The United Nations Security Council has officially confirmed the demise of Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi, a crucial figure within the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) organization and the deputy to Hafiz Saeed. Bhuttavi passed away due to a cardiac arrest in May 2023 while in the custody of the Pakistan government in the Punjab province.
Who was Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi?
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Background and Designation:
Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi was a founding member of LeT and played a significant role in the 26/11 attacks. The UN Security Council had designated him as a terrorist for his involvement in financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating acts for LeT. According to a summary by the UN committee, Bhuttavi served as the acting emir of LeT and JuD on at least two occasions during Hafiz Saeed's detentions.
Born in August 1946 in Pattoki, Kasur district of Punjab, Bhuttavi held a prominent position as the head of 150 JuD seminaries in Pakistan, with his native town being Dipalpur, Okara district of Punjab.
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Role in 26/11 Attacks:
Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi, the deputy of Hafiz Saeed, played a crucial role in the planning of the Mumbai attacks in 2008, resulting in over 150 casualties. He actively contributed to preparing operatives for the terrorist assault by delivering lectures on the merits of martyrdom operations.
Additionally, Bhuttavi was responsible for overseeing LeT's madrassa network, acting as a preeminent scholar, and issuing fatwas authorizing operations. In 2002, he was tasked with establishing LeT's organizational base in Lahore.
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UNSC Designation and Al-Qaeda Association:
In 2012, Bhuttavi was officially designated as a terrorist by the UN Security Council for his association with al-Qaeda and his involvement in acts or activities carried out by LeT. The UNSC statement on March 14, 2012, explicitly cited his participation in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities on behalf of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.
Following the arrest of Hafiz Saeed, Bhuttavi took charge of managing the day-to-day functions of the group and making independent decisions.
What is Lashkar-e-Taiba?
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), established in 1990 in Pakistan, primarily opposes 'Indian control over Jammu and Kashmir.' Initially formed as the military wing of the Pakistani Islamist organization Markaz-ad-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI), LeT shifted its focus to Jammu and Kashmir in the early 1990s, conducting lethal attacks against Indian officials, troops, and civilians in the region and other states of India and Afghanistan.
Founded by Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, LeT operated under the Ahl-e-Hadith (AeH) interpretation of Islam until ostensibly splitting from MDI in 2002. It has been designated a terrorist group by numerous countries, given its history of carrying out attacks against Indian interests.
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