Srinagar: A lone terrorist shot dead a policeman on Amarnath Yatra security duty in South Kashmir’s Anantnag town on Wednesday.
The attack on Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi occurred around 12:30 pm at Lal Chowk in Anantnag.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a “shadow group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)”, claimed responsibility for the targeted attack in a social media post shortly after the incident, officials said.
Qureshi, a resident of Beerwah in central Kashmir, was posted in the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s IRP 3rd Battalion. He was critically injured and rushed to the Government Medical College Hospital in Anantnag, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Unaware of the terrorist’s evil designs, a shopkeeper, from whom the deceased was making some purchases, had asked the unidentified man whether he wanted to buy anything, as he had been standing outside the shop for quite some time holding something in his hand wrapped in cloth, the officials said.
Some official sources said that the terrorist was holding the weapon wrapped in a Tricolour and his attire was identical to Police’s special black.
The attack has sparked outrage within police circles, as the area was supposed to be heavily secured given the ongoing Amarnath Yatra.
Following the killing, security forces immediately cordoned off the incident site and launched a widespread counter-terrorism operation across all four districts of South Kashmir — Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam.
Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat visited Lal Chowk for a first-hand assessment of the situation, while security forces established mobile checkpoints and carried out extensive search operations.
At the Anantnag police lines, officers from the police, army, and paramilitary forces stood side by side, laying wreaths in honour of their fallen colleague.
But the day’s heaviest sorrow belonged to Qureshi’s family. As the tricolour-draped coffin was lifted for the journey to his ancestral home in Budgam, his mother and brother clung to it, tears streaming down their faces, her cries echoing as the ambulance carried him away one last time.
After the Anantnag attack, the Jammu and Kashmir Police detained over 1,000 suspected overground workers (OGWs) for questioning, while senior officers across the four districts personally monitored the intensified search drives to prevent further security breaches.
The terror attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel, the first this year, drew widespread condemnation from political leaders.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the killing and said the “heinous act” would not go “unpunished”.
“I strongly condemn this cowardly attack. This heinous act will not go unpunished. JK Police and our security forces are on the ground and will bring those responsible to justice,” Sinha said in a post on X.
The LG said he had spoken to DGP Prabhat to review the situation.
“I spoke with DGP Nalin Prabhat to review the situation following the terror attack in Anantnag. My heartfelt condolences to the family of Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, who sacrificed his life in the line of duty. The whole country stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the family of the martyr,” he said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also condemned the attack.
“Deeply saddened by the death in the line of duty of Head Constable Ashiq Hussain of IRP 3rd Battalion J&K Police. HC Hussain made the ultimate sacrifice in a cowardly terror attack in Anantnag area of South Kashmir. I unequivocally condemn this attack and send my heartfelt condolences to the members of his family. May Allah grant him the highest place in Jannat,” Abdullah said on X.
CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone and Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari also condemned the killing.
Security forces remain on heightened alert across the Valley to prevent any attempt by terrorists to disturb peace and law and order, officials said. (With PTI Inputs)
Meanwhile, thousands of people, along with senior police officers, on Wednesday attended the funeral prayers of Jammu and Kashmir policeman Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, who was shot dead by a lone terrorist in Anantnag district earlier in the day, officials said.
Head constable Qureshi was on Amarnath Yatra security duty when he was attacked around 12.30 pm at Lal Chowk.
The funeral prayers were held in Beerwah area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district in the evening, where thousands gathered to pay their last respects, officials said.
They said senior police officers, including the Special Director General of Police Javed Gillani, along with Deputy Commissioner Athar Amin Khan, attended the last rites.
Qureshi was later laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Beerwah by teary-eyed family members amid an outpouring of grief.
The head constable was posted in the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s IRP 3rd Battalion. He was critically injured and rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Anantnag, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the targeted attack in a social media post shortly after the incident, officials said.
