New Delhi: Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander Shahid Latif, the mastermind of the 2016 terror attack on an Indian Air base in Pathankot, was gunned down Tuesday by unidentified assailants in Pakistan’s Sialkot, according to Indian media reports.
A designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Latif is said to have been killed along with two of his associates by three gunmen at a mosque in Daska town of Sialkot
ThePrint could not independently verify the authenticity of these reports, which could not be corroborated through Pakistan media reports.
Latif was charge-sheeted by India’s counter terrorism agency the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with Jaish founder Masood Azhar for conspiring to carry out the attack on the Pathankot airbase. Seven security personnel were killed in the terror attack launched on 2 January, 2016.
In its charge sheet, the NIA had said that Latif along with other members of JeM showed the potential attackers map of the airbase and asserted that it was “easy” to attack due to its location being around forests.
After its investigation, the NIA had approached the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Latif in 2016, which stands till date.
Latif was born in Muzaffarabad district under Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in 1975 and was a Pakistani citizen, according to the details available on the Interpol website.
Latif was also an accused in hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999, according to a notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). He was among those prisoners whom Jaish wanted to be released after the hijack of the plane.
In 2020, the MHA had in 2020 declared Latif as an individual terrorist, listing all the crimes of terrorism committed by him in India and his association with Jaish.
He was arrested from Jammu in 1994 on the charges of terrorism under the UAPA and remained in prison for 16 years after which he was repatriated to Pakistan in 2010, as part of the Indian government’s policy of deporting Pakistan nationals after they serve their sentences.
According to a report by The Indian Express in 2016, Latif was holed up with a group of militants at the Hazratbal shrine in Kashmir when security forces surrounded the area. The siege lasted nearly a month and ended with militants getting a “free passage” following negotiations, the report said
After the siege got over, the Jammu and Kashmir Police pushed Latif back to Pakistan through RS Pura border in Jammu but he returned to the Kashmir Valley the next year, only to be arrested under the provisions of the UAPA.
While he was associated with Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Latif joined Jaish-e-Mohammed after he was deported in 2010. He went on to work as a handler for Jaish and rose up the ranks to become an important member of the banned terror outfit, according to the report.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: In 2018, India gave Trudeau list of 10 wanted Sikh extremists in Canada. Who was on this list