Army vs LeT militants in Shopian: 4 civilians dead.

The army shot down two terrorists from the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba at an army checkpoint in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on the fateful night of March 4, 2018. What made this different from other similar army operations was the fact that along with the militants, four civilians were also killed by the armed forces. This sparked widespread protest, rallies, and demonstrations across the state.

The militants, Amir Ahmed Malik and Ashiq Hussain Bhat were category B terrorists of the LeT. Malik was activated in July 2017 while Bhat was activated in November 2017.

The events that took place were as follows:

The mobile vehicle check post was deployed near the Trenz-Pinjoora road near Pahnoo village. At around 18:00 IST the soldiers saw two cars approaching at high speed. They did not slow down or stop or slow down despite being signalled to by the army men. On reaching the checkpoint, the occupants of the car opened fire on the soldiers. The soldiers retaliated by shooting at the car. A militant was hit and fell out of a car, with the car veering off the road into a nearby ‘nala’ (stream). The other car sped off. The militant to die in the shootout was Amir Ahmed Malik, along with the occupants of one car. In the car were found an AK-74, 88 rounds and three magazines.

On the morning of March 5, the body of the second militant, Ashiq Hussain Bhat was found in an apple orchard in Saidapora village. The second vehicle was found in Pinjoora, about 200 meters from where the shootout took place. In the car, one more individual was found dead. The army called these civilians either Overground workers (OGW’s) or accomplices.

This claim is being refuted by locals and families of the deceased civilians who claim that they had nothing to do with terrorism. One of those found dead in the first vehicle, Sohail Khalil Wagay (22) was returning home after dropping his mother at his sister’s home. His brother said that he had called only half an hour before the unfortunate incident. The civilian found dead in the second car, Gowhar Ahmad Lohe was returning home after a regular health check-up at a district hospital in Pulwama when he was killed. The military is currently calling all four accomplices despite widespread protests. J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti took to Twitter stating “Deeply distressed by more deaths of civilians caught in the crossfire in Shopian. My heartfelt condolences to the deceased’s families.”

This is not the first time civilians have been killed in encounters with the military. It has been occurring for almost a year now but, the numbers were decreasing. This sudden disheartening incident has caused the whole state to be shaken. Young boys, students mistaken for accomplices to terrorists, or actually in the wrong? The investigation is to be carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir police. Until then, peace and stability are two things that will not be found in this beautiful valley.