In a shocking display of impunity, Saifullah Kasuri—a top commander of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the alleged mastermind behind the deadly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir—was seen addressing a public rally in Lahore, Pakistan. His appearance has sparked widespread condemnation and raised renewed questions about Pakistan’s ongoing links with proscribed terrorist groups, an accusation that Pakistan has vehemently denied. Kasuri was reportedly flanked by men from Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.

The rally, held on May 28 to mark Youm-e-Takbeer (Pakistan’s nuclear weapons day), was organized by the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political group with deep ties to LeT. Kasuri not only spoke at length but also used the opportunity to mock the accusations against him, boasting that he had become “more famous” since being named in the Pahalgam case, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, including several Indian tourists.

What has drawn even greater alarm internationally is the company Kasuri kept during the event. Seated alongside him were Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan and Food Minister Malik Rasheed Ahmad Khan—both senior politicians from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and close associates of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Also present was Talha Saeed, son of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, and Amir Hamza, a U.S.-designated terrorist and senior LeT figure.

Videos and photographs from the event show Kasuri sharing the dais with these figures, waving to cheering crowds and delivering fiery speeches that praised militancy and vowed to “continue the mission of Kashmir’s liberation.”

Kasuri’s appearance has been described as a brazen signal of state complicity or, at the very least, tolerance toward terrorist entities operating within Pakistan’s borders. While Islamabad has long denied such allegations, incidents like this only reinforce growing skepticism about its counterterrorism commitments.

The April 22 attack in Pahalgam was one of the deadliest incidents in the Kashmir Valley in recent years. Orchestrated by The Resistance Front (TRF), an LeT proxy group, the attack involved coordinated strikes on a tourist bus and security installations. Investigations by Indian agencies have named Saifullah Kasuri as the key planner and financier behind the operation.

Intelligence inputs indicated that Kasuri had crossed into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir shortly after the attack and has been under the protection of handlers linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) ever since.

There are growing calls for Pakistan to be held accountable at multilateral forums such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), where it has previously been gray-listed over terrorism financing concerns.

This is not the first time Pakistani political platforms have been used to legitimize or amplify extremist narratives. The PMML, which organized the rally, has long been considered a political front for LeT, and while it remains unrecognized by Pakistan’s Election Commission, it operates freely under various aliases.

The inclusion of senior government officials at the rally suggests either a lack of oversight or a troubling alignment of political and militant interests.

Whether Pakistan will take action against Kasuri—or continue to shelter him—will be closely watched in the days to come. For now, the rally has become another data point in a growing body of evidence that points to a worrying entanglement between state politics and transnational terror groups.