J-K Police raids multiple locations to crack down on locals aiding terror operatives

The Jammu and Kashmir Police carried out coordinated raids across Anantnag, Sopore, Kulgam, and Handwara to target locals allegedly assisting Pakistan-based terror operatives. Several suspects were detained and booked under preventive laws as part of efforts to dismantle support networks

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police raided several places across Kashmir on Saturday as part of its crackdown on natives of the Union Territory extending help to terror operatives from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The raids were carried out in Anantnag, Sopore, Kulgam and Handwara areas of the Valley, officials said. In Anantnag district, police carried out raids at the residences of the banned terror outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s self-styled operational commander Ghulam Nabi alias Aamir Khan and financial head Zaffer Bhat in the Liver area of Pahalgam.

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Khan and Bhat fled their homes in the 1990s and crossed over to Pakistan. They are involved in terror activities directed against India and have been operating from across the border, the officials said.

In Handwara, the searches were carried out in the houses and premises of the relatives and associates of terror operatives currently operating from across the border and individuals linked with banned organisations, they said.

The officials said the exercise was aimed at tracking any links, material support, or communication being extended to these anti-national elements from within the area. In Kulgam, the search operations targeted individuals involved in facilitating, funding, and promoting terror activities at the behest of their relatives based across the border.

Several relatives and associates of active Jammu and Kashmir Nationals Operating from Pakistan were booked under relevant legal provisions for their sustained involvement in anti-national activities, including providing logistical support, spreading propaganda, and aiding recruitment.

In Sopore, police launched a crackdown against over-ground workers and associates of terrorist handlers operating from across the border in Pakistan. As part of the ongoing operation, a large number of suspected OGWs and sympathisers have been picked up for questioning from different areas, the officials said.

“These individuals are being thoroughly interrogated to trace their linkages, financial conduits, and communication channels with handlers based in Pakistan,” they said. The officials said the action forms part of a sustained strategy to dismantle the terror ecosystem, which provides funding, logistics, and local facilitation to active terrorists and cross-border handlers.

“Many suspects have been booked and lodged in a sub-jail under preventive detention laws, while security proceedings have been initiated against others to prevent them from aiding or abetting anti-national activities,” they added.

The officials said searches are continuing at multiple locations across the Sopore police district, as teams work to identify and disrupt local support networks of terror outfits.