Pak militants behind attack on Farooq held

Dr Tariq Mehmood Shaheen alias Zain-ul-Abideen alias Dr Abdullah of Baitulakheen Chak, Gujarat (Pakistan), was nabbed along with his accomplices, Mouzam Sadiq of Lakherwal, Gujarat (Pakistan) and Shabir Ahmad Khan alias Janbaz of Chattabal Srinagar, when a police party, along with a BSF contigent, encircled their hideout at Rajbag in the city’s posh uptown area late last night. ‘‘Dr Tariq, who was the chief of Al-Badr’s publicity and finance, was responsible for the treatment of the injured militants,’’ the police said.

‘‘This group of militants had been operating from this hideout for past several months and we have recovered a wireless set, a pistol and important documents such as details of money transactions, a number of fake identity cards, e-mail addresses, communication secret matrices etc’’.

In fact, the Pakistani militant commander, who was handcuffed, stunned everybody in the press briefing when he said that he had no regrets and was happy the turn his life has taken even after the arrest.

‘‘I am happy because I am here to earn the goodwill of God and all these difficulties are a part of that,’’ Shaheen said.

He said that his brief was to take care of Al-Badr’s media-related work besides treating the injured because he was himself a homeopathic doctor. What led him to come to Kashmir? He said he was here for jehad. The other militant, Mouzam Sadiq, too, said jehad inspired him to infiltrate into Kashmir.

‘‘I had come to Srinagar for treatment because I was not feeling well for some time,’’ he said.

Police said that based on the information provided by the two militants, they raided a city nursing home — Al-Amin Hospital owned by Dr Khalid Nazir at Hyderpora.