Killing of top militant LeT commander Abu Qasim major blow to militancy in J&K

Abdul Rehman was active in the valley for more than five years and masterminded major militant strikes not just in the valley but outside Kashmir as well.

Kashmiri Muslims carry the body of Abu Qasim, a top Commander Lashar-i-Toiba (Let), during his funeral procession at village in Kulgam, some 70 kilometers south of Srinagar. (Source: Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

The Jammu & Kashmir Police’s efforts have paid off with its success in managing to eliminate one of the top militant commanders operating in the valley. The death of Abdul Rehman – better known by his nom de guerre, Qasim — is a major setback not just for the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) but also for militancy in Kashmir.

A de facto operation’s chief of Lashkar-e-Toiba, Qasim was active in the valley for more than five years and masterminded major militant strikes not just in the valley but outside Kashmir as well.

READ — Top LeT commander and Udhampur attack mastermind Abu Qasim killed in encounter: Army

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Seen as a strategist by the police, Qasim had an acute military brain and evaded the security forces for many years. The major strikes he is believed to have masterminded include an attack on an army convoy at Hyderpora in Srinagar killing 11 soldiers in 2011 and the attack on a BSF convoy in Udhampur in 2015 – an attack that brought him on the radar of the NIA. More recently there was the killing of top counter insurgency police officer, Altaf Ahmad.

When Qasim arrived in the valley in 2010, he made the Dachigam National Park in Srinagar his base, directing militant operations from there. Subsequently, he regularly shifted base to different parts of central and south Kashmir keeping the police on its toes.

The pursuit of Qasim intensified after his role in the Hyderpora attack. The militant commander, who hails originally from Pakistan also planned the Udhampur attack during which one Pakistani militant Naveed Ahmad was captured alive. Naveed revelations to the police rattled Qasim, exposed his hideouts and forced him to shift his base. A vulnerable Qasim, escaped twice after shootouts before he was finally killed by police in Kulgam in south Kashmir.

Bashaarat Masood

Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. ... Read More