India-Pakistan Tensions: J&K Police Attach Terror Properties
In a continued effort to dismantle cross-border terror networks, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have taken decisive legal steps by attaching the properties of four terror handlers who are believed to be operating from Pakistan. The operations, which occurred in the Baramulla and Pulwama districts, mark a significant move under existing legal provisions to target individuals accused of supporting terrorism remotely.
The move was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), targeting those who have been declared proclaimed offenders by the judiciary. The action aligns with ongoing counter-terrorism measures to disrupt support systems that aid and abet violence and militancy within the region.
Legal Action in Sopore Targets Three Individuals
In the Sopore area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, authorities executed a property attachment under Sections 82 and 83 of the CrPC. The police, in coordination with revenue officials, attached three plots of land collectively measuring around 29 marlas, which equals approximately 8,000 square feet. The land parcels are registered in the names of Arshid Ahmad Teli, a resident of Nowpora Tujjar, and two others — Firdous Ahmad Dar, also known as Umar Dar, and Nazir Ahmad Dar, also known as Shabir Illahi, both from Harwan.
According to the police, these three individuals had previously been declared proclaimed offenders by a competent court. The court order provided legal grounds for the attachment of their properties, a move seen as part of broader measures to target those allegedly connected to foreign terror operations.
Attachment Orders Compliant with Legal Framework
The legal basis for this action stems from Sections 82 and 83 of the CrPC. Section 82 allows authorities to declare a person as a proclaimed offender if they evade arrest or legal proceedings. Following such a declaration, Section 83 provides the police with the authority to seize the movable and immovable assets of the accused.
The process involves a detailed coordination between law enforcement and revenue departments to ensure that due legal procedure is followed. By targeting the assets of individuals located outside the region but allegedly engaged in activities threatening local security, the authorities aim to dismantle the support networks and financial structures used to maintain militant infrastructure.
Additional Property Seizure in Awantipora District
Further action was carried out in the Pulwama district’s Awantipora subdivision. In this operation, police attached a property measuring approximately 79 square feet located in Frestabal Pampore. This parcel of land belongs to Owais Feroze Mir, who is also reported to be based in Pakistan.
Mir has similarly been declared a proclaimed offender and is accused of playing an active role in reviving and promoting terrorist activities. According to law enforcement sources, he is involved in smuggling arms and ammunition across the border and is suspected of attempting to revive dormant terrorist cells within Jammu and Kashmir.
Court-Backed Action under Section 88 of CrPC
The action in Awantipora was carried out under Section 88 of the CrPC, on the basis of an order issued by the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Pulwama, which also functions as the Special Designated Court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act.
Section 88 pertains to the forfeiture of assets of proclaimed offenders and those who fail to comply with judicial summons or evade law enforcement. The involvement of a designated NIA court underscores the seriousness of the charges and the national security implications tied to such cases.
Focus on Disrupting Cross-Border Terror Support
This series of attachments is part of a growing effort by Jammu and Kashmir Police and national security agencies to identify and neutralize indirect support for militant activities. The individuals whose properties were attached are not present within Indian jurisdiction, and their operations are reportedly being conducted from across the border.
By using judicial tools available under the CrPC, authorities are attempting to limit the ability of such individuals to influence or support operations in the region. These measures also serve to signal a zero-tolerance stance toward anyone providing material, logistical, or ideological support to acts of terrorism, regardless of their physical location.
Continuing Action Against Proclaimed Offenders
Proclaimed offenders have been a significant challenge for law enforcement in Jammu and Kashmir. These individuals often escape the country or operate from beyond legal reach while continuing to maintain contact with local networks. The ability to attach their properties serves as a deterrent and sends a strong message to those involved in similar activities.
Police statements suggest that further action against proclaimed offenders will continue under the legal framework, and each case will be processed with coordination between courts, police, and revenue authorities.
Coordination Between Law and Revenue Officials Essential
The execution of property attachments requires meticulous coordination between various government bodies. In both Baramulla and Pulwama districts, revenue authorities played a crucial role in verifying land ownership, measuring the properties, and carrying out the physical process of seizure.
This coordination helps maintain legal sanctity in the process and ensures that the steps taken are transparent, properly documented, and within the constitutional boundaries of law enforcement. The attachment orders are executed only after court rulings, and all due processes are followed meticulously.
Implications for Regional Stability and Counter-Terrorism
While property attachments in themselves do not entirely halt militant activity, they form part of a wider counter-terrorism policy. Disrupting the financial and logistical backbone of terror handlers and their associates is an integral strategy in undermining recruitment, coordination, and attack planning capabilities.
These actions are also intended to create pressure on local operatives and sympathizers, discouraging them from associating with or aiding proclaimed offenders. Authorities believe that sustained pressure on such networks—legal, financial, and operational—can lead to a gradual decline in cross-border influence over militant activities.
Security Agencies Maintain Neutral and Legal Approach
Throughout the process, security forces and state institutions maintain a strictly legal approach, ensuring that actions taken are backed by judicial orders and evidence. There is an emphasis on ensuring due process and non-partisan application of law. The aim is to maintain peace and uphold the law without politicizing counter-terrorism efforts or attributing actions to any nationality beyond what is legally relevant.
Officials involved in the operations stated that all attachments were based on verifiable legal grounds and judicial declarations, not on conjecture or political motivations. In all cases, the individuals involved had been formally declared proclaimed offenders after failing to respond to legal summons and being linked to security-related offenses.
Final Observations and Next Steps Ahead
The property attachments carried out in Baramulla and Pulwama represent a continuation of Jammu and Kashmir’s broader legal response to external threats. By cutting off local ties to those operating from foreign territories and prosecuting their assets, authorities hope to reduce the long-term risk posed by transnational militant handlers.
Legal tools such as Sections 82, 83, and 88 of the CrPC, along with support from special courts under the NIA Act, are increasingly being utilized to bring proclaimed offenders within the ambit of Indian law. While many such individuals may continue to remain out of physical reach, efforts to remove their local influence continue to shape security policy in the region.
As the region continues its path toward stability and peace, actions rooted in law and supported by institutional coordination remain vital. These recent property attachments, though procedural in nature, reflect a larger intent to secure the region and minimize the networks that attempt to destabilize it from afar.
