Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 11: One of the most wanted terrorists in India, Shahid Latif, who masterminded 2016 attack on the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Pathankot, Punjab in 2016 and was a key aide of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, was gunned down by unknown gunmen along with his brother in a mosque in Sialkot district of Pakistan early this morning.
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Shahid Latif had operated in Kashmir in 1993 as commander of Harkat-ul-Ansar after infiltrating into the Valley from the Line of Control (LoC) but was captured in 1994 and was lodged in high security Kot Bhalwal jail.
He was deported to Pakistan from Attari-Wagah border in Punjab in 2010 during then UPA Government. However, on return to Pakistan, Latif joined the Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit and started training terrorists. He masterminded 2016 terror attack at IAF base in Pathankot.
Reports said three men who came on a motorcycle fired indiscriminately at 53-year-old Latif and his brother, Haris Hashim, as they were leaving the Noor Madina mosque in Daska town of Sialkot after pre-dawn prayers.
Latif, who was accompanied by his heavily armed guards, and his brother were killed on the spot in the mosque complex.
According to a report from Lahore, the gunmen pretended to be worshippers to enter the mosque complex.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but local police chief Hassan Iqbal said it appeared that Latif was intentionally targeted. The police chief did not provide further details, as per the report.
Latif alias Bilal alias Noor Al Din, a designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was the launching commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Sialkot and had been involved in planning, facilitation and execution of terror attacks in India.
It is believed that Latif was brainwashed by Masood Azhar, who was also lodged in Kot Bhalwal jail till he was set free in 1999 in exchange for the passengers of IC-814, an Indian Airlines plane that was hijacked by terrorists and taken to Kandahar.
After spending 16 years in the Indian jail, Latif was deported through the Attari-Wagah border in 2010 and was believed to have got in touch again with Azhar, who had by that time formed the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group.
“This is the biggest blow to JeM on Pakistan soil,” an official said.
Latif, a resident of Aminabad in Punjab’s Gujranwala, was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Seven IAF personnel were killed when four JeM terrorists sneaked into the Pathankot Air Force Station on January 2, 2016. The siege went on for three days.
After the Pathankot attack, Latif was detained by the Pakistani authorities for some time. He was also involved in the terrorist attacks in Samba and Hiranagar in 2013, officials said.
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