Amir Hamza, a founding member of the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was shot by unknown assailants while driving near Hamdard Chowk in Lahore. The incident occurred as armed individuals on a motorcycle fired at his car around 8:30 am. Hamza had been returning home after participating in a religious program on a private TV channel owned by the country’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
Justice (Retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi, the host of the TV program, was also in the car during the attack but escaped unharmed. Amir Hamza, along with UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, co-founded LeT in the early 1990s. Despite being designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US Department of State in December 2001, LeT and its founders continued to operate in Pakistan and beyond, carrying out terrorist activities globally, including in India.
According to the US Treasury Department, Hamza was a member of LET’s Central Advisory Committee and maintained relationships with other groups under Hafiz Muhammad Saeed’s guidance. He was involved in an LET-associated charity and was part of a trust led by Saeed. Hamza’s responsibilities included propagandist activities for LET, such as editing a weekly newspaper and contributing articles to the organization’s publication. Additionally, he played a role in negotiating the release of detained LET members and headed LET’s ‘special campaigns’ department.
