Hizb ‘terrorist’ held in U.P.

SSB suspects he had been sent by a Pakistani handler on a specific mission

May 14, 2017 11:13 pm | Updated 11:13 pm IST - New Delhi

On alert:  The checkpoint on the Nepal border at Sanauli in Uttar Pradesh, where Naseer Ahmed was arrested .

On alert: The checkpoint on the Nepal border at Sanauli in Uttar Pradesh, where Naseer Ahmed was arrested .

An alleged Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist has been arrested by the Sashastra Seema Bal at Sanauli, along the Nepal border, in Uttar Pradesh.

The SSB apprehended Naseer Ahmed (34), on Saturday evening and handed him over to the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Till 2014, the Nepal border, though not designated officially, was the preferred route for former militants from J&K to return from Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as Indian citizens need no visa to travel to Nepal. The return used to be mostly facilitated after the J&K administration gave an informal go-ahead.

Denying knowledge of Ahmed’s return, J&K police officials said he had not been enrolled by his family under any surrender policy, which could have facilitated his return.

Earlier in 2014, the Delhi Police had falsely implicated a former Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, Liyaqat Shah, who was returning to India with his family via the same route.

The SSB is tasked with guarding the 1,751-km open border.

Alleged attacks

“Ahmed had been residing in Pakistan since September 2003. He was involved in many violent attacks against civilians and security forces, including an attack on an STF camp. He was sent to India by his handler for a specific mission,” said a statement by the SSB spokesperson.

“Ahmed, a resident of Banihal in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, was trying to sneak into India from Nepal in the guise of a Kashmiri shawl-and-carpet vendor. Asked for his identity proof by the SSB personnel at Sanauli, he was unable to produce any documents,” the statement said.

Ahmed landed in Kathmandu on May 10 from Faisalabad in Pakistan, via Sharjah, the SSB said.

Bus trip

It said Ahmed reached the India-Nepal border on a bus “with an intention to sneak into Indian territory and a motive to carry out terrorist activities in India”.

“He was in touch with a handler from India, who used to deposit money, in his account, off and on. On his instructions, he came to India for undertaking terrorist activities but was apprehended by the SSB,” the statement said.

“In 2003, he crossed over to Pakistan with 23 others and joined HM. He received training at Atak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) by HM/ISI and Pakistan Army instructors,” the statement said.

While in Pakistan, he was running a hosiery business. He married a local woman, Asha Naeem, and has two sons.

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