The U.S. Bounty on Lashkar-e-Taiba

{
  "authors": [
    "Stephen Tankel"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "Pakistan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

In The Media

The U.S. Bounty on Lashkar-e-Taiba

The recent U.S. decision to place a ten million dollar bounty on Lashkar-e-Taiba's founder may be designed to pressure Pakistan, but it risks leading to more tension in the U.S.-Pakistani relationship.

By Stephen Tankel

Published on Apr 3, 2012

Source: BBC World News

Speaking on BBC World Report, Carnegie's Stephen Tankel discussed some of the repercussions behind the recent U.S. decision to place a ten million dollar bounty on the head of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, founder of the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. He argued that the timing of the decision was either intended to \place pressure on the Pakistani government or it was the culmination of a long bureaucratic process. Either way, Tankel said, it does not necessarily bode well for the U.S.-Pakistani relationship. He also explained that Lashkar-e-Taiba might not have high favorability ratings among ordinary Pakistanis, but it has penetrated certain pockets of civil society and is unusally powerful as a result.

About the Author

Stephen Tankel

Former Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program

Tankel was a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment, where his research focuses on insurgency, terrorism, and the evolution of nonstate armed groups.

Recent Work

Q&A
Restoring Trust: U.S.-Pakistan Relations
- Stephen Tankel
Q&A
LeT’s Global Rise
- Stephen Tankel

Security Foreign Policy South Asia Pakistan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Commentary
Emissary
The Myriad Problems With the Iran Ceasefire
Four Middle East experts analyze the region’s reactions and next steps.
+1
Amr Hamzawy, Andrew Leber, Eric Lob, …
Collection
The Iran War’s Global Reach
As the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues, Carnegie scholars contribute cutting-edge analysis on the events of the war and their wide-reaching implications. From the impact on Iran and its immediate neighbors to the responses from Gulf states to fuel and fertilizer shortages caused by the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, the war is reshaping Middle East alliances and creating shockwaves around the world. Carnegie experts analyze it all.
Article
Amid Iran War, Gulf Countries Slow the Pace of Reforms
The return of war as the organizing factor in Middle Eastern politics has predictable consequences: governments are prioritizing regime stability and becoming averse to political and social reform.
Sarah Yerkes, Amr Hamzawy
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Power, Pathways, and Policy: Grounding Central Asia’s Digital Ambitions
Central Asia’s digital ambitions are achievable, but only if policy is aligned with the region’s physical constraints.
Aruzhan Meirkhanova
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Taking the Pulse: Can NATO Survive the Iran War?
Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed NATO and European allies, threatening to annex Canada and Greenland and deploring their lack of enthusiasm for his war of choice in Iran. Is this latest round of abuse the final straw?
Rym Momtaz, ed.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Man standing next to a pile of burned cars

Commentary

Emissary

The Myriad Problems With the Iran Ceasefire

Four Middle East experts analyze the region’s reactions and next steps.

- +1
Amr Hamzawy, Andrew Leber, Eric Lob, …

A machine gun of a Houthi soldier mounted on a police vehicle next to a billboard depicting the U.S. president Donald Trump and Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, during a protest staged to show support to Iran against the U.S.-Israel war on March 27, 2026 in Sana'a, Yemen.

Collection

The Iran War’s Global Reach

As the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues, Carnegie scholars contribute cutting-edge analysis on the events of the war and their wide-reaching implications. From the impact on Iran and its immediate neighbors to the responses from Gulf states to fuel and fertilizer shortages caused by the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, the war is reshaping Middle East alliances and creating shockwaves around the world. Carnegie experts analyze it all.

Article

Amid Iran War, Gulf Countries Slow the Pace of Reforms

The return of war as the organizing factor in Middle Eastern politics has predictable consequences: governments are prioritizing regime stability and becoming averse to political and social reform.

Sarah Yerkes, Amr Hamzawy

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Power, Pathways, and Policy: Grounding Central Asia’s Digital Ambitions

Central Asia’s digital ambitions are achievable, but only if policy is aligned with the region’s physical constraints.

Aruzhan Meirkhanova

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Taking the Pulse: Can NATO Survive the Iran War?

Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed NATO and European allies, threatening to annex Canada and Greenland and deploring their lack of enthusiasm for his war of choice in Iran. Is this latest round of abuse the final straw?

Rym Momtaz, ed.