Image of a fire in a part of the Taj Mahal Hotel during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. (Image: Reuters)
Abdul Salam Bhuttawi, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, died in a Pakistani jail following a heart attack.
Abdul Salam Bhuttawi, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader who trained the terrorists who carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was killed in a prison in Pakistan while serving a jail term for terror financing. Hindustan Times said in a report.
The United Nations Security Council designated Bhuttawi as a terrorist in 2012. Years later, the Pakistan government arrested and charged him with terrorism financing in August 2020 along with the founder of the terrorist group, Hafiz Saeed’s brother-in-law, Abdul Rehman Makki. He was sentenced to 16½ years in prison, reports by Hindustan Times Said.
The news of Bhuttawi’s death was circulated on social media by organizations linked to the terrorist group on Monday. The report revealed that Bhuttawi had also served as acting chief of LeT when the group’s founder, Hafiz Saeed, was held by Pakistani authorities in 2002 as well as in 2008.
Bhuttawi, who was lodged in a jail in Sheikhupura in Pakistan’s Punjab province, died of a heart attack on Monday afternoon. The video of his funeral was shared by social media accounts representing groups sympathetic to LeT. The last rites were reportedly held at Lashkar’s center near Muridke in Lahore.
The UNSC said Bhuttawi was also linked to al-Qaeda and participated in “financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or implementing acts or activities” of LeT.
The UNSC also says that Bhuttawi was a founding member of the terror group and served as Hafiz Saeed’s deputy.
Bhuttawi has served as acting Amir of the Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamaat-ud-Dawa (LeT/JuD) on at least two occasions when Saeed was detained. Saeed was detained days after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and held until June 2009. Bhuttawi handled the day-to-day operations of the group during this period and took independent decisions on behalf of the organization. Saeed was also detained in May 2002.
In November 2008, a 10-member LeT team carried out coordinated attacks in Mumbai, resulting in the tragic death of 166 people and many more injuries. The victims included individuals from various countries, including the US and the UK. While Pakistan detained seven LeT members, including operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, there has been no significant progress in their trial.
Hindustan Times The report added that Indian intelligence officials have also confirmed Bhuttawi’s death.
In 2011 the US Treasury stated that Bhuttawi had been involved in fundraising, recruiting and arming LeT operatives for more than two decades.
