Ayub Thakur

Who was Ayub Thakur?

Muhammad Ayyub Thakur was a Kashmiri political activist and founder of London-based World Kashmir Freedom Movement, an organisation that claimed to seek a "peaceful political solution" to the Kashmir Conflict. He founded a so-called "charity organization", Mercy Universal, which was investigated by the British Charity Commission for links to Kashmiri terrorist groups including Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir after Indian government raised concerns. However, Thakur claimed that he has "sent money for the destitute" and had documents and video evidence to prove it. The money was allegedly "sent to purchase 800 sewing machines for the widows". Thakur also claimed to "struggle for the right of self-determination" for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. After Thakur's death in 2004, both WKFM and Mercy Universal became largely inactive. Neither has any full-time employees as of 2011, nor does either have any regular source of funds.

Thakur lectured extensively on Kashmir issue. He attended hundreds of seminars and conferences around the world in universities, think tanks and other institutions, including the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and United Nations bodies. Thakur was a self-appointed Trustee of the UK-based charitable organisation, Mercy Universal, which he had founded in 2000. Mercy Universal claimed to provide humanitarian assistance mainly to the Kashmiri people., He was the Director of the Justice Foundation, which he founded in 2003 as a registered UK company "to advance the Kashmir cause through public advocacy".