Amir Hamza (Lashkar-e-Taiba)

Amir Hamza
Personal details
Born (1959-05-10) 10 May 1959
Sheikhupura, Punjab, Pakistan
PartyMilli Muslim League
OccupationTheologist, alim and author[1][2]
Known for
Founding member of Lashkar-e-Taiba
Organisation
Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasul Pakistan[3]
Military service
Allegiance Lashkar-e-Taiba[4]
Afghan mujahideen (1979–1992)
Battles/wars

Amir Hamza (born 10 May 1959) is a founding leader of the Islamist, Salafi jihadist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) based in Pakistan. He is regarded as its second most important leader, after Hafiz Saeed.[4][5][6] Hamza was designated as a terrorist by the United States Treasury.[7]

Described as "a fiery speaker and a prolific writer," he is also considered to be "the top LeT ideologue."[6] Hamza is believed to sit on its Central Committee. He is said to have negotiated for the release of other leaders, and to have led LeT's campaigns for charitable donations, and to have been the founding editor of LeT's official publication Majallah al-Daawa.[8][2]

In 2018, Hamza formed the Jaish-e-Manqafa as a fund-raising front for the LeT, due to a ban on the Jamat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (other LeT fronts) by the Pakistani government, and continues to openly solicit for funds under that name in Pakistan.[4]

Assassination attempt

On 16 April 2026, around 8:30 a.m. PKT, Hamza survived an assassination in his car by two motorcycle-borne gunmen at Pindi Stop, Hamdard Chowk, PECO road in Kot Lakhpat, Lahore; being injured by a bullet in the arm. He had been returning home after recording the morning TV programme Noor-e-Sahar for City 42 as head of the Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasul Pakistan (THRP; lit. 'Movement for the Sanctity of the Prophet').[9][3][10][11][12] The attack was condemned by, the LeT front organisation, Pakistan Markazi Muslim League.[13]

Books

In 2002 Hamza published Qafila Da'wat aur Shahadat (Caravan of Proselytizing and Martyrdom).[14] The head of LeT's publications division and the editor of many of its periodicals (like the monthly magazine Mujallah ad-Dawah), he is the author of the following books, among others:[1][2]

  • Toor-e-Kham Se Koh-e-Qaaf Tak — Roos Ke Taaqub Mein (From Torkhum to the Caucasus — Hotly Pursuing Russia)
  • Shahrah-e-Bahisht (The Road to Paradise)
  • Afghanistan Ki Chuttiyo Par — Qafla Dawat o Jihad (On the Mountain Tops of Afghanistan — The Caravans of Call and Jihad).
  • Mainey Bible Se Pucha Qur’an Kyun Jaley ? (I Asked the Bible Why the Qurans were Set Alight)
  • Hindu Ka Hamdard (Hindu's Well Wisher)
  • Kashmiri Aurat Aur Amrika (Kashmiri Woman and America)
  • Khomeini Aur Kamal Ataturk Kay Iran Aur Turkey Mein Main Ney Kiya Dekha (What Did I See in Khomeini and Kemal Atatürk's Iran and Turkey?)
  • Mazhabi Wa Siyasi Bavay (Religious and Political Leaders)
  • Rawayyee Meray Hazoor Kay (My Prophet's Behaviour)
  • Seerat Kay Suchay Moti (Real Pearls of the Prophet's Character)

References

  1. 1 2 Fair, Christine (2018). In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. Oxford University Press. p. 93.
  2. 1 2 3 Yasmin, Samina (2017). Jihad and Dawah: Evolving Narratives of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat Ud Dawah. London: C. Hurst. pp. 51–52, 270–271. ISBN 978-1-84904-710-4.
  3. 1 2 "جسٹس (ر) نذیر احمد غازی کی گاڑی پرحملہ ہو گیا، مولانا امیر حمزہ زخمی" [Justice (retd) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi's vehicle attacked, Maulana Amir Hamza injured]. Daily Ausaf. 16 April 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "Lashkar-e-Taiba Splits Over Fund Crunch, Maulana Amir Hamza Forms New Group Jaish-e-Manqafa". India.com. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  5. ↑ Imtiaz, Huma (30 August 2012). "US designates eight Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders as terrorists, places sanctions". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  6. 1 2 Jamal, Arif (June 2012). "Analyzing the Role of the Top LeT Ideologue: A Profile of Amir Hamza". Militant Leadership Monitor. III (6): 6.
  7. ↑ "Treasury Designates Lashkar-E Tayyiba Leadership: Actions Target Eight Individuals Responsible for Military, Communication, and Financial Operations". Washington DC: United States Treasury. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016. As of 2011, Amir Hamza, a member of LET's central advisory committee, actively maintained LET's relationships with other groups under the direction of LET emir Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Hamza has led an LET-associated charity and, as of 2010, was also an officer and member of an LET university trust that was led by Saeed.
  8. ↑ Kamran Khan; Kenneth J. Cooper (7 March 1999). "Muslim Militants Threaten American Lives". Washington Post Foreign Service. Karachi. p. A21. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2019. 'We received donations from certain Arab individuals, but they don't want their names to be announced,' said Amir Hamza, editor of the group's monthly publication. 'The brutal bombings don't kill the spirit of these great people.'
  9. ↑ "Hafiz Saeed's close aide Amir Hamza injured in Lahore's Johar Town". Daily Pakistan. 16 April 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026. The attack left religious scholar and fiery orator Mir Hamza, associated with Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), injured. He sustained minor wounds and was immediately shifted for medical treatment, authorities confirmed.
  10. ↑ "لاہور میں مولانا امیر حمزہ پر قاتلانہ حملہ، فائرنگ سے زخمی، پولیس تحقیقات جاری" [Murderous attack on Maulana Amir Hamza in Lahore, injured in firing, police investigation underway]. Hindukush Tribune Network. 16 April 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "لاہور، چیئرمین تحریک حرمت رسول مولانا امیر حمزہ پر قاتلانہ حملہ، گولی بازو میں لگی" [Lahore: Murderous attack on Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasul Maulana Amir Hamza, bullet hit in the arm]. Islam Times (in Urdu). 16 April 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  12. ↑ Yameen, Faran (16 April 2026). "24 نیوز کےمیزبان نذیر احمد غازی پر فائرنگمولاناامیرحمزہ زخمی" [Firing on 24 News host Nazir Ahmed Ghazi, Maulana Amir Hamza injured]. City 42 (in Urdu). Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "مولانا امیر حمزہ پر حملہ قابل مذمت،ملزمان کو فوری گرفتار کیا جائے، مرکزی مسلم لیگ" [Attack on Maulana Amir Hamza is condemnable, the accused should be arrested immediately: Markazi Muslim League]. Baaghi TV (in Urdu). 16 April 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  14. ↑ Iqtidar, Humeira (2011). Secularizing Islamists? Jama'at-e-Islami and Jama'at-ud-Da'wa in Urban Pakistan. South Asia across the disciplines. Chicago London: University of Chicago Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-226-38468-9.
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