German prosecutors charge Pakistani with joining militant group

Published
26

BERLIN: German prosecutors have charged a 28-year-old Pakistani man with membership of a “terrorist organisation” on allegations he joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba to fight against Indian forces in India-held Kashmir.

Read: Growing European concerns about Muslim migrants

The federal prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday that Muhammad Aafaq I., whose last name wasn’t given in accordance with privacy regulations, joined the militant group in 2008 to fight against Indian rule over the disputed Himalayan region.

Prosecutors alleged that he trained with the group in Pakistan, learning to use weapons like assault rifles and rocket launchers before becoming a trainer of new recruits.

They claimed that he fled the group in 2011 and was fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan, “contradictory to his motivation”. They didn’t say how he got to Germany.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2017

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