Jaish-e-Mohammad commander Shahid Latif, who was one of the key conspirators in the 2016 Pathankot Air Force base terrorist attack, has been killed by unidentified assailants, according to reports citing Indian intelligence agency officials.
Latif, who was designated an “individual terrorist” under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by India, was killed inside a mosque in Pakistan’s Sialkot. He had been living in Sialkot for a long and was involved in several terror strikes in India, including the Pathankot Air base attack.
Advertisement
According to the reports, Latif was the handler of four Pakistani terrorists – Nasir Hussain, Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum – who attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot on January 1, 2016. The terrorists were in constant touch with Latif and another JeM terrorist Kashif Jan AKA ‘Ustad Ji’.
They killed seven IAF personnel before being neutralized by National Security Guards and the Army commandoes in an 80-hour long ‘Operation Dhangu’.
This was the attack when India allowed a Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to enter India and collect evidence. However, Pakistan violated the terms and failed to share evidence with India.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet of Pathankot attack case in 2016 and named Maulana Masood Azhar, Latif, Kashif Jan and others are the perpetrators of the terror strike. The terrorists also left behind two notes saying “Jaish-e-Mohammad Zindabad Tangdhar se le kar Samba Kathua Rajbagh aur Delhi tak Afzal Guru Shaheed Kay Jan Nisar Tum Ko Meltay Rahenge. Insha Allah.”