Security Forces in Jammu and Kashmir shot dead Bashir Ahmed Mir, the Harkat-ul-Jehad Islami (HUJI) commander for operations across India, following a fierce encounter on January 25. Mir was reportedly involved in a string of terror strikes across north and south-east India in 2007, including the court complex bombings in Uttar Pradesh1.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd) S. K. Sinha asserted that the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir was intact and that the prevailing situation in Pakistan was most volatile, with risks of spilling over to Indian side. In a telecast on the eve of 58th Republic Day anniversary, the Governor noted that the ratio of deployment of troops, Army and paramilitary to population in the state (excluding in the militancy-free Ladakh) was 1: 40, which was less than 1: 37 in Waziristan in Pakistan and 1: 28 in Tibet2.

Among other developments, three Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists holed up at the residence of two activists of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kupwara district were shot dead after a 30-hour-long gun-battle with the security forces on January 21. As many as three AK-56 rifles and six hand grenades were recovered from the incident sites. A LeT spokesman identified as Abdullah Ghaznavi also claimed that nine soldiers were also killed in the gun-battle3.

• 1. “HuJI chief shot dead,” The Hindu, January 26, 2008, at http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/26/stories/2008012659680100.htm
• 2. “Troops' deployment in Kashmir lowest: Sinha,” Daily Excelsior, January 26, 2008, at http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/08jan26/news.htm#7
• 3. “3 militants killed at PDP activists' house in Handwara,” Daily Excelsior, January 22, 2008, at http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/08jan22/body.htm