Shahid Latif, a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander and key handler of terrorists who carried out the attack on the Pathankot Indian Air Force (IAF) base in 2016, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Pakistan’s Sialkot area, according to Indian intelligence officials.
Designated an “individual terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Latif , released in 2010 by India, was attacked inside a mosque in Sialkot’s Daska town by two persons who reportedly fled on a motorbike after shooting him, said one of the people cited above.
Also read: Who was Shahid Latif, Pathankot attack conspirator, killed in Pakistan?
“He was very close to JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and played an important role in the outfit’s planning and launching of cadres into India,” said a counter-terrorism official who didn’t want to be named.
Latif, 54, was the main handler of terrorists sent for special operations to India and his death comes soon after the killing of an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member. Mufti Qaiser Farooq, who was said to be close to LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, in Karachi late last month (he too was gunned down by unidentified people). Earlier this year, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, head of the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Lahore on May 6.
A native of More in Gujranwala (Pakistan), Latif was arrested by Indian agencies in Kashmir in 1994.
{{/usCountry}}A native of More in Gujranwala (Pakistan), Latif was arrested by Indian agencies in Kashmir in 1994.
{{/usCountry}}When JeM terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999, Latif’s name was among the terrorists whose release was demanded by the hijackers. While JeM chief Azhar was freed along with Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in exchange for 154 passengers, the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government refused to release Latif and 31 others on Jaish’s wishlist.
However, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government released him along with 24 other terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and JeM on May 28, 2010 as a “goodwill gesture” to improve ties with Pakistan. The released terrorists were lodged in various jails including Agra, Srinagar, Jammu, Delhi, Varanasi, among others, and most had completed their jail term.
During the 2016 Pathankot attack, Latif, along with Kashif Jan, also known as ‘Ustad Ji’, was in continuous touch with four fidayeen attackers, Nasir Hussain, Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum (residents of Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh), who barged into the IAF base on the night of January 1, 2016 and killed seven security personnel. NSG (National Security Guards) and army commandoes launched ‘Operation Dhangu’ and eliminated the terrorists in an 80-hour long operation.
An Interpol red notice was pending against Latif, but like other terror leaders, he roamed freely in Pakistan.
Kashif Jan continues to operate from Pakistani soil along with the JeM leadership – Azhar (JeM founder; a UN listed terrorist), Abdul Rauf Asghar, and Ammar Alvi .
The Pathankot attack chargesheet filed by National Investigation Agency (NIA), naming Maulana Masood Azhar, Latif, Jan and others in 2016 itself, stated that the fidayeen attackers left two slips in Pathankot attack, which mentioned that “Jaish-e-Mohammad Zindabad Tangdhar se le kar Samba Kathua Rajbagh aur Delhi tak Afzal Guru Shaheed Kay Jan Nisar Tum Ko Meltay Rahenge. Insha Allah.” (Hail Jaish-e-Mohammad. From Tangdhar to Samba, Kathua, Rajbagh and Delhi, you will find followers of Afzal Guru.)
India allowed a Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to visit Pathankot to collect evidence, but Islamabad violated the terms of reciprocity and didn’t share any evidence with Indian investigators.
A detailed dossier was handed over to Pakistan with evidence, including phone conversations of the four slain terrorists, their addresses, family members’ details, financial details of Al-Rehmat Trust (the financial arm of JeM) and chats/messages of JeM handlers.
The US shared evidence, comprising over 1,000 pages of chats and conversations between Kashif Jan and the four fidayeens, with India.
The US also shared details of a mobile number in Pakistan connected to a Facebook account of ‘Mulla Daadullah’. The account, operated by Jan, was accessed before and around the time of the attack using IP addresses of telecom firms based in Pakistan (Telenor and Pakistan Telecommunications Company Ltd, Islamabad)