Pulwama terror attack: Politician Ghulam Patel killed, parties 'disown' him

Militants fired at the vehicle of Gulam Nabi Patel in J&K's Rajpora Chowk of Pulwama, injuring him and his guards

Pulwama terror attack : A political activist was killed in a militant attack on Wednesday in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said, but the ruling PDP and opposition Congress were locked in a row over the party affiliation of the victim.

Ghulam Nabi Patail, a resident of Shadimarg area in Pulwama, succumbed to injuries while being taken to a hospital after the attack in Rajpora Chowk area which also left two policemen injured. As political parties promptly condemned the killing. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti described Patail as a senior Congress leader while the Congress said he was a "well-known PDP activist". National Conference leader Omar Abdullah waded into the row, saying if neither PDP nor Congress was willing to own Patail as one of their own, he could be called an NC worker.

The Congress and the PDP were not keen on owning the killed leader as their own to avoid conveying to their workers that they were at risk, Abdullah, a former chief minister claimed.

Giving details of the attack, a police officer said three persons were injured when militants opened fire in the Rajpora Chowk area. One of the injured, a political activist identified as Ghulam Nabi Patail, resident of Shadimarg area, succumbed to injuries while being taken to a hospital, he added. The other two injured, both policemen, were being treated upon at a hospital and their condition was said to be stable, the police official said.

The BJP’s spokesperson Altaf Thakur later told HT, Patel had been working with the party for some time.

“He did not hold any party position but was associated with us for one year now,” said Thakur.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah criticised the parties for “disowning” Patel and said they did so to “lie to their workers to claim they aren’t at risk from militant bullets”.

Top 10 developments on militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajpora Chowk of Pulwama

1. BJP leader killed in Kashmir: BJP leader Ghulam Nabi Patel was shot dead by militants in South Kashmir’s Rajpora area today. Patel was earlier with the People’s Democratic Party.

ALSO READ: PDP leader shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama

2. Mehbooba Mufti expresses her condolence on Congress leader's death: Heartfelt condolences to the family of senior Congress leader, G. N. Patel who was killed by militants today in Rajpora. Such cowardly acts achieve nothing but leave one more family devastated.

3. Congress politician Salman Nizami targets Mufti govt: Congress politician Salman Nizami tweeted, "Every day we hear the news of attacks/killings in Kashmir, BJP/PDP govt has completely failed to secure the lives of Kashmiris."

India strikes back as Army conducts surgical strikes across LoC in Pakistan

Significant casualties inflicted on terrorists; Pakistani DGMO informed of strikes post operation

The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday night on launchpads where terrorists had amassed and positioned themselves to infiltrate into India, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh informed the gathered members of the press at the joint briefing following the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting held on Thursday.

According to Times Now, a total of eight surgical strikes were conducted by the Indian Army. There were no Indian casualties during the operation.

Singh said that the strikes were based on credible information and that the terrorists were poised to conduct attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and other major metros in the country. Singh revealed that significant casualties were inflicted on the terrorists in the operation.

The DGMO added that he had contacted his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation conducted by the Indian armed forces on Wednesday night.

"It has been a serious matter of concern that there has been continuing and increasing infiltrations by terrorists across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. This is reflected in the terrorist attacks at Poonch and Uri on September 11 and 18, respectively. Almost 20 infiltrations attempts have been foiled by the Indian Army successfully this year. During these attacks and infiltration attempts, we have recovered items, including global positioning systems and stores which have had Pakistani markings," the DGMO added.Read more.

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Does Dawood have gangrene, and will he escape being brought to justice?

 

Is India's most wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim suffering from gangrene?

CNN-News18 reported on Monday that the dreaded Mumbai mafia boss-turned-terrorist has advancedgangrene at a stage where it is life-threatening, and that he might have to undergo an amputation.

Additionally, the report cites doctors, who are treating Dawood, as saying that the gangrene is at such an advanced stage that Dawood is immobile and an amputation might be required.

It adds that Dawood Ibrahim is being treated at his residence in the "upscale Clifton neighbourhood of Karachi". According to the report, the doctors attending to him are from the Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, and the Combined Military Hospital, Karachi.

The report is specific on Dawood’s medical condition, quoting the doctors treating the don as saying that high blood pressure and blood sugar are the causes behind the gangrene.

The Times of India, on the other hand, on Tuesday reported that senior intelligence officials and the gangster's deputy Chhota Shakeel have confirmed that Dawood is "fit".

The ToI report quotes Shakeel saying that the reports of a gangrene infection are results of rumours being floated to hinder Dawood's business.

If Dawood is indeed suffering from gangrene, and if the condition is indeed life-threatening, then it will have serious consequences for India's pursuit of justice for the Mumbai bomb blasts of 1993 that were exacted by Dawood and his gang in return for the communal riots in the city that followed the December 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

Bringing Dawood back to India to stand trial for his role in the blasts has been a longstanding objective of Indian politicians and intelligence agencies, but one that has been met with little success, thanks to stonewalling by the Pakistani establishment.

In fact, the Pakistani government has consistently denied Dawood’s presence in that country, despite the fact that India claims it even knows the exact address of his residence in Karachi.

However, there have been reports of Indian intelligence having had at least four opportunities to nab Dawood in Pakistan, none of which worked out.

1) Dawood allegedly wanted to surrender in 1994:

According to a Hindustan Times report, a little over a year after the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Dawood was willing to surrender and "even spoke thrice to the then CBI DIG Neeraj Kumar".

According to the report, the agency, for unknown reasons, "didn’t take him (Dawood) up on his offer".

Speaking to HT, Kumar said: “I spoke to a jittery Dawood three times in June 1994… He seemed to be toying with the idea of surrendering but had one worry — his rival gangs could finish him off if he returned to India. I told him his safety would be the responsibility of the CBI.”

However, according to the report, Kumar's seniors abruptly ordered him to avoid any further contact with the gangster.Read More.