The Jammu and Kashmir police on Tuesday zeroed in on Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Abu Ismail, who took over from Abu Dujana as the Valley’s operation commander, as the mastermind of Monday night’s attack on Amarnath pilgrims which left seven dead and 19 injured. Meanwhile, the pilgrimage continued despite the attack.
“This is the handiwork of Lashkar militants,” said Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir range, Muneer Khan. Sources said, Ismail, a foreigner in his twenties, has been on the security radar after the Anantnag police issued a specific threat alert regarding the Amarnath yatra in June. However, security agencies are also looking at the role of Hizbul Mujahideen and the split faction headed by Zakir Mussa.
The preliminary assessment suggests that multiple groups may have been involved in the attack as militants opened fire at three places, including on security forces. The pilgrims’ bus came under fire twice within 2 km between 8.20 and 8.40 p.m. Officials in the security establishment in New Delhi were not convinced that the attack was the handiwork of the LeT. “LeT terrorists are mostly fidayeen (suicide squads) who come to get killed. They do not run away and try to inflict as much damage as possible. While it is too early to say which terrorist group did it, it could also be local militants,” said a senior Home Ministry official.
The LeT distanced itself from the attack, with its spokesman Abdullah Gaznavi saying, “Islam does not allow violence against any faith. We strongly condemn the attack. India is trying to sabotage Kashmir’s struggle. (National Security Adviser) Ajit Doval is frustrated due to his failed policies.”
Sources said security agencies are drafting a joint plan to go after the militant leadership in south Kashmir, where over 200 militants are active. Around 80 were killed this year.
Army chief General Bipin Rawat arrived in Srinagar on Tuesday to review the security situation. was scheduled to meet other security agencies too, including local police and CRPF. The proposal is “to focus security on districts adjacent to the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in south Kashmir. in first phase”
Meanwhile, Governor N. N. Vohra, who is also chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), convened an emergency security review meet. “It was decided that the pilgrimage shall continue,” said a Raj Bhavan spokesman.
A fresh batch of 3,289 pilgrims reached the Valley from Jammu to head for the base camps at Pahalgam and Baltal. Around 18,838 pilgrims left for the holy cave shrine from the base camps in the Valley, said an SASB spokesman.
Mr. Vohra, who met 19 injured pilgrims, oversaw the operation where they were airlifted out of J&K. Only three seriously injured pilgrims remain in Anantnag and Srinagar hospitals.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who supervised the rescue and relief operations throughout the night, chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet termed the incident as “an attack on Kashmir’s syncretic culture and pluralistic values.”
The Cabinet took note “of people voicing condemnation against the dastardly act and the heroic role played by the local people of Anantnag in providing immediate relief and succour to the victims of the attack.”
The J&K government announced ₹6 lakh for families of those killed, ₹2 lakh to grievously injured and ₹1 lakh to injured. An award of ₹3 lakh will be handed over to the bus driver “who exhibited exemplary alertness.”
The SASB also announced relief of ₹5 lakh to the victim families, ₹1.5 lakh to grievously injured and ₹75,000 for pilgrims with minor injuries.
