Pulwama Terror Attack: Jaish-e-Mohammed Leadership Wiped Out in Less Than 100 Hours of Feb 14 Attack, Says Indian Army

In a stern message to the youth in Kashmir joining militancy, Dhillon said that those who are picking guns will be eliminated.

New Delhi: A day after three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, including the two masterminds of Pulwama terror attack, were gunned down in an encounter in south Kashmir, the security forces on Tuesday said that the Pakistan-based terror group’s leadership has been eliminated within 100 hours of the February 14 terror attack.

“I would like to inform that in less than 100 hours of Pulwama terrorist attack, we eliminated have JeM leadership in the valley which was being handled by JeM from Pakistan,” said Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, Corps Commander of Chinar Corps, Indian Army.

The statement came at a joint press briefing by the Indian Army, CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, giving details of the 16-hour-long encounter in Pulwama on Monday and Thursday’s terror attack on the CRPF convoy.

“The type of car bomb attack that took place in Pulwama on 14th Feb, happened after a long time in Kashmir. We will keep all options open to deal with these kinds of attacks,” Dhillon added.

In a stern message to the youth in Kashmir joining militancy, Dhillon said that those who are picking guns will be eliminated. “Anyone who has picked up a gun will be killed and eliminated,” he said.

“In a Kashmiri society, mother has great role to play. Through you, I would request the mothers of Kashmir to please request their sons who’ve joined terrorism to surrender and get back to mainstream. Anyone who has picked up gun will be killed and eliminated, unless he surrenders,” Dhillon added.

Dhillon further warned that the infiltrators trying to enter Indian soil from across the border will be gunned down. “Our focus is clear on counter-terrorism operations. We are very clear that anyone who enters Kashmir Valley will not go back alive,” he said.

The security forces also slammed Pakistan for providing safe havens to terror groups and confirmed the role of Pakistan Army in the dastardly terror attack that left 40 CRPF jawans dead.

“Jaish-e-Mohammed a child of Pakistan Army, it is being controlled by ISI and Pak Army. So, there is 100 per cent involvement of Pak Army in Pulwama terror attack,” said Dhillon.

The Jammu and Kashmir lauded the families in the Valley for the fact that recruitment in militancy has dropped significantly. “There is a significant dip in recruitment, we have not seen any recruitment in the last three months. The families are playing a huge role in this. We would like to urge the families and the community in curtailing recruitment,” said SP Pani, IGP Kashmir.

Three JeM terrorists, including two top commanders believed to be behind the Pulwama terror attack, were killed in a fierce 16-hour encounter, in which an Army major and four security forces personnel lost their lives in south Kashmir on Monday.

Two of the slain terrorists were identified as Kamran and Abdul Rasheed alias Ghazi, the so-called divisional commanders of Jaish-e-Mohammed for Pulwama, Tral and Awantipora areas of South Kashmir. The third one was Hilal, a resident of Pinglena in Pulwama, they said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police had been on the lookout for Ghazi and Kamran after a suicide bomber belonging to the terror group drove his explosives-laden vehicle and detonated himself near a bus carrying CRPF jawans in Lethpora in Pulwama last week.

The Jaish claimed responsibility for the February 14 terror attack that targeted a convoy of 78 vehicles on its way from Jammu to Srinagar. About 2,500 CRPF personnel were on their way to the valley, many returning to work after leave.