Daijiworld Media Network – Srinagar
Srinagar, Jul 23: A day after a police head constable was killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, security forces demolished the houses of two local terrorists believed to be active in the early hours of Thursday, even as authorities intensified a large-scale crackdown across the Valley.
The demolished houses belonged to Haroon Ganie in Hasanpora and Adil Ahmad Thokar in Bijbehara, both in south Kashmir.
The action comes months after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, following which the houses of at least nine suspected terrorists were demolished in different parts of the Kashmir Valley.
Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, a resident of Budgam, was serving with the Indian Reserve Police and was attached to the Special Operations Group. He was deployed for Amarnath Yatra security duty when he was shot dead by a lone terrorist on Wednesday. The annual pilgrimage is currently suspended due to inclement weather.
CCTV footage of the attack reportedly shows the assailant shooting the policeman at close range before fleeing.
According to police sources, more than 2,500 people have been detained across the Kashmir Valley as part of the ongoing security operation. The detainees include over 700 persons from Srinagar, more than 200 from Budgam, 178 from Baramulla, over 100 from Ganderbal and several others from the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama.
Reacting to the demolitions, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cautioned against such actions, referring to a Supreme Court order that prohibits the summary demolition of homes belonging to accused persons.
"I understand the anguish of the police, but the Supreme Court has clearly stated that such summary action should not be taken. We witnessed similar incidents after the Pahalgam attack, and at that time I had to speak to the Central government to stop it," Abdullah said.
He also criticised the detention of hundreds of people across the Valley, saying such measures would not improve the security situation but could instead aggravate tensions.
The Chief Minister pointed out that although houses of suspected terrorists had been demolished after the Pahalgam attack, subsequent investigations revealed that those responsible for the attack had come from outside Jammu and Kashmir.
Abdullah said lasting peace could not be achieved through security operations alone and stressed that public support was essential to ending militancy.
"This cycle will not end without taking the people along. Police, Army and the CRPF can achieve only so much. The real end will come when the people themselves reject violence, as they did after the Pahalgam attack," he said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the detentions and demolitions.
While describing the killing of the police officer as "heinous and condemnable", Mufti said detaining over a thousand people and demolishing the homes of families of two alleged terrorists amounted to "collective punishment" with no place in a democracy.
She added that if the Centre maintains that militancy has been reduced to near zero, it should adopt a more humane and lawful approach towards innocent civilians instead of resorting to what she termed "tit-for-tat" measures affecting an entire community.
The Inspector General of Police (Kashmir), V K Birdi, could not be reached for comment on the reported detentions.