Unknown men at work again in Pakistan? One of the masterminds of the 2019 Pulwama attack, which left over 40 CRPF personnel dead, was killed by unknown gunmen in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). A resident of Pulwama, Hamza Burhan, known as 'Doctor', was designated as a terrorist by the Union Home Ministry in 2022.
Burhan, whose original name is Arjumand Gulzar Dar, sustained multiple bullet injuries after he was attacked in Muzaffarabad by unidentified assailants. For those who have watched Dhurandhar, the moment feels eerily familiar. In fact, in the past couple of years, several designated terrorists have been eliminated in Pakistan and POK.
WHO IS HAMZA BURHAN?
Born in Kharbatpora in the Ratnipora area of Pulwama, Burhan left for Pakistan in 2017 under the pretext of pursuing higher studies. However, he joined the banned terror outfit Al-Badr and soon rose to the rank of commander in the outfit.
He returned to Kashmir later and was involved in radicalising youth and indoctrinating them. In South Kashmir, Burhan expanded his network from Pulwama to Shopian.
In fact, according to a report in The Print, families across Pulwama have recounted how youths who encountered Burhan gradually slipped into militancy.
Burhan has been linked to several terror-related activities in Jammu and Kashmir, including the February 14, 2019, Pulwama attack.
The Pulwama incident was the deadliest attack on security personnel in India, carried out by the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM). A JeM terrorist rammed an explosives-laden car into a convoy of the CRPF at Lethpora, killing 40 personnel.
The attack led the Indian Air Force to launch a surgical strike in Balakot, Pakistan, a few days later, raising tensions between the two countries.
Security agencies said Burhan provided explosives and grenades to the terrorists who carried out the Pulwama attack. He was also found to be involved in the grenade attack on CRPF personnel on November 18, 2020.
A massive hunt was launched for Burhan, but he managed to slip back into POK. His luck eventually seems to have run out.
Burhan's killing comes against the backdrop of a series of mysterious attacks targeting terrorists and top commanders of groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), JeM, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
The incidents have often been attributed by local reports to "unidentified gunmen" or under mysterious circumstances.
Last month, days before India marked the first anniversary of the Pahalgam attack, Amir Hamza, a founding member of LeT, was shot by unknown bike-borne gunmen in Lahore. In March, Muhammad Tahir Anwar, JeM chief Masood Azhar's elder brother, died in Pakistan under "mysterious circumstances".
A year before, Abu Qatal, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan's Jhelum Sindh. Qatal, a close aide of 26/11 Mumbai mastermid Hafiz Saeed, was involved in the 2024 Reasi attack that left nine dead.
The pattern of such killings started to be noticed since 2023, when at least seven terrorists were eliminated under suspicious circumstances over a span of seven months. That's Dhurandhar-esque!
