Islamabad, Dec 27: Abdul Rehman Makki, brother-in-law of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, died in Lahore after suffering a heart attack on Friday. Makki was considered to be the right-hand man of the chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.
Makki was one of the closest allies of Hafiz Saeed and was the Deputy Chief of JuD. He was considered to be the second most powerful person after Saeed as he was a decision-making authority for the JuD operations in Pakistan.
“Abdul Rehman Makki was suffering from multiple diseases and was under treatment in a hospital in Lahore. He had severe issues of diabetes, infection and high blood pressure”, confirmed a source in Lahore, who was close to Makki.
“Makki had a cardiac arrest early morning today (Friday) which resulted in his death” the source added. Abdul Rehman Makki has been maintaining a low profile since 2020, when an anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced him to 6 months imprisonment on charges of terror financing.
Sources reveal that Makki was living with Hafiz Saeed at his residence in Johar Town, Lahore with his family. Pertinent to note that Makki was highly influential within JuD as he managed major operations along with fundraising activities for JuD.
Sources also reveal that Makki had strong connections and manpower especially in areas of Punjab, including Multan, his hometown Bahawalpur and bordering areas with India along the Working Boundary. In 2023, Abdul Rehman Makki was also added to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) list of prescribed and designated terrorist.
Sources say that Makki enjoyed close and strong contacts with Saudi Arabia and was influential in attracting support and massive funding from them during the time when Saudi-Yemen conflict aggravated.
At the time, JuD carried out a nationwide protest campaign, announcing its support for the protection of Islamic holy sites Medina and Mecca from any external attack. While JuD operations in Pakistan were closed down after Islamabad was forced to take action against JuD if it wanted to get out of the grey list of FATF (Financial Action Task Force), sources reveal that Makki remained a driving force behind the political face of JuD, the Milli Muslim League (MML) and was influential in their activities across the Punjab province.
Makki’s death would be major damage to Hafiz Saeed, as not only was Makki his right hand, but also because he was Saeed’s brother-in-law.
IANS