Pakistani terrorist killed, another captured in J-K's Uri sector

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 28

Ending almost ten days of intensive search operations at the Line of Control in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army on Tuesday said a Pakistani terrorist has surrendered and one terrorist has been shot dead.

Ali Babar Patra, a resident of Dipalpur, District Okara Punjab (Pakistan), has surrendered and was captured alive without causing any harm to him.

One Pakistani terrorist Atiq ur Rehman alias Qari Anas, belonging to Distt Attock in Punjab (Pakistan) aged 33 yrs was killed in the encounter.

An infiltration bid was made by Pakistani terrorists along the Line of Control in Uri Sector on the intervening night of September 18 and 19. Taking advantage of uneven ground, bad weather, and thick undergrowth, Pakistan-harboured terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba attempted to infiltrate six terrorists from the area of Pakistani post Jabri.

During the infiltration attempt, while two terrorists were crossing the LoC, an Indian Army patrolling party challenged them. Four terrorists ran back towards Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), while the remaining two terrorists—Ali Babar Patra and Atiq ur Rehman—managed to enter the Indian side.

Additional forces were inducted and multiple patrols were launched in the suspected areas and the getaway routes were blocked. On the night of Sept 25, contact was again established by one such patrol with the terrorists approximately 800 meters inside the LC. Eventually, by the afternoon of September 26, 2021, the two terrorists were again challenged.

While Atiq ur Rehman was killed, his accomplice Ali Babar Patra appealed to the troops that he wanted to surrender and was captured alive.

The surrendered terrorist has revealed that his group of six terrorists primarily belonged to Pakistani Punjab. He said he was misguided and lured into joining LeT due to poverty, having lost his father early.  His family in Dipalpur consists of his widowed mother and an adopted sister.  To escape poverty, Ali Babar left schooling at a government school after class seven.  He underwent three weeks of preliminary training at the Garhi Habibullah Camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2019 followed by refresher training in 2021.

Most of the instructors being employed for physical and weapons training were Pakistan Army personnel, he has revealed. The surrendered terrorist told interrogators that Atiq ur Rehman ( the terrorist killed) had given him Rs 20,000 for his mother’s treatment and had promised to give him additional Rs 30,000 on their safe return from Pattan near Baramulla, where the group was to deliver the war-like stores.

The moment Rehman was killed Ali Babar Patra accepted the offer to surrender. From his interrogation, it seems the surrendered Pakistan national was coerced and lured into joining the terrorists’ ranks due to his poor financial condition.

Notably, the route that was taken by the terrorists to infiltrate across the LoC, which was used in 2016 with the help of the Pakistan Army and carried out a suicide attack on Uri Garrison.