Pakistan has shared the confessions with top US officials, including John Kerry. PHOTO: AFP
Law enforcing agencies on January 22 claimed that they arrested al Salafi, along with his two companions, during a joint raid in Lahore. However, sources revealed that al Salafi was actually arrested sometimes in December last year and it was only disclosed on January 22.
“During the investigations, Yousaf al Salafi revealed that he was getting funding – routed through America – to run the organisation in Pakistan and recruit young people to fight in Syria,” a source privy to the investigations revealed to Daily Express on the condition of anonymity.
Al Salafi is a Pakistani-Syrian, who entered Pakistan through Turkey five months ago. Earlier, it was reported that he crossed into Turkey from Syria and was caught there. However, he managed to escape from Turkey and reached Pakistan to establish IS in the region.
Sources said al Salafi’s revelations were shared with the US Secretary of State John Kerry during his recent visit to Islamabad. “The matter was also taken up with CENTCOM chief General Lloyd Austin during his visit to Islamabad earlier this month,” a source said.
Al Salafi also confessed that he – along with a Pakistani accomplice, reportedly imam of a mosque – was recruiting people to send them to Syria and was getting around $600 per person from Syria.
“The US has been condemning the IS activities but unfortunately has not been able to stop funding of these organisations, which is being routed through the US,” a source said.
“The US had to dispel the impression that it is financing the group for its own interests and that is why it launched offensive against the organisation in Iraq but not in Syria,” he added.
There are reports that citizens from Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India besides other countries are being recruited by the IS to fight in Syria. Posters and wall chalking in favour of the IS have also been seen in various cities in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2015.
COMMENTS (56)
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@Raj - USA: The US government is flagrantly corrupt and is without doubt funding ISIS, supplying weapons, and is killing innocent people in several middle eastern countries with continual drone strikes. Blame everything on US government. This has been going on for decades.
GLADIO 2.0 ISIS aka EI aka DAESH could be probably a private army for chaos and the beginning of the "clash of civilisation" Isn’t it Mr Bzrezinki or Kissinger ? ;-)
Again my comment not published... ooopppssss... tribune be fair...
@June: Bah. Ohhh it's not us, the US Govt would never fund a terrorist organization. What do you think your Govt is doing in Afghanistan beside growing poppies ? Fighting terrorism lol ?
@US CENTCOM: "Do you really think such scenarios can exist"
Without wasting too many of ETs resources I think a basic YES says it all.
Unfortunately some people have come up with outlandish conclusions drawn from this article that U.S has created or is funding Daesh, when they can clearly see how much we are investing in combating this brutal terrorist group. These assumptions might make a sensational movie plot but sadly they have very little to do with current affairs in the world. We are spending monetary, military and diplomatic resources on fighting this terrorist group who is beheading innocent people and are bent on recruiting more and more people every day – and we are not in this fight alone, we have partner nations who are dealing with this threat of terrorism alongside us. Exchange of information among partner nations is one of the ways we are battling Daesh and gaining momentum. We fail to see how these conspiracy theories are serving anyone? With so much transparency and accountability in the world today do you really think such scenarios can exist?
Haroon Ahmad DET- U.S. Central command
Well H.Clinton confessed that the US created and funded Al Qaeda aka ISIS so what's the news anyway. Check out on Youtube "Hillary Clinton : We created Al-Qaeda," you'll see several videos spoken by Clinton herself.
@John B: Thank you for the link. I have seen quite a few of these enlightened minds before. Just to refresh my mind thks. But like Sam Harris often says we have to take these guys very serious because they and millions with them really believe this narrative. Not the fringe of the fringe.
@Raj - USA: Yes dear, please continue to blindly defend the US even after its terrorist-sponsoring credentials have been stripped bare again and again.
@Raj - USA: It seems you're wrong, at least according to the person cited in this article:
“The US had to dispel the impression that it is financing the group for its own interests and that is why it launched offensive against the organisation in Iraq but not in Syria,”
US playing both sides. Raymond Davis Network funding Taliban and Centcom funding Pakistani Generals. And Muslim dying at both the ends. Interesting game! And funding IS, controlling it thereby creating a bad image in minds of Muslims about Khilafah System. Thats called Pseudo Khilafah.
All Pakistanis jumping at the US involvement gotcha need to also consider that CAIR (Council of America for Islamic Relations), could be funding these IS beasts. CAIR was already on the US Govt's radar after funding Hamas and other Islamic terror outfits in the middle-east.
@Lisa: "If they’re funded by the US, then why do they declare US and its allies to be a great enemy?"
That's called diversionary tactics, dear - wet ops 101.
But you're free to keep snoozing.
