MUZAFFARABAD: Authorities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Friday claimed to have foiled a major terror plot, arresting a militant whose revelations exposed the expanding reach of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as “Fitna al-Khawarij” (FAK), in the region.

Deputy Commissioner Sardar Umar Farooq and Superintendent of Police (SP) Nadeem Arif told a press conference in Pallandari, the district headquarters of Sudhnoti, that police intercepted a suspicious Suzuki Cultus near Azad Pattan during the night between March 18 and 19, and took its driver in custody afterfinding his behavior suspicious.

A hand grenade, a 9mm pistol with two magazines, 49 rounds of SMG ammunition, various medicines and surgical instruments, extremist literature related to terrorism and dry rations were recovered from the vehicle following which a case (FIR No. 86/2025) was registered under Section 15 AB2, and further investigations were underway, they said.

The arrested suspect was a resident of Islamabad, currently living in Soon Topa, Rawalakot.

Separately, a police spokesperson in Muzaffarabad also shared a brief on the operation.

According to SP Arif, the suspect admitted to working under the network led by Dr Abdul Rauf, an extremist mastermind based in Afghanistan.

Also known as Dr Ahmed, Dr Ukasha, and Dr Jamal, he hailed from AJK’s Bagh district, but had been residing in Afghanistan for the past 15 to 20 years.

SP Arif said authorities had obtained concrete evidence of Dr Rauf organizing terrorist activities and issuing instructions via the Telegram app.

The arrested suspect also revealed that he had been assigned a mission to infiltrate AJK with five other individuals from Islamabad.

These operatives, armed with heavy weaponry and explosives, had disembarked near a makeshift pulleybridge over the rivernear Azad Pattan to evade police checkpoints and reach their designated location on foot.

However, the timely police intervention thwarted the plot.

SP Arif said the five operatives who landed near pulley bridge were still at large, and a search operation was underway to track them down.

He urged the public to report any suspicious activity or individual to help maintain peace in AJK.

Further disclosures by the suspect implicated three individuals from Bagh—Zarnosh, Muhammad Usama, and Muhammad Ulfat also known as Saqib Zarar or Hanzala—as key members of the network.

According to the police, the trio was involved in the killing of police constable Sajjad Resham on October 27, 2024, in Shujaabad, Bagh, an attack aimed at spreading fear in the region.

The SP alleged that Zarnosh and his associates had been radicalizing young individuals, inciting them against the state, and recruiting them for terrorist activities.

They received full support from a terrorist group based in Afghanistan, which provided them with funding, weapons, and explosives to carry out attacks in Pakistan, particularly in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, he added.

According to him, the detained suspect also disclosed that the same group was behind the March 3 terrorist attack near Sangjani on the motorway, a case that had already been registered.

SP Arif highlighted that another key figure, Ghazi Shehzad, had emerged as a crucial operative, providing logistical and ideological support through social media and other channels.

He was reportedly in constant contact with the terrorist faction in Afghanistan and assisted in planning attacks.

Notably, Shehzad was among the 18 prisoners who had escaped from Rawalakot Jail in June last year. While law enforcers have recaptured the other fugitives, Shehzad remains on the run.

SP Arif said that the forensic analysis of the arrested suspect’s mobile phone confirmed his direct links with Dr Rauf in Afghanistan and his communication with Ghazi Shehzad.

Warning that “Fitna al Khawarij” were attempting to infiltrate AJK, Deputy Commissioner Farooq vowed that such elements would be crushed with full force.

He urged parents to monitor their children closely to prevent them frombeing lured into extremist ideologies or terrorist networks.

“I assure the public on behalf of my high-ups that efforts are ongoing to completely dismantle this network and safeguard our territory’s peaceful environment,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025