Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday conducted a series of raids across the Valley as part of an intensified crackdown on locals allegedly assisting terror operatives based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
According to officials, simultaneous searches were carried out in Anantnag, Sopore, Kulgam, and Handwara districts.
In Anantnag, police raided the residences of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s self-styled operational commander Ghulam Nabi alias Aamir Khan and the outfit’s financial head Zaffer Bhat, both natives of the Liver area in Pahalgam. Officials said Khan and Bhat fled to Pakistan in the 1990s and have since been orchestrating terror activities from across the border.
In Handwara, the raids targeted the houses of relatives and associates of militants currently operating from Pakistan and individuals linked with proscribed organisations. Officials said the operation aimed to trace any financial or logistical assistance being provided to these elements.
In Kulgam, the searches focused on individuals suspected of facilitating, funding, or promoting terror activities at the behest of their relatives based across the border. Several associates of Jammu and Kashmir nationals operating from Pakistan have been booked under relevant laws for allegedly providing logistical aid, spreading propaganda, and assisting in recruitment.
In Sopore, police launched a major crackdown on over-ground workers (OGWs) and associates of cross-border terror handlers. A large number of suspects have been detained for questioning to uncover financial links, communication networks, and other connections with handlers in Pakistan, officials said.
The raids are part of a broader strategy to dismantle the terror ecosystem that provides funding, logistics, and local facilitation to active militants and their handlers.
“Many suspects have been booked and lodged in sub-jails under preventive detention laws, while security proceedings have been initiated against others to curb their involvement in anti-national activities,” the officials added.
They said the searches are ongoing at multiple locations across Sopore and other parts of the Valley to identify and neutralize local support networks aiding terror outfits.
