MHA to launch major crackdown on militants operating from Pak, PoJK

118 identified from Doda, 36 Kishtwar, 14 in R-P Will be declared militants; assets to be seized, accounts frozen

JAMMU: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with the assistance of Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) and Intelligence Agencies has prepared a list of local militants, who were operating from Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) and trying to fan militant in the Union Territory to declare them as “individual militants” leading to attachment of their assets and freezing of bank accounts besides initiating other legal action against them available under various Acts including Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Security agencies believed that Dhangri attack in Rajouri district on January 1 could also be the handiwork of the local militants sitting in Pakistan and PoJK especially in selecting the target as they are well versed with minority-dominated villages though it has been established that the killings were executed by the foreign terrorists.

Official sources told the Excelsior that Doda district in Jammu region has highest numbers of 118 militants operating from Pakistan and PoJK and 10 of them are in the rank of commanders of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfits.

Of them, the Home Ministry has already declared two as individual terrorists including Irshad Ahmed Attu alias Adrees son of Ghulam Mohammad Attu R/o Domail Udhyanpur and Mohammad Amin alias Khubaib alias Haroon son of Dawood Butt of Nandna Phagsoo, Thathri. Abdul Rashid alias Jehangir son of Arsullah Khanday, a resident of Khanpur Phagsoo could fall in the same category shortly as dossier against him is ready.

Seven other militant commanders from Doda operating in Pakistan and PoJK who are also likely to be declared as individual terrorists include Abdul Hai alias Tahir Bilal son of Ghulam Mohammad Bhat of Sazan Bhagwah, Mohammad Hussain Khateeb son of Abdul Hai Khateeb of Masjid Mohalla, Bhaderwah, Khalid Hussain alias Saifullah son of Abdul Qadoos of Hamdanpur, Majeed Hussain alias Abu Zeahed Mujahid son of Mangta Butt of Manoie Gandoh, Mohammad Shafi alias Nadeem son of Ghulam Mohammad of Trenkal Kahara, Naseer Ahmed alias Babloo son of Ghulam Hussain Thukur R/o Khai Mohalla Bhaderwah, Nazir Ahmed Gujjar alias Abu Manazir son of Lal din Gujjar of Bagla Bharath, Shabir Ahmed Naik alias Shera son of Ghulam Mohammad Naik of Dandal Kastigarh, Atta Mohammad son of Ghulam Nabi R/o Tanta Kahara, Zakir Hussain son of Abdul Rashid R/o Draina Bhalla in Bhaderwah and Abdul Rashid alias Jahangir son of Arsullah Khanday of Khanpura Phagsoo.

“Rest seven active militants would also be declared as individual militants and police administration is engaged in preparing dossiers against them including the militant acts executed by the militants here at their behest. Role of these militants has been established with documentary evidence,” sources said.

Police and Intelligence agencies have gathered all details about these militants including the places they were living in Pakistan and PoJK, the militants they have trained so far, their role in infiltrating militants and pushing arms, ammunition and explosives through drones and other means and luring local youth including their relatives into the militancy.

However, no major militant act has been reported from Doda district, once hub of the militancy, last year, due to alertness and activeness shown by the district police and preemptive actions taken by them.

Similarly, 36 youth from once militancy infested Kishtwar district have been identified as militants operating in Pakistan and PoJK including some of those who are active and inciting local youth through mobile phones, internet calls and other modes of communication to take to the arms. However, they have met with no or very little success as local youth were not taking to militancy now.

Mohammad Rafiq of Nar Gursai and Shamsheer Hussain of Gounthal in Poonch district are also set to be declared as “individual militants” very soon as they were directly affiliated with Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF) which was recently banned by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Both of them are operating from Pakistan and were instrumental earlier in guiding local youth to take to terror acts including planting of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and grenades in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri.

Fourteen youth from Rajouri and Poonch districts are also operating from Pakistan and police don’t rule out the possibility of some of them being behind Dhangri attack in Rajouri district on January 1 this year in which seven civilians from minorities including two minors were killed and over a dozen others were injured.

Though it has almost been confirmed that the killings were executed by two foreign terrorists, sources said it remains to be seen how they selected the target like minority-dominated village, route taken to reach there and escape after the carnage etc.
“The fact that the killers might have been guided by the militants from across the border is not ruled out,” sources said.

They added that the Home Ministry has asked police to prepare dossiers against the militants who were operating from Pakistan and PoJK for declaring them as individual militants to facilitate seizure of their assets, mobile and immobile, and freeze the bank accounts which might have been used for transactions.

“The action is expected to be taken very soon as this will help check militant activities,” sources said.–(Daily Excelsior)