Arrested Pak Army officer was ‘most wanted’ after local Lashkar head left

Shahzad Khan, the former Pakistan Army captain who was arrested from the outskirts of Srinagar city, as reported in The Indian Express today...

Shahzad Khan, the former Pakistan Army captain who was arrested from the outskirts of Srinagar city, as reported in The Indian Express today, was considered to be the “most-wanted” militant commander in the Valley since Lashkar-e-Toiba’s top commander Salahuddin alias Bilal left for Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir last year.

His arrest, the first of a former Pak Army regular in the Valley, is the outcome of a concerted police effort to close in on key strategists behind the militant groups in Kashmir today.

Sources said the police had been keeping a close watch on Shahzad Khan alias Abdullah Omar, who was in the process of shifting his base from the Bandipore forests to another “safe zone.”

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A month ago, sources said, police had credible reports that the former Pak Army captain was regularly visiting a family staying in rented accommodation in Syed Colony between the Habak crossing and the Zakura crossing in the outskirts of the city. A police party reached there and arrested Khan.

Sources say that Khan, in his late 20s, is lean and sports a stubble. Aware that he was trapped, he showed no resistance. Sources said that Khan told his interrogators that he belongs to Poonch district across the Line of Control and was actively involved in the Kargil war as a Second Lieutenant in the Pak Army. He claimed he even won a gallantry medal.

The police moved Khan to an “undisclosed camp” for comprehensive questioning and have denied the arrest. Sources reveal that Khan claimed to be a relative of Lt-General Muhammad Aziz Khan, Pervez Musharraf’s pointsman in Kargil, and said he had links with PoK Prime Minister Sardar Ateeq Khan as well. These claims, however, haven’t been confirmed, sources said.

Khan’s arrest comes when the police are watching several top militant commanders. On April 19, the police successfully encircled another top militant commander and Pak national, Khalid, who is said to direct militant operations in central Kashmir, especially Srinagar. Khalid was spotted in a house in Harwan and police launched an operation late in the evening. The police cordoned off the house but Khalid opened fire and escaped. Sources said the police suspect that Khalid could also have links to the Pakistan Army.