USAID, the US government’s aid agency, has come under scrutiny after it was revealed that American taxpayer money was used to fund the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), a Pakistan-based organization linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group. The FIF is considered a front for LeT, the terror group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people, including six Americans.Despite being banned by the US government in 2010, FIF continued to receive funding, raising serious concerns over the effectiveness of US counterterrorism efforts and the monitoring of foreign aid. This situation emerged as President Donald Trump took steps to dismantle USAID, an action that may have a silver lining for India, as the agency’s funds were found to support terrorism that specifically targeted India.
 

The Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation is closely connected to the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a front group for LeT, and was involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Despite these links, USAID, which channels more than half of American foreign aid, continued funding FIF through the Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD), a Michigan-based Islamist charity with ties to jihadist groups.Amjad Taha, an expert on strategic affairs, revealed that USAID provided $110,000 in funding to HHRD in 2021, despite longstanding allegations of HHRD’s connection to terrorist organizations. The USAID’s actions were called into question by Michael T McCaul, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who highlighted that USAID had indirectly funded terrorist organizations targeting India. The charity had been under investigation for years, yet USAID continued disbursing funds, including $73,000 in 2023 under the Biden administration.
 

The funding of FIF and other extremist groups raised concerns in India, where LeT has been involved in repeated terrorist activities, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. LeT's offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF), has been actively involved in destabilizing peace in the region and has been banned by the Indian government.While USAID’s funding to these organizations raises questions about the effectiveness of US foreign aid policy, Donald Trump’s dismantling of the agency could be seen as a positive move for India. It calls for a transparent investigation into who facilitated the funding and the need for accountability in such sensitive matters.