Who is Amir Hamza? All about the LeT co-founder and global terrorist

Amir Hamza, also known as Maulana Ameer Hamza, is a founding member and one of the principal ideologues of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit LeT.

Amir Hamza, one of the 17 founding members and the chief ideologue of the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has reportedly been hospitalised in Lahore following an incident at his residence.

Hamza, designated a global terrorist by the United States Treasury Department in 2012, has played a key role in LeT’s operations over the years, particularly in fundraising, recruitment, and efforts to secure the release of detained terrorists.

Who is Amir Hamza?

Amir Hamza, also known as Maulana Ameer Hamza, is a founding member and one of the key ideologues of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit LeT.

Born on May 10, 1959, in Gujranwala, Punjab province, Hamza is a veteran of the Afghan jihad and has played a critical role in shaping and spreading LeT's extremist ideology over the decades.

Hamza, known for his fiery speeches and radical writings, has long been central to LeT’s propaganda and recruitment strategies.

As the editor of the group’s in-house magazine and weekly newspaper, he allegedly used to disseminate extremist content and was credited with penning the widely circulated 2002 pamphlet Qafila Da'wat aur Shahadat (“Caravan of Proselytising and Martyrdom”), which promoted the group’s vision for global jihad.

In 2012, the US Treasury Department issued a statement saying that Hamza was part of LeT’s central advisory council and handled its outreach and external relations, often under the close supervision of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed. He also held senior positions in LeT-linked charitable and educational trusts.

Moreover, his operational involvement reportedly extended into India, where he is believed to have helped plan the 2005 terror attack on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, which was one of the first major LeT strikes outside Kashmir.

By 2010, Hamza was leading LeT’s “special campaigns” department, contributing heavily to its ideological direction while also being one of three senior leaders involved in negotiating the release of detained operatives of the outfit.

However, in 2018, Hamza distanced himself from the parent organization following global financial crackdowns on LeT fronts, such as Jamaat-ud-Dawah and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, and launched a splinter group named Jaish-e-Manqafa. This group has reportedly been engaged in limited fundraising and propaganda operations, especially focused on Kashmir.

Despite the split, Hamza, nevertheless, remains designated as a global terrorist by the US Treasury, which considers him a key figure in LeT’s decades-long campaigns of recruitment, radicalisation, and fundraising.