Shahid Latif, the alleged mastermind of the 2016 Pathankot terror attack, was shot dead Tuesday by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Sialkot. The 41-year-old – the ‘launching commander’ of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed – was accused of helping four terrorists infiltrate the Pathankot Air Force station and kill seven personnel. The 54-year-old was on the list of India’s ‘most-wanted terrorists’

Who Was Shahid Latif?

Shahid Latif allegedly provided logistical support for the four Pakistani terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Air Force station in January seven years ago.

Born in Pakistan’s Gurjanwala, Latif came on Indian agencies’ radar after his arrest in 1994 in a terror case. He was arrested again from Jammu in 1996 on narcotics and terror charges.

He was then put on trial and eventually jailed.

READ |Shahid Latif, Key Conspirator Of Pathankot Terror Attack, Killed In Pakistan

In 1999, Latif’s release was demanded by the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814. The government refused to set him free but did release Masood Azhar, the terrorist who would go on to found the Jaish, to free 189 passengers and crew.

In 2010, India deported Latif and 24 other terrorists to Pakistan on grounds they had completed their sentence and could not continue to be legally detained. 

A senior source in the National Investigation Agency had told NDTV then “all those released had served their full term in Indian jails, and could not have been kept back”.

READ | In Pathankot Attack, Key Role Of Terrorist Released By Congress Government

Later that year the Indian government listed Latif as a “wanted terrorist”.

Latif’s killing is the latest in a series of attacks on terrorists in Pakistan.

Last month, Mufti Qaisar Farooq and Ziaur-Rehman of Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed in Karachi and, in February, top Hizbul commander Bashir Ahmad Peer was killed in Rawalpindi.

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Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Shahid Latif. Photo: nia.gov.in

Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Shahid Latif, believed to be the mastermind of the 2016 attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, was gunned down on October 11 by unidentified assailants in a mosque in Daska town of Pakistan’s Sialkot district, officials said.

Latif, alias Bilal, a designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is learnt to have been shot dead along with two of his associates by three gunmen.

He had infiltrated into the Kashmir Valley in 1993 and was arrested a year later. He was in Jammu jail with Masood Azhar, founder of the JeM, till 2010, officials said.

Also Read | Pak. to seek more proof from India on Pathankot attack

He was deported to Pakistan in 2010 following his release and formally joined the terror group, they said.

“This is the biggest blow to JeM on Pakistan soil,” an official said.

Latif was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Seven IAF personnel were killed when four JeM terrorists sneaked into the Pathankot Air Force Station on January 2, 2016. The siege went on for three days.