Daijiworld Media Network - Srinagar
Srinagar, Sep 4: One terrorist was killed on Friday during an ongoing operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, while searches in the area continued, the Army said.
The operation, codenamed ‘Ashdar’, entered its second day in the Ashdar Gali area of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
According to the Army, the operation began on Thursday evening and was resumed at first light on Friday.
An Army patrol established contact with terrorists after gunshots were heard during a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in the area on Thursday evening.
In a post on X, the Chinar Corps, headquartered at Badami Bagh, said the joint search operation was launched based on specific intelligence inputs by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the general area of Ashdar Gali.
“Vigilant troops observed suspicious activity and upon being challenged, terrorists opened fire, prompting a fierce exchange of gunfire during which one terrorist was neutralised and one AK rifle and other war-like stores recovered,” the Army said.
The search operation in the area is still underway.
Major anti-terror operation in Budgam in 1995
Budgam district has previously witnessed one of the Army’s biggest anti-terrorist operations, carried out in Chrar-e-Sharief town in 1995.
The town is home to the shrine of Sheikh Nuruddin Wali, Kashmir’s revered Sufi saint and patron saint.
Pakistani terrorist commander Mast Gul entered Chrar-e-Sharief and laid siege to the shrine. The Army surrounded the town and blocked all exit routes available to the terrorists.
However, the Army did not enter the town in an effort to avoid civilian casualties and prevent damage to the shrine.
The standoff continued for 66 days, after which Mast Gul set fire to the shrine. The fire also engulfed several adjacent houses in the town.
As the Army, police, paramilitary forces and civil administration began rescue operations, Mast Gul managed to escape from the town and eventually crossed over to Pakistan after the destruction of Kashmir’s holiest Sufi shrine.
The operation resulted in the deaths of 20 terrorists, two Army soldiers and four civilians.