Washington Times - Lashkar-e-Taiba draws well-educated youths

Washington Times - Lashkar-e-Taiba draws well-educated youths
LAHORE, Pakistan | The profile of those joining the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba is changing to include more young, educated men, some of whom even hold advanced degrees.

"The big change is that until a few years back most of the militants were hailing from the [Afghan] frontier, but now the scenario has changed and young men from all over Pakistan are joining," said Brig. Gen. Mahmood Shah, who served the Pakistani army in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas on the border with Afghanistan.

A ripe breeding ground for the new militants is southern Punjab, he told The Washington Times. Since the school system in Punjab is better than in the tribal areas, most of the new entrants to militant groups are better educated, GenShah said.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is blamed for terrorist attacks in Mumbai last month that killed more than 170 people. Pakistan last week officially banned Lashkar's charitable arm, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, froze its bank accounts, sealed at least 45 of its offices and arrested 50 of its leaders. Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed - who also headed Lashkar until it was banned in 2002 after an attack in India - was put under house arrest for a month at his home in Lahore. Eleven people, including Mr. Saeed, were banned from leaving the country.