SIALKOT, Pakistan (Diya TV) – Shahid Latif, the mastermind behind the 2016 Pathankot terror attack, was shot dead in Pakistan’s Sialkot by unknown assailants. The 41-year-old, listed as one of India’s most wanted terrorists, was gunned down alongside two associates near the Noor Madina Mosque after morning prayers.
The attackers, three gunmen on a motorcycle, fled the scene, leaving two dead and one injured. Latif, affiliated with the proscribed terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), had orchestrated the Pathankot attack on January 2, 2016, coordinating it from Sialkot.
Having previously been arrested in India in 1994 on terror charges, Latif spent 16 years in Kot Balwal, Jammu jail, alongside Masood Azhar. Deported to Pakistan in 2010 after serving his sentence, Latif returned to his extremist activities, earning him a spot on India’s wanted list.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) had identified Latif’s involvement in multiple terror activities, including the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in 1999. The recent killing adds to a string of attacks on terrorists in Pakistan over the past months.
As investigations are underway, authorities are working to identify the assailants responsible for Latif’s death.
