LeT Chief Hafiz Saeed’s Close Aide Sheikh Afridi Shot Dead by Unknown Gunmen in Pakistan

Sheikh Yousaf Afridi , a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) figure and close associate of Hafiz Saeed , was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.

The attack took place in Landi Kotal in the Khyber district near the Afghan border, about 250 kilometres from Islamabad. According to police sources, unidentified armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire on Afridi, killing him on the spot before fleeing the area. No group has so far claimed responsibility, and authorities have launched an investigation into what officials describe as a suspected targeted assassination .

Afridi was considered an important figure in the regional network of the banned LeT , reportedly involved in recruitment, coordination and logistical support for the group’s activities in northwestern Pakistan. Security sources say he helped strengthen the organisation’s presence in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

A representative of Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) , widely regarded as a front organisation for LeT, described Afridi as a religious scholar from the Zakhakhel tribe who followed the Ahl-e-Hadith (Salafi) school of thought .

LeT, founded in Pakistan in the late 1980s and designated a terrorist organisation by several countries and the United Nations, has been blamed for multiple attacks in India, including the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people .

Afridi’s killing comes amid a series of attacks targeting militant figures in Pakistan. Earlier this month, Amir Hamza , a founding member of LeT and one of its senior leaders, was injured in a shooting in Lahore, raising speculation about internal rivalries or external targeting within militant networks.