'Dhurandhar' In Pakistan: Unidentified Gunmen Killing India's Most Wanted Terrorists On Foreign Soil

New Delhi: For the past few years, a mysterious "shadow war" has been unfolding on Pakistani soil. India's most-wanted terrorists—who had been ensconced in safe havens there for decades—are now falling victim to unidentified gunmen. Most recently, the public assassination of Aamir Hamza—one of the founding members of Lashkar-e-Taiba—in Lahore marks yet another link in this chain of events. Hamza, who was also under U.S. sanctions, had co-founded Lashkar in the 1980s alongside the notorious terrorist Hafiz Saeed.

Who Did Unidentified Assailants Kill?

This is not an isolated incident. Over the last three to four years, across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, more than a dozen terrorist commanders affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen have been eliminated by unidentified assailants. Just prior to Hamza's assassination, the body of Mohammad Tahir Anwar—brother of Jaish chief Masood Azhar—was also recovered under highly mysterious circumstances.

Who Are Big Names on the Hit List?

This ever-growing hit-list includes several notorious names. In March 2024, Lashkar's top commander, Zia-ur-Rehman, was gunned down by unidentified assailants. Notably, Rehman was believed to be the mastermind behind the Reasi bus attack, in which terrorists killed nine pilgrims on June 9, 2024. Similarly, Paramjit Singh Panjwar—chief of the Khalistan Commando Force and one of India's most-wanted terrorists—was shot at close range during his morning walk in Lahore, despite being under Pakistani security cover.

Who Eliminated Shahid Latif?

The manner in which these terrorists are being eliminated is equally chilling. On October 10, 2023, inside a mosque in Sialkot, masked assailants gunned down Shahid Latif—the mastermind behind the 2016 Pathankot Airbase attack—right in the presence of his bodyguards. Meanwhile, Mufti Qaiser Farooq, a close associate of Hafiz Saeed, was shot dead in Karachi. Furthermore, the beheaded body of Khwaja Shahid—an accused in the 2018 Sunjuwan attack—was discovered in PoK, bearing marks of brutal torture.

Was Zahoor Mistry Also Killed?

Prior to this, in March 2022, Zahoor Mistry was also gunned down by two unidentified assailants in Karachi. Mistry was one of the five terrorists who hijacked Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 in 1999; to exert pressure, he had stabbed to death a 25-year-old passenger, Rupin Katyal.

What Was The Result of Internal Rivalries?

In November 2023, the assassination of Lashkar recruiter Akram Khan Ghazi by motorcycle-borne assailants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has left Pakistani agencies deeply rattled. While Pakistani officials are expressing suspicion regarding the involvement of external forces in these incidents, local media attributes them to internal rivalries brewing within terrorist networks. Whatever the underlying cause may be—from the digital realm to the reality on the ground—one thing is certain: for India's enemies, even Pakistan is no longer a safe haven.