Context
Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba has declared a holy war (jihad) on the US and is seeking to expand the scope of its activities to Europe and other places, said a top American military commander, warning that the group no longer focuses solely on India or the South Asian region. Lashkar, considered the most highly-funded militant group in the region, carried out the deadly terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008 which left 166 people dead, including foreigners. Blaming Lashkar for targeting US troops in Afghanistan, Chief of US Pacific Command Admiral Robert Willard, told lawmakers that there was proof of the group’s existence in the broader Asia Pacific, Europe as well as in Canada in the past and America. Lashkar was formed by Pakistani security establishment 20 years ago to fight Indian forces in Kashmir.
