Pathankot Attack Mastermind, Shahid Latif Gunned Down In Pakistan
Shahid Latif, India’s most wanted terrorist, was gunned down in Pakistan’s Sialkot by an unknown assailant on Wednesday. Shahid Latif is the key conspirator in the 2016 Pathankot terror attack, in which seven security personnel were killed.
Police have reported that Latif was killed inside a mosque, and they are still trying to find the whereabouts of the attackers.
Three gunmen who shot Latiff and two of his associates fled from the crime scene on their motorcycle. The incident took place near the Noor Madina Mosque in Punjab’s Daska after the Fajr prayer. Two of them died on the spot, while one was injured, reports India today.
The 41-year-old was a member of proscribed terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM). Latiff coordinated the Pathankot attack from Sialkot and sent down four JeM terrorists to Pathankot to execute it. The 2016 Pathankot attack claimed the lives of seven soldiers, while another 22 were wounded.
He was initially arrested in 1994 for terror charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He was put on trial and eventually jailed. He spent 16 years in Kot Balwal, Jammu jail, alongside Masoor Azhar. He was then deported to Pakistan via Wagah border after completion of his sentence in 2010.
Latiff was also accused of hijacking an Indian Airlines plane in 1999, and in 2010, Indian government included his name on the wanted terrorist list.
Latif’s killing is the latest in the series of attacks on terrorists in Pakistan. Last month, Mufti Qaisar Farooq and Ziaur-Rehman of Lakshar were killed in Karachi. Similarly, several other terrorists’ operatives have been killed in Pakistan in the last 18 months, reports NDTV.
