Former Pakistani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar faced an uncomfortable moment during a live interview on Al Jazeera after she attempted to dismiss the presence of US-designated terrorist Hafiz Abdur Rauf at a militant funeral in Pakistan. The exchange quickly turned viral, exposing contradictions in Pakistan’s narrative and highlighting its ambiguous stance on internationally proscribed individuals.
During the interview, Khar insisted that the individual seen in viral footage leading funeral prayers for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives killed in India’s Operation Sindoor was not the same Hafiz Abdur Rauf designated by the US Treasury and the UN Security Council. She claimed, “There are countless people with that name in Pakistan,” calling the man a “common citizen” and denying Indian allegations.
However, the Al Jazeera anchor countered Khar’s assertion by referencing a Pakistani military press briefing that did not deny the individual’s identity. In fact, the military had described him as a political party member and released a national ID number that directly matched the listing in the US sanctions database. This exposed a direct contradiction in Khar’s narrative.
Khar attempted damage control by citing the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wing of the Pakistani Army, claiming it had clarified the man was not the proscribed individual. But the anchor reminded her that the army had never denied the individual’s identity—only deflected by offering a political affiliation.
The incident has drawn sharp attention to Pakistan’s failure to act against listed terrorists operating openly within its borders. Indian Army sources had earlier confirmed the presence of Pakistani military personnel at the funeral where Hafiz Abdur Rauf led prayers, followed by chants of “Al Jihad.”
Rauf is a well-known figure within Lashkar-e-Taiba and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), closely linked to LeT founder Hafiz Saeed. Though not related by blood, Rauf is seen as an ideological and operational leader in the group. Despite global blacklisting, including under the UN’s 1267 sanctions and US designations, he continues to appear at public events.
India’s Press Information Bureau had earlier debunked Pakistan’s denial by sharing links to US and UN sanctions lists confirming Rauf’s identity. The controversy erupted after Operation Sindoor, launched in retaliation to the killing of Indian tourists in Pahalgam by Pakistan-backed militants, exposed yet again the ties between Pakistan’s state machinery and proscribed terror groups.
The awkward moment on live television has since gone viral, with critics accusing Pakistan of repeatedly providing safe havens and cover for globally sanctioned individuals.
