Amir Hamza, a founding member of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was shot at by unidentified gunmen outside a news channel's office in Lahore on Thursday.
According to multiple reports, Hamza sustained severe injuries in the attack and is currently admitted to a hospital where he is said to be in a critical condition.
In a post on X, Lahore Police said it "responded swiftly to the incident of firing by unidentified individuals at the vehicle of the Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool Pakistan at Hamdard Chowk." All individuals in the vehicle remained safe.
A high alert has been issued in the area, and search operations are underway to identify and arrest the perpetrators, the police said.
Police said they have launched a probe into the incident with the help of CCTV footage to trace the attackers.
This is the second time in less than a year that Hamza came under attack. Last year in May, there was a similar attack on Hamza when he was shot in the waist area by unidentified men.
According to police, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the vehicle of the private TV channel 24NewsHD TV, owned by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
The channel's religious programme host Justice (retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi and Hamza were in the vehicle.
In the attack, Hamza suffered bullet injuries while Ghazi remained unhurt, the police said.
Amir Hamza co-founded Lashkar-e-Taiba along with Hafiz Saeed in the late 1980s. Though the United Nation has banned and designated LeT as a terrorist group, India has long accused Pakistan of using it in multiple attacks against the country.
Hamza has been designated as a terrorist by the US. In the past, he served as the head of LeT's "special campaigns" department.
In 2018, Hamza formed a fundraising group for the LeT following a ban on the JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation by the Pakistani government.
(With inputs from PTI)