Abdul Rehman Makki, the cousin and brother-in-law of LeT founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, was India’s most wanted terrorist, and is believed to have played a key role in orchestrating the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, died of a heart attack at a hospital in Lahore on Friday morning. Makki, one of the most wanted terrorists in India, had been undergoing treatment for various medical conditions at a private hospital, where he died due to a cardiac arrest on Friday, the Jamaat-ud-Dawah group said.
Who was Abdul Rehman Makki?
Born on December 10, 1954 (alternate 1948), Abdul Rehman Makki was wanted radical terrorist leader, and second-in-command of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), an Islamist-militant political organization founded by Makki’s cousin and brother-in-law, Hafiz Saeed. Abdul Rehman Makki was also the ‘Naib Ameer’ or deputy chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
As per the United Nations, Makki was the head of LeT’s foreign relations wing and member of its governing body, the ‘Shura council’. Abdul Rehman Makki, the cousin and brother-in-law of LeT founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, was India’s most wanted terrorist, and is believed to have played a key role in orchestrating the 26/11 Mumbai attack, besides being involved in recruiting and radicalizing youth to terrorism and planning attacks in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Planned 26/11 Mumbai attack, plotted several attacks in India
Abdul Rehman Makki is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 26/11 Mumbai attack, and was involved in other prominent attacks including Red Fort on December 22, 2000; attack on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Rampur on January 1, 2008; attack on CRPF camp in Srinagar on February 12-13, 2018; Baramulla attack on May 30, 2018; and Bandipora attack on August 7, 2018.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Makki also supervised the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion on May 7, 2006 inside Odeon theatre, RTC Cross Road, Chikkadpally Police Station, Hyderabad, causing injuries to four persons.
Carried $2 million bounty
After the Mumbai terror attack, the UN had imposed sanctions on Abdul Rehman Makki and announced a reward of $2 million for his arrest.
On November 4, 2010, the US Department of the Treasury had designated Makki as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, as a result of which, among other consequences, all property, and interests in property, of Makki that were subject to US jurisdiction were blocked, and US persons were generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Makki.
Arrested in 2019
On May 15, 2019, the Pakistan government arrested Abdul Rehman Makki and placed him under house arrest in Lahore. In 2020, a Pakistani court convicted Makki of terrorism financing and sentenced him to prison.
Makki taught at the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia, and, in 2004, released a book arguing how fedayeen operations are not suicide attacks.
The wanted terrorist leader died on Friday morning and was laid to rest in the evening after funeral prayers, agencies quoted family sources as saying.
