Indian security agencies have come up with a strategy to wipe out the top-10 terrorists in Kashmir Valley. According to sources, the strategy was discussed in a high-level meeting and the plan came into being after Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Riyaz Naikoo was shot dead. If top intelligence sources are to be believed, these terrorists are linked to Pakistan-based terror outfits: three are from Lashkar-eTayyaba (LeT), three from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), three from HM and one from The Resistant Front (TRF). The first terrorist on the list is HM’s new commander Sephullah, whose code name in the outfit is Ghazi Haider. Sephullah joined the Hizbul on 8 October 2014. The second Hizbul terrorist on the list is Mohammad Ashraf Khan alias Ashraf Maulvi, who has been with the organisation from 9 September 2016. Junaid Sahrai is the third Hizbul terrorist on the target list of the security forces.
Sephullah was named as Naikoo’s successor after the latter’s killing in an encounter in Pulwama during an anti-terrorist operation. The JeM terrorists on the list include Zahid Zargar, who joined Jaish in 2014, and Faizal, who joined the terrorist organisation in 2015; the third name is of Salim Pare. The LeT terrorists on the hitlist are Shakur, who has been active since 2015, and Owais Malik and Shehraj Lone, who have been active since September 2016. The meeting was attended by representatives of all security forces present in the Valley and decided to immediately neutralise all active terrorist networks active in the region. Security forces are constantly tightening their grip on terrorists. There has also been fierce fighting among terrorist organisations, which can benefit security forces. Earlier, The Resistant Front (TRF) has emerged as a new terrorist organisation in the Valley. Security forces believe TRF to be a front of the LeT. They say there is a tussle between the TRF and Hizbul.
The TRF has also threatened Hizbul in a statement. Top officials said top Hizbul commander Abbas Sheikh has also joined the TRF. Intelligence agencies are constantly getting tips that terrorists from across the border are instructing jihadis in the Valley to carry out major attacks on the camps of security forces. Intelligence sources said Pakistani intelligence agency ISI is upset that terrorists in the Valley were being wiped out by security forces. Intelligence agencies have information that two Brigadier-rank officers of the ISI are present in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir, directing terrorists to infiltrate into India.