SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday recovered three more AK-47 rifles and a large quantity of ammunition near the Line of Control in the Mandi area of Poonch district, raising the total number of such weapons seized in the past fortnight to seven. The recoveries come after sustained interrogation of three arrested Army porters, reports appearing in the media suggest.
Officials identified the trio as Tariq Sheikh of Azamabad, Riyaz Ahmad and Mohammad Shafi of Chamber Kinari village, all in their twenties. They were arrested two weeks ago as part of an investigation into attempts by the Hizbul Mujahideen to revive its network in Poonch.
Police sources said Sheikh and Ahmad were first picked up after two AK-47 rifles were seized during raids in Azamabad on August 30. Subsequent questioning led to the recovery of two more rifles from the Sheikh’s rented accommodation in Mandi Jallian. Shafi was later arrested in Chamber Kinari.
On Sunday, acting on fresh leads, police seized another cache consisting of three rifles, seven magazines and a large quantity of ammunition across the barbed-wire fence in the Sawjian area, near the LoC.
Investigators believe the three accused were working for Hizbul Mujahideen commander Habibullah, who crossed into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir from Sawjian in the 1990s and is alleged to have become active again to re-establish the outfit in the district. Police said the porters had successfully smuggled two consignments of weapons before being arrested while preparing to bring in a third. Arms and ammunition, they added, were being dropped by militants from across the LoC close to the barbed-wire fence.
The Inspector General of Police (Jammu zone), Bhimsen Tuti, commended the force’s work in a post on social media platform X . “Dogged determination and relentless investigation leads to the arrest of 03 terror sympathisers, along with the recovery of 07 AKs (04 recovered earlier) and a large quantity of warlike stores in Poonch,” he wrote.
Police said the fresh recoveries have dealt a setback to Hizbul Mujahideen’s efforts to regroup in the region.
