The relentless push by security forces to sanitize Jammu & Kashmir’s Pir Panjal belt of terror infrastructure achieved another major victory. In a swift, intelligence-driven operation, Rajouri Police dismantled an active Over Ground Worker (OGW) network directly linked to the Pakistan-backed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The operation resulted in the arrest of three local key facilitators—Zakir Hussain, Mohd Azam, and Mohd Mushtaq, and the recovery of a ready-to-use Improvised Explosive Device (IED) intended to launch sabotage operations across the region.
Security forces in Rajouri have intensified vigilance across high-altitude transit routes, systematically exposing local hideouts and intercepting logistical links utilized by transnational terror networks.
Deconstructing the OGW Ecosystem in Pir Panjal
For terror groups operating out of Pakistan, the rugged terrain of Rajouri and the broader Pir Panjal range serves as a critical transit corridor. Foreign terrorists rely heavily on local OGWs who know every ridge and ravine to move undetected. By locking up Zakir, Azam, and Mushtaq, security forces have choked off an established corridor used to transport weapons, supplies, and manpower.
Modern counter-terror strategy in J&K recognizes that an OGW carrying an IED is just as lethal as a rifle-toting terrorist. Recovering an intact IED prevents potential casualties among security forces and civilians, neutralizing a sabotage plot before it could be executed.
The era of soft handling for terror facilitators is over. The J&K administration and police forces have adopted a hardline stance: local accomplices providing shelter, food, or reconnaissance for foreign terror outfits will face complete legal financial, administrative, and criminal prosecution.