Rizwan Hanif, a member of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has claimed that more than 30 members of the organisation have been killed over the past three to four years. According to Hanif, the killings took place in Peshawar, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad, and were carried out by unidentified assailants. He alleged, without providing evidence, that the attackers were acting on behalf of Indian intelligence agencies. A video of Hanif making the claims has surfaced online. In the video, he says: “Our people were not allowed to live in peace and tranquillity in Azad Kashmir by Indian intelligence agencies. They martyred our people through their agents.” Lashkar-e-Taiba was formed 40 years ago Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded in Pakistan in 1987. The organization emerged from a jihadist network formed during the Soviet-Afghan War. Abdullah Azzam, considered Osama bin Laden’s mentor, and two associates founded the religious organization Markaz-ud-Dawa wal-Irshad. The armed (militant) wing of the Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad organization later became known as Lashkar-e-Taiba. In Arabic, it means Army of the Pure Ones. Initially, the organization’s fighters were sent to Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet Army. Following the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989, the organization’s focus shifted to Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah Azzam was killed in a bomb blast in Peshawar that same year. Following this, Hafiz Saeed assumed command of the organization. India, the United States, and several Western countries have long alleged that Lashkar-e-Taiba received support from Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, a charge Pakistan officially denies. Pakistan has also made such allegations against India Pakistan has previously accused India of killing terrorists on its soil. In January 2024, then-Foreign Secretary Muhammad Cyrus Sajjad Qazi held a press conference and claimed that Indian agencies were involved in cross-border targeted killings in Pakistan. India categorically rejected these allegations. A few months later, in April 2024, the British newspaper The Guardian published a report. The report claimed that since 2020, approximately 20 terrorists and militants had been killed by unidentified assailants in Pakistan. These attacks included several individuals associated with organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen. Citing Pakistani officials and alleged intelligence sources, the report claimed the involvement of Indian agencies in these incidents. However, India’s Ministry of External Affairs also dismissed The Guardian’s report, calling it false and malicious anti-India propaganda. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar also stated that it is not Indian government policy to carry out targeted killings in other countries. Post navigation ‘Hiding vehicle number plate is not fraud’:SC says it breaches the Motor Vehicles Act, but can’t be treated as criminal offence
