Srinagar: The houses of two alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district were demolished on Thursday, according to officials. The action was taken a day after terrorists shot dead a police head constable at Lal Chowk in Anantnag on July 22, Wednesday.
They said the demolished houses belonged to Aadil Thokar, a resident of Guree in Bijbehara and Haroon Ganai, a resident of Hassanpora. “The demolition was part of the ongoing crackdown against terrorists and their support infrastructure in the district,” officials said.
Acting swiftly after the terrorist attack, the police started raiding the houses of suspected Over Ground Workers (OGWs) on Wednesday afternoon itself, a couple of hours after the terror attack. By late evening, over 2,500 OGWs, including 700 in Srinagar alone, were arrested for questioning. These arrests continued all through the intervening night also and more arrests were on the cards. However, the security forces have not given exact numbers though dozens of arrests were made after the initial arrests.
“Searches and verification drives are continuing, particularly in South Kashmir, to identify and apprehend those involved in the attack or providing logistical support to terrorists. The South Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama are under the lens,” an official said.
Senior police officers, including Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat, Special DGP, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir V.K. Birdi, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Kashmir, SSP Anantnag, and officers from various security forces visited the attack site to assess the situation and review the ongoing anti-terror operations.
Heightened security, searches continue
Meanwhile, a security high alert has been issued in valley all 10 districts of Kashmir following the killing. Aashiq Hussain Qureshi, Belt No. 20, IR 3rd Battalion, a resident of Beeru in Budgam district, aged about 45 years, sustained gunshot injuries at Lal Chowk in Anantnag while on duty. He was shot from point blank range and was evacuated to a nearby hospital for treatment of his gunshot wounds. However, he succumbed to his injuries before the doctors could attend to him.
Qureshi had been deployed in the area as part of bandobast and security duties related to the ongoing Amarnath Yatra which has remained suspended for a couple of days now due to ongoing inclement weather. His father, Head Constable Ghulam Mohiuddin Qureshi, had lost his life in 1990’s after coming under a landslide in Ramban while on duty. Following his father’s death, Qureshi had joined the police force under the SRO-43 compassionate appointment policy.
He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, his widowed mother, a brother and three married sisters. The entire village reverberated with emotional slogans of “Ashiq Tere Khoon Se Inquilab Aayega” and “Shaheed Ki Jo Maut Hai, Woh Qaum Ki Hayat (zindagi) Hai,” as mourners bid a final farewell to one of their own sons.
Thousands of people from Beerwah and adjoining areas attended the funeral prayers with moist eyes, making it one of the largest gatherings the village has witnessed in recent years. Senior police officers, led by DIG Central Kashmir Range Rajiv Omprakash Pandey and SSP Budgam Hariprasad K.K., besides several other officers, reached Lolipora to shoulder the coffin and express solidarity with the bereaved family.
Anantnag terror attack amid Shri Amarnath yatra
In a post on X, Srinagar CRPF Sector also said security across Kashmir has been placed on high alert following the terrorist attack in Anantnag. Security forces have intensified surveillance, strengthened checkpoints and launched search operations to maintain law and order. Citizens are urged to remain vigilant and cooperate with security forces,” it said.
In a related development, Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir, chaired a high-level meeting to review security situation and Amarnath Yatra at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar on Thursday.
Reacting to the news about demolition of houses of alleged terrorists in Anantnag, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cautioned against wanton retributive action in the wake of a terror attack in Anantnag. He said that violence cannot be brought to an end without carrying the people along.
“I understand the anger of the police, but the Supreme Court has issued an order stating that summary action of this kind should not be taken. We witnessed a similar situation after the Pahalgam attack (in April 2025) when some people’s houses were bulldozed. At that time, I had to speak to the Central government to stop the trend,” Abdullah told reporters here.
Mehbooba urges restraint against OGWs
While condemning the killing of Ashiq Hussain, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also said that demolishing houses of “alleged” terrorists was “collective punishment” that has no place in a democracy. “The killing of a police officer in the line of duty is a heinous and condemnable act. But detaining over a thousand people and demolishing the homes of families of two alleged militants amounts to collective punishment that has no place in a democracy,” Mehbooba said in a post on X.
If the Centre maintains that militancy has been reduced to near zero, it must adopt a more humane and lawful approach towards innocent civilians instead of resorting to “tit for tat” for an entire community, she said while talking to a news agency. Houses of active terrorists have been demolished in Kashmir earlier as well, but the action had stopped for nearly one year due to a drop in violence levels.
