In a bold retaliation to the deadly Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people, the Indian armed forces on early Wednesday launched strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (Pok).
The counter-terrorism action, named 'Operation Sindoor', represents a significant escalation in India's fight against cross-border terrorism.
During the strike, the Indian armed forces specifically targeted the hideouts of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba – two major terrorist organisations that have carried out several deadly attacks on India in the past decades.
In Muridke Tehsil of Sheikhupura District in Punjab, Pakistan, the Lashkar-e-Taiba campus provides a training ground and infrastructure for terrorist activities.
Who Is Hafiz Muhammad Saeed?
Hafiz Saeed is known as the Karta Dharta (a Hindi Phrase- Refers to chief/purveyor) of Lashkar-e-Taiba, who is also the mastermind of many previous attacks on India.
Born in 1950, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is a Pakistani Islamic preacher and militant convicted of terrorism.
In 1985-86, Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded by Hafiz Saeed.
Saeed played a key role in LeT's operation and fundraising activities. He is also the leader, or Amir, of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa, described as a front for LeT, has been involved in terror financing and militant activities targeting India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Saeed is a mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which killed 166 people, including Americans.
Not just in India, he is most wanted in the United States with a $10 million bounty.
In Pakistan, he was sentenced to a cumulative 78 years in prison for terror financing in 2019 and 2020, though reports suggest he lives under house arrest in a heavily secured Lahore residence rather than a traditional prison.
India has sought his extradition, but Pakistan cites the lack of a bilateral treaty.
Saeed's son, Talha Saeed, is active in LeT and has contested Pakistani elections.
In 2005, Saeed determined where young men graduating from Lashkar-e-Taiba camps in Pakistan should be sent to fight, and during a visit to Saudi Arabia, he organised the infiltration of Lashkar-e-Taiba militants into Iraq.
In 2006, Saeed reportedly oversaw the management of a terrorist camp, including raising funds for the camp. Saeed also arranged for a Lashkar operative to be sent to Europe as Lashkar's European fundraising coordinator.
In June 2006, he established a Lashkar office in Quetta, Pakistan, to assist the Taliban's operations in Afghanistan.
In 2008, the United States Department of the Treasury designated Saeed as a Special Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, as per the US administration's official website.
Educational Journey of Hafiz Saeed
Following the partition of the British India Empire in 1947, Saeed's Panjabi family lost many of its members in the bitter communal fight.
In 1980, Saeed travelled to Saudi Arabia for his formal Islamic education.
Saeed holds two master's degrees from the University of Punjab and studied Islamic Studies and Arabic at King Saud University.
