Another Pakistan-based terrorist dies mysteriously

One of the most wanted Pakistan-based terrorist commanders, Sheikh Jameel-ur-Rehman, is learnt to have been found dead under mysterious circumstances in Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sources said on Saturday.

Rehman, self-styled secretary general of United Jihad Council (UJC) and emir of Tahreek-ul-Mujahdeen (TuM), belonged to Pulwama in Kashmir. He was designated a terrorist by the home ministry in Oct 2022.

The circumstances leading to his death are still unclear. He was involved in multiple terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and worked in close coordination with Pak intelligence agency ISI, said an official.

In recent months, several top terrorists have been killed or found dead under mysterious circumstances in Pakistan.

TuM was formed with the objective of merging J&K with Pakistan and promoting a pan-Islamist identity. The group suffered a major setback in its early years when its founder Yunus Khan was killed in an encounter in 1991.

UJC was a conglomerate of Pak-based Jihadi outfits to bring all terrorist outfits active in J&K under a single platform. It comprised outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Al Badr, Hizbul Mujahideen and many others. Rehman had been coordinating their activities and training, besides infiltration.



In 2018, Rehman had asked Kashmiri students to take up arms only after proper training to avoid being killed by security forces, an officer recalled. "Rehman's original outfit, TuM, was a strong proponent of the Ahl al-Hadith school of thought," he added.

UJC is at loggerheads with outfits like JK-IS, which is inspired by Islamic State, and Ansar Ghajwat-ul-Hind, an al-Qaida offshoot.



Rehman's TuM largely had Pak-based cadres with a few foot soldiers from J&K. Intelligence sources said TuM received funds from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, UK, US and Gulf countries, primarily from organisations subscribing to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition.

"Due to international pressure on Pakistan, terrorist groups started refraining from claiming responsibilities for attacks and instead outfits like TuM and lately TRF (The Resistance Front) were encouraged to claim responsibility as part of ISI’s operational strategy," said a source.