India has strongly countered Pakistan’s attempt to whitewash the presence of a US-designated terrorist, Hafiz Abdur Rauf, during the funeral of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives killed in Indian airstrikes under Operation Sindoor.
The controversy erupted after a viral image from Muridke, an LeT stronghold in Pakistan, showed Rauf leading funeral prayers for slain terrorists. Indian intelligence promptly identified him as a senior LeT figure who is listed by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as a global terrorist. However, in a press conference, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, spokesperson for the Pakistani military, attempted to downplay Rauf's role, presenting a national ID card and describing him as merely a “party worker” and “family man.”
This claim was flatly contradicted by India and US records. The ID card details, including the date of birth and ID number, exactly match the identity of the sanctioned terror financier. The US Treasury previously stated that “few individuals are more integral to LeT’s fundraising than Hafiz Abdur Rauf.”
Rauf is a senior leader in the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political front widely seen as a rebranding of LeT, and backed by its founder Hafiz Saeed. He contested the 2024 Pakistani general election from Lahore’s NA-119, while Hafiz Saeed’s son, Talha Saeed, ran from NA-122. Both received only marginal votes but symbolised what India views as Pakistan’s ongoing effort to mainstream extremists into politics.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri revealed photographic evidence showing Pakistani Army and police officers attending the funerals of the killed terrorists, including images of Rauf leading prayers. “These are not clerics or civilians — they are designated terrorists and those who support them,” Misri said, calling out Islamabad’s duplicity.
The May 7 Operation Sindoor, carried out by the Indian armed forces, struck nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, eliminating over 100 terrorists affiliated with LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. The funeral attended by Rauf was for operatives killed in one of these precision strikes.
India has long accused Pakistan of running a dual policy — publicly disowning terrorist groups while covertly supporting and mainstreaming them, particularly through political proxies like the PMML and charitable fronts like the now-banned Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), once headed by Rauf and linked to US funding through USAID.
