Pak’s narrative to portray terrorist as cleric collapses under its own proof

Pakistan’s attempt to portray a US-designated terrorist, Hafiz Abdur Rauf, as a “local cleric” has backfired after the Pakistan army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), during a press conference, shared his national identity card number, inadvertently confirming his true identity as a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist.

A background check revealed that the date of birth and national identification number shown on the ID card matched with those of Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a terrorist sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

India has been constantly accusing the Pakistan government and its Army of harbouring terrorists. Precision strikes on May 7 across terrorist hideouts deep within Pakistan had resulted in the elimination of at least five high-value operatives linked to proscribed groups such as LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Several of the slain terrorists’ coffins were draped in the Pakistani flag and were attended by top Pakistan Army officers, suggesting they were given state funerals.

One such image, showing the last rites of Lashkar terrorist Mudassar Khadian Khas (alias Abu Jundal), went viral on social media. The picture, which was flagged by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and India’s High Commissioner to the UK Vikram K Doraiswami, showed Rauf leading the funeral prayers.

During a press briefing, Pakistan’s DG ISPR, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, accused India of spreading misinformation and asserted that Rauf was a local cleric with no such links. To refute India’s claims, the DG ISPR displayed Rauf’s bio-data — including his Pakistani national identity card number: 35202-5400413-9.

The Tribune found a press release issued by the US Department of the Treasury in 2010 that designated three LeT financiers as specially designated global terrorists — including Hafiz Abdur Rauf — with details that exactly matched those shared by the Pakistan Army.