Shahid Latif, The Mastermind Of The Pathankot Attack, Died In Pakistan: Officials
According to Indian intelligence officials, Shahid Latif, a Jaish-e-Mohhamad (JeM) commander and a key handler in the 2016 attack on the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Pathankot, Pakistan, was shot and killed on Tuesday by unidentified gunmen.
Latif, 41, was assassinated inside a mosque, according to the individual cited above. Latif was classified as a “individual terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
He long served as the JeM’s commander in Sialkot and was involved in the planning and execution of numerous terrorist activities in India.
Latif was in constant contact with the four fidayeen militants who had stormed the IAF facility on January 1, 2016, together with Kashif Jan, also known as “Ustad Ji.”
After the fidayeen attackers from Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh, Nasir Hussain, Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq, and Abdul Qayum, killed seven security personnel, the National Security Guards and army commandos launched “Operation Dhangu” and killed the terrorists in an 80-hour operation.
Latif was the subject of an Interpol red notice, but like other terrorist commanders, he was free to roam Pakistan and participate in the planning and carrying out of operations in India.
When planning strikes in India, Kashif Jan still works out of Pakistan.
Afzal Guru Shaheed Kay Jan Nisar Tum Ko Meltay Rahenge was written on two slips left by the fidayeen attackers in the Pathankot attack, according to the chargesheet for the attack submitted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2016 and naming Maulana Masood Azhar, Latif, Jan, and others. If Allah wills.
Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was permitted by India to travel to Pathankot in order to gather evidence, but Islamabad breached the reciprocity agreement by withholding all relevant information from Indian investigators.
A thorough file containing evidence was sent to Pakistan, including phone conversations of the four terrorists who were killed, their addresses, information about their families, financial information about the Al-Rehmat Trust (the financial arm of the JeM), and chats and texts from JeM handlers.
Over 1,000 pages of chat logs and talks between the four fidayeens and the Pathankot attack’s mastermind Kashif Jan were supplied with India by the US as proof.
Additionally, the US disclosed information about a Pakistani mobile phone number linked to “Mulla Daadullah’s” Facebook account. Using IP addresses from Pakistani telecom companies (Telenor and Pakistan TeleCommunications Company Ltd, Islamabad), the account run by Jan was accessed before to and around the time of the attack.
The NIA investigation also revealed that, at the time of the attack, the Al Rehmat Trust website was hosted on two different domain names: rangonoor.com and alqalamonline.com. These domain names are managed by Tariq Siddiqui, who shares an email account for both sites. The Rafah-e-Aam Society in Malir, Karachi, is the address for the website.
