Fearing covert operation, Pakistan steps up LeT chief's security

ISI and Pakistan govt have stepped up security for Lashkar-e-Taiba & Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed , fearing a covert operation in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack , sources have said.

Former commandos from Special Service Group have been assigned to his security detail and additional men deployed at his residences, including the one in Mohalla Johar in Lahore, sources added. He has been deliberately placed in a densely populated area that has a mosque and madrassa besides homes of common Pakistani citizens.

As he is currently imprisoned, on paper, his house has been converted into a temporary sub-jail. A control room has been formed to monitor all movements through gesture detection CCTV cameras in a one km radius, sources added.

The 77-year-old LeT founder is wanted by the US and India for the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks, besides the Pahalgam killings. The Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate also vowed Wednesday to retaliate for the killing of the civilians in Pahalgam. Attaching a picture of Saeed, Bishnoi issued the threat on a social media platform, stating that the group will target an individual of immense value to Pakistan.

Saeed is in the so-called custody of the Pakistan govt, serving a 46-year-sentence as a result of his conviction in seven terror financing cases.

In an order dated April 7, 2022, Saeed was sentenced to 31 years in prison in two cases of terrorism financing. Shown as arrested on paper since 2019, Saeed was already serving a 15-year sentence on similar charges awarded in 2020. The court ordered the sentences run concurrently.

Saeed has made over two dozen public appearances in the last three years, the latest being in Feb this year. Surrounded by a multi-layer security ring, which also has former SSG commandos, Saeed is frequently spotted at terror launch pads in PoK as well as camps in Muridke, Bahawalpur and Rawalkot.

After India nullified Article 370, Saeed renamed Lashkar as The Resistance Front in 2020.