HuM operative held from Maharajganj on Indo-Nepal border

LUCKNOW: Disguised as a seller of shawls and carpets, a Hizbul Mujahideen operative was caught on the Indo-Nepal border by Sahastra Seema Bal on Saturday evening. Naseer Ahmad Wani alias Sadiq was trying to sneak into the country via Sonauli checkpost in Maharajganj district when alert jawans and local police apprehended him.
Sources in intelligence agencies said Naseer was working under Hizbul Mujahideen head Sayeed Salahudeen and was being sent to the valley for an important mission.Sleuths from anti-terror squad (ATS) of UP police reached Maharajganj on Saturday from Lucknow to bring Naseer to Lucknow for further probes. “He seems to be a prize catch,” said Asim Arun, inspector general ATS.
According to ATS sources, a native of Ramban district in Jammu and Kashmir, Naseer (34) crossed over to Pakistan in 2003 and received training in arms and explosives for two years. Before moving to the neighbouring country, Naseer had been involved in bloody attacks on security personnel in Banihal and also sustained bullet injuries during a counter-insurgency operation.
Salahudeen is in his 70s and is also from J&K—Budgam district—and joined HuM in early 1990s. He was employed by ISI handlers to carry out execute some terror strikes in UP and help terror operatives to function. Naseer was first sent to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He reached Kathmandu by air on May 10. Another operative Mohammad Shafi from Kupwara, Jammu & Kashmir accompanied Naseer to Nepal from UAE.
Naseer and Shafi boarded a bus and reached Sonauli border at 4.30pm on Friday. It takes less than eight hours to reach Kathmandu from Sonauli. The ATS squad of UP police is trying to find out what the duo was up to for two days in Kathmandu.
The two were stopped at the border checkpost. DIG SSB D S Chauhan told media that Naseer appeared suspicious and was frisked at the border post. “A Pakistani passport was found hidden in his luggage and local police was informed. On being grilled, told us about his connections with Hizbul,” said Chauhan. Walking at a distance, Shafi managed to slip away before he could have been nabbed. Air ticket and other documents were found on him which helped intelligence agencies connect the dots and Naseer’s itinerary from UAE to India.
“He went to Pakistan in 2002-03 and got training to use AK 47, AK 56, SLR and other assault rifles. He also got married in Faislabad to one Aisha Naeem. He said that his aim is to free Kashmir and he was going to the Valley to meet his father. He was on the mission to spread hatred among Kashmiri people against Indian Army. A Pakistani passport has been recovered from his possession," SP Maharajganj police chief Pramod Kumar said.
As per his documents, Naseer is 34 years old and at present his wife and two children reside at Lalanmusa, Tehsil Khariyan in Gujrat district of Pakistan. “He is the key resource of Hizbul for the Valley. We will coordinate with other agencies and army units to reach the outfit’s elaborate network,” said Arun.