Authorities have been razing homes of the ultras, raiding their safe havens and detaining hundreds of overground workers for questioning, officials told news agency PTI on Saturday.
A few terrorists opened fire at tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. It was said to be one of the worst terror attacks in the region. The incident that has spiked India-Pakistan tensions. Here’s how India has, since then, launched a crackdown against terrorists in the region.
Raids at 60 places
Raids were carried out at more than 60 places on Saturday in Srinagar “to dismantle the terrorist ecosystem”, a J&K Police spokesperson said.
On Saturday, raids were carried out at more than 60 places in Srinagar, including Safakadal, Soura, Pandach Bemina, Shalteng, Lal Bazar and Zadibal areas, the official said.
In Anantnag district, search operations were carried out round-the-clock as security forces step up vigilance. Mobile vehicle checkpoints have been put up across the district to monitor any suspicious movement, the officials said.
“In its relentless efforts to dismantle the terrorist ecosystem, Srinagar Police conducted searches across the length and breadth of the city at the residences of OGWs and terrorist associates involved in cases registered under UAPA,” the spokesman said.
The searches were carried out to seize weapons, documents, digital devices, etc. with the objective of evidence collection and intelligence gathering to detect and deter any conspiratorial or terrorist activity against the security of the nation.
Houses of ‘terrorists’ demolished
At least nine houses belonging to terrorists and their overground workers have been demolished since the Pahalgam attack, news agency PTI reported.
Houses of three active terrorists in Bandipora, Pulwama and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir were among the latest to be demolished, authorities said on Saturday.
The house of Adnan Shafi, who had joined terrorist ranks last year, was demolished at Wandina in Shopian district on Saturday night, officials told PTI. They said house of another active terrorist — Amir Nazir — was demolished in Pulwama district. In Bandipora district, the house of Lashkar-e-Toiba ultra Jameel Ahmad Shergojri was demolished. Shergojri has been an active terrorist since 2016.
Earlier, the houses of four terrorists were razed by authorities in the Kashmir Valley.
On Friday night, the house of Ahsan ul Haq Sheikh in the Muran area of Pulwama district was torn down, officials said, adding that he was “trained in Pakistan” in 2018 and had recently “infiltrated” into the Valley.
In a similar action in Chotipora of the Shopian district, the house of an active top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Shahid Ahmad Kuttay was razed, they said.
At the Matalhama area of the Kulgam district, the residence of Zakir Ahmad Ganie, who has been active since 2023 and was under surveillance for his alleged involvement in multiple terror-related activities, was also razed during the night, official said.
The fourth house was blown up by security forces in the Kalaroos area of Kupwara district in north Kashmir, the officials said. The house belonged to Farooq Ahmad Tedwa and Miskeen Ahmad Tedwa, who are currently operating from Pakistan.
On Friday, the houses of Aadil Hussain Thokar, accused of helping in the execution of the Pahalgam bloodbath, and Asif Sheikh, also believed to be involved in the attack, were being searched by security forces when an explosion damaged the structures in Bijbehara and Tral.
‘Round up hundreds of overground workers’
The security forces also rounded up hundreds of overground workers (OWGs) and their supporters — mostly in four south Kashmir districts — in their bid to track down the terrorists who carried out the attack on Tuesday.
One alleged OWG was killed in firing by terrorists during one such operation in Bandipora district on Friday, officials said. Altaf Lalli was killed when security forces took him to a terrorist hideout in the Kulnar area of Bandipora district after he pointed out the location of the ultras.
Pakistanis deported from India
India decided to cancel any visas issued under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES). The decision to suspend visaPakistani’s deported services for Pakistani nationals prompted authorities to instruct Pakistani nationals in India to leave the country before April 27.
In the wake of the directive, all Pakistani nationals but one on short-term visas in Uttar Pradesh have been deported in line with the central government’s order following the terror attack in Pahalgam, police officials said Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Bihar government said on Saturday that all Pakistani nationals, who had been in the state in the recent past, have left well ahead of the April 27 deadline.
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