Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Another close associate of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed has been killed in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by unidentified gunmen. The mysterious killing of a Lashkar terrorist deepened the string of targeted attacks on senior terror figures of the banned outfit. According to reports, unidentified gunmen shot dead Sheikh Yusuf Afridi, who was known as a top LeT commander, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, security sources confirmed.
Reports suggested that the shooting was sudden, with initial reports suggesting that the assailants opened fire repeatedly, giving Afridi no chance to escape or seek cover. By the time local residents rushed to the scene, the attackers had already slipped away, vanishing into the province’s rugged terrain.
The incident has once again put a spotlight on who the unidentified gunmen are, eliminating the dreaded and top Pakistani terrorists in their own homeland. Particularly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has witnessed a sharp rise in violence over the past year, with both terrorists and security personnel frequently targeted. In this particular killing, the manner of the attack has raised immediate suspicions of a planned assassination, even though the officials have not linked Afridi’s killing to any group.
According to security sources, Sheikh Yusuf Afridi had long been active in terrorist activities and was regarded as a key figure within Lashkar-e-Taiba’s organisational structure. His proximity to Hafiz Saeed had placed him among a circle of commanders who have come under increasing pressure in recent months.
The security sources in Pakistan stated that Afridi's killing follows a pattern. In February 2025, Maulana Kashif Ali, who headed LeT’s political arm and was Saeed’s brother-in-law, was gunned down at his residence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swabi by unknown attackers who escaped without being traced.
However, the killing of Lashkar's Afridi is called a major incident, with the Pakistan security agencies probing to trace the attackers. While LeT remains banned, its operatives have continued to surface across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and beyond, often drawing the attention of both domestic counter-terror units and rival militant factions. His elimination is likely to disrupt the group’s operational chain in the region, as per local sources.
Following the deadly shooting, the police and security agencies cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. The officials said forensic teams were collecting evidence from the scene, but the attackers remained unidentified at the time of reporting.
Additionally, no organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the killing. The investigators are treating it as a targeted assassination, asserting that all angles are being examined, including the possibility of internal rivalries or action by hostile groups. The context of surging violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has not been ignored either, with the province recording a steep rise in fatalities linked to militant activity.
Notably, the death of Sheikh Yusuf Afridi adds to a growing list of senior LeT-linked figures killed in Pakistan in recent months, often in circumstances that remain murky. Though the security forces have urged calm, conceding that identifying the perpetrators may prove difficult, in a region where targeted killings have become alarmingly frequent, Afridi’s death is another name on a list that shows no sign of shortening.
