LAHORE: Sheikh Yousaf Afridi, a key Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) figure and close associate of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.
The incident took place on Sunday in Landi Kotal in the Khyber region, around 250 km from Islamabad.
A police source told PTI on Monday that unknown armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire on Afridi, killing him on the spot. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Afridi is believed to have been an important figure within the regional structure of the banned LeT. He also reportedly played a role in recruitment and coordination of the group’s activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The source said the incident has sparked widespread anger in the area, and local authorities have launched an investigation to identify those responsible.
An official of Hafiz Saeed’s banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) described Afridi as a “renowned religious scholar” belonging to the Zakhakhel tribe of Khyber, and said he was regarded as a prominent scholar of the Ahl-e-Hadith (Salafi) school of thought.
“He was targeted when unidentified attackers sprayed him with bullets and fled the scene. It should be remembered that extremist groups such as the Khawarij (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) are currently facing strong intellectual and practical challenges from Salafi scholars,” the official said.
Over a week ago in Lahore, Amir Hamza, a founding leader of LeT, was injured in a shooting incident.
Hamza is the second-most important leader of LeT after Saeed, who has been lodged in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 following convictions in terror-financing cases.
(With inputs from PTI)