Shahid Latif, the mastermind behind the 2016 terror attack in Pathankot in Punjab, was gunned down in Pakistan’s Sialkot area.
Published Oct 11, 2023 | 4:37 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 11, 2023 | 4:37 PM
Shahid Latif. (Supplied)
Shahid Latif, the mastermind behind the 2016 terror attack in Pathankot in Punjab, was gunned down in Pakistan’s Sialkot area on Wednesday, 11 October.
Latif was a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operative and was amongst the most wanted terrorists in India.
The 2016 Pathankot attack claimed the lives of seven soldiers and injured 22 others.
The Air Force Airbase in Pathankot came under attack by heavily armed terrorists on 2 January, 2016.
The gun battle, which lasted nearly four days, resulted in the death of seven security personnel and a civilian. Four attackers were also killed in the gunfight.
A day later, on 3 January, 2016, another security officer at the airbase was killed following an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion.
Investigations into the attack revealed that the terrorists belonged to the JeM terrorist group. Later, in March, 2016, the probe into the Pathankot terror strike was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Investigations found that Latif was the “key conspirator and co-coordinator” of the 2016 Pathankot attack and the handler of the four terrorists who sneaked into Pathankot Air Force Station.
He was also known to supervise the launching of JeM terrorists into India and was also involved in the planning, facilitation and execution of terror attacks in India.
As per an Indian Ministry of Home Affairs notification, Shahid Latif, who is also known by aliases “Chota Shahid Bhai” and “Noor Al-Din”, was categorised as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
It further identified him as a key member of the proscribed terrorist organisation JeM, a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation and the ‘Launching Commander’ of the terrorist organisation’s Sialkot sector.
He infiltrated into Jammu & Kashmir from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1993 and was arrested in the valley in 1994.
He remained in Kot Balwal jail in Jammu for 16 years with JeM Chief Masood Azhar and was released in 2010 from India after which he was deported to Pakistan through the Wagah border in Amritsar in Punjab.
He was also an accused in the 24 December, 1999, hijacking of Indian Airlines aircraft case (Kandahar case).
According to Pakistani law agencies, Latif along with his driver was attacked when he was headed to a mosque for Fajr (morning) prayers and was assassinated near Masjid Noor in Sialkot’s Daska.
There are reports that one of his accompanists was also shot dead.
