Longest-Surviving Pattan Militant Killed in Bandipora Gunfight: Official Sources
Suhail Khan
Bandipora, June 17 (WS/VP) : The hopes of a Pattan family in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district were shattered on Eid-ul-Azha, despite earlier pleas for their son to return home. Umar Akbar Lone, known as Jafer, had been active since 2017 and was killed during an overnight anti-militancy operation in the Bandipora forests, official sources said.
Amidst the joyous celebrations of Eid across the Muslim Ummah, the family in north Kashmir’s Pattan found themselves gripped with shock and sorrow. Their hopes, tenderly expressed during the recent Lok Sabha elections, centered on the return of their long-lost son, were tragically shattered. Little did they anticipate that their heartfelt appeal would coincide with what would become his final days.
On a somber Sunday evening, in the forests of Bandipora, a joint operation of Army, Police, and CRPF was launched following specific intelligence on militant movements.
What began as a routine operation swiftly escalated into a fierce gunfight, culminating in the killing of the longest-surviving militant from Wussan Pattan area in Baramulla district.
For this family, it marked the second heartfelt attempt to bring their son back into their fold.
In a purported video on social media, the killed militant’s brother was seen appealing to him to surrender and join day-to-day life, shunning violence.
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Earlier, his mother and sisters had made a poignant plea through a heartfelt video, hoping for his safe return. His mother has appealed to him to surrender and take care of the family like a civilian.
However, their yearning for reunion was met with a starkly different outcome, as only his coffin returned to them.
“Based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists, a Joint Operation was launched by the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police on the intervening night of 16-17 June 24 in the general area of Gurihajin, Aragam Bandipora; one terrorist was eliminated,” the Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said in a post on X.
A police officer also confirmed to The Web Story/The Varmul Post that the slain militant had been identified as Umar Akbar Lone, alias Jafer, from Pattan.
Meanwhile, official sources informed The Web Story/The Web Story that the slain militant was affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant organization.
