‘Veteran Pakistani terrorists taking over leadership role in Kashmir’

A senior police officer said that Pakistani militants have activated several sleeper cells, who are carrying out attacks on soft targets

As security forces have been successful in wiping out local leadership of Lashker-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen outfits in the recent years, militant handlers across the border are trying to push in senior Pakistani terrorists to fill the vacuum in the Valley, sources told DH.

They said Pakistani terrorists, in their 30s, who have had previous stints in the Valley, are being pushed in to provide relevant leadership to the militant outfits. “A Pakistani terrorist nicknamed Chhota Waleed, who is believed to be the mastermind of the attacks on members of minority community in Srinagar last week, is one among them,” sources said.

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‘Chhota Waleed’, who reportedly infiltrated into Kashmir last month through Line of Control (LoC), is believed to have had at least two previous stints in Kashmir. “Besides Waleed, a few more veteran Pakistani terrorists have also infiltrated the Valley in the recent months and are hiding in forest areas of north Kashmir,” they added.

A senior police officer told DH that this ‘Chhota Waleed’ and a few other Pakistani militants have activated several sleeper cells, who are carrying out attacks on soft targets.

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“Among local militants active at the moment, no one has the popularity which slain commanders like Burhan Wani, Sabzar Bhat, Riyaz Naikoo, Abbas Sheikh and others had. Now Pakistani terrorists having Kashmir experience are taking over the leadership role which could prove more dangerous,” he revealed.

Elaborating further, the officer said, “There was pressure on local militants from their Pakistani handlers to target civilians, particularly from the minority community, for several months. However, they were reluctant and due to this reason, Pakistan sent dreaded terrorists like Chhota Waleed to Kashmir,” he added.

According to media reports, in the last two months, four to five groups of militants have managed to infiltrate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, with each group consisting of four to six ultras.

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