Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 28

When the Army detected a group of militants close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Lachipora area of the Uri sector on Tuesday, they had no idea that one of the infiltrating militants was Abdul Qayoom Najar — the longest-surviving and one of the most wanted militants of Kashmir.Najar became the first Kashmiri militant to be killed this year while trying to infiltrate into Kashmir. The Army said they didn’t know who was coming from across the LoC when it intercepted a group, resulting in a brief gunfight at the Zorawar post.“Around 4 am on Tuesday, our jawans noticed movement of at least three to four terrorists close to the LoC fence. They were challenged and a gunfight ensued. It lasted half an hour. During searches, we found the body of a militant. That time our focus was to trace his other two accomplices, who probably returned,” an Army officer said. “The body was handed over to the police. In the afternoon, we came to know that he was Najar, one the longest surviving local militants and the head of the Lashkar-e-Islam militant group. His identity was established by his family members,” he said.Police sources said they had an “intelligence input” about Najar’s infiltration into Kashmir, as he was asked by Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in Muzzaffarbad to “rebuilt the outfit” after the killing of top Hizbul brass in Kashmir recently.“We knew he (Najar) was coming,” said a senior police officer. The police said had Najar been able to infiltrate into Kashmir, it would have been a “big problem”. “Neutralising him would have been difficult because of his network,” Imtiyaz Hussain, SSP Baramulla, had said.