Hafiz Saeed's home converted into sub-jail after aide's murder in Pak

Pakistan has tightened security around 26/11 mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed following the assassination of his close aide, Abu Qatal, sources told India Today. The country's intelligence agency, ISI, has also reviewed Saeed's security, and his residence is being converted into a sub-jail.

Pakistani journalist Azaz Syed also confirmed that Saeed had been attacked in the past and "remains in grave danger". Authorities have turned his residence into a controlled detention facility.

On March 16, Qatal, wanted by India for several deadly terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, was killed by unknown gunmen in Pakistan.

PAKISTAN'S CLAIMS VS GROUND REALITY

While Pakistan continues to claim that Saeed is serving a sentence for terror financing, reports suggest that he has rarely been held in a traditional prison. Instead, he has frequently been placed under house arrest in Lahore. However, he continues to operate openly in Pakistan.

This despite being designated a global terrorist by both the United Nations and the United States.

A HISTORY OF TARGETED ATTACKS

Hafiz Saeed has been repeatedly targeted in Pakistan. On June 23, 2021, a car bomb exploded in Lahore's Johar Town near a residence linked to him, killing three people and injuring over 20 others.

In 2023, two top Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders, Hanzla Adnan and Riyaz Ahmed alias Abu Qasim, both close to Saeed, were assassinated by unknown attackers.

A series of recent attacks targeting LeT operatives has triggered panic within the group.

AVOIDS LET COMMANDER'S FUNERAL

In December 2024, Abdul Rehman Makki, the second-in-command of LeT and a mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was killed.

Fearing an attack, Saeed refrained from attending Makki's funeral, despite their close ties. Instead, his son led the funeral, which was attended by several top terrorists in Pakistan.

Intelligence sources suggested that the ISI actively prevented Saeed from attending the ceremony.

Intelligence sources told India Today that several wanted terrorists from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have been relocated to secure locations within Pakistan, indicating an increasing threat to terror operatives within the country.