Masood Azhar's nephew could have planned Pulwama terror attack
The Pulwama attack on Thursday due to which India lost 40 CRPF personnel is believed to have been the brainchild of Mohammed Umair, nephew of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar. Umair is the son of Athar Ibrahim, Masood's elder brother. Agencies who are probing the dastardly attack don't have much evidence to begin with, considering the powerful blast reduced the vehicles to shambles.
Backstory: Local youth-turned-terrorist carried out attack, killed dozens
On February 14, a convoy of CRPF was attacked by Adil Ahmad Dar, a terrorist who joined Jaish last year. Adil drove an SUV laced with explosives into a bus, and the IED blast was heard by locals even 10-12 kms away from the site. Probing officers couldn't find any traces of Adil's body either. The condition of the spot is making investigation difficult.
After his brother was killed in encounter, Umair stepped up
Umair, who is believed to be the mastermind behind this worst attack in the valley in decades, reportedly operates from Pulwama area. He is believed to have received training in Afghanistan. Umair came to Tral in October last year after his brother Usman Haider was gunned down by security forces. With Usman's encounter, forces believed they broke Jaish's back, but this attack shows otherwise.
100-150 kgs RDX may have been used to make bomb
Investigators also believe that the bomb maker is in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). He could be using several covers. A team of NSG, which reached the spot, hinted the bomb was made up of 100-150 kgs of RDX. They couldn't find traces of other explosives, HT reports. They still don't know how the explosives reached Pulwama or how it was fitted into the vehicle.
India wants international community to act against Masood, China doesn't
India has repeatedly tried to designate Masood a global terrorist, but its efforts in the international forum met resistance from China. Notably, ailing Masood's younger brother Rauf Asghar carries out JeM's operations in India. Police have also detained seven youth in connection to Pulwama attack.
Meanwhile, martyrs were paid tributes by leaders
India is mourning the loss of its brave hearts. On Friday, the mortal remains of the soldiers were brought to New Delhi's Palam airport to be sent to their families. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, paid their last respects to the martyrs, sending a strong message of solidarity to the terrorists.
Notably, Centre had called an all-party meet
In a first since coming to power, the NDA led by BJP, called an all-party meet on Saturday to discuss the course of action after the horrendous attack. After Uri army camp was attacked in September 2016, NDA called all parties to inform them surgical strikes had been carried out. Back then, the Centre didn't seek the opinion of parties, but times have changed.
