Lashkar commander attends funeral of terrorist killed in 'Operation Mahadev'

SRINAGAR: Rizwan Hanif, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)-affiliated operative, reportedly attended the funeral of Pahalgam terrorist Tahir Habib, neutralised by the Indian army in ‘Operation Mahadev’ two days back.

Tahir's funeral was reportedly held in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Lashkar commander Rizwan Hanif attended the funeral held at Khaigala in Rawalakot, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The footage of this is widely shared on social media.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Tahir's family opposed the Lashkar commander's participation in the funeral, which resulted in a tense atmosphere in the area. Reports suggest that Lashkar terrorists threatened residents who had arrived for the funeral procession at gunpoint.

Two days back, amidst a heated debate in the Indian parliament over ‘Operation Sindoor’, an encounter between security forces and terrorists was happening concurrently in the valley. The military operation, codenamed Operation Mahadev, was launched following intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. The Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police were involved in the operation. In the encounter, the army killed Sulaiman Shah alias Hashim Musa, the mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack and a Lashkar terrorist. The Jammu and Kashmir Police had announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for information about Hashim Musa. A large cache of arms was also seized from the terrorists.