front organization—Muslim Aid(UK), Muslim Aid Australia, and Muslim Aid USA.
The organization is already banned in Israel and Bangladesh for having ties with terror outfits while Spain had accused the organization of financing Mujahideen fighters in Bosnia.
Muslim Aid Australia engaged ‘Dr. Bilal Philips’ for raising funds, who has been deported/banned from 6 countries including Australia, due to his terror links (Hamas & Taliban) & extremist views.
In 2009 Muslim Aid Pakistan, appointed a former director of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), ‘Khaled Latif Mughal’ as its chairman. He is known to work with ‘Al-Khidmat’ (‘Charity’ wing of Jamaat-e-Islami , LeT and Hizbul).
Burma Task Force :-
Burma Task Force (BTF), another JFA project run by Shaik Ubaid, had hired US lobby firm Fidelis Govt Relations (FGR) to get India blacklisted by USCIRF (Religious Freedom Commission). BTF collected funds in the name of Rohingyas & Uyghurs & paid $267K to FGR.
The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) declared India as a ‘Country of Particular Concern (CPC)’ in its 2020 Report. CPC is a nation guilty of particularly severe violations of religious freedom under International Religious Freedom Act.
IMANA (Islamic Medical Association of North America) :-
Executive Director :- Nida Saleem
The IMANA, had started the #HelpIndiaBreathe campaign on Instagram during the Covid-19 crisis and set an initial target of Rs 1.8 crores. It must be noted that the IMANA has no office, brand, or representative in India. However, it did not stop them from organizing an aggressive fundraiser in the name of providing support to India.
IMANA espouses the idea of Islamic Shura Council and Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). It has also worked with ‘Justice for All'.
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) also projects itself as a charity and advocacy organization, but has strong organic relations with radical Islamists and terror groups. ICNA is key to connect all Islamist fronts in the US. ICNA was set up by Jamaat, being inspired by a similar front of Muslim Brotherhood called Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
In a report of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), it was found that ISNA-established ‘Jami Mosque’ which was used for terror funding to Relief Organization for Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM), a charitable arm of Jamaat-e-lslami, Pakistan.
CRA revoked the charity status of ISNA for distributing over $280,000 to an organization, which was linked to terrorist groups in Pakistan, such as Hizbul Mujahideen.
In addition, IMANA and ISNA have also been funding the Al-Khidmat Foundation, which apart from being the ‘charity wing' of JeI, has also been funding the Hamas. Another organization, Holy Land Foundation which is banned in the US for its link with Hamas has found to be associated with ISNA.
IMANA provides ‘help' to Pakistan through the Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust (AMT), according to the IMANA Care 2020 annual report.
IMANA failed to deliver promised help to Indians but when Covid fund collection was over, it launched a fund collection for Palestine and within two days claimed to have delivered 02 Million Dollars of help to Palestine.
Conclusion:-
1. Numerous organizations linked to Pakistan have established their presence in America and other Western countries to obscure their connections to Pakistan and their involvement in terror financing.
2. Many organizations faced scrutiny during the COVID-19 crisis when they seized the opportunity to solicit substantial funds.
3. The effectiveness of these organizations' fundraising tactics hinges on ongoing unrest in the regions they focus on. Following the revocation of ‘Article 370’ in Kashmir, a period of relative peace ensued, complicating these groups' ability to garner funds under the guise of human rights violations. There is a potential risk that these entities might instigate unrest to revive their previous cycle of human rights activism and fundraising.
4. These projects represent a sophisticated blend of cyber warfare, psychological operations, and financial subterfuge. Their aim is to destabilize India by undermining its internal security, disrupting its social harmony, and damaging its international standing. Understanding and countering these tactics is crucial for safeguarding India's sovereignty and social cohesion.
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