Top Terror Chiefs and ISI-Linked Figures Attend Funeral of Pulwama Mastermind Hamza Burhan in Islamabad
Top Terror Chiefs and ISI-Linked Figures Attend Funeral of Pulwama Mastermind Hamza Burhan in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: The funeral of Hamza Burhan, one of the primary masterminds behind the devastating 2019 Pulwama terror attack, drew a large gathering of Pakistan’s most wanted terror figures, senior jihadist leaders, and individuals reportedly linked to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Islamabad.
Burhan—also known as Arjumand Gulzar Dar and codenamed “Doctor”—was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Thursday morning. The attack occurred as he stepped out of a private college in Muzaffarabad, where he had been living under a civilian cover and working as the institution’s principal. Hit multiple times in the head at close range, Burhan succumbed to his wounds and was buried in Islamabad the following day.
Heavily Armed Militants and Banned Outfits Present
According to visuals circulating on social media and local intelligence reports, high-profile terror commanders attended the burial ceremony, including; Syed Salahuddin (Hizbul Mujahideen Chief), Bakht Zameen Khan (Al-Badr Supremo)
Footage from the event showed heavily armed cadres carrying AK-47 rifles and other automatic weapons deployed in a tight security cordon around the burial site, alongside numerous operatives from banned terror outfits.
A Designated Terrorist Operating Under Cover
India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had designated Burhan as a terrorist in 2022 due to his extensive involvement in orchestrating terror operations across Jammu and Kashmir. Security officials state that he played a central role in; Radicalizing and recruiting local youth for jihadist networks. Organizing financial pipelines to fund Al-Badr operations from Pakistani soil.
Despite being on India’s high-priority wanted list, Burhan spent recent years living openly in Muzaffarabad, approximately 135 kilometers from Islamabad, using his role as a college principal as an undercover shield.
Echoes of Past State-Sponsored Funerals
The massive public turnout and high-level presence at Burhan’s funeral are reminiscent of events in May 2025. Following India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’—launched after a Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam where 26 people were selectively killed based on their religion—Pakistani military officers, civil bureaucrats, and top terror chiefs openly attended the funerals of slain militants. At that time, the coffins of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operatives were reportedly draped in the Pakistani national flag and given military-style guards of honor in Muridke, Bahawalpur, and Muzaffarabad.
The overt attendance of top terror operatives and state-linked actors at Hamza Burhan’s funeral has once again brought international scrutiny to the deeply entrenched relationship between Pakistan’s state apparatus and the militant networks operating freely on its soil.