IS has a mission to create a divide between Muslims and the West. Therefore Yousaf al Salafi has good motivation to lie about receiving funding from the US, just to create more animosity between Muslims and US.
Even if what he says is true, that doesn't mean the government had anything to do with the funding. A private US citizen may have become converted into a supporter of IS, then sent the money to Pakistan.
I don't believe for a second that the US helps fund IS. The US wouldn't fund a group that puts our own citizens and allies in danger, making us unsafe even in our own countries. Also, the US wouldn't bomb the same group that it supports. Even if the government is as evil as some would believe, this would be a tremendous waste of money and resources. IS hates the US anyway....I have read speeches and watched videos put out by their supporters. If they're funded by the US, then why do they declare US and its allies to be a great enemy?
Funds are sent not via USA rather from USA.
It always looked like that. Ppl do not use commonsense else it was clear
This news got picked up RT's leading US correspondent and was aired live today, referencing Tribune as source. Not bad at all.
What stinks is Obama couldn't be bothered to go to the march of the European leaders, but rushed to the funeral of a dead king who was a murdering, terroristic tyrant. The US will bow down and kiss but for OIL. And Britain will bow down kiss the butt of the US by virtually imprisoning Assange, no matter what the cost, because he dared to tell the truth.
Well, we know the CIA runs drugs, the State Dept started Al Quada and the Ukrainian Nazi coup, and overthrew a peaceful, progressive govt in Iran, leading to That mess. Not to mention lying about Iraq to cover for the real villians, the Saudis. The US govt's worst enemy is the US govt.
@Omar
Yeah right. USA is bombing the same people it's funding --- is that your suggestion? Ranks right up their with USA funding TTP and bombing itself on 911. Moronic concepts - long on anti American sentiment and short on logic. , Anyone who reads the paper knows that the USA successfully prosecutes people who send money or otherwise support terrorist - that includes IS, Al Qaeda, TTP or even Saeed.
@tufan aga. You are such a liar. 95% of indian papers don't have moderating system. It's open to spam. It fact it's already a spamground nothing is edited.
A major news in Arab spring was the jailbreak of Taji camp near Baghdad. US told the world that many dangeours terrorists have crossed into Syeria as a result of jailbreak.
Having visited the Taji camp myself, I can safely say its impossible for anyone to break the jail let alone escaping to Syria. The said camp is divided into two parts one each occupied by US and Iraqi forces and then there is an outer (first line) security deployment. With such stringent measures to safeguard the camp, its impossible for prisoners to escape.
US has done this with a proper plan. I urge you to have a look at the proposed map of middle east by one of the congressmen few years ago. You will get to know what is actually happening, how and why.
@Indian:
I never said KSA and Qatar are archangels. They too are actively involved in the whole scenario. Result is developing countries have to pay the price and innocents slaughtered there. If you read about the history of these IS people and their ideology, its very similar to the idelolgies of these Arab nations. Yet now that they have made IS strong enough, they fear it could backfire.
Read about Wahabism and Salafism and be the judge :)
Undertand how the IS started in various forms around the world and know what is coming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BG6VyOkQ1k&feature=youtubegdataplayer
This is how IS started moved from Madrassas to "Intellectual" camps. Surprisingly, the theme of the "sermons" are the same in various countries and by various "Sheiks" as well.
All USD transactions are routed through some form of US banks. It does not mean US govt and people are funding. Get the facts straight. Every terrrosist in the world carries USD as OBL did!
@samir: Never they will not. They are ask part of it.
So America is providing safe havens to IS operatives. Therefore America is the epicentre of terrorism.
Replace America with Pakistan in the above statement and you get the Indian narrative established on exactly the same grounds.
@Omar: Do you know how much American weaponry goes to Qatar and Saudi Arabia? Besides, there are any number of arms smugglers who can get any weapon from any nation. It is a thriving business. If Americans were arming them they would give them Russian weapons.
The naivety of many people is amazing. The US has been running extremely underhanded, covert ops for many years and funding various very doubtful organizations. IS is a well trained, superbly equipped militant group which has been carrying out operations in Syria perfectly suited to what the US wishes would happen. May I suggest that IS activities are not funded by $5.00 donations arriving via the US post. Also it may be news to some people that just over the border in Afghanistan is the largest heroin factory in the world, and how do people think the heroin is shipped and how does the money for it move around?. I could explain the whole thing quickly to anybody having trouble understanding the implications of how heroin and money is shipped world wide, and what the money is used for.
@Indian:
Have a look at ISIS propaganda videos and then suggest to me where these cave rats could be getting latest American weaponry from :). Do not tell me its war booty because that would be a very absurd claim!.
These retards know nothing more than slitting throats and pulling triggers. I doubt they gave sensible people who can engineer such weapons.
