Who is Hafiz Abdul Rauf, man leading funeral of terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor?
Pakistan's Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, made an attempt to portray Rauf as a common man.
In an attempt to downplay a notorious terrorist’s profile and portray him as a "common man", Pakistan inadvertently confirmed the identity and presence of Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a US-designated terrorist and senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative, on its soil.
At a press conference, Pakistan's Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, attempted to portray Rauf as a common man with "three daughters, son" who had led the prayers of terrorists killed at the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Mudrike, Pakistan's Punjab, during India's Operation Sindoor.
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"This man is Hafiz Abdur Rauf, who is leading the prayers. He has three daughters, a son, and he was born in March 1973. You can see his family details and everything," Chaudhry had said in a presentation during a press conference on Sunday, in which he had shown Rauf's details.
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India was quick to respond and pointed out the nexus of the Pakistani state and terrorists operating on its soil when it flashed the photograph of Rauf leading the funeral prayers of slain terrorists.
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"The identity details shared by DG ISPR completely overlap with the details of Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a member of LeT's senior leadership since at least 1999 and part of the US Sanctions List," a statement from the Press Information Bureau said on Monday.
Who is Hafiz Abdur Rauf?
Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a US-designated terrorist, has been an active member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) since 1999 and the chief of the banned Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF).
He is believed to be a close associate of the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind, Hafiz Saeed.
The funeral ceremony of terrorists was attended by senior Pakistani military and police officials, and even featured a wreath from Pakistan's Punjab chief minister, Maryam Nawaz, who is also Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's niece.
The US sanctions database paints a more complete picture of Rauf’s footprint in Pakistan.
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Listed under multiple aliases, Rauf is linked to several addresses across Lahore, including 4 Lake Road, Choburji Dola Khurd, Jinnah Block, and Chamberlain Road.
He also held Pakistani passports CM1074131 and A7523531, issued in 2008 and expired in 2013.
These details match the details about Rauf given in the database of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department, which maintains a list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list ("SDN List").
With PTI inputs
