Abu Qasim behind hit on BSF convoy in August
Abdur Rehman, alias Abu Qasim, a Pakistani militant who rose to a top position in the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, one of the largest and most active terror organisations in South Asia, and carried a reward of '2 million on his head, was killed in a firefight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s southern Kulgam district overnight.
Officials termed his killing as a “major success” against the militants active in Jammu and Kashmir and said Abu Qasim, a resident of Bahawalpur, Multan (Pakistan), was involved in a number of militant actions during his five-year stint as the Lashkar’s point man in the Kashmir Valley. He figured in the security forces’ list of most-wanted militants. He came under renewed focus after investigations revealed he was the mastermind of the August 5 terror strike outside the garrison town of Udhampur in which two Border Security Force jawans were killed and 12 security personnel were injured.
One Lashkar militant, Muhammad Noaman, had been killed in the security forces’ retaliatory fire during the Udhampur attack, whereas another Pakistani cadre, Muhammad Naveed Yakub, had been captured alive. Naveed and his two alleged local accomplices are currently in a Jammu jail. The National Investigation Agency is investigating the case.
IGP (Kashmir range) S.J.M. Gillani said on Thursday that Abu Qasim, 28, was killed in an encounter with a joint party of Army, CRPF and counter-insurgency Special Operations Group personnel in Khandaypora village, Kulgam. The firefight took place during a cordon-and-search operation launched on specific information about his presence there, he added. Two more militants have also been trapped in the area, a report said.
Mr Gillani confirmed that the slain militant, a Lashkar divisional commander, was the “mastermind” of the Udhampur attack on the BSF convoy. He was involved also in the killing of the J&K police’s counterinsurgency expert, Inspector Muhammad Altaf Dar, outside the northern town of Bandipore on October 7. Dar was shot by militants in a Tata Mobile while chasing Abu Qasim, who was reportedly also in the vehicle.
Yet another major militant strike in which Abu Qasim was involved was the June 2013 fidayeen attack on an Army convoy in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area. Eight soldiers were killed in that attack. After that, the J&K police had announced a '1 million bounty. Later, the NIA separately announced a reward of '1 million for any information leading to Abu Qasim’s arrest or killing.
Mr Gillani told a press conference here that it was on the directions of Abu Qasim that the prominent cardiologist and former director of Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Dr Sheikh Jalaluddin, was attacked by the Lashkar’s Pakistani militants, Abu Hamza and Abu Usman, in 2013, resulting in the deaths of the doctor and his personal security officer. He mentioned seven other major terror strikes involving Abu Qasim in which nine security personnel, including a station house officer, were killed and six BSF jawans injured.
Police sources said the security forces had laid an ambush in Khandaypora area following specific information about the movements of Abu Qasim. A fierce gun battle broke out around 2 am in which the militant commander was killed, the sources said. However, a report from Kulgam said he was holed up in a private house with two other militants when the security forces arrived in the area and zeroed in on it, leading to the gun battle. Abu Qasim was killed reportedly while trying to break through the security forces’ dragnet.
IGP Gillani said that in Abu Qasim’s killing the Lashkar has suffered a “huge setback” as it would dent the terror group’s operational capabilities in J&K and also the coordination between various militant outfits, especially in the Valley. He praised the policemen and other security forces involved in tracking down the Lashkar commander and other militants in recent counterinsurgency operations in the Valley. Asked if his killing would lead to the closure of the investigation of the Udhampur attack, the officer said, “The case is being investigated by the NIA and they have to tie up the loose ends before taking the investigation to its logical conclusion.”
Endorsing him, defence spokesman Lt. Col. N.N. Joshi, in a statement, added, “Relentless information-based operations by the security forces, which have resulted in elimination of 18 terrorists, including three top commanders over the last two months alone, have struck a significant blow to the terrorists (sic).”
Reports from Kulgam said that as word about Abu Qasim’s killing spread, surging crowds clashed with the police at various places in and outside Kulgam town, forcing the latter to resort to firing in the air. Earlier, the police fired tear-gas canisters and swung bamboo sticks to disperse irate crowds out on the streets to protest and mourn the killing of the Lashkar commander. The protests started from near the encounter site itself early in the morning. A spontaneous strike by traders and transporters was observed in the area, reports said.
