Hafiz Saeed’s close aide and key LeT figure Sheikh Yousaf Afridi shot dead in Pakistan
The incident took place on Sunday in Landi Kotal in the Khyber region, about 250 kilometers from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.
A police source told PTI on Monday that unidentified armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire at Afridi, resulting in his death on the spot.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Afridi is said to be a key figure within the regional structure of the banned LeT.
He also reportedly played a role in gathering and coordinating the terrorist group’s activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The incident sparked widespread outrage in the area and local authorities launched an investigation to catch those responsible for his murder,” the source said. An official from Saeed’s banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) said Afridi “is a famous religious scholar and belongs to the Zakhakhel tribe of Khyber and is considered a leading scholar of the Ahl-e-Hadith (Salafi) school of thought.”
“He was targeted when unidentified assailants sprayed him with bullets and managed to flee the scene. It should be noted that extremist groups like Khawarij (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) are currently facing strong intellectual and practical challenges from Salafi scholars,” he said.
More than a week ago, Emir Hamza, one of the founding leaders of LeT, was injured by a bullet in an attack in Lahore.
Hamza is the second most prominent leader of LeT after Saeed, who has been in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after being convicted in terror financing cases for several years.
