Wanted for J&K attacks, top LeT ultra shot in Pak

A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, wanted by Indian security agencies for several deadly terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, was eliminated by gunmen in an attack in Pakistan, officials said on Sunday.

Zia-ur-Rehman, alias Nadeem, alias Abu Qatal, alias Qatal Sindhi, was gunned down in the Jhelum area of Punjab on Saturday evening. His security guard was also killed, the officials said, quoting information received from the neighbouring country.

Considered the most trusted handler of LeT founder and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, they said 43-year-old Rehman was the main handler of the terror outfit involved in the planning of various attacks in the Poonch-Rajouri region.

The officials said Rehman had infiltrated the Jammu region in early 2000 and exfiltrated in 2005. He had a wide network of overground workers in Poonch and Rajouri through his old contacts, they said.

In investigations conducted by the NIA into the gruesome terror incidents in the Poonch-Rajouri region, his involvement was found, the officials said.

He was chargesheeted by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other sections for an attack on Hindu minorities at Dhangri village in Rajouri district in 2023, they said.

Terrorists struck Dhangri village on January 1, 2023, and targeted villagers before fleeing the scene, leaving behind an IED. While five persons were killed in the firing by the terrorists, two others died in the IED explosion the next morning. Fourteen villagers were injured in the twin attacks.

The officials said Rehman was also the mastermind of the Reasi bus attack which was orchestrated on the day of the oath-taking ceremony of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government on June 9, 2024.

In this attack, terrorists killed nine pilgrims and injured 41 by firing on a bus carrying pilgrims to the Shiv Khori temple.

He was also involved in the Bhatta-Durian terror incident on April 20, 2023, in which five Army personnel were killed. He is also accused in the Kandi attack on officers and personnel of 9 Para Special Forces on May 5, 2023. The attack claimed the lives of five personnel, the officials said.

They said Rehman, along with Saifullah Sajid Jutt, another Pakistan-based terrorist, was the main handler of terrorists of the outfit operating in the Poonch-Rajouri belt.