'Innocent man?' PIB fact check exposes Pak's claim about LeT's Hafiz Abdur Rauf

New Delhi: In trying to portray a globally sanctioned terrorist as a "common man", Pakistan was exposed when its top official publically outed crucial details about Hafiz Abdul Rauf, including his national identity number which matched details in the database of the US sanction list of terrorists.

Pakistan's Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry in a press conference made an attempt to portray Rauf as a common man with "three daughters, son" who had led the prayers of terrorists killed at the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarter in Mudrike, Pakistan's Punjab, during Operation Sindoor.

During the presentation, Chaudhry gave his Computerized National Identity Card number 35202-5400413-9 besides giving his date of birth March 25, 1973 and that he was a resident of Lahore.

These details match with the details about Rauf given in the database of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury department, which maintains a list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list ("SDN List").

"This man is Hafiz Abdur Rauf, who is actually leading the prayers. He has got three daughters, son and he is born in March 1973. You can see his family details and everything," Chaudhry had said in a presentation during a press conference on Sunday in which he had shown Rauf's details.

India had earlier pointed out the nexus of Pakistani state and terrorists operating on its soil when it flashed the photograph of Rauf leading the funeral prayers of terrorists killed at the LeT HQ in Mudrike during the Indian strikes with attendance of senior army and police officers in uniform and wreath from Maryam Nawaz, Pakistan's Punjab Chief Minister and niece of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

"The identity details shared by DG ISPR completely overlap with the details of Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a member of LeT's senior leadership since at least 1999 and part of the US Sanctions List," a statement from Press Information Bureau said on Monday.

The US database gives number of addresses against Rauf, including 4 Lake Road; two Room No. 7 Choburji Dola Khurd; 129 Jinnah Block; 5-Chamberlain Road -- all in Pakistan's Lahore -- besides Awan Town, Multan Road, 33, Street No. 3, District Khanewal.

The OFAC database also gives his National ID No: NIC 277-93-113495, Pakistani passport CM1074131 that Pakistan issued on October 29, 2008 which expired in 2013 and another passport booklet: A7523531 also issued by Pakistan.

Rauf, an active member of the LeT since 1999, has been a close associate of Hafiz Saeed often seen in his close proximity.