LeT Terrorist Abu Qatal Shot Dead in Pakistan, Defence Experts Call It a Major Blow to the Organisation

After Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Abu Qatal was shot dead in Pakistan, defence experts have called his killing a major blow to LeT, saying that "when such operatives get killed or injured, someone new takes their place."

After Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Abu Qatal was shot dead in Pakistan, defence experts have called his killing a major blow to LeT, saying that "when such operatives get killed or injured, someone new takes their place."

"This is a very big blow to Lashkar-e-Taiba as it was a perpetrator of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks... Secondly, it is going to create a vacuum in the leadership of LeT, and then operatives like Qatal, which means that the number of people working on the ground is also going down," Defence Expert Hemant Mahajan said.

He further noted that targeting enemies of the country would lead to their elimination, reducing fresh recruitment in such organizations. "It is a clear indication that enemies of our country will be targeted in due course and eliminated, ensuring fresh recruitment reduces in such organizations... Middle-level operatives are also not operatives, and this is why violence in Jammu and Kashmir has definitely gone down, and now the attacks of such organizations have become limited to attacking soft targets like women, children, Hindus in the valley or migrant workers."

Mahajan emphasized that while new operatives may replace those killed, LeT's overall efficiency will decline. "When such operatives get killed or injured, someone new takes their place, so this will continue, but the efficiency of LeT will be reduced drastically," he said.

He highlighted that this was the second major attack on the Pakistani Army in recent days, following the hijacking of a train on Tuesday that resulted in the deaths of several Pakistani soldiers.

"A train in Pakistan was hijacked earlier, and a large number of Pakistani soldiers were killed, and now this is a second attack on the Pakistani Army in just two days. The area of Balochistan or that around the China-Pakistan economic corridor is becoming more and more dangerous... China has invested USD 60 billion along this road, and the investment has gone down if it is not safe," he said.

He further claimed that China has expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan's failure to secure the corridor from Baloch attacks. "There have been indications that the Chinese have been unhappy with Pakistan's inability to protect the corridor from the Balochi attack and they have warned that till all these elements are eliminated, China will not put any fresh investments along this corridor," added Mahajan.

Meanwhile, Defence Expert Praful Bakshi noted that while Qatal's killing is a major development, it does not make a major difference in the larger fight against terrorism. "Even if you kill 10 Hafiz Saeeds, terrorism will not end," he said.

"I congratulate the security agencies for this milestone, but we cannot speak of it with laurels. We must not stop here... these terrorists are present in PoK and the adjoining area. Surgical strikes must be done, but until we occupy them, they will come up in 6 weeks again... Killing 200-300 makes no difference," added Bakshi.

West Asia Strategist Waiel Awwad stated that the selective killing of terrorists, including Qatal, may have been carried out by syndicate criminals who were paid for their services.

"Selective killing of most of the people, considered to be terrorists who have been carrying out acts against India might have been by some syndicate criminals and they must be paid... This is a clear indication that law and order in Pakistan is deteriorating and the future and integrity of Pakistan is in threat."

He also highlighted the recent terrorist attack on a Frontier Corps (FC) convoy in Balochistan's Noshki district.

"The coming report indicates that 8 convoys of Pakistani army has been attacked by BLA, that is considered to be a terrorist army by the Pakistani army. There have been claims of 90 personnel killed, but the reports are yet to be confirmed."

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Abu Qatal, charge-sheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the January 2023 Rajouri attacks, was shot dead in Pakistan after an assailant opened fire on his vehicle on the Mangla-Jhelum Road, local media reported on Sunday. An armed guard of Qatal was also killed in the attack that took place on Saturday night, as reported by an Islamabad-based outlet, The News International.

Qatal was the nephew of Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Saeed is wanted in India for numerous rerror-related cases.