Who is Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer? Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s close aide sparks alarm with Bangladesh visit
A close associate of UN-designated Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed recently visited several sensitive areas close to the border and delivered inflammatory speeches during his stay in Bangladesh this month, triggering tension, media reports said.
According to reports, Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, General Secretary of Pakistan's Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith boosted his networking with local radical elements during his stay in the country at a time when the relationship between Pakistan and Bangladesh has improved over time since PM Sheikh Hasina's fall last year.
In the past two days, he visited border areas in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj, and is scheduled to go to Rangpur this week, reported India Today.
He reportedly visited Bangladesh for more than a week in February.
Zaheer's itinerary, which includes visits to multiple frontier areas and a high-profile Salafi conference, has raised fears of a deepening Pakistan-Bangladesh nexus aimed at destabilising the northeast, the news channel reported.
Saeed, 77, is a wanted figure for both India and the United States in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks and has also been implicated in masterminding the recent massacre in Pahalgam.
Though sentenced to 46 years in prison for seven terror financing cases, he has made more than two dozen public appearances in the past three years—the most recent being in February.
His name has resurfaced after the Lawrence Bishnoi gang posted a threat online, featuring Saeed’s image and warning of an imminent strike on a high-value target in Pakistan, in retaliation for the Pahalgam killings.
Despite being “under arrest” since 2019, Saeed reportedly continues to visit terror launch sites in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and camps in Muridke, Rawalkot, and Bahawalpur.
Following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2020, he is said to have rebranded Lashkar-e-Taiba as The Resistance Front, which remains active.
IBNS
Senior Staff Reporter at Northeast Herald, covering news from Tripura and Northeast India.
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