Who Was Saifullah Khalid? The LeT Commander Behind Attacks In India

Saifullah Khalid, LeT's shadow commander and Pahalgam mastermind, was gunned down in Pakistan. Known for his cross-border operations, he played a key role in multiple attacks.

File Photo of Razullah Nizamani, also known as Abu Saifullah, a deputy commander of LeT

Source : Special Arrangements

In a significant development, Abu Saifullah Khalid, also known as Razaullah Nizamani Khalid, a key Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative and mastermind behind several high-profile terror attacks targeting India, was shot dead in Pakistan’s Sindh province on Sunday. Khalid, known for operating under multiple aliases, including Mohammad Saleem and Vinode Kumar, was reportedly ambushed by three unidentified gunmen as he left his residence in the Matli area.

Reports indicate that Khalid, also known as “Saifullah Kasuri,” was a close associate of Hafiz Saeed, one of India’s most wanted terrorists, and held the position of LeT’s deputy chief. Kasuri is believed to have played a central role in organizing and funding several major attacks in India, including the 2006 attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, the 2001 assault on a CRPF camp in Rampur, and the 2005 attack on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.

Operating from Nepal for a significant period, Khalid is said to have managed the LeT module in the region, facilitating the infiltration of operatives into India and overseeing recruitment, finances, and logistics. His close coordination with top LeT commanders, including Azam Cheema, alias Babaji, and Yaqoob, the group’s chief accountant, further strengthened the terror outfit’s cross-border operations.

The 2006 RSS headquarters attack, a particularly audacious strike, was one of Khalid’s most infamous operations. In this attack, three terrorists, reportedly under his direction, targeted the RSS facility in Nagpur but were killed in a subsequent firefight with security forces. Khalid was also linked to the deadly 2005 IISc attack in Bengaluru, which resulted in the death of Professor Munish Chandra Puri and injuries to four others. Despite the severity of these attacks, many of the operatives involved managed to evade capture.

Following a crackdown on the LeT’s Nepal module by Indian intelligence agencies, Khalid is believed to have relocated to Pakistan, where he continued to operate under the protection of top LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) leaders, including Yusuf Muzammil, Muzammil Iqbal Hashmi, and Muhammad Yusuf Taibi. In recent years, he was reportedly tasked with recruiting operatives and raising funds for LeT’s activities in the Badin and Hyderabad districts of Sindh. He was said to be residing in Badin with his Nepali wife, Nagmabanu, at the time of his death.

Despite increased security following intelligence reports of threats to his life, Khalid was ambushed near Matli Phalkara Chowk on Sunday afternoon. Security sources suggest that his attackers managed to evade capture, highlighting ongoing security challenges in the region.