Image Credit Congress/Twitter
According to Disinfo Lab, some individuals involved in organizing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s town hall in New York next week have ties to Pakistan-based terrorist groups and the Pakistani government.
Disinfo Lab has identified two individuals, Tanzeem Ansari and Jawad Ahmed, who are allegedly responsible for mobilizing support and coordinating Gandhi’s interaction with the Indian diaspora in New York City. Both individuals have been associated with anti-India activities and have supported terrorism in Kashmir.
Tanzeem Ansari serves as the outreach committee’s amir for the Muslim Community of New Jersey (MCNJ), led by Pakistan-born Imaam Jawad Ahmed, who is also the project director of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). Disinfo Lab claims that ICNA is a radical Islamist organization connected to Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and promotes Pakistan’s stance against India. They also have links with radical and terrorist organizations and glorify terrorists like Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin for his separatist agenda in Kashmir.
Another coordinator, Mohammed Aslam, is a member of the Muslim Center of Greater Princeton (MCGP), which is closely associated with ICNA. It is worth noting that the founder of the banned radical group SIMI was also an ICNA member. Fronts such as Justice for All and HhRD operate under the umbrella of ICNA and JeI.
Minhaj Khan, another coordinator for the event, has connections to the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an anti-India lobbying group. IAMC has consistently targeted India on various issues, including human rights and religious freedom, often sharing fake news to fuel communal unrest within India.
It is unclear whether Rahul Gandhi is aware of the true identities or affiliations of these individuals involved in his public event.
In the past, IAMC engaged a US lobbying firm in 2013–14, paying them USD 55,000 to lobby against India at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Disinfo Lab also claims that IAMC executive director Rasheed Ahmed is associated with another Jamaat front, the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), which allegedly exploited India’s goodwill during the peak of the COVID pandemic, raising funds in the name of helping India but misappropriating the money. Disinfo Lab alleges that IMANA maintains connections with retired Pakistani armed forces officials and terrorist groups such as LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen, which is a network of associations.
These organizations and fronts have long been accused of engaging in anti-India activities to further Pakistan’s agenda.
