New Delhi: The suspicious death of a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba commander has caused a stir in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Qari Saeed Abdul Aziz collapsed and died at the gate of the Quba Mosque. It is reported that he had eaten at an “unknown” restaurant before prayers.
The corpse fell at the gate of the mosque
According to reports, Qari Saeed left home for prayers. He ate at a restaurant on the way. When he arrived at the Quba Mosque, he collapsed at the gate.
Bystanders tried to help, but he had already died. According to NDTV, the exact cause of death is still unclear. The post-mortem report is awaited.
Police have launched an investigation into the matter. Qari Saeed was in charge of the Lashkar-e-Taiba department that assisted the families of terrorists killed in encounters in Jammu and Kashmir. He was considered a key figure in the organization.
‘Unidentified people’ claim 30 terrorists killed
These deaths come at a time of significant revelations within LeT. Rizwan Hanif, a senior LeT member, claimed in a video that “unknown individuals” have killed approximately 30 members of the organization in Pakistan and PoK over the past three to four years.
Hanif said that Lashkar terrorists were targeted in Peshawar, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Rawalakot, and Muzaffarabad. This is the first time someone associated with Lashkar has publicly admitted killing its own people. He alleged that the attacks were carried out by “unknown individuals,” but did not provide any information about who carried them out.
Lashkar is already banned by the UN
Lashkar-e-Taiba was declared a banned organization by the United Nations in 2005 due to its links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The group is also believed to be behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people.
There have been reports of similar killings against Lashkar in Pakistan before, but no such admissions have come from within the organization. Qari Saeed’s death has now fueled speculation about whether this is part of the same “unknown” series of attacks.
Islamabad police are currently investigating whether Qari Saeed’s death was natural or whether he was poisoned. CCTV footage from the restaurant and surrounding mosque is also being examined.