<p>New Delhi: Arjumand Gulzar, alias Burhan Hamza, a designated terrorist and the key mastermind behind the 2019 <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/pulwama-terror-attack">Pulwama terror attack</a> on a CRPF convoy, has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), officials said here on Thursday.</p>.<p>Hamza, who was operating under heavy ISI-vetted security, was ambushed in Muzaffarabad.</p>.Nearly 700 ancient coins unearthed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama; handed over to archaeology dept.<p>He was critically injured and airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Rawalpindi, where he succumbed to his injuries, the officials said.</p>.<p>The assailants managed to flee the scene before local security forces could intervene, they added.</p>.<p>Originally from Khar in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, Hamza was once associated with Al Badr, moved to Al Baraq, and maintained a close alliance with Pakistan's espionage agency, the ISI, after an acrimonious exit from the outfit.</p>.<p>He was declared a designated terrorist under UAPA for his involvement in orchestrating the February 14, 2019, suicide terror attack conducted by Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad, on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, which killed 40 personnel.</p>.<p>In retaliation, the Indian security forces ran an intelligence-led operation led by IAF jets in the early hours of February 26, 2019, striking the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot.</p>.<p>Hamza, who also had an alias, Doctor, was currently living in Cheela Bandi, a densely populated neighbourhood on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, with security details of eight commandos, a bullet-resistant (BR) vehicle, and an escort vehicle, indicating state-level protection and operational importance, sources said.</p>.<p>The security cover was given to him after he allegedly made a fabricated attack on himself somewhere between January and February 2025, they said.</p>.<p>He worked closely with Farooq Qureshi, a former Al Baraq commander whose name has repeatedly surfaced in dossiers linked to narcotics trafficking, counterfeit currency rackets, arms smuggling and cross-border militant operations in the Kashmir Valley.</p>.<p>The two operated from an industrial compound locally referred to as the "Machis Factory" in Muzaffarabad, the sources said.</p>.Modi on Pulwama attack's 7th anniversary: 'World saw how govt punished terrorists'.<p>Hamza maintained close ties with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, particularly with an officer identified as Col Rizwan, suggesting deeper intelligence ties and protection, they said.</p>.<p>The terrorist had recently married the daughter of Qadir Lala, a former Hizbul Mujahideen operative from Kupwara, currently employed as a security operator at the terror group's housing project in Chek Shezad, Pakistan.</p>.<p>He was also said to have maintained close ties with Murtaza, another former Hizbul Mujahideen operative from Pulwama, now based in Islamabad, making frequent visits to his residence, the sources said. </p>
<p>New Delhi: Arjumand Gulzar, alias Burhan Hamza, a designated terrorist and the key mastermind behind the 2019 <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/pulwama-terror-attack">Pulwama terror attack</a> on a CRPF convoy, has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), officials said here on Thursday.</p>.<p>Hamza, who was operating under heavy ISI-vetted security, was ambushed in Muzaffarabad.</p>.Nearly 700 ancient coins unearthed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama; handed over to archaeology dept.<p>He was critically injured and airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Rawalpindi, where he succumbed to his injuries, the officials said.</p>.<p>The assailants managed to flee the scene before local security forces could intervene, they added.</p>.<p>Originally from Khar in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, Hamza was once associated with Al Badr, moved to Al Baraq, and maintained a close alliance with Pakistan's espionage agency, the ISI, after an acrimonious exit from the outfit.</p>.<p>He was declared a designated terrorist under UAPA for his involvement in orchestrating the February 14, 2019, suicide terror attack conducted by Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad, on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, which killed 40 personnel.</p>.<p>In retaliation, the Indian security forces ran an intelligence-led operation led by IAF jets in the early hours of February 26, 2019, striking the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot.</p>.<p>Hamza, who also had an alias, Doctor, was currently living in Cheela Bandi, a densely populated neighbourhood on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, with security details of eight commandos, a bullet-resistant (BR) vehicle, and an escort vehicle, indicating state-level protection and operational importance, sources said.</p>.<p>The security cover was given to him after he allegedly made a fabricated attack on himself somewhere between January and February 2025, they said.</p>.<p>He worked closely with Farooq Qureshi, a former Al Baraq commander whose name has repeatedly surfaced in dossiers linked to narcotics trafficking, counterfeit currency rackets, arms smuggling and cross-border militant operations in the Kashmir Valley.</p>.<p>The two operated from an industrial compound locally referred to as the "Machis Factory" in Muzaffarabad, the sources said.</p>.Modi on Pulwama attack's 7th anniversary: 'World saw how govt punished terrorists'.<p>Hamza maintained close ties with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, particularly with an officer identified as Col Rizwan, suggesting deeper intelligence ties and protection, they said.</p>.<p>The terrorist had recently married the daughter of Qadir Lala, a former Hizbul Mujahideen operative from Kupwara, currently employed as a security operator at the terror group's housing project in Chek Shezad, Pakistan.</p>.<p>He was also said to have maintained close ties with Murtaza, another former Hizbul Mujahideen operative from Pulwama, now based in Islamabad, making frequent visits to his residence, the sources said. </p>