Lashkar-e-Taiba Co-Founder Amir Hamza Shot in Lahore — Second Assassination Attempt in Under a Year

Amir Hamza, one of the founding members of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, was shot by unidentified gunmen in Lahore on Thursday, April 16. The attack took place outside the office of a local news channel in the Hamdard Chowk area of the city. The 66-year-old was in a vehicle when assailants opened fire on it. Hamza sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Medical staff describe his condition as critical. The other occupants of the vehicle were reportedly unharmed.

Lahore Police confirmed that they received a report of the shooting at Hamdard Chowk. Hamza had been visiting the news channel office in his capacity as Chairman of the Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool Pakistan — one of several religious-political organisations he has led since publicly distancing himself from LeT. Pakistani authorities immediately launched a manhunt and increased security in the surrounding area.

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THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME

This is the second attempt on Hamza's life within 12 months. In May 2025, he survived a shooting outside his residence in Lahore. After that incident, Pakistani authorities reportedly assigned him additional security personnel. The fact that he was attacked again, outside a prominent public building in broad daylight, raises uncomfortable questions about either the inadequacy of that protection or the determination of those who want him dead.

WHO IS AMIR HAMZA?

Amir Hamza co-founded Lashkar-e-Taiba with Hafiz Saeed in the late 1980s, during the era of the Soviet-Afghan jihad. He is considered one of the 17 founding members of the organisation. For decades, he served as the founding editor of LeT's official publication and was a prolific ideological writer and recruiter for the outfit.

THE PATTERN THAT INDIA IS WATCHING

This attack comes just days after another senior LeT figure, Razaullah Nizamani Khalid (alias Abu Saifullah Khalid), was shot dead in Sindh province on April 13. Khalid had once headed LeT's Nepal operations and was the mastermind of the 2006 RSS Nagpur attack. He used several aliases — Vinode Kumar, Mohammed Salim — and had been chargesheeted in Indian courts. He is now dead.

The back-to-back targeting of two senior LeT figures within days is not going unnoticed in Indian security circles. Who is eliminating Pakistan's terror infrastructure — and why now — are questions with no clean public answers. Theories range from an internal LeT power struggle and Pakistani state actions driven by international pressure, to targeted killings by intelligence agencies of third countries. No group has claimed responsibility for either attack.

PAKISTAN'S CHARACTERISTIC SILENCE

The Pakistani government has not issued any official statement on the attack as of the time of writing. This mirrors the silence after Hamza's first attack in May 2025. For a country that officially claims to have banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and arrested Hafiz Saeed (currently serving a jail sentence on financing charges), the government's silence on the targeting of a co-founder of that same organisation requires explanation — one that Islamabad has shown no interest in providing.