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Pakistani Militants Killed In Encounter Had Aadhaar Cards With Them: Reports

Security forces killed two men, allegedly belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit. Police say they may have used Aadhaar cards to conceal their identities.
Representational image.
TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Representational image.

Two alleged Pakistani militants were killed by security forces in Sopore, in northern Kashmir on Thursday. The police said the two men belonged to the Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit and that Aadhaar cards were recovered from them, which could have been used to conceal their identities in India.

"From the incriminating material recovered from the encounter site, the killed terrorists have been identified as foreigners namely Ali alias Athar and Zia-ur-Rehman," the police said, according to The Indian Express.

The report added that police said Ali was a top Jaish commander and the mastermind behind an IED blast in Sopore in January, that killed four policemen. However, according to the Aadhaar cards recovered, the two were identified as residents of Kupwara, named Sahil Ahmad Dar and Mohd Yaseen. The report added that police are trying to ascertain how the Aadhaar cards were procured.

After the encounter, there was an internet blackout in Sopore as a "precautionary measure", Kashmir Images said in its report.

This is not the first time security forces have recovered Aadhaar cards from alleged Pakistani militants. In 2016, the army arrested an alleged terrorist from the Jaish-e-Mohammed, and recovered an Aadhaar card from him, according to reports.

"He told us that he took training at Balakote training camp in Pakistan under ISI's guidance for three-four months. Then in January he infiltrated into India along with his four companions," Major General JS Nain, the General officer Commanding at the time, said.

The Aadhaar card recovered at the time was under the name Shabir Ahmad Khan, but the army identified him as Abdul Rehman, a resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Major General Nain added that apart from Rehman, four other alleged terrorists were also given an Aadhaar card each when they entered the Kashmir valley.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.