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U.S. Lawmakers Press Pakistan On Lashkar-e-Taiba


Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, founder and head of Pakistan based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, founder and head of Pakistan based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba
U.S. lawmakers are urging President Barack Obama to push Pakistan to crack down harder on Lashkar-e-Taiba militants.

The House of Representatives subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held a hearing to discuss Laskhar-e-Taiba militants.

Chairman Gary Ackerman accused the Pakistani military of supporting the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The Democratic lawmaker also said the group had a "clear public presence" in Pakistan by providing charitable and social services to millions of poor.

The group is blamed for the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which killed more than 100 people.

Analysts say Lashkar-e-Taiba is one of the largest Islamic militant groups in South Asia.

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency allegedly supported the group to fight India in Kashmir.

In 2001, Pakistani authorities, however, banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, following an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 blamed on the group.

compiled from agency reports

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