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| Two killings post-election create panic in Valley’s “Chhota Afghanistan” | | Father of five beheaded in Taliban style in Handwara | |
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, May 15: Striking exactly on the 10th assassination anniversary of National Conference’s Langet MLA, Abdul Ahad Kar, militants have mercilessly beheaded a Forest Guard and father of five children in Taliban style and gunned down another civilian in a different incident in Rajwar area of Kupwara district, once known as Kashmir valley’s “Chhota Afghanistan” due to thick concentration of foreign militants. While the three-time NC MLA had been shot dead on May 15th 1999, following years had witnessed high profile militant strikes in Rajwar---including death of a Brigadier and a Colonel in a powerful landmine blast on Handwara-Zachaldara Road.
Informed sources in North Kashmir told Early Times that immediately after the special election-related security bandobust was withdrawn from Rajwar belt, militants of Al-Badar outfit kidnapped Forest Guard Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Sheikh S/o Habibullah Sheikh R/o Tilwani Mohalla, Hanga (Handwara) from forest compartment No: 10. After being subjected to severe physical torture, Sheikh was slaughtered in the same area and his severed head was placed in the premises of Government Middle School Laribal.
Police officials said that militants had also put a note, scribbled in Urdu, in the mouth of their victim, warning that all others, involved in the killing of two militants, namely Abu Waleed and Abu Abdullah, would meet the same fate. Sources said that Al-Badar’s “District Commander” for Handwara-Rajwar belt, Abdullah Bhai of Pakistan, had reportedly ordered Sheikh’s death by beheading as he had suspected him to be responsible for the killing of two Pakistani militants of his organization in an operation, conducted by Special Operations Group (SOG) of Srinagar Police, sometime back at Chhotipora village of Handwara.
Sources said that Sheikh was the father of five children. His brother, Mohammad Jamal Sheikh, had been shot dead by suspected militants in 1999. Even as officials in Police and security forces insisted that the slain Forest Guard had not acted as an informant or guide in counter-insurgency operation, civilian sources maintained that Sheikh was widely suspected to have helped armed forces in planning and executing certain operations in that area. It was after a long time that militants have killed anybody in Kashmir valley by way of his beheading.
Official sources said that militants of the same organization also barged into the residence of one Ghulam Mohammad Mir at Bon Watsar (Zachaldara), Rajwar, late last evening and fired indiscriminately upon his son, Riyaz Ahmed Mir. He sustained critical injuries and breathed his last before he could be evacuated and rushed to hospital. Sources said that militants had been suspecting Riyaz Ahmed Mir’s brother, Ghulam Qadir Mir, as a counter-insurgent source of Army. He was not, however, present at his home when militants struck last night.
Calm had returned to Rajwar years after this area came to be known as Valley’s “Chhota Afghanistan” on account of thick concentration of foreign militants in 1993-2002 period. Militants had established safe hideouts and conducted high profile operations in this “liberated zone” that included killing of half-a-dozen soldiers in a powerful landmine explosion on Handwara-Zachaldara Road. Those killed in the blast included a Brigadier and a Commanding Officer of Rashtriya Rifles. However, few incidents of militant killing had been reported from this area in the last six years as Police and security forces had succeeded in eliminating a large number of militants and had also destroyed their hideouts.
In Kupwara district again, one young carpenter, namely Mushtaq Ahmed Ahangar of Gutlipora Bumhama, was kidnapped by unidentified persons but today he reached back his home. Ahangar had worked as PDP’s polling agent on the day of polling in Kupwara on May 13th.
Sources said that in Sopore area, Police arrested 49-year-old Naseema W/o Bashir Ahmed Sheikh of New Colony when she was carrying four hand grenades and currency worth Rs 50,000 for a militant, namely Ali Mohammad Sheikh of Zalora. Her son, identified as Basharat Saleem, has already been arrested and detained under Public Safety Act (PSA).
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