One more terrorist involved in anti-India activities has been assassinated by unidentified gunmen on foreign soil. A major development transpired when Dawood Malik was shot dead in North Waziristan, Pakistan in the wee hours of 20th October. He was the founder of Lashkar-e-Jabbar and a close acquaintance of Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) Mohammad Masood Azhar, who is one of India’s most wanted Islamic terrorists.
According to reports, the tribal leader was killed by masked gunmen in the Mirali area of North Waziristan. He was reportedly ambushed by anonymous assailants at a private clinic who opened fire at him before absconding from there. The occurrence has raised doubts about the possibility of a conflict between the terrorist groups active in Pakistan.
The security agents had been closely monitoring him because of his crucial involvement in Lashkar-e-Jabbar, a radical group that is notorious for endorsing extreme views. His removal dealt a serious blow to the larger network of extremists he was affiliated with as well as to his own outfit. The number of anti-India terrorist killings in Pakistan and other nations is climbing.
This most recent instance signifies an important setback in the group’s operations and adds to the already daunting problems they encounter. The incident which happened in broad daylight is the latest in a string of premeditated executions in the country targeted at terrorists who indulge in anti-India operations regularly.
This incident came after Mufti Qaiser Farooq, a close friend of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was recently murdered in the centre of Karachi. A Dera Ismail Khan native, he had a close relationship with the internationally designated JeM terrorist and his death dealt a serious blow to the terror outfit. He was walking with a group of his madrasa students when he was ambushed mercilessly. The event was captured on CCTV footage that is in the custody of Pakistani security forces. Two people riding motorcycles swiftly opened fire and ended his life in an instant.
The death of Mufti Qaiser Farooq is the sixteenth anti-India terrorist to be eliminated in the Pakistan-Canada region in the last nineteen months by attackers who remain unidentified. The episode was eerily similar to the killing of Maulana Ziaur Rahman, a prominent LeT terrorist which unfolded on 12 September in Karachi.
The death of JeM member Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim also known as Zahid Akhoond who was a hijacker of the IC-814 flight marked the start of a ruthless series of planned murders of anti-India terrorists and activists abroad. He was shot twice in the head at close range by unidentified perpetrators. Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) and law enforcement officials are deeply perturbed by these bold executions.
On 18 June pro-Khalisatn terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed by two assailants within the premises of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sahib in Canada’s Surrey four days after another Khalsitani terrorist and supremo of banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) died in a London hospital.
The terrorist Ripudaman Singh Malik a Khalistani was subsequently killed on 15 July 2022 in Surrey. He was the target of a premeditated operation. He was connected to multiple terror assaults including the bombing of Air India flight Kanishka on 23 April 1985, which claimed the lives of 329 innocent persons.
These intentional murders have sent a warning that has rippled through Pakistan’s military corridors and forced the ISI to promptly relocate twelve of its most important ‘assets’ to safe havens. The deaths of two more LeT members, Abu Qasim Kashmiri in Rawalkot and Qari Khurram Shehzad in Nazimabad earlier this year made the implementation of this preventive measure necessary.
A Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Bashir Ahmad Peer alias Imtiaz Alam was killed in an aggressive attack which took place inside the perimeter of ISI Headquarters and the military garrison town. The situation left the agency and Pakistan’s law enforcement authorities in a state of turmoil.
Even in their zealous search for solutions, Pakistan’s security forces have been quick to blame India’s external intelligence agency and brushed aside information that indicated that local individuals were involved. The assailants were familiar with the neighbourhoods around their victims and they orchestrated their attack with unnerving accuracy. Complicity also made it easier for them to flee and blend in with the local population.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeu’s Canadian government also accused India of the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on the basis of ‘credible allegations’ which led to a major diplomatic row between the two countries and their relations continued to deteriorate.
The reality of these occurrences highlights the complex network of terror and treachery that still permeates the region. These attackers who were familiar with the surroundings of their victims plotted their schemes with alarming accuracy with the help of accomplices who enabled them to escape easily.
