According to David Headley, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent of Pakistani descent who was captured by the FBI, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was the chief military commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which was responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed 175 people. He now roams free on the streets of two of the three towns - Lahore and Rawalpindi, that will host the Indian cricket team after once being imprisoned by a Pakistani court. Since then, Lakhvi has taken on the moniker Abu Wasi after being placed on the UN Security Council's (UNSC) Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee's list.
Dr. Muhammad Saeed, an assistant professor in the Department of Islamic Thought and Culture at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) in Islamabad, secretly supports the proscribed terrorist Lakhvi while working out. A bearded man was seen taking part in a supervised fitness test in a recent social media video, which some have claimed was Lakhvi himself. Using three facial recognition software, the India Today Open Source Investigation Team (OSINT) verified the identification of the man in the video, confirming that he was, in fact, the wanted terrorist.
Dr. Zaid Haris, who identifies as an Islamic expert and is regularly included in videos that address religious and humanitarian ideals, was also shown in the footage. The video, initially shared by pro-LeT accounts, showed Saeed and Haris supporting Lakhvi during the exercise. On social media, Syed Muhammad, a trainer who holds the title of former Mr. Pakistan, was revealed to be overseeing the event. Muhammad, who was contacted, described the fitness test as a "family event" from the early days of COVID-19 and stated that he did not know who was taking it. But this claim turned out to be untrue.
Muhammad is heard in the film stating, "To complete 210 repetitions in 18 to 19 minutes for a 63-year-old person, I haven’t seen in my professional experience anyone doing it." Official documents from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of Treasury show that Lakhvi was born on December 30, 1960, making him 63 in 2024, not during the early days of COVID as he stated. This runs counter to his assertions that the video is outdated.
BCCI flags trophy tour in POK states
The Pakistan Cricket Board's proposal to hold the Champions Trophy trophy tour in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok) has drawn criticism from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Sports Tak has gathered that Jay Shah, the board secretary, has brought up the matter with the International Cricket Council. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that Skardu, Murree, and Muzaffarabad—all of which are located within the PoK—would be included in the tour schedule.
The PCB planned the trophy tour in anticipation of the eight-team tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Pakistan in February or March of 2025. However, according to information obtained by Sports Tak, the trophy tour has been cancelled in the places that are located within Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir's (POK) disputed territory.
Meanwhile, India's unwillingness to travel to Pakistan for the mega tournament has caused controversy surrounding the Champions Trophy 2025. In a letter to the ICC, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) asked for an explanation of India's decision to not come to Pakistan for the competition. The PCB has asked for an explicit explanation of India's position in its letter to the ICC. The event format and a possible hybrid model are not included in the Pakistani communication.
