Abdul Rehman Makki, one of accused in Mumbai terror attacks, dies of heart attack in Pakistan
Makki, brother-in-law of Hafiz Saeed, alleged mastermind behind the attacks, was deputy chief of banned organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa
PTC Web Desk: Abdul Rehman Makki, one of the accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, passed away due to a heart attack in Pakistan, as per information available through news agencies.
Makki, the brother-in-law of Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks, was the deputy chief of the banned organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). According to a JuD official, Makki had been battling illness for several days and was receiving treatment for diabetes at a private hospital in Lahore. He suffered a cardiac arrest early Friday morning and was declared dead at the hospital.
In 2020, Abdul Rehman Makki was sentenced to six months in prison by an anti-terrorism court in connection with a terror financing case. Since then, he had kept a low profile. The Pakistan Mutahida Muslim League (PMML) released a statement calling Makki an advocate of Pakistan's ideology.
The United Nations had designated Makki as a global terrorist in 2023, imposing an assets freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo. The death of Makki comes just a month after the 16th anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, in which Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, arriving via the sea route from Pakistan, laid siege to the city, killing over 100 persons.
Earlier this year, rumours spread on social media suggesting that Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the attacks, had been hospitalised due to an illness. In January, the Pakistan government accused the Indian state of involvement in the killing of terrorists in Pakistan, an allegation which the Indian Ministry of External Affairs dismissed as propaganda.