A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives has admitted that the terror group’s over 30 members were killed by “unknown gunmen”, a term widely used for operatives of Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), in Pakistan in the past three to four years. Most of the killings were reported in Rawalakot, Rawalpindi, Karachi, and other areas.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Lashkar’s top commander Rizwan Hanif blamed the Indian intelligence agencies for the killings. Hanif, who was using offensive language, said the terror group was unable to identify those behind the attacks, describing them as ‘mysterious’.
India TV Digital, however, cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.
“India’s intelligence agencies did not allow them to live peacefully here even in Azad Kashmir. Under its agenda, they killed him. This is not the first instance. In fact, more than 30 such incidents have happened in the past three to four years,” Hanif could be heard saying in the video.ย
“Someone was killed in Peshawar, someone in Karachi, someone in Rawalpindi, someone in Rawalakot and someone in Muzaffarabad. What was their fault? Their only fault was that they believed in Allah,” the Lashkar terrorist added.
There is no clarity on where the video was shot or when was it recorded; although some reports claimed that the clip was recorded in May this year, while Hanif was addressing Lashkar terrorists in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Hanif’s admission is the first a Lashkar terrorist has accepted that many of its terrorists were neutralised in the recent past. Pakistan repeatedly has accused India of carrying out the attacks; however, New Delhi has always rejected them.
New Delhi has also criticised Islamabad over harbouring terror groups such as the Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) on its soil. In video that had gone viral on social in June, Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed’s son Talha Saeed could be seen attending former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar’s elder brother Shahid Akhtar’s funeral in Islamabad, which only reaffirmed India’s claims.ย
Various international reports, including one by US Congressional Research Service (CRS), have also criticised Pakistan over lack of action against terror groups on its soil. But despite all these, Pakistan have consistently failed to act upon terrorists and has remained a safe heaven for them, particularly those targeting India.ย
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