New Delhi: Who was Jibran, the third terrorist involved in the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on April 22?
Jibran was among the three terrorists killed by security forces during Operation Mahadev on July 28 in the Dachigam forest near Srinagar.
While the identities of the other two terrorists were established within a day of the operation as Bilal Afzal, alias Faisal Jatt or Suleman, and Habib Tahir, alias Hamza Afghani, from Sheikhupura in Pakistan, little was known about Jibran.
Nearly three and a half months later ABP has confirmed Jibran’s identity in an exclusive report.
Jibran has been identified as Hannan Zafar, a resident of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Aged around 25, he hailed from the Sudhanoti region of PoJK, where his father, Mohammad Zafar, worked as a daily wage labourer.
Intelligence agencies came to know of this from a gathering that was recently held at Zafar’s home in PoJK, where photographs of the slain terrorist were displayed.
Abu Musa alias Abdullah Kashmiri, a top commander of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was also present at the event, the agencies said. According to officials, it was Musa who had recruited Zafar into the LeT.
Further investigations revealed that Zafar joined LeT at the age of 19. His training began with Daura-e-Suffa and Daura-e-Umma at the Lashkar’s Suffa Academy in Muridke. He later underwent advanced combat instruction — Daura-e-Lashkar at the KFC Muzaffarabad camp, followed by Daura-e-Fidai training at Forward Kahuta.
Armed with this extensive training, Zafar infiltrated Indian territory and played a key role in the Pahalgam attack that led to Operation Sindoor.
