Lahore, April 16 (IANS) Amir Hamza, one of the founding members of Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has suffered bullet injuries after unknown motorcyclists opened fire on his car at Hamdard Chowk, near the Peko Road Pindi Stop in Kot Lakhpat area in Lahore on Thursday, local media reported.
Hamza, according to the local media reports, suffered bullet injuries as armed men got off a motorcycle and rained bullets at his car while he was returning home at 8:30 am after attending a religious programme ‘Noor Sehar’ on a private TV channel in Lahore which is owned by country’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
It was reported that Justice (Retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi, host of the tv programme, was also present in the car but was unhurt.
Hamza, along with UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, founded LeT in the early 1990s which was designated by the US Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity in December 2001.
However, despite being banned, LET and its founders continued to operate freely in Pakistan and throughout the region, engaging in terrorist activities worldwide, including India.
According to the US Treasury Department, Hamza, a member of LET’s Central Advisory Committee, actively maintained LET’s relationships with other groups under the direction of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. He also led an LET-associated charity and was member of a trust that was led by Saeed.
“Hamza’s responsibilities as of mid-2010 also included publishing propaganda on behalf of LET. Hamza has served as editor of an LET weekly newspaper and, as of mid-2011, he was contributing articles to the LET publication. Hamza was also one of three LET leaders to negotiate the release of detained LET members as of mid-2010. Hamza served as the head of LET’s ‘special campaigns’ department as of mid-2009,” the US Department noted.
–IANS
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