Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, who served as Pakistan’s Interior Minister in the Imran Khan government, has come under fire for praising Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder and UN-proscribed global terrorist, Hafiz Saeed, at a public event, where he also issued threats against India.

Rasheed Ahmed, who is the founder and leader of Pakistan’s Awami Muslim League party, also shared the stage with several Lashkar terrorists and declared that he’s a mere servant (gulaam) of Hafiz Saeed.

In a video from the event, shared widely on social media, Rasheed can be seen sharing the stage with senior LeT commander and president of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), Khalid Masood Sandhu, and another member of the terror outfit, Qari Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh.

What Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said

Addressing the gathering, the former Pakistani minister extended his support to the international terrorist, saying, “Main Hafiz sahab ka ghulam hu (I am a slave of Hafiz Saeed).”

He went on to claim he was kicked out of the US because Hafiz Saeed’s phone number was found on his phone. He then issued unprovoked threats against India, saying that Allah would destroy the country if it “even looks towards Pakistan.”

“No birds will chirp in India, nor will bells ring in a temple,” he said, claiming no anti-Pakistan activity could happen in India.

“We are with Pakistan, with Hafiz Saeed,” he added, implying that terror groups have support from the government in Islamabad.

Who is Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed?

Rasheed had served as Pakistan’s Interior Minister from 2020 to 2022 and has close ties with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

This is not the first time Rasheed’s remarks have exposed Pakistan’s hypocrisy on terrorism. In 2022, while serving as interior minister, he revealed that it was former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who informed India about 26/11 Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab’s Faridkot address.

The remarks were made in a bid to paint Pakistan’s then-opposition as pro-India and to substantiate Imran Khan’s claim that foreign powers are conspiring to oust him as the prime minister.

Pakistan’s terror past

For decades, Islamabad has officially denied sponsoring terrorist groups operating from its soil. But this admission tears into Islamabad’s “non-state actor” facade and how Islamabad has been providing institutional support to terror networks under the guise of “freedom fighting.”