In the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, terrorists targeted and fatally shot Mohammad Shafi, a retired senior superintendent of police, while he was offering namaz at a mosque in the Gantmulla area. The incident led to the cordoning off of the area, and authorities launched a search operation to apprehend the assailants. According to the Kashmir Zone Police, the retired police officer, aged 72, succumbed to injuries sustained during the attack. Shafi is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.
National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, responding to media inquiries about the former cop's killing, remarked that terrorism persists in Jammu and Kashmir. He pointed out the silence of those who had previously claimed that terrorism would end with the abrogation of Article 370. Congress leader Ravinder Sharma highlighted the occurrence of several such distressing incidents from Rajouri to Poonch in the recent past.
The Valley has experienced a rise in targeted attacks on law enforcement personnel in recent months, prompting increased vigilance and intensified security measures by the forces. There has also been an increase in infiltration attempts by terrorists. The attack on Shafi follows an incident three days earlier, where heavily armed terrorists ambushed two Army vehicles, resulting in the death of five Army personnel and injuries to two others. The ambush occurred at a blind curve at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz while the security personnel were en route to an ongoing search operation in the Thanamandi-Surankote region.
