Srinagar Encounter Marks First Since September 2022

“Giving Befitting Reply”: Rajnath Singh On Recent Terror Attacks

Farooq Abdullah’s shocking remark: ‘Militants shouldn’t be killed…’; BJP says ‘instead of giving priority to nation…’

WS/VP Desk

Srinagar, Nov 2: A top wanted Pakistani commander, Usman, of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was among three militants killed in two separate fierce encounters with security forces in the Kashmir valley on Saturday.

While Usman was killed in Srinagar’s downtown Khanyar locality, the other two, including a Pakistan militant, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in the Halkan Gali forest area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

Four security forces personnel, including two of CRPF and two of J&K Police, were injured during the gunfight in Khanyar, reports said.

The official reports stated that the first encounter of the day broke out between militants and security forces in Srinagar’s old city. This encounter— the first in Srinagar in over two years— commenced when joint teams of forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Khaniyar area of the city.

Officials reported that during the day-long anti-militancy operation, one militant was killed, and four security personnel were injured.

The last gunbattle in Srinagar took place on September 20, 2022, in the Nowgam area, where two local militants from Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH) were killed.

Inspector General of Police Kashmir, Vidhi Kumar Birdi, said that the most wanted LeT commander, Usman Bhai, was killed in a daylong firefight in Khanyar. Usman was wanted in numerous militancy-related cases, including the killing of non-locals and security forces. He was also involved in the murder of Inspector Manzoor, the officer added.

Reports also said that an Army soldier on Road Opening Party (ROP) duty died due to accidental fire in the Rawalpora area of Srinagar.

About another gunfight, The Srinagar based Chinar Corps of the Indian Army wrote on X; “Based on specific input, a Joint Operation was launched by the Indian Army, CRPF and J&K Police in the general area Halkan Gali, Anantnag”.

“On 02 November 2024, suspicious movement near Halkan Gali was observed and challenged by vigilant troops, as a result, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on the Army column. The troops effectively retaliated, resulting in the elimination of two terrorists”, a defence officer said.

Another search operation was reported in North Kashmir’s Bandipora. The Chinar Corps said that “On 01 November late evening, suspicious movement was spotted, in the general area Panar of Bandipora, by alert troops. On being challenged, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire and escaped into the jungle”.

National Conference (NC) MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra and some other leaders have questioned the recent surge in terror attacks at migrant labourers following the elections.

On 24 October, militants ambushed an Army vehicle near Gulmarg, killing two soldiers and two Army porters and injuring another porter and a soldier.

Further incidents in the weeks prior included attacks on labourers from other states, such as the 18 October killing of a Bihari labourer in Shopian and a deadly attack on seven non-local labourers at a tunnel construction site in Ganderbal on 20 October.

Following two gunfights in Kashmir parts on Saturday National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah sparked a row after he demanded that militants shouldn’t be killed, rather they should be caught and questioned.

Abdullah said, “There is no question of this, I would say that there should be an investigation into this. They should not be killed, they should be caught and asked who is behind them.”

Farooq Abdullah said that he has a doubt that is it done by the people who were trying to destabilise the government in Jammu and Kashmir which is led by Omar Abdullah.

“Giving Befitting Reply”: Rajnath Singh On Recent Terror Attacks In J&K

Terming the recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir as “unfortunate”, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday there is no security lapse, adding that security forces are giving befitting reply to the terrorists.

Singh claimed that the number of attacks taking place in the valley have been reduced compared to the earlier times.

Speaking to reporters in UP’s Kanpur, Singh said, “This is not an issue of security lapses. Compared to earlier times, attacks have been reduced. Our security forces are on alert, such a situation will come that from there (J-K) terror activities will be fully wiped out and J-K will develop fast.”

Meanwhile, Bhartiya Janta Pary (BJP) also slammed Abdullah saying it is very unfortunate that instead of giving priority to the nation, some people are giving priority to politics, family and vote bank.

“It does not befit Farooq Abdullah to blame the Indian Army, Indian agencies to escape his responsibility or to save the sponsors of terrorism,” said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.

Poonawalla added that it seems to become a habit for the Congress and the ecosystem which is in power in Jammu and Kashmir, because we have seen that the Congress gave a clean chit to Pakistan and the sponsors of terrorism in the 26/11 case. Now the same modus operandi has been used…”

“The attacks that happened were unfortunate, our security forces are giving befitting reply also, so many terrorists have been killed,” he said.

However, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that the LG has the responsibility of law and order and if terrorist attacks are happening there, BJP should take the responsibility.

“I am saying that terrorists are coming from Pakistan, why are you not stopping them?…What is the Modi government doing? It is the government’s responsibility to stop them, to arrest them. This is the failure of the Narendra Modi government that they are not able to stop the terrorists,” reported ANI quoting Owaisi.

Meanwhile, Former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Kavinder Gupta said that NC Chief should not make such irresponsible statements.

Pertinently, October has proven to be a tragic month in Kashmir’s recent history, recording nine civilian deaths due to terror violence. This includes the killings of seven non-local laborers, an army soldier, and a doctor in multiple attacks, signaling a resurgence of violence in the region.

On October 20, a local doctor and six non-local workers from APCO Infratech, who were engaged in the construction of the Z-Morh tunnel along the Srinagar-Sonamarg highway, were targeted by terrorists. This incident represents the deadliest assault in recent times, following the shooting on June 9 that claimed the lives of seven pilgrims in Jammu’s Reasi district.

These attacks took place shortly after the first assembly elections in over a decade, marking a significant political shift since the revocation of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status under Article 370. The National Conference-Congress coalition emerged victorious in these elections, with Omar Abdullah resuming his role as Chief Minister.

In response to the rising threat, Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has directed the police to perform a security assessment of ongoing infrastructure projects. This includes the establishment of continuous checkpoints at critical sites, an increase in nighttime patrols, and the implementation of a comprehensive security and intelligence strategy through collaborative operations with the army and other security forces to combat terrorism effectively. (With Agency Inputs)