NEW DELHI: A key accused in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, Hamza Burhan alias “Doctor”, is learnt to have been killed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), according to Indian intelligence officials.
Burhan, identified as Arjumand Gulzar Dar from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, was allegedly shot by unidentified gunmen in Muzaffarabad, sustaining multiple bullet injuries that proved fatal, they said.
Burhan had been designated a terrorist by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2022 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), following findings by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in its probe into the Pulwama attack.
The February 14, 2019, suicide bombing at Lethpora in Pulwama district killed 40 CRPF personnel after a Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) operative rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security convoy, making it one of the deadliest terror strikes on Indian forces.
Investigators had alleged that Burhan played a crucial logistical role in the attack by supplying explosives and grenades to the terrorists involved. He was also accused of involvement in a grenade attack on CRPF personnel in November 2020.
Security officials said Burhan, a resident of Kharbatpora in Pulwama’s Ratnipora area, had crossed over to Pakistan in 2017 under the pretext of pursuing higher studies. But, he allegedly joined the banned terror outfit Al-Badr and rapidly rose through its ranks to become a commander.
According to intelligence sources, Burhan later returned to Kashmir, where he was involved in radicalising and recruiting youth, while expanding his network across South Kashmir, particularly in Pulwama and Shopian districts.
Following increased counter-terror operations, he reportedly fled back to PoK, where he had been operating until his killing.
His death is the latest in a series of mysterious killings of terrorists and senior commanders linked to Pakistan-based terror outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Muhammad and Hizbul Mujahideen. Several such operatives designated by India under the UAPA have been targeted by unidentified attackers in Pakistan and PoK over the past two years.
Last month, Amir Hamza, considered a founding member of LeT, was reportedly shot by unidentified bike-borne assailants in Lahore. In March, Muhammad Tahir Anwar, elder brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar, died under what were described as mysterious circumstances in Pakistan.
In another high-profile case last year, Abu Qatal, a senior LeT operative and close associate of 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, was gunned down in Pakistan’s Jhelum region. Qatal was allegedly linked to the 2024 Reasi terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that left nine people dead.
The Pulwama attack had sharply escalated tensions between India and Pakistan, prompting the Indian Air Force to carry out airstrikes on terror camps in Balakot, Pakistan, days later. The developments triggered a major military standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
With Burhan’s reported killing, another figure linked to one of India’s most devastating terror attacks has been eliminated under circumstances that continue to fuel speculation about the shadowy campaign targeting anti-India terror operatives across the border.