Pahalgam Terror Attack: LeT chief Hafiz Saeed's security beefed up? Pakistan moves to...

A week after the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed, tensions between India and Pakistan are on the rise. Indian security forces have intensified anti-terror operations in the Kashmir Valley and both India and Pakistan have also blocked each other's airlines from using their airspace. India has also taken several measures against Pakistan for its support to cross-border terrorism, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and closing the Integrated Check Post at Attari. India also asked Pakistani nationals to leave the country. On the other hand, Pakistan continues to violate the ceasefire along the Line of Control (Loc) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Now, there are reports that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and government have beefed up security for Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed significantly, fearing a covert strike against him. According to a ToI report, security arrangements around Saeed have been increased nearly four times. Former Special Service Group (SSG) commandos have been added to his protection detail and additional personnel have been deployed at his residences, including his home in Lahore’s Mohalla Johar.

A dedicated control room has been set up to monitor all movement within a 1-kilometre radius of his house using high-resolution CCTV cameras. He is said to have been deliberately housed in a densely populated area with a madrassa and houses of civilians in the vicinity. Civilian movement is tightly restricted, and drone surveillance has been deployed to further secure the area.

India Today cited sources as saying Saeed's security was beefed up shortly after the Pahalgam attack, claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Saeed, 77, is wanted by both India and the United States for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the recent Pahalgam killings. While he is officially serving a 31-year sentence for multiple terror-financing convictions, his custody is widely regarded as nominal. Since 2019, he has made over two dozen public appearances, the most recent in February 2025. He is often seen at terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and at camps in Muridke, Bahawalpur, and Rawalkot, despite his supposed detention.