Is Hafiz Saeed dead? Pakistan’s deafening silence

At 11:13 IST on 15th March, I picked up hush-hush whispers on social media platform X started doing rounds of a high-profile killing in Punjab. A senior journalist from Pakistan posted, “Who got killed in Punjab? Terrible.”

As I started dwelling on the information, I picked up the first information of it forty-five minutes later. At 00:38 IST, another senior journalist posted, “Unknown motorcyclists opened fire near Mangla Bypass, Dina. An important person aboard a Toyota Vigo Dala killed, his guard injured in targeted firing. Identity kept secret. Suspects escaped. Bodies and injured shifted to an unknown location. Security on high alert, strict blockade of all major and minor roads, Jhelum, Pakistan.”

Soon after, multiple journalists from Pakistan reported the killing of Nadeem Masood, alias Abu Qataal, a senior Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) leader and nephew of LeT/JuD chief Hafiz Saeed. Reports also emerged that another leader was seriously injured and moved to CMH Rawalpindi for treatment. Speculation grew that the injured leader was Hafiz Saeed himself, with some even declaring him dead. With confirmation of Nadeem Masood’s killing and the probability of Hafiz Saeed also targeted in the attack, I broke the developing story in India on social media platform X. For the next six hours, several senior Pakistani journalists cited unconfirmed reports of Hafiz Saeed being targeted and grievously injured in the same attack, with some suggesting he had succumbed to his injuries.

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However, a fact-checking attempt by another journalist, Arshad Yusufzai, at 3:30 in the morning, revealed, as per his X post, “Police denied but confirmed two deaths of senior LeT members.” This statement further fuelled speculation about the identity of the second senior leader being kept secret. As of now there has been no official clarification either from the State of Pakistan or by the official Jamaat-ud-Dawa/Lashkar-e-Toiba social media channels on the identities of those killed leaders. This silence prompts me to ask a series of critical questions to the Pakistani establishment which it must answer regarding Hafiz Saeed’s mysterious disappearance.

Q1. Why is the Pakistan establishment in open denial about an attack on senior LeT leaders who thrive under state patronage?

Given Hafiz Saeed’s prominence in Pakistan’s extremist religious landscape and his international terrorist designation, why is it that the Pakistan establishment chooses to remain silent? Shouldn’t the Pakistani establishment at least be transparent to the enquiries of its own media personnel? If he is alive and, as per some reports, in the custody of Pakistani authorities, why was no statement of clarification issued?

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Q2. Why was there an immediate security lockdown in Jhelum town of Punjab?

As per initial reports, after the alleged attack, a high-alert security measure was imposed, and roads in Jhelum were sealed. What necessitated such heightened security if the attack did not involve a high-profile target?

Q3. Who was the second injured person rushed to CMH Rawalpindi?

While Faisal Masood’s death was confirmed, the identity of the injured individual taken to CMH Rawalpindi remains undisclosed. Despite reports of police stating that two senior LeT members were killed. If it wasn’t Hafiz Saeed, why is there a lack of transparency about the second person’s identity?

Q4. Why have Hafiz Saeed’s official media channels gone silent?

Hafiz Saeed frequently appears in public gatherings, religious sermons, and video statements through JuD-affiliated media. Since the alleged attack, there has been complete radio silence. Why hasn’t he addressed his supporters or the public or posted an official denial of the incident through its official social media channels?

Q5. Why didn’t Pakistani journalists pursue the news?

Pakistan’s independent journalists and insiders initially reported an attack on Hafiz Saeed, yet there has been a concerted effort to retract or dilute these claims. If Hafiz Saeed was not harmed, why didn’t these journalists refute their own claims to set the record straight, or were they forced by the Pakistan establishment to not pursue the report? Was there an attempt of a clampdown on information?

Q6. Has Pakistan silenced the news to prevent diplomatic fallout?

Hafiz Saeed is a United Nations-designated terrorist with a $10 million bounty by the U.S. Pakistan has faced immense pressure to act against him. If he has been assassinated, is Pakistan trying to avoid international scrutiny over his protection or alleged links to state actors?

Q7. Why are multiple intelligence sources contradicting each other?

Some sources claim Hafiz Saeed is alive but in hiding, while others suggest he has succumbed to injuries. Intelligence agencies in Pakistan, known for monitoring high-profile cases, have remained ambiguous. Is there an internal rift among the intelligence agencies within Pakistan over handling the information?

Q8. Was this an internal power struggle within LeT?

Nadeem Masood was an influential LeT commander. Could the attack be an outcome of an internal LeT factional feud, with Hafiz Saeed caught in the crossfire? With Pakistan’s internal security in tatters and Sunni extremist groups at each other’s throats, was this a revenge killing carried out in response to the assassination of Taliban leader Khalil Haqqani in Afghanistan?

Q9. Is this an attempt by Pakistan’s military to ‘erase’ old liabilities?

Pakistan’s security establishment has a history of eliminating or sidelining once-useful assets when they become diplomatic burdens. Last year in August, Nadeem Masood, along with another senior LeT commander, Saifullah Khalid, held a meeting with Hamas chief Khalid Meshal in Qatar. Subsequently, on February 5, a LeT annual gathering held in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir saw the participation of senior Hamas members. Given Hafiz Saeed’s role in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and continued global scrutiny, was this an orchestrated move to remove him and his nephew to appease President Donald Trump and seek renewed strategic benefits from the US?

Q10. Why was Corps Commander Noman Zakaria replaced just hours after the attack?

There were reports that the attack happened after the leaders left from a meeting with the Mangla Corps commander at Mangla Cantonment. If the attack was unrelated to state affairs, why did Pakistan’s military establishment immediately replace the Mangla Corps Commander Noman Zakaria with Maj Gen Inayat Hussain within eight hours? Was this a routine reshuffle, or was it an attempt to mitigate potential fallout from the attack on LeT leaders?

Q11. If Hafiz Saeed is alive, why not prove it?

The simplest way to end speculation is for Hafiz Saeed to make a public appearance. His absence raises more questions than answers. If he is alive, why the secrecy? Will he attend the funeral of his nephew Nadeem Masood, who was killed in the attack, or will he be missing from the funeral prayers because, as reports suggest, he too is dead (?)

The mystery surrounding Hafiz Saeed’s fate raises critical concerns about Pakistan’s handling of its terror network. If he is indeed dead, it marks a significant shift in Pakistan’s security dynamics. If he is alive, the silence only reinforces suspicions of deception and manipulation.

Pakistan has long been accused of harbouring, protecting, and weaponising jihadist groups. The lack of clarity on this issue only further dents its credibility. If Islamabad wants to be taken seriously in counterterrorism efforts, it must come clean about Hafiz Saeed’s fate. Until then, the unanswered questions will only deepen the suspicions of a larger cover-up at play.

Raja Muneeb is an independent journalist and columnist. He can be reached at raja.muneeb@gmail.com and tweets @rajamuneeb. The views expressed in this article are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Firstpost.