Killing of Zahid Tiger a big success, every militant asked to surrender: DGP Dilbag

Pulwama: J&K’s Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh Tuesday termed the killing of Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Zahid Tiger, in an encounter at South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on October 10, a big success for forces and said that every militant who is trapped in a cordon is given an opportunity to surrender.

Addressing a press conference at the southern district of Pulwama after reviewing the security situation in the district, J&K DGP said that every single militant is given an opportunity to surrender during encounters. “Recently, we managed to save the life of a newly recruited militant at Dadoora Pulwama,” he said.

He said at Dadoora, there were three militants and all were asked to surrender. “Two of them fired on forces which was retaliated in which two militants were killed. The slain were Zahid (Tiger) and another one from Pakistan,” the DGP said.

“The killing of Zahid is a big success for the security forces. In the gunfight, we managed to save the life of a newly recruited militant from Doda district of Jammu, ” he said.

About the presence of foreign militants in South Kashmir, he said that many Lashkar militants from Pakistan are active in the area. “This year we managed to kill over 24 militants from Pakistan. All were associated with LeT. Their presence is a threat to forces and civilians. Efforts are on to kill the remaining foreign militants,” he said.

About highway attacks, DGP Singh said that for the movement of 0.1 per cent militants on the highway, security forces can not block the road as there is 99.9 per cent civilian movement.

“Frisking of a particular vehicle is conducted for the safety of the public. At times, we establish contact with militants during frisking as seen in Nagrota this year where ammunition was also recovered,” he said.

Replying to a query, Singh said that infiltration has been low this year as compared to previous years. “However, Pakistan continues to make attempts to drop ammunition through drones and efforts are on to foil their every bid,” he said. KNO