Lashkar-e-Taiba

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; Urdu: لشکرِ طیبہ [ˈləʃkər eː ˈt̪ɛːjba]; literally Army of the Good, translated as Army of the Righteous, or Army of the Pure and alternatively spelled as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar-i-Tayyeba) is a Pakistan-based terrorist group, militant and Islamist Salafi jihadist organisation. Described as one of Pakistan's "most powerful jihadi groups", it is most infamous outside Pakistan. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 1985–86 by Hafiz Saeed, Zafar Iqbal Shehbaz Abdullah Azzam and several other Islamist mujahideen with funding from Osama bin Laden during the Soviet–Afghan War. It has been designated a terrorist group by numerous countries.

Affiliated organisations that share the group's "ideological inclinations and motivations" include the Milli Muslim League, a political party, and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the group's "charity wing", a front for the LeT that emerged later. The group differs from most other militant organisations in Pakistan in following the Islamic interpretation of Ahl-i Hadith (which is similar to Wahhabism and Salafism), and in foreswearing attacks on the government of Pakistan and sectarian attacks on Pakistanis "who have professed faith" in Islam.