A video purportedly featuring Rizwan Hanif, a senior operative associated with the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has surfaced on social media, in which he claims that more than 30 members of the outfit have been killed by “unknown gunmen” across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) over the past three to four years.
According to the claims made in the video, the killings took place in several locations, including Peshawar, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad. Hanif alleges that members of the banned terrorist organisation have been systematically targeted in these areas, describing the deaths as part of a continuing pattern of attacks.
The video has drawn attention because it is reportedly the first public instance of a Lashkar-linked operative openly acknowledging the deaths of a significant number of the group’s members inside Pakistan. Indian media reports have stated that Indian security agencies have verified the identity of the individual in the video as Rizwan Hanif, a senior Lashkar operative wanted by India. Independent verification of the video’s contents and the claims made in it has not been publicly established.
During the video, Hanif alleges that Indian agencies were responsible for orchestrating the targeted killings. India has consistently rejected such allegations and has not accepted responsibility for the incidents referred to in the video.
The video also reportedly contains inflammatory and hateful remarks directed at the Hindu community. Such rhetoric reflects the use of extremist propaganda by terrorist organisations to promote hatred, justify violence and encourage radicalisation.
Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist organisation behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people, has long been designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and several countries. Although Pakistan has maintained that the organisation was banned and dismantled, concerns have continued to be raised internationally regarding the presence and activities of individuals linked to the group.
The emergence of the video has once again drawn attention to the internal security situation surrounding terrorist organisations operating from Pakistani territory. However, the allegations regarding responsibility for the reported killings remain contested, and no official evidence has been publicly presented to substantiate the claims made by the Lashkar operative.
