The Pakistani Terror Army Eclipsing Al Qaeda (Skynews PII)

The myriad streets of Pakistan's towns and cities are breeding grounds for Islamic extremism - and one feared group threatens to eclipse al Qaeda.

LeT commander talks to Sky's Stuart Ramsay

Terror groups live in normal society in these streets, mingling in Mosques and Madrassas, the religious schools.And the CIA is warning that one group, Lashkar e Taiba (LeT) - literally, the Army of the Pure - has grown so powerful, so pan-national, that its brand of violence is just an e-ticket away from the West.

Where is al Qaeda? where is Osama bin Laden? ... And who made al Qaeda? It came into being in Washington. 

LeT commander

The LeT has never spoken publically to western television, but after considerable negotiation I was taken to a safe house to speak to the commander of one of their terror cells.We met in a darkened room so that he could not be identified.The LeT was formed to fight India in Kashmir. They have always benefited from the tacit support of Pakistan's military and security establishment.

Ramsay in Pakistan

Many feel the support continues today, even though the organisation is banned.The commander denied that the LeT was behind the attack on Mumbai that saw scores of people killed and injured in an orgy of violence that brought the Indian city to a standstill.But few commentators believe them.The LeT's ability to raise money through a network of mosques and shopkeepers in Pakistan - as well as from fundraisers across much of southern Asia and crucially Great Britain - means that in a short period of time they have developed into a hugely powerful and well-funded organisation.The fear in Washington is that if they can paralyse Mumbai, they could export their violence elsewhere.So confident of their status, the commander - like other militants it must be said - refused to acknowledge the influence of al Qaeda.

Their support base in your country is huge and radical men have returned home from Pakistan. Britain is a very dangerous place.

Author Zahid Hussein on LeT threat to UK

"Where is al Qaeda? Where is Osama bin Laden? Osama bin Laden, once a close friend of the West. And who made al Qaeda? It came into being in Washington," he said in perfect English."In the name of al Qaeda, you want to snatch the resources of this region and it is not fair."We have no international agenda. The LeT's main aim is to liberate Kashmir and to attack Indian installations and Indian forces."But this is not quite as focused as it seems. The LeT's Indian strategy destabilises the entire region in which the two main protagonists are nuclear powers.

Zahid Hussein

Commentators here believe the LeT does have a wider objective than simply Kashmir.It is thought Pakistani security forces are only beginning to realise that, by turning a blind-eye to the LeT's activities, they are not only allowing terror to spread throughout the world, they have actually lost the ability to control it."It is now obvious after Mumbai that the LeT has the capability of destabilising the entire region and also the ability to create conditions where Pakistan could be pushed into nuclear war," author Zahid Hussein said."Britain should be more concerned than anywhere else."Their support base in your country is huge and radical men have returned home from Pakistan. Britain is a very dangerous place."