International Desk, 11th October: Shahid Latif, a key figure behind the 2016 Pathankot attack and one of India’s most wanted terrorists, has been reported shot dead in Pakistan. The 41-year-old Latif, a member of the banned terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), was the main conspirator behind the Pathankot attack, which occurred on January 2, 2016.
Latif was accused of coordinating the attack from Sialkot in Pakistan and sending four JeM terrorists to carry it out in Pathankot. Notably, he had previously been arrested in India in November 1994 on terror-related charges under the Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act (UAPA). After facing trial and serving his sentence in India, he was deported to Pakistan through the Wagah border in Punjab in 2010.
Shahid Latif was also implicated in the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in 1999. He subsequently returned to his jihadist associates in Pakistan upon his release in 2010 and was wanted by the Indian government.