'What Is Brigade 313': Pakistan Senator Grilled On Country's Al-Qaeda Link In Interview

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Last Updated:June 10, 2025, 08:55 IST

During the interview, Yalda Hakim referred to a statement issued by Jaish-e-Mohammad, following Indian airstrikes

Pakistan People’s Party Senator Sherry Rehman faced tough questions from Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim, who pressed her on the existence and role of Brigade 313, a shadowy terror outfit operating from Pakistan. The exchange has caught the attention since most see it as a long-overdue reckoning with Pakistan’s deep-rooted history of terror networks.

The interview opened with Hakim citing a senior intelligence analyst from TRAC (Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium), who stated that “Brigade 313 is Al-Qaeda in Pakistan." According to the analyst, it acts as an umbrella organization for several notorious outfits: the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Haqqani Network, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami.

Caught off guard, Senator Rehman responded dismissively: “I don’t know who told you this… I can produce any number of pages saying all this. Perhaps we should also produce a fact sheet… a digital dossier." Her tone visibly shifted as Hakim pressed further about Pakistan’s alleged complicity in cross-border terrorism and its failure to clamp down on proscribed groups operating with impunity.

The timing of the interview is significant, as it comes amid continued diplomatic strain between India and Pakistan following multiple cross-border incidents and long-standing allegations of state-tolerated terrorism.

Even in the end, Hakim’s most critical question — “What is Brigade 313?" — remained unanswered.

Quizzed On Death Of Family Of Members Of Jaish’s Leader

During the interview, Yalda Hakim referred to a statement issued by Jaish-e-Mohammad, following Indian airstrikes, in which the group claimed that at least 10 of its chief Masood Azhar’s family members were killed in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

Hakim highlighted this as evidence of Jaish’s active presence in the region and questioned whether the location, widely identified as a hub for terror activity, was being used for operational purposes.

In response, Senator Sherry Rehman dismissed the claim, stating, “Children are not leaders," and argued that Bahawalpur is home to “hospitals, mosques, and rubble," suggesting the strikes had caused collateral damage rather than eliminating militant infrastructure.

Abhro Banerjee

Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ...Read More

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