LeT commander gunned down and stabbed by fellow operative in Pakistan's terror hub Muridke

New Delhi: A senior commander at the UN-listed terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was shot and stabbed to death inside the organisation's heavily guarded headquarters in Muridke, Pakistan, shortly after Eid prayers over the weekend. Chaudhary Bilal Arif Salafi, was attacked in a coordinated assault carried out by Ghazi Ubaidullah Khan, a long-time operative in the group, and Khan's wife. Both had attended the same Eid gathering at the Markaz Taiba complex before waiting for Salafi to emerge. Khan fired three shots at him, while his wife stabbed him repeatedly, killing him on the spot.

The incident exposes deep tensions within LeT, one of Pakistan's most notorious terror groups, responsible for major terror attacks in India, including the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. It is learnt that the killing stemmed from a personal grudge dating back three to four years. At that time, Salafi allegedly murderedAbu Bakr, who was Khan's son-in-law. Despite the seriousness of the act, killing a fellow member's family inside the same network, no disciplinary action was taken against Salafi.

Salafi's value to the group lay in his role handling financial operations. He oversaw fundraising in the Sheikhupura area, reportedly collecting around four million Pakistani rupees each year for LeT terror activities. His close ties to senior leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi ensured protection, allowing him to continue operating freely even after the earlier killing.

In contrast, Khan was a notoriousfield operative. He had been active in Jammu and Kashmir from 1993 to 2003, taking part in multiple terror attacks, before returning to Pakistan to work as a trainer at Muridke. Despite decades of service, he received no institutional backing or justice when his family suffered loss. The killing of Chaudhary Bilal Arif Salafi raises eyebrows, and several questions, including Pakistan's own inability to deal with spiral violence & economic distress.