Author: Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
Publication: The Daily Excelsior
Date: May 7, 2004
URL: http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/04may07/news.htm#1
Major success for J&K Police,
setback for pro-Pak militancy
In a major achievement, Jammu &
Kashmir Police has killed Hizbul Mujahideen's "chief commander of operations"
Abdur Rasheed Pir alias Gazi Shahab-ud-din in a brief shootout in Maharaj
Ganj area of Srinagar interior today. Hizbul Mujahideen has confirmed the
killing of its seniormost commander in Jammu & Kashmir and immediately
appointed one Gazi Misbah-ud-din as the head of its operations in the State.
After Saiful Islam and Gazi Naseer-ud-din (Riyaz Rasool), Shahab-ud-din
is the third successive "chief commander" of the organisation killed in
the 18-month-long PDP regime.
Director General of Police, Gopal
Sharma, told mediapersons that Abdur Rasheed Pir alias Shardar Pir alias
Gazi Shahab-ud-din of Khonmoh, Pampore, was killed by J&K Police in
an encounter at Gurgadi Mohalla, in Srinagar downtown today. He said that
Police, with the back up support of CRPF, raided the house of one Nazir
Ahmed Najar S/o Ghulam Mohammad Najar in Ganzkhud locality near Maharaj
Ganj on the basis of a specific information at 0945 hours today. Even as
one of his associates managed to escape, Shahab-ud-din got killed in an
armed clash with the Police. DGP said that one AK-47 rifle, one pistol,
cash worth Rs 100,000 and a Thurraya satellite telephone were recovered
from the slain militant's possession.
DGP said that two constables of
Srinagar Police sustained minor injuries in the encounter. Both had been
discharged from hospital after medical treatment.
Sharma described Shahab-ud-din's
killing as a major achievement for J&K Police and security forces.
He said that Shahab-ud-din was the third successive "chief commander of
operations" of the Hizbul Mujahideen killed in the last 13 months. Incharge
of all the operations of Hizbul Mujahideen in Jammu & Kashmir, Shahab-ud-din
was allegedly responsible for scores of militant strikes.
According to Police records, he
was directly responsible for causing a car bomb explosion near Fruit Mandi,
in Bemina area, on September 6, 2003 as also the December 30th IED blast
on the highway near Lawaypora. While as seven civilians had died and 32
others, including a Brigadier, had sustained injuries in the Fruit Mandi
blast, 40 soldiers travelling in a bus had got wounded in the explosion
at Lawaypora.
Sharma said that as many as 31 senior
commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad had
been killed by Police and security forces in the last 18 months. He claimed
that the guerrilla outfits were hardly finding their successors and this
had led to restoration of normality to a great extent in the State. He
said that Gazi Shahab-ud-din had been appointed on the top operational
position after Gazi Naseer-ud-din was killed in an encounter with security
forces in Shalteng outskirts of Srinagar city on January 16 this year.
38-year-old Hizb chief Gazi Shahab-ud-din,
commonly known as Shardar Pir, was among the top ranking commanders of
the formidable Hizbul Mujahideen. A resident of Khonmoh, Pampore, Shardar
Pir had earlier operated as the Hizbul Mujahideen's "Divisional Commander"
for Central Kashmir. In January this year, he had been appointed as the
outfit's topmost commander in Jammu & Kashmir. He was next only to
the organisation's "Supreme Commander" Mohammad Yusuf Shah alias Syed Salah-ud-din,
who has been operating from Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir since
1994. He had been frequently shuttling between Kashmir valley and the outfit's
"base camp" situated across the LoC.
Great damages
On April 2, 2003, Police and BSF
had killed Hizb's "chief commander" Ghulam Hassan Khan alias Engineer Zaman
alias Saiful Islam in Nowgam outskirts of Srinagar city. The organisation
suffered the second worst setback when security forces killed Saiful Islam's
successor, Ghulam Rasool Dar alias Riyaz Rasool alias Gazi Naseer-ud-din
at Shalteng, in Srinagar outskirts, on January 16, 2004. On February 24,
2004, Hizbul Mujahideen's most popular "divisional commander" Abdul Majeed
Wani alias Arif Khan was killed by Police and security forces in an encounter
at Kaanzkullah, in Kulgam area of south Kashmir. Earlier, on February 15,
2004, BSF had gunned down Hizbul Mujahideen's "deputy chief" Ghulam Abbas
Malik alias Abbas Rahi of Doda in Tengpora outskirts of Srinagar.
Even as the officials maintained
that Gazi Shahab-ud-din was killed in an encounter, the Hizbul Mujahideen
spokesman said in a statement that Gazi had been taken into custody in
Sangrama village, near Baramulla. He said that the commander was later
killed by Special Operations Group of Srinagar Police in a "fake encounter".
The spokesman said that the Hizb "supreme commander" Syed Salah-ud-din
had paid rich tributes to Gazi Shahab-ud-din and he had immediately appointed
Gazi Misbah-ud-din as the outfit's new "chief commander of operations".
He has also called for a shutdown "as a tribute" to the slain commander
on Friday.
6 militants killed
Meanwhile, security forces today
killed a group of six heavily armed militants in Panar forest area, near
Aham Sharif, in Bandipore. Informed sources said that, on the basis of
a specific information, troops conducted a search operation and engaged
the militants in a fierce gunbattle. In the initial round of firing, one
militant was killed near Panar. He was identified as Abu Sufian. A woman,
namely Zareefa D/o Mohammad Yusuf R/o Panar, sustained injuries. Reports
said that three soldiers got injured.
Later in the day, troops eliminated
five more militants of the group. DIG north Kashmir, Dr Ashok Gupta, said
that all of the militants killed in today's gunbattle were believed to
be Pakistani cadres of Lashkar-e-Toiba. Six AK-56 rifles and a huge quantity
of grenades and ammunition besides wireless sets were recovered from the
site of the encounter.
Reports from Budgam said that the
badly tortured and bullet-riddled body of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant,
namely Abdur Rasheed Ganai of Palpora Khag, was recovered from a nullah
near Churmujroo in Beerwah area. Officials insisted that Ganai had been
killed by the militants of his own organisation.
Militants hurled a hand grenade
near State Bank of India building in Bandipore. It exploded, causing injuries
to three soldiers. A junior employee of the local post office was also
injured.
Maj turns Budgam tense
Hundreds of men and woman from Chhoon
village converged on the district headquarters of Budgam today and staged
a demonstration against the alleged atrocitites of the incharge of a Rashriya
Rifles camp. They alleged that the Major of the RR 35 Bn camp had struck
on the village with a crackdown without any reason. According to them,
the RR Major and his gun-totting soldiers went for mass beating of the
men, women and children while alleging that militants had reached close
to the camp last night.
The demonstrators, led by a Naib
Tehsildar, shouted pro-Azadi and anti-forces slogans. They were also joined
by the local PDP leader Aga Mehmood, Hurriyat leader Aga Syed Hassan, JKLF
functionary Javed Ahmed Mir and Human Rights activist Mohammad Ahsan Untoo.
They burned rubber tyres and imposed a shutdown in protest against the
excesses perpetrated on them.
Sources said that the Deputy Commissioner,
Kh Bashir Ahmed, pacified the agitating crowds with an assurance that he
would order a magisterial inquiry. Later, he directed Add DC, Mohammad
Ramzan Khanday, to conduct an investigation and submit his report to the
Government within 15 days. Informed sources said that the senior Army authorities
found no reason for the company commander's action and he was likely to
be shifted in a couple of days.
