Money from USAID, a government agency of the United States, was used to fund an anti-India group that the US government has labelled a terrorist organisation. The funding went to the Pakistan-based Falahs-e-Insaniat Foundation, which is actually a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). This was revealed at the same time US President Donald Trump began reducing the activities of USAID through an executive order.

The 26/11 assaults in Mumbai, which claimed 166 lives, were carried out by the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and LeT. The terrorists from Pakistan ruthlessly killed 166 people, including six Americans. What is even more surprising is that, despite being investigated for funding an Islamist charity with connections to terrorist groups, USAID continued to release money to it. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is now under threat due to Trump's executive order on US funding of foreign aid. The bright side is that USAID funds were being used to finance Islamic extremism, including projects that sought to embezzle money from India.

The Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), a front for LeT, was one of the recipients of USAID's funding for nongovernmental organisations worldwide. Both India and the United States have labelled the LeT and its front Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) as terrorist organisations. Both groups have carried out terror attacks and encouraged terrorism in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. What's surprising is that American taxpayers' money was used to fund an organisation that was banned by the US government in 2010. Even though the ban was in place, USAID ended up providing funding to the FIF."The FIF is a Pakistan-based organisation that is closely connected to banned terrorist group LeT and its humanitarian front Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JUD)," states a US State Department document, banning the FIF.

"In essence, FIF is JuD with a new name, designed to evade scrutiny and sanctions," it states, attempting to connect it to the Mumbai bombings of 2008. Over half of American foreign aid is sent through USAID, which failed to notice its own government's ban on the Pakistan-based FIF. The USAID aid to FIF was directed through Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD), a charity based in Michigan with connections to jihadist groups active in South Asia. "USAID funded HHRD, a Michigan-based Islamist charity with ties to jihadist groups, including Pakistan’s Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, a US-designated terrorist organisation involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks," said Amjad Taha, an expert on strategic and political affairs of the Middle East.

According to Taha, USAID funded jihadist organisations in South Asia, notably the FIF, which targeted India, with $110,000. "When exposed, they merely launched an internal investigation," he added. In 2019, charges were brought against a US-based Islamist charity for allegedly funding terrorist groups, with suspicions dating back even earlier. It was only in 2022 that it came to light that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) investigated a $110,000 grant to the charity, HHRD, in 2021. In 2023, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, raised concerns about USAID's indirect support of terrorist groups in a letter to Samantha Power, the Administrator of USAID.

"In October 2021, USAID awarded $110,000 to Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) through the Ocean Freight Reimbursement Program. This award was made despite longstanding, detailed allegations that HHRD is connected to designated terrorist organisations, terror financiers, and extremist groups," said McCaul. In November 2019, three Members of Congress publicly asked the State Department to investigate the alleged links to terrorism, as stated by McCaul in his letter. He also called for the suspension of funding to the NGO until a thorough review of these claims was completed.Despite the fact that HHRD was under investigation for funding terrorist organisations and faced the risk of being flagged, USAID released more funding in 2023. Under the Biden administration in 2023, USAID provided $73,000 to HHRD.

Trump has referred to USAID as a part of the "deep state" while taking action to reduce its influence. "This isn't about shutting down USAID but about holding accountable the staff who made this happen. Which department are they in now? How are they serving Islamists? Which charity or school are they operating today?" posted Amjad Talha on X.

Despite the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the Lashkar-e-Taiba continues to cause terror in India. Its members are still active, especially in Kashmir, where they are involved in training. The group, which is based in Pakistan, has also created a front called The Resistance Front (TRF), which is causing instability in Kashmir. The Indian government has banned this outfit as well. The funding of outfits labelled as terrorist organisations by the US government couldn’t have happened without the involvement of people in high positions. A thorough and transparent investigation is needed. In this context, Trump’s decision to dismantle USAID could have a silver lining for India.