Story Content

In a more beautiful twist, on 22 March 2026 (after Eid-ul-Fitr), Bilal Arif Salafi, the leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was assassinated—in their well-secured Markaz Taiba headquarters, in Muridke, near Lahore, Pakistan. Several reports, the NDTV and the intelligence sources assert that he was stabbed and shot to death by the same family members—maybe after a domestic quarrel. The assault took place shortly after the Eid prayers, as Salafis came out when the assailants attacked; they got fatal wounds. He succumbed to death on his way to the hospital even though he was being rescued by LeT operatives. There is also an alleged female involvement (possibly a family element), which could stir up assumptions of revenge over the individual but not over the outside forces. Salafi, which had been linked to LeT as early as 2005, dealt with recruitment, finance, and Kashmir-oriented operations. It is a case of internecine inner divisions in the UN-appointed terror group, and Pakistan continues to face militant challenges. Details are yet to be verified by an official LeT/Pakistani police statement, but the murder has generated a lot of social networking apprehension about how terror groups have broken apart.