Based on other media reports, Hamza Burhan, who is widely believed to have been in the driver's seat for the Pulwama terror attack of 2019 that left more than 40 of the CRPF operatives dead, has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The attack was said to be over in a major metropolitan area in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, with unidentified attackers reportedly attacking Hamza Burhan. The attackers allegedly opened fire and then ran. To date, no member of any organisation has claimed responsibility for this tragedy.
Hamza Burhan is also seen in some reports as Arjumand Gulzar Dar, a man, Arjumand Gulzar Dar, by others as well, who, in some accounts, is said to be linked with terror operations to the 2019 Pulwama killing spree linked to the Pulwama suicide attack on February 14, 2019, at Pulwama. The attack on February 14 of 2019, was on a CRPF personnel convoy and is one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu & Kashmir.
The Pulwama attack had sparked huge tensions between India and Pakistan and eventually resulted in India carrying out the Balakot airstrikes against terror infrastructure across the border. Hamza Burhan was reportedly living in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and was thought to have been associated with extremist networks, having worked in the area.
Security analysts report that “unknown gunmen” have targeted multiple high-profile terror operatives associated with anti-India networks within Pakistan and PoK over the last several years. The pattern of mystery killings of suspected wanted terrorists of the terrorists that is gradually on the rise has reached international attention.
Since 2023, Pakistani attacks that were allegedly carried out on targeted killers such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, as well as several others, have reportedly taken place in Pakistan. Indian authorities have not, until heretofore, made any official statements on the latest incident.
Other details about the attack or the attackers have not been disclosed publicly by Pakistani authorities either. The attack has already inspired some heated social media debate, and many users have linked the killing to a pattern of unexplained killings of terror-connected officials in Pakistan and PoK. But no official confirmation has come in as to who carried out the attack or what it may have been motivated to do.
The 2019 Pulwama terror attack is one of the biggest security events in the history of India in recent memory. Forty CRPF members were killed in a suicide attack triggered by an explosion at a convoy in Jammu and Kashmir when a vehicle with explosives struck the vehicle, injuring more than 40 members of the CRPF’s ranks.
The terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed, based in Pakistan, took responsibility for the attack. But the investigation into Hamza Burhan's killing will deepen conversations about cross-border terrorism, covert operations and the recent spate of hidden attacks on extremist leaders in Pakistan.
