Explained | Who is Abdul Rehman Makki and why has the UN blacklisted him?

Brother-in-law of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, Abdul Rehman Makki held various leadership roles within LeT and JuD.

The story so far: The deputy head of terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, Abdul Rehman Makki, was blacklisted as a global terrorist by the United Nations on Monday after China withdrew its hold on a joint bid by India and the U.S. for the listing of Pakistan-based terrorists. The 68-year-old, who is the brother-in-law of LeT chief and Mumbai 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, was added to the sanctions list of the UN Security Council’s ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee — more commonly known as the UNSC 1267 Committee — for his involvement in “raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youth to violence and planning attacks in India”. As a result of this designation, Abdul Rehman Makki will be subjected to a travel ban, an assets freeze and an arms embargo.

Known by multiple names — Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Hafaz Abdul Rahman Maki, Abdulrahman Makki, Hafiz Abdul Rehman — Makki was born in Bahawalpur of Pakistan’s Punjab Province in 1954. He is known for his long and close association with LeT co-founder Hafiz Saeed. 

He assumed multiple leadership roles within Pakistan-based terrorist outfits LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) over the years. Makki served as the head of the political affairs wing and played an instrumental role in raising funds for LeT’s operations. He was a member of the Shura, or governing body of the LeT, and the head of the outfit’s foreign relations department. He also served as a member of the central (Markazi) and proselytising (Daawati) teams of the JuD and headed its “charity” arm, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF).

As LeT emerged as a major threat in India, spreading its tentacles beyond Kashmir, law enforcement agencies blamed Makki for targeting the country. He was designated as a wanted terrorist due to his “leadership positions” when the LeT carried out the Red Fort attack in 2000 and the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. 

In 2010, the US Department of the Treasury designated Makki as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”, or SDGT, a sanction limiting Makki’s ability to access American resources. 

Following international pressure, Pakistani police arrested Makki on terror financing charges in 2019. He was sentenced to nine years in prison by a court in April 2021 along with other senior LeT and JuD leaders. However, a few months later, Makki was acquitted and his sentence was suspended by the Lahore High Court due to “lack of evidence”.

The U.S. has since sought information on Makki’s whereabouts and even announced a reward of up to $2 million for information to help convict him in its “Rewards for Justice Program”. “The United States continues to seek information on Makki because the Pakistani judicial system has released convicted LeT leaders and operatives in the past,” readsthe website of the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice.