SRINAGAR: longest-surviving militant Abdul Qayoom Najar was Tuesday killed in an encounter with security forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir while trying to sneak into Kashmir to take command of Hizbul Mujahideen in the Valley.
A police officer said security forces foiled an infiltration bid by militants in Lachipora area of Uri in North Kashmir in the morning. He said the security personnel fired on the militants after detecting suspicious movement on the LoC. “In the ensuing firefight, a militant was killed while others fled back to the other side of LoC,” the officer said. The deceased militant was identified as Qayoom Najar alias Jansahib alias Ishfaq, one of the longest-surviving militants in the Valley.
Najar hailed from Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district and carried Rs 10 lakh bounty on his head. “He was a top commander of Hizb but formed his own group Lashkar-e-Islam in 2015 after differences with the leadership of the militant group. His group targeted mobile networks in north Kashmir in 2015 killing many people. Some workers of Hurriyat Conference were also killed by Najar’s group,” said Inspector General of Police North Kashmir, Nitish Kumar. He said after differences with Hizbul, Najar was called to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 2015 by his handlers to sort out the differences between the militant group and him.
“Najar was returning to the Valley today to take command of Hizbul. He was sent to Kashmir by United Jehad Council chief and Hizbul Mujahideen chief commander Syed Salah-ud-Din to revive Hizb in the Valley after top commanders of the outfit were killed in north and south Kashmir in security forces operations,” Kumar said. He added that Najar’s return was necessitated because of “wiping out” of Hizb from north Kashmir. Kumar termed Najar’s killing as a major jolt to Hizbul Mujahideen and attempts to revive militancy in the Valley. He said the militant was involved in dozens of killing of civilians, police and security personnel, Kumar said.
“Najar had joined militancy after killing the then HM chief commander Abdul Majid Dar in 2003,” he said. Dar had entered into a dialogue with the government of India in 2000. Hizbul has been on the receiving end of security operations this year. The outfit has lost many of its top leaders in encounters with the security forces.