Ex-Pakistan SSG commando killed in Budgam encounter after five-year hunt

Srinagar, Sep 30 (PTI) A top terrorist of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba killed in a gunfight in the higher reaches of central Kashmir's Budgam district on Tuesday was a retired havildar from the Pakistan Army's elite Special Services Group (SSG), who once served in former president Pervez Musharraf's security convoy, officials said on Wednesday.

Mohd Asif, alias Hashim Moosa, was neutralised in a joint operation by the Army and other security forces in the higher reaches of Korag, Yousmarg, late Tuesday night. The Pakistani terrorist was involved in high-profile attacks, especially in the last three years which saw a surge in targeted ambushes and strikes against both military personnel and civilian hubs.

The pattern began in the Pir Panjal range in early 2023 and ended with the April 2025 Pahalgam incident in which the accused had played a crucial role in planning of the terrorist attack that left 26 people dead.

Asif, who also operated under aliases such as Fauji and Sulaiman Shah, infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir in 2021 and was serving as the LeT’s chief operations commander in the region. Security officials said his death not only concluded an intensive five-year hunt but also rendered the Pakistan-based terror group leaderless in the region.

During his 23-year tenure with the Pakistani military, Asif spent 18 years in the SSG. Between 2006 and 2008, he was deputed to the security detail of former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf. During his service, he underwent specialised VVIP protection training in the United States and completed medical courses with US Special Forces.

Following his retirement from the army, Asif, whose service number was PA-3106947, was handpicked by terror handler networks initially to train cadres before being infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir to lead LeT operations.

The officials said that Asif was the fifth Pakistani terrorist eliminated by security forces during separate high-altitude operations across Budgam, Udhampur, and Doda districts in September, dealing a severe blow to terror infrastructure in the Valley.

While his close associate Yasir was killed in an earlier encounter in the Yousmarg heights on September 5, where Asif managed to flee, two ranked Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists, Saddam and Mustafa, were neutralised in the Majalta forests of Udhampur on September 17. The body of another JeM commander was recovered from the Seojdhar forest in Doda district on September 12.

On Tuesday's operation, the Army's Chinar Corps said vigilant troops observed suspicious movement in the area and upon being challenged, the terrorists opened fire, triggering a fierce gunbattle in which Asif was killed.

"Further to the ongoing operation, during the search early morning in General Area Palmaidan, body of Pak based LeT terrorist, identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa recovered along with war like stores. Operation under progress," the Army posted on X this morning.

Terming the operation a major breakthrough, officials said that Asif was directly involved in over a dozen major strikes against security personnel and civilians. These included the Hallan attack in Kulgam on August 4, 2023, the Dera Ki Gali ambush in Poonch on December 21, 2023, the Indian Air Force convoy attack on May 4, 2024 in Shastar, Poonch, and the Army convoy attack on October 24, 2024 in Buta Pathri, Gulmarg, which claimed the lives of 12 soldiers.

On April 20, 2023, he along with other terrorists ambushed an isolated Indian Army vehicle travelling in the Bhatta Duriyan forest in the Poonch district, killing five soldiers and leaving another critically wounded.

Two weeks later, on May 5, 2023, an explosive blast hit Army commandos in during an operational search in the Kandi forest of Rajouri district, leaving five soldiers dead and one injured.

The region suffered another severe blow on December 21, 2023, when Asif along with other heavily armed insurgents launched a coordinated assault on two Indian Army vehicles carrying personnel from the 48 Rashtriya Rifles in Poonch, resulting in four military deaths and three injuries.

The violence extended into 2024, expanding from military convoys to strategic infrastructure and personnel. On May 24, 2024, an attack on an Indian Air Force convoy near Shasitar in Poonch claimed the life of one IAF airman and injured four others.

By late autumn, he shifted his strategy towards non-combatants and critical development projects in the Kashmir Valley. On October 20, 2024, he along with others attacked a private construction camp at the Gagangir tunnel project in Ganderbal district, killing seven people, including a local physician.

Just four days later, on October 24, 2024, an ambush on an Army vehicle in the Butapathri sector near Gulmarg in Baramulla district killed two soldiers and two civilian defence porters, while injuring three troops.

The escalation culminated in a devastating civilian-targeted attack in April 2025 in the Baisaran meadows near Pahalgam in Anantnag district, killing 26 people, mostly tourists visiting the area, and injuring 20 others. Asif was believed to be one of the masterminds of the attack.