Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Terror Empire Shaken: Deputy Chief Khalid Killed in Matli Ambush

International News: Matli, a quiet town in Pakistan's Sindh province, where on normal days a cool breeze blows and farmers worry about their land. But one morning the air there was filled with the smell of gunpowder. The sound of bullets echoed, and a notorious face - Saifullah Khalid, whom the world knew as the deputy chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba, fell on the ground. His head and chest were riddled with bullets. No warning, no noise - just two bullets, and a chapter of terror ended.

'Saifullah Khalid': Hafiz Saeed's most trusted pawn

Khalid was no ordinary terrorist. He was not just a member of an organization, but was Hafiz Saeed's most trusted pawn. In the name of radical organizations like Jamaat-ud-Dawa, he would mislead the youth, collect money, and weave plans to wreak havoc in India.

His strategies were not made on paper, they were written in blood and gunpowder. Khalid was the man who used to go to the land where the destruction was to happen before executing the conspiracy.

Three chapters of terror in India, same author

2001, 2005 and 2006, three different years, three different states on Indian soil  but the same face was hidden behind these attacks:

• Attack on Rampur CRPF camp (2001): Soil soaked with the blood of security personnel and Khalid's cunning plan.
• Bangalore blasts (2005): India's IT hub was shaken, the terrorist who attacked technology was playing with technology.
• Nagpur RSS headquarters (2006): A big conspiracy, which was foiled in time, but he was the mastermind behind it.

He remained hidden, but could not escape

After fleeing from India, Khalid changed his identity. He remained hidden in Nepal for years under the name "Vinod Kumar". No one knew the reality of this ordinary looking man. But this mask was not forever. After a few years, he returned to Pakistan and made Matli his hideout – once again the same work, the same purpose – terror.

This incident has raised many serious questions

He was shot in the same city he chose to hide. No face was seen, no name was revealed. Just a terrorist fainted and fell down. The question remains – who killed him? Why did he kill him?

• Was this the result of internal conflict within a terrorist group?
• Or did Pakistan's agencies remove their own pawn?
• Or was it a surgical intelligence action by some other country?

This is still a mystery. But it has become clear that now even within Lashkar, its own terrorists are not safe.

The entire world will have to remain vigilant

The killing of Saifullah Khalid has given a message to the world – those who play with blood, their story is also written in blood. But faces like Khalid are not just names, they are carriers of ideologies. As long as such thinking is alive, the entire world including India will have to remain vigilant.

Because Saifullah Khalid is no more, but many "Vinod Kumars" like him are probably still hiding in some other country.