Anantnag terrorist attack: Cop on Amarnath Yatra duty martyred

Police launch anti-terror crackdown across 6 districts; over 1,000 detained

23/07/2026

SRINAGAR, Jul 22: A Jammu and Kashmir Police head constable deployed on Amarnath Yatra security duty was martyred after being shot by a lone terrorist in Anantnag town on Wednesday, triggering a massive counter-terrorism crackdown across six districts of the Kashmir Valley in which more than 1,000 suspected overground workers and other suspects were detained for questioning, officials said.
The martyrdom of Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi at Lal Chowk in Anantnag was the first terror attack targeting police personnel in the Kashmir Valley this year and prompted security forces to launch extensive raids, searches and checking operations across South and Central Kashmir as well as Srinagar.
Officials said the attacker, believed to be a Pakistani terrorist, opened fire on Qureshi at around 12.30 pm while the policeman was making purchases at a shop in Lal Chowk.
Qureshi, a resident of Beerwah in Budgam district and posted with the Jammu and Kashmir Police's IRP 3rd Battalion, suffered critical injuries and was rushed to Government Medical College Hospital, Anantnag, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The Resistance Front (TRF), described by security agencies as a shadow outfit of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the targeted attack in a social media post shortly after the incident, officials said.
According to officials, the assailant had apparently waited outside the shop for some time with an assault rifle concealed in cloth before carrying out the attack. A shopkeeper, unaware of his intentions, had even asked him whether he wanted to purchase anything.
The terror attack in an area under heightened security because of the ongoing Amarnath Yatra prompted an immediate response from the security establishment.
Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat rushed to the attack site at Lal Chowk for a first-hand assessment and reviewed the security situation. Senior police officers across the Valley were directed to personally supervise counter-terrorism operations.
Security forces cordoned off the area and subsequently widened the operation across Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Budgam and Srinagar districts in an effort to trace the terrorist and identify networks suspected of providing logistical support to terror groups.
More than 1,000 suspected overground workers and other suspects were rounded up for questioning and verification within hours of the attack, officials said.
The largest crackdown was reported from Srinagar, where police detained nearly 700 suspected overground workers during extensive raids.
A Srinagar Police spokesperson said the coordinated operations were carried out on the basis of credible intelligence and as part of ongoing investigations.
Police said the drive was aimed at identifying and disrupting networks suspected of providing logistical, financial, communication, transportation, shelter and other forms of assistance to terrorist organisations.
In Budgam, more than 200 suspects, including alleged overground workers, miscreants and persons linked to narcotics cases, were detained for questioning and verification, officials said.
Police also intensified operations in Pulwama, where mobile checkpoints were established at several locations and vehicles and commuters were subjected to security checks. Additional Superintendent of Police Shafat Najar supervised the checking and search operations.
In Shopian and other South Kashmir districts, police and security forces carried out extensive searches and strengthened the security grid to prevent further attacks and restrict the movement of suspected terrorists and their associates.
Meanwhile, a solemn wreath-laying ceremony was held at District Police Lines, Anantnag, where senior officers and personnel from the police, Army and paramilitary forces paid tributes to the martyred policeman.
His mortal remains, wrapped in the tricolour, were later sent to his ancestral home in Budgam for the last rites.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed deep grief over the martyrdom and said Qureshi had made the ultimate sacrifice in a "cowardly terror attack".
Abdullah said such attacks would neither weaken the administration's resolve nor allow terrorists to achieve their objectives.
Refusing to make a political statement on the occasion, the Chief Minister said his immediate priority was to pay tribute to the martyred policeman and expressed confidence that Jammu and Kashmir Police would track down those responsible.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also spoke to DGP Nalin Prabhat and reviewed the situation following the attack.
Strongly condemning the attack, Sinha said the heinous act would not go unpunished and that Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces would bring those responsible to justice.
Political leaders, including CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami, Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone and Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari, also condemned the terror attack.
Security forces remained on heightened alert across the Valley, while searches and raids continued to trace the terrorist and dismantle the network suspected of facilitating the attack.

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