Ahmed said it was possible that those who went came into contact with the militant Islamic organizations that were doing the relief work in PoK where most of the casualties were. Indeed, at the time, Jamaat-ud-Dawa was welcomed by people in the area for stepping in where the Pakistani government had failed. The group was praised as one of the few providing aid efficiently, while Muslims around the world complained that Pakistanis had been abandoned.

“In the first few days, it was only religious organizations, the militant organizations, that were prepared to dig out people and provide relief supplies,” Ahmed said. “It is possible that young people, many people, who have gone from UK, may have fallen into hands of organizations like Jamaat-ud-Dawa.”

-DEXTER FILKINS & SOUAD MEKHENNET