Abdul Salam Bhuttavi, a leader of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who trained the attackers in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has died in a Pakistani prison after suffering a heart attack. He was serving a prison sentence for financing terrorism. The UN Security Council designated Bhuttavi as a terrorist in 2012. The Pakistan government arrested and charged him for terror financing in August 2020, along with the founder of the terrorist group Hafiz Saeed’s brother-in-law Abdul Rahman Makki. He was sentenced to 16-and-a-half-years in prison.
Bhuttavi also served as acting head of the LeT twice: in 2002 when Saeed was held by Pakistani authorities, and in 2008 during the Mumbai attacks. The UNSC stated that Bhuttavi was a founding member of the terror group and participated in its financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities. He was also associated with al-Qaeda.
In November 2008, a 10-member team from LeT carried out coordinated attacks in Mumbai, resulting in the tragic loss of 166 lives and numerous injuries. Among the victims were individuals from various nations, including the US and the UK. While Pakistan detained seven LeT members, including the operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, there has been no significant advancement in their trial.
Bhuttavi was lodged in a jail in Sheikhupura in Pakistan’s Punjab province and he died of a heart attack on Monday afternoon. The video of his funeral was shared by social media accounts which represent groups sympathetic to the LeT. Indian intelligence officials confirmed Bhuttavi’s death.
The US Treasury in 2011 said Bhuttavi was involved in fundraising, recruitment and indoctrination of LeT operatives for over two decades.
