Jammu militant shown as Pakistani terrorist by police

JAMMU - Close on heels of the discovery of the killing of three civilians as “terrorists” in a staged shootout in Kashmir, another incident in which a local militant in Jammu was described as a Pakistani terrorist has come to light.

Liyakat Ali, who was a local militant from Doda district and had shifted to Surankote area of the border district of Poonch, 230 km north of Jammu, was declared as a dreaded Pakistani terrorist by the state police after they killed him in a gunfight June 1.

Ali was identified as Abu Umar alias Nazakat Ali of Pakistan on the basis of a diary found on his person.

However, the publication of the photograph, almost a repeat of what had happened in the case of Kashmir killings in April, spilled the beans as his family identified him from the picture.

The family approached the Poonch district administration and his body was exhumed Tuesday.

“We have handed over the body to the family. Other investigations are in progress,” a police officer told IANS, demanding anonymity.

He said that according to the family, Liyakat had gone missing for the past over two years and had joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant outfit.

Police had claimed June 1 that “police and security forces achieved a major success by eliminating one dreaded terrorist of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit while his accomplice suffered injuries in a fierce gun battle in the mountainous districts of Poonch this evening.”

“The body of the slain terrorist has been retrieved from the encounter site and his identification as per the dairy recovered form his possession revealed that he is Pakistani, namely Abu Umar alias Nazakat Ali,” the police handout said, adding an AK-47 rifles, two magazines and 2 grenades were recovered from his possession.