Pakistani Man Arrested In South Korea For Alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba Links: Report

The suspect has reportedly denied the charges. Police are investigating whether he transferred any funds to Lashkar-e-Taiba. This is believed to be the first case of South Korean authorities arresting someone linked to a group declared a terrorist organisation by the United Nations Security Council.

AI generated representative image. (Photo: Gemini)

South Korean police have arrested a Pakistani man employed as a market clerk in Seoul’s Itaewon district for allegedly being a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — the militant group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the Korea Herald reported.

According to the report, officials from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said the 40-year-old accused was arrested on August 2 in Itaewon-dong, Seoul, for violating the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Immigration Act.

According to the police, the accused worked at a local market in Itaewon-dong, Seoul.

According to the police, the suspect became a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan in 2020, where he received training in weapons handling and infiltration techniques. He was officially inducted into the group before entering South Korea in December 2023. He then entered South Korea in December 2023 using a visa obtained from the South Korean Consulate in Pakistan in September, allegedly by posing as a businessman intending to establish a business in the country.

Although the suspect is not accused of plotting or carrying out any terrorist acts within South Korea, his membership in Lashkar-e-Taiba violates Article 17 of the Anti-Terrorism Act for Protecting Citizens and Public Safety, which prohibits involvement with terrorist groups, the Korea Herald reported.

Police are investigating whether he transferred any funds to Lashkar-e-Taiba. This is believed to be the first case of South Korean authorities arresting someone linked to a group declared a terrorist organisation by the United Nations Security Council.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistan-based militant organization designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations in May 2005 due to its associations with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban. 

The group has been linked to several deadly attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks that caused 175 deaths and the recent 2025 Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which resulted in 26 civilian casualties and 20 injuries. 

The Pahalgam attack carried out by five armed terrorists on April 22 killed 26 civilians. The Resistance Front (TRF), a terrorist group regarded as an offshoot and proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack. In July 2025, the United States declared the TRF a foreign terrorist organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Group, recognising its involvement in the Pahalgam attack and other terrorist activities.