Amir Hamza, a founding member of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has been shot by unidentified gunmen in Lahore. He is currently admitted to hospital and reported to be in critical condition.

The attack took place outside a news channel office in the city. This marks the second time in less than a year that Hamza has been targeted, following a similar incident outside his residence in May last year. After that attack, Pakistani authorities reportedly increased his security, though they did not comment publicly on the matter.

Hamza, born on 10 May 1959 in Gujranwala, Punjab province, is a veteran of the Afghan jihad. He co-founded LeT along with Hafiz Saeed between 1985 and 1986.

Over the decades, he has been linked to multiple terrorist activities in India and abroad, including the 2005 attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, which was one of the first major LeT strikes outside Kashmir.

Regarded as the second most important leader in the organisation after Saeed, Hamza has held several key positions and played a central role in shaping its propaganda and outreach campaigns.

The United States Department of the Treasury lists Hamza as a sanctioned terrorist. In 2012, the department stated that he was part of LeT’s central advisory committee and managed the group’s external relationships under Saeed’s oversight.

By 2010, he was also serving in LeT-affiliated charitable organisations and held a senior position in an LeT university trust overseen by Saeed. Known as a fiery speaker and prolific writer, Hamza edited the group’s weekly newspaper, contributed articles, and authored several books, including Qafila Da’wat aur Shahadat (Caravan of Proselytising and Martyrdom) published in 2022. He also headed LeT’s “special campaigns” department, coordinating outreach and mobilisation efforts.

In mid-2010, Hamza was among three senior LeT leaders who negotiated for the release of detained members of the organisation. However, in 2018, he distanced himself from the parent group following global crackdowns on LeT’s financial fronts such as Jamaat-ud-Dawah and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation.

He subsequently launched a splinter faction named Jaish-e-Manqafa, which has reportedly engaged in limited fundraising and propaganda operations, particularly focused on Kashmir. Despite this split, Hamza remains designated as a global terrorist by the US Treasury, which continues to view him as a key figure in LeT’s long-running campaigns of recruitment, radicalisation, and fundraising.

Agencies