Indian intelligence assessments indicate that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has significantly upgraded the security cover around Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) founder and Mumbai 26/11 attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, following multiple attempts on his life in recent months. The latest evaluations by Indian security agencies suggest that state-of-the-art protective measures have been deployed to keep the designated terrorist alive, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Escalating Threat Perception

An Intelligence Bureau official said that several assassination attempts have been made against Saeed in recent months, sharply elevating his threat perception. As a result, the ISI has completely barred him from stepping out of his safe house. Saeed, who routinely visited training and radicalisation camps until the end of 2024, has not been permitted to do so for the past couple of months.

Even cadres who previously met him in person are now subjected to heavy scrutiny and scanning before any access is granted. His interactions via video calls have been drastically curtailed, permitted only for large-scale meetings. To maintain some contact with his network, Saeed reportedly sends audio clips to motivate his followers.

The Muridke Blow and Operation Sindoor Fallout

Officials say the threat environment intensified sharply after Operation Sindoor, during which Lashkar-e-Tayiba's primary training facility in Muridke was completely destroyed. The group has since been in a rebuilding phase, with scores of meetings and training camps held across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

For the ISI, LeT remains a critical instrument for its India-directed operations. Losing Saeed, officials noted, would be tantamount to losing the organisation itself — a risk the Pakistani spy agency is unwilling to accept at this juncture.

Where Saeed Actually Lives

While Pakistan officially maintains that Saeed has been held at Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore since 2019, Indian intelligence assessments paint a different picture. According to officials, he lives in a fortified safe house in the Mohalla Johar area of Lahore. When threat levels spike, he is relocated to the Mian Mir Cantonment in Lahore — described as a heavily secured military safe house.

Internal rifts and power struggles within LeT have already cost Saeed several top aides in recent years, with officials noting that he himself remains the primary target of these factions.

India's Legal and Diplomatic Pressure

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently named Saeed in connection with the Pahalgam attack. A proclamation has also been issued against him and six others linked to the Mumbai 26/11 attacks, paving the way for trial in absentia. He faces a similar in-absentia proceeding in the Pahalgam case.

Officials said India is building a robust legal case against Saeed, which could have direct consequences for Pakistan's standing at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Pakistan's claim that Saeed is imprisoned for terror financing is, according to these officials, a facade maintained to deflect international pressure — while the ISI works to shield him from accountability.

With India intensifying its legal and diplomatic offensive, the ISI's extraordinary security arrangements around Saeed reflect the growing convergence of domestic threats and external pressure closing in on the LeT chief.