Pahalgam terror attack ‘mastermind’ says he’s ‘more famous now’; shares stage with Pakistani politician

Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Saifullah Khalid

The alleged mastermind behind the Pahalgam terror attack and Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, Saifullah Kasuri, was spotted at a public rally in Pakistan’s Punjab, India Today reported.

Pakistani politician Malik Ahmad Khan was also seen sharing the stage with Kasuri at the rally organised by the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) - in an alarming display of the proximity between political leaders and terrorists leadership in the country.

Along with Kasuri, son of LeT founder and UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed, Talha Saeed, was also spotted at the rally, the report claimed.

Kasuri is believed to have coordinated the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, where terrorists from The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the LeT, gunned down 26 people.

The videos that surfaced online show the LeT commander raising anti-India and jihadist slogans in Lahore.

Kasuri was also heard praising the terrorists killed during Operation Sindoor as “martyrs,” according to a Hindustan Times report. Speaking at the rally, Kasuri said “I was blamed as being the mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack, now my name is famous in the entire world,” according to India Today.

“We are not going to be scared by bullet shots and firing, and we aspire to die as martyrs," he quoted.

Who is Saifullah Kasuri?

He is the deputy chief of LeT and he maintains close connection with Hafiz Saeed according to News18.

Reportedly for the Pahalgam terror attack, Kasuri reached Kanganpur in Punjab, Pakistan, two months before. A large battalion of the Pakistani army is generally present there.

He has been instigating the Pakistani army and brainwashing the youth, the report added. Also infamous for giving Jihadi speeches and seen as as key asset of the Pakistani Army.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed lives of 26 people. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed the responsibility for the attack that it later withdrew.

In response to the attack India launched 'Operation Sindoor' on May 7 and destroyed multiple terrorist at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).