 Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 16: The relentless elimination of notorious terrorists hiding across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir continues, with Zia-ur-Rehman, a high-profile operative of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and one of India’s most wanted, being gunned down by unknown assailants in the Jhelum region of Punjab, Pakistan.
Reports indicate that Zia-ur-Rehman, also known as Abu Qatal, was ambushed and killed along with his security guard late Saturday evening in Jhelum.
Abu Qatal, previously chargesheeted by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his role in the Dhangri terror attack in Rajouri district, marks the second terrorist linked to that assault to be neutralized by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan.
Earlier, in September 2023, Riyaz Ahmad, alias Abu Qasim, a key conspirator in the same Dhangri attack, was assassinated inside a mosque in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). A Jammu native and LeT member, Abu Qasim was instrumental in reigniting terrorism in the Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Abu Qatal, a close confidant of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed—the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks—was reportedly returning home after a meeting when unknown gunmen opened fire on his vehicle, killing him before fleeing the scene.
A pivotal figure in LeT’s operations, Abu Qatal was deeply involved in orchestrating devastating terror attacks in Jammu province, including strikes in Rajouri and Reasi districts in 2023 and 2024. Indian security agencies, including the NIA and the Indian Army, had long marked him as a high-priority target due to his role in these deadly op Zia-ur-Rehman, also known as Abu Qatal, was ambushed and killed along with his security guard late in Jhelum.
Abu Qatal was previously chargesheeted by India’s National Investigation Agency for his role in the Dhangri terror attack.
His killing marks the elimination of the second terrorist linked to the Dhangri terror attack in Rajouri district.
Earlier, in September 2023, Riyaz Ahmad, alias Abu Qasim, a key conspirator in the Dhangri attack, was shot dead in POJK.
Among his most infamous acts, Abu Qatal orchestrated the twin terror attacks in Dhangri village, Rajouri, on January 1 and 2, 2023. The first attack saw four civilians gunned down on January 1 evening, followed by a suspected IED explosion the next morning that killed two children and injured several others, one of whom later died in GMC Jammu.
The victims included two brothers and two minors, with seven fatalities in total.
Additionally, Abu Qatal was a key planner of the June 9, 2024, assault on a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Reasi district, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony after the Lok Sabha elections. The attack claimed nine lives from Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh as terrorists ambushed devotees returning from the Shiv Khori shrine.
The NIA had already filed a chargesheet against Abu Qatal on February 26, 2024, alongside four others, for the Dhangri attack. The document named three LeT handlers—Saifullah (alias Sajid Jutt), Mohd Qasim, and Abu Qatal—as orchestrators of the violence. While Abu Qatal and Saifullah were Pakistani nationals, Qasim, originally from Jammu, had joined LeT in Pakistan after exfiltrating around 2002. Investigations revealed that this trio, operating from Pakistan, recruited and dispatched terrorists to target civilians—particularly minorities—and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Saifullah, a senior LeT commander, oversaw the broader conspiracy, with Qasim serving as a key deputy to top LeT leadership. Abu Qatal, active in the Poonch-Rajouri region since 2002-03, played a hands-on role in executing these attacks alongside other operatives. |
