JAMMU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told a special court in Jammu that terrorist Hafiz Saeed, founder of proscribed group Lashkar e Toiba (LeT), is residing in Pakistan. The premier investigating agency has now secured a second non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him in connection with a terror case related to the supply of weapons, funds, and directions to terror groups operating in the Union Territory (UT) of J&K.
The special court was hearing an application filed by the NIA seeking an NBW against LeT founder and designated terrorist under Section 75 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The application described Saeed, a resident of Sargodha in Punjab (Pakistan), as an “absconding accused” in a case related to the arrest of Mohammad Naqeeb Bhat during a check at Pandach on the outskirts of Srinagar earlier in the year.
A China-made grenade and 15 live rounds were recovered from Bhat, a resident of Batpora. Bhat was booked at Zakoora Police Station under the UAPA, the Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.
The subsequent investigation led to the busting of a terror network, leading to the arrest of several more terrorists associated with LeT and its offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF), and two Pakistani nationals. The NIA said the involvement of Saeed, the “Amir/Chief/Founder” of the proscribed terror group, came to light during the investigation, with the arrested Pakistani terrorists allegedly found to be associated with him.
Hafiz Saeed continues to operate from Pakistan
“Saeed is operating from Pakistan and providing weapons, money and directions to terrorists operating in the Kashmir Valley. The information is gathered that the said terrorist at present is in Pakistan and deliberately evading his arrest to escape the clutches of law,” the NIA told the court.
After hearing the agency, Special Judge under the NIA Act Prem Sagar observed that Saeed’s involvement had surfaced during the investigation and that he was “allegedly involved in terrorism”. The court also noted that he was at large and that the investigating agency had not been able to secure his attendance “in the ordinary manner,” and issued a general non-bailable warrant against Saeed.
The latest warrant is the second NBW issued against the LeT founder by the Special NIA Court in Jammu in two months. On July 8, the court had issued the first NBW against Saeed in connection with April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack that left 25 tourists, including 24 Hindu males, dead.
NIA raids multiple locations in Kashmir
Meanwhile, the NIA on Saturday conducted search operations at multiple locations across the Kashmir valley as part of an ongoing investigation, according to officials. An official said that the searches were carried out at several locations in Kulgam, Bandipora and Ganderbal districts.
The NIA teams were assisted by local police and security personnel during the search operations, the official said. As part of a broader strategy to counter terrorism, security agencies have intensified counter-terror operations across J&K after intelligence inputs said that LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) are trying to resume targeted strikes in the Valley.
The inputs suggested that a three-pronged strategy has been adopted by both these groups which involved an online propaganda campaign aimed at targeting Kashmiri Hindus. Besides targeting the migrant workers, a new recruitment module has also been put in place by these terror organisations.
Besides, the LeT has instructed its handlers to focus only on small hit-and-run jobs in the Valley for now. Threats in the name of the United Liberation Council (ULC) are being issued online regularly, urging the people to target the Kashmiri Hindus, local police and migrant workers.
Propaganda meant to create fear among Kashmiri Hindus
“This online propaganda is not intended merely to distract security agencies. The ULC is also attempting to influence and radicalise youth, making them more susceptible to recruitment for small-scale hit jobs when approached by a recruiter,” the official added.
Officials said that such online campaigns also create fear and panic among people, adding that Lashkar hopes that those it seeks to target will eventually be forced to leave the Valley, officials said.
Such threats are a part of broader strategy adopted by the terror organisations to deter Kashmiri Hindus from returning to the Kashmir valley. Some Kashmiri Hindus had visited remote villages and urban areas to see their properties, including farming land and houses, in the past few months.
The next logical step could be to reclaim their abandoned properties many of which have been encroached by unscrupulous elements. The threatening letters issued by various terrorist organisations may have been prompted by some powerful people who had encroached upon these properties, some intelligence officials believed.
In a related development, Kashmiri Hindu employees working in Kashmir Valley under the Prime Minister’s package have written to the Centre. They have urged it to take immediate measures in view of “security concerns” and “growing sense of insecurity” to prevent “another cycle of displacement
PM package employees write to Amit Shah
In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, president of All PM Package Employees Forum Sunny Raina has flagged “serious security concerns” and “the growing sense of fear and uncertainty prevailing” among Kashmiri Hindu employees and their families currently residing and working in the Kashmir Valley. The letter comes amid a series of security threats received by the Kashmiri Hindus who have returned to the valley as government officials under the PM rehabilitation package.
Raina said Kashmiri have been making a “sincere but extremely difficult effort” to resettle in Kashmir, but targeted killings of civilians and Kashmiri Hindus since 2021 have “created a deep sense of fear among our families”.
“Every such incident revives the painful memories of the 1990s and raises a genuine concern that Kashmiri Hindus may once again be forced into displacement from their homeland,” the letter said.
