Why banning Lashkar's student wing Al-Muhammadia makes sense

Lashkar-e-Tayiba's Al-Muhammadia has played a very vital role in recruitments, and designating it as a terror outfit is a crucial move.

The United States on Wednesday designated the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's student's wing, Al-Muhammadia Students as a terror outfit. This is a crucial and important move by the US and Indian officials say it was much needed.

While the Lashkar-e-Tayiba was already designated as a terrorist group in December 2001, it was important to bring the AMS under this bracket as well. Although the AMS has not been a front outfit, it has played a very major role for the LeT.

Founded in 2009 as a subsidiary to the LeT, the AMS played a very vital role in recruitments. It would organise events and rope in the younger recruits. Members of the AMS have worked very closely with the senior members of the LeT in organising fund raising and recruitment drives.

The 'student' wing

The LeT decided to set up the AMS in 2009 with two intentions. While one was to infuse fresh blood into the outfit the other was to pick recruits from educational institutions.
The LeT has been creating many such frontal organisations to avoid sanctions.
Its primary wing is the Jamaat-ud-Dawah which has often been referred to as a charity outfit by Pakistan. In reality it is an outfit that raises funds for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba to sponsor terror activities.

The other outfits that the LeT came up with was called the Duktharam-e-Millath and the Daur-e-Sofa. While the DeM has only shown signs of religious extremism, the DeS has shown signs of having dedicated training camps for women to undertake terror operations.
According to Indian Intelligence Bureau officials, the AMS is another wing which acted as a frontal outfit.

The AMS is made of younger recruits who are not immediately given arms training. The AMS is tasked with the job of recruiting students and radicalising them.