J&K terror attack: India's Taliban fears come true, Afghan fighters killed in Sunjwan? Probe on

A major development in the recent terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir might turn out to be realisation of one of the biggest worries in India's security apparatus.

Two Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Sunjwan before they could carry out a suicide attack on April 22. However, they did throw a grenade, and open fire at a paramilitary bus. One CISF officer died, and 9 security personnel were injured in the entire episode.

Now, it has emerged during investigation that the terrorists spoke Pashto. This means they were either from Afghanistan or Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Mukesh Singh, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Jammu Zone, said, "We arrested Shafique Ahmad Shaikh who is a resident of Tral, Pulwama. He was told by Jaish-e-Mohammad to come to Jammu. He was told that one of their associates would bring 2 terrorists to him. He had to keep them at his house, then take them to a nearby security camp or post for an attack. We identified Bilal Ahmad Wagay who was given a different task of picking the terrorists from Samba area. He was to take them to Shafique Ahmad Shaikh. He did that. He picked the terrorists up on April 20 night and took them to Shafique Ahmad Shaikh."

Singh added, "We got an alert and cordoned the area. Next day an encounter took place, and they were killed. Shafique's interrogation revealed that the terrorists spoke Pashto, which means they were either from Afghanistan, or Pakistani area next to the Afghan border."

If the terrorists turn out to be Afghani, it would mean that India's worst fears from Taliban's take-over in Afghanistan would turn out to be true. When Western forces left Afghanistan and Taliban ousted the Afghan government, it was speculated that the Taliban's patron Pakistan might divert Afghan fighters towards India to up the ante in Jammu and Kashmir.