And yes Pakistan is looking into the breeding grounds of terrorists here and I wish they flush them all out soon for they are nothing but a waste of resources on planet. As for mullahs etc who promote hate speech, they deserve no better and I hope they are brought to justice soon as well. No sensible Pakistani has a soft corner for these self proclaimed jihadists.
@A. Rathore: Clutching at straws in the hope for some kind of negative equivalence? You are comparing money being routed electronically through US banks to terrorists setting up training camps funded by your agencies going out and killing people in other countries. The only way US can stop money this is by stopping all money coming to Pakistan from their banks. Have fun when it comes to that.
Moreover since the US government controls the internet, you are free to blame US for every internet transaction.
People in Pakistan will believe what they want to believe, they just need something to justify their beliefs however flimsy it might be.
Yet the ISIS supporting Lal Masjid Mullahs and their cronies roam free in Islamabad. This official statement only shows the unwillingness of our government, establishment and public to confront the problem.
@ Indian: I agree with you - how would they know ? but then have same standards for Pakistan as well. How do we know how non-state actors are using Pakistan for any foreign terror assignments. Pakistani security agencies with far less resources, technological and financial are up against a monster that the whole world help create. And some agencies from West and India are still feeding this monster. In other words, the message to USA and its new strategic ally in India is following: either stop this do-more mantra when it comes to Pakistan, or kindly do-more at your end.
Money for all sorts of reasons are routed through the US as most of the US banks rout through their offices in the US. The US authorities require them to do that as they monitor all major all transactions taking place through the network. It is quite possible that if they were small transactions they might be overlooked.
IS is funded by the Saudis/Wahhabis and can actually circumvent a lot of rules and regulations even in the banking sector.
It is a weakness in the Pakistani Intelligence community that this is still happening. It may even be their involvement of few of the officers of intelligence community.
Pakistan needs to weed out the black sheep from the intelligence community, Judiciary, and other law enforcement departments.
Removing this cancerous growth requires surgery.
I am not surprised at the reaction on this news from all these Pak obsessed Indians
Here we go!! People trying very hard to convince that US is not funding IS.
Express Tribune Readers Comment is misused by Indians who conveniently publishes abuses for Pakistan with courtesy of Express Tribune. I copied one of the messages from Reader Comments published by Express tribune and pasted it under appropriate subject of Indian News paper, just replacing "Pakistan" with word "India". The Indian news paper was quick to delete it. God Save Pakistan from Pakistani Media.
@June:
Most bhondi justification I have ever heard in quite a while.
@June: You think all the Aristotle s reside in India & US and world is unaware what they are doing.
Good catch! With IS being funded from US and Baloch separatists being funded from India, Pakistan surely needs to tread very carefully now.
The US specializes in back-stabbing, clandestine funding, assertive denials, and everything dirty. Maybe Russia presence has discouraged US from attacking Syria. Salams
The USD is the world's foremost reserve currency and all USD wire transfers are routed through the US. Even when both the beneficiary and recipient are not American the transaction goes through the US if it is denominated in USD. So don't get excited. This is not proof the US is funding them.
where is the nobeL peace prize winner now? mR. baracK obamA
Nothing startling ...
"Al Salafi is a Pakistani-Syrian who entered Pakistan through Turkey five months ago" And the agencies knew nothing about him? What are they doing anyway?? What is a Pakistani-Syrian?
Will CNN publish this?
@Omar: Are you suggesting that money coming into Pakistan is illegal? How would a US bank know that "Abdul Karim" works for Islamic State? If at all there is any mess-up it is in the payee side. Pakistan must know who is a terrorist and who is not.
Will the above picture be set in a Pakistani location in the near future?
What do you think why we believe ISIS is a US-Saudi project?
Without doubt, IS is a creation of West & Saudi with the objective to crush any opposition to their brutal regimes from the civilian population. They need to divert the attention of the people towards something else and create fear among the population. iS played their role properly. But some IS diversion happened when they attacked oil interests of US generals in Iraq.
In this global game of power, millions of Muslims have been drawn into conflict and killed. Pakistani Generals are required to play their part in this game.
If true, this would only bring muslims of Pakistani origin in USA under the scanner. I do not believe that the government of USA or its agencies will be funding IS, directly or indirectly. However, I would appreciate Pakistan's Establishment for bringing it to the notice of US authorities. It is all the more important for Pakistan to raid Lal Masjid and eliminate Abdul Aziz Ghazi and close down the madrassa. Pakistan should also arrest and interrogate the students of the madrassa. It is a criminal silence on the part of Pakistan's establishment and government to keep quiet on Lal Masjid even after the girl students have posted video praising and supporting to IS.
Busted!. Officially I mean. Everybody already knew it unofficially before.