| Unidentified gunmen strike again, LeT operative killed in Pak | | During the last four years, unknown gunmen eliminated 28 of India’s most wanted terrorists in Pakistan, PoJK | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 22: A series of targeted killings of terror operatives by unidentified assailants in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) has continued unabated since 2022, with at least 28 militants, including several high-profile “commanders,” eliminated over the past four years.
The trend is believed to have begun on March 22, 2022, with the killing of Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim, an Indian Airlines plane hijacker, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Karachi.
In the latest incident, Bilal Arif Sarafi, a commander of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was reportedly stabbed to death by unidentified attackers. The incident is said to have occurred near the group’s former headquarters, close to Markaz in Muridke. The motive behind the killing remains unclear.
Unverified videos circulating on social media purportedly show Sarafi lying motionless at the scene. However, officials have not independently confirmed the authenticity of these visuals.
Sources indicate that Sarafi played a significant role in recruitment and indoctrination activities at the outfit’s Muridke centre, where he was involved in identifying and training young recruits to further the group’s agenda.
Earlier this year, on February 12, Mohammad Qasim Gujjar alias Salman alias Suleman, a designated terrorist and one of India’s most wanted, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Peshawar. The Ministry of Home Affairs had, in March 2024, declared Gujjar—an operative of Lashkar-e-Taiba—as an individual terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), placing him in the Fourth Schedule of the Act.
A native of Angrala village in Mahore tehsil of Reasi district in Jammu, Gujjar was believed to be operating from PoJK and was accused of involvement in activities aimed at waging war against India.
The continuing eliminations have drawn attention to what analysts describe as a growing pattern of internal security challenges within Pakistan, a country long accused of harboring and supporting terror networks as instruments of foreign policy.
According to the Global Terrorism Index 2026, Pakistan ranked as the world’s most terrorism-affected country in 2025 for the first time, recording 1,139 deaths, 1,045 attacks, 1,595 injuries, and 655 hostages. Notably, Pakistan was the only country in South Asia where the security situation deteriorated during the year, while other nations in the region reported improvements. |
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