How a US-Designated Global Terrorist Contested an Election in Pakistan
By Danish Manzoor Bhat
Hafiz Abdur Rauf, who is designated a global terrorist by the United States, contested elections in Pakistan last year, according to details reviewed by Newsweek.
The fact that he was able to stand in the ballot adds more fuel to allegations from India that Pakistan is not serious enough about tackling terrorism at a time of high tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors, analysts said.
Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment.
Newsweek was unable to find contact details for Rauf. His party, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, did not immediately respond to questions on his candidacy and allegations from critics that it is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is designated by the United States and India as a terrorist group.
Massacre in Kashmir
Rauf's identity came under the spotlight after India showed photos of him leading prayers at a funeral for victims of an Indian strike against what it alleged were terrorists in response for the massacre of tourists in Kashmir last month. Pakistan denied any involvement in that attack and accused India of killing Pakistani civilians.
Newsweek obtained Rauf's Pakistani identity details from a security source in Pakistan. Those details were announced separately at a briefing by Pakistan's military, which said Rauf's role at the funeral ceremony had been innocent.
Newsweek tied Rauf's CNIC identity number — 35202-5400413-9 — to his 2010 identification as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) for sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department.
It also tied the identity to his candidacy in the 2024 election in the NA-119 Lahore district on behalf of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML).
Pakistan Party Supporters Demonstrate
Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) party activists hold a portrait of the Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir and wave the country's national flag to celebrate Pakistan-India ceasefire in Lahore on May 10,... More Photo by ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty Images
Critics of the PMML accuse it of links to Lashkar-e-Taiba – a Pakistani jihadi faction accused by India of involvement in attacks there.
"Pakistan Markazi Muslim League is a political party who believes on Politics of Humanity and Ideology," according to its Facebook page.
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Rauf received little over 2,000 votes in the constituency he contested compared to nearly 84,000 for the winner, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Punjab chief minister, daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and representative of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League.
But critics of Pakistan said the fact that Rauf had been allowed to contest showed the failure of the state to take action against those accused of terrorism.
"When a U.S.-designated terrorist operates openly, participates in high-profile events like funerals for LeT members, and receives no rebuke or prosecution from the host state, it significantly undermines the U.S. counter-terrorism sanctions architecture," Sajjan M. Gohel, international security director at the London School of Economics, told Newsweek.
According to Ashok K. Behuria, Fellow and Coordinator of the South Asia Centre at MP-IDSA in India's capital, New Delhi: "While Pakistan officially denies links to terrorism, such public displays contradict those claims. It sends a defiant message to countries like India, the US, and others that Pakistan retains ties with these elements, despite international pressure."
Lashkar-e-Taiba Branded Terrorist Group
The U.S. Treasury's 2010 designation of Rauf under Executive Order 13224 identified him as a senior figure in Lashkar-e-Taiba and head of its so-called charitable wing, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF). The order prohibits all U.S. persons and institutions from conducting financial or other transactions with him.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. State Department for comment.
Indian diplomats showed photos of Rauf leading prayers for victims of an Indian attack on what it called a base of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan last week. The ceremony was also attended by high-ranking members of the Pakistani military.
India pointed to the image as an example of what it said was complicity between Pakistan's defense establishment and alleged terrorists. Pakistan said the Indian attack had killed civilians.
Pakistan's military spokesman dismissed the highlighting of the image as Indian propaganda, but did not dispute its authenticity.
Pakistan and India agreed a US-brokered truce at the weekend after their most serious confrontation in decades prompted fears of an even bigger regional war.
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