Fear Of 'Unknown Gunmen': Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar Moved To Pak Safe Houses

Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, two terrorists responsible for major terror attacks in India, have been quietly moved to new hideouts in the past week, according to intelligence sources. Both are now said to be in heavily guarded safe houses run by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.

Saeed, the chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba, has been shifted from Johar Town in Lahore to the Garrison Ground area in Rawalpindi, close to Pakistan Army headquarters. Azhar, the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed, has been placed in a safe house in Nawabshah, in Sindh province.

The sources say the move is driven by fear. After Operation Sindoor destroyed key terror infrastructure, they say, the agency now fears fresh Indian strikes and the 'unknown gunmen' who have killed several anti-India terrorists in Pakistan in recent months.

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Saeed has stopped meeting Lashkar members in person and now speaks to them only through audio messages. His security has been tightened, and his movements are tightly restricted.

Pakistan says Saeed is serving a sentence in terror-funding cases at Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore. Intelligence agencies call that a sham. They say he is living comfortably in a safe house.

Jaish has taken a heavy blow. Its headquarters, the Markaz in Bahawalpur, suffered massive damage during Operation Sindoor, and the group has been struggling to regroup since.

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Azhar is also avoiding direct contact with his members. He is in touch only with a select group, which includes some top commanders.

The United Nations has designated both men as global terrorists. Saeed is wanted in India over the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and several other strikes. Azhar is the mastermind behind the Pulwama, Pathankot and Parliament attacks.

For now, the sources say, the two men are not in jail but under the agency's protection.