From Usman To Moosa: Nalin Prabhat’s Counter-Terror Record In Jammu And Kashmir | India News

Last Updated:September 30, 2026, 17:24 IST

Prabhat’s record is defined by one central feature: pressure on the leadership of terrorist organisations and an effort to prevent them from rebuilding their networks

Srinagar: “You can run, but you cannot hide.”

The message from Jammu and Kashmir Police is short, blunt, and increasingly becoming a defining line of its counter-terror operations.

The phrase first drew wider attention after the killing of Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakir Ganie in a prolonged operation in Shopian in July 2026. After the terrorist was tracked down and eliminated following a multi-day operation, J&K Police posted the message: “You can run, but you cannot hide.”

It is more than a social-media line.

For a police force operating under DGP Nalin Prabhat, the phrase captures an operational philosophy that has become increasingly visible over the last two years: terrorists may change locations, disappear into forests, move across districts, or attempt to establish new hideouts — but the security forces will continue to track them.

And the record of Prabhat’s tenure provides several examples.

From Lashkar commander Usman in Srinagar to Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Haider in the forests of Udhampur, and from the three Pakistani terrorists, identified by Indian authorities as involved in the Pahalgam attack, to more recent foreign terrorists hunted down in the Jammu forests, the security forces have maintained sustained pressure on high-value targets.

The campaign has also been accompanied by a sharp decline in local terrorist recruitment and a broader effort to dismantle the support structures that allow Pakistan-based terrorist organisations to operate in Jammu and Kashmir.

In other words, the message is simple: They can run. But the security forces intend to make sure they cannot hide.

When Nalin Prabhat took charge as Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir, in October 2024, the security challenge in the Union Territory was already changing. Terrorist activity in Kashmir had declined significantly, but Pakistan-based groups were attempting to establish new networks and hideouts in the forests and mountains of the Jammu region.

Nearly two years into his tenure, Prabhat’s record is increasingly defined by one central feature: sustained pressure on the leadership of terrorist organisations and an effort to prevent those organisations from rebuilding their networks.

From the killing of Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Usman alias Chota Waleed in Srinagar to the elimination of top Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Haider alias Maulvi in the Basantgarh forests, and later the killing of Hashim Musa, identified by security forces as a key conspirator and executor of the Pahalgam attack, several high-value terrorists have been eliminated during Prabhat’s tenure.

The campaign has also extended into the difficult forests of Jammu, where security forces have maintained sustained pressure on foreign terrorists attempting to establish themselves.

USMAN: AN EARLY MAJOR SUCCESS

One of the first major operations after Prabhat took charge came in November 2024, when Usman alias Chota Waleed, identified by police as a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, was killed in an encounter in Srinagar’s Khanyar area.

Police said Usman had been active in the Valley for a considerable period and was involved in several terror crimes, including the killing of police inspector Masroor Wani. The Khanyar operation was conducted jointly by J&K Police and the CRPF. Four security personnel were injured during the prolonged encounter.

The elimination of Usman was significant because he was not a newly recruited militant but an experienced foreign commander who had operated in Kashmir for years.

HAIDER: THE COMMANDER HIDING IN JAMMU’S FORESTS

The next major leadership blow came in the Jammu region. On June 26, 2025, security forces killed Haider alias Maulvi, a Pakistani terrorist identified by DGP Nalin Prabhat as a top commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed. Haider had reportedly been operating in the Dudu-Basantgarh area of Udhampur for around four years.

Prabhat described the operation as a “very big success” and said the anti-terror campaign in the area was continuing.

The significance of Haider’s elimination went beyond the loss of another terrorist. It demonstrated that a senior foreign commander who had managed to survive for years in the forests of Jammu could still be tracked and eliminated. The operation also highlighted the changing geography of terrorism in J&K — and the response of the security forces.

THE PAHALGAM MASTERMIND HUNTED DOWN

But the most high-profile elimination during Prabhat’s tenure came after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. The attack triggered one of the largest manhunts in recent years for the perpetrators and their associates.

The hunt culminated in Operation Mahadev in July 2025. Three terrorists were killed in the Dachigam-Lidwas area in a joint operation involving the Army, CRPF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Among those killed were Hamza Afgani Suleiman Shah, Zibran, all Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists identified by Indian authorities as key conspirators and executors of the Pahalgam attack. Shah had become one of the most wanted terrorists in the aftermath of the attack. His elimination after a sustained intelligence-led pursuit became one of the most significant counter-terror successes of 2025.

For Prabhat and the wider security establishment, Operation Mahadev demonstrated another important capability: maintaining the intelligence trail and pursuing high-value terrorists even after they disappear into difficult terrain.

THE FIGHT MOVES DEEPER INTO JAMMU

If Usman represented the hunt for an established commander in the Valley and Shah represented the pursuit of the Pahalgam attackers, Haider represented another emerging challenge — the attempt by foreign terrorists to establish themselves in Jammu’s forests.

That challenge has remained central to Prabhat’s counter-terror strategy.

The Udhampur-Kathua belt, along with the forests and higher reaches of neighbouring districts, has become an important operational theatre. Security forces have responded with sustained searches, intelligence-based operations, joint posts, and greater deployment of specialised police units.

The aim is to ensure that the forests do not become permanent safe havens for foreign terrorists.

THE LATEST SUCCESSES

The campaign has continued into 2026. In September, two Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists — Saddam and Mustafa — were killed in Operation Soan in the Brattal-Sohan and Khubban forests of Udhampur’s Majalta area.

The operation was conducted jointly by the Army, J&K Police, and CRPF following intelligence inputs about terrorist movement. Weapons recovered included an AK assault rifle, an M4 carbine, a Glock pistol, and grenades.

Days later, Prabhat visited Udhampur and reviewed the ongoing counter-terror operations along the Udhampur-Kathua belt. He also felicitated personnel involved in Operation Soan and stressed continued vigilance, operational preparedness, and coordination between agencies.

The operation is significant because it shows that the security forces continue to maintain pressure on foreign terrorist groups attempting to operate from the Jammu forests.

THE NUMBERS TELL ANOTHER PART OF THE STORY

The record of Prabhat’s tenure is not limited to individual encounters. Local recruitment had fallen from around 194 in 2020 to one in 2025, with no local recruitment reported so far in 2026. Agencies believe only five local terrorists were operating in the Union Territory, with the remaining active terrorists being Pakistanis.

Separately, NITI Aayog figures reported in September 2026 showed that youth recruitment into terrorism had fallen by about 99 per cent between 2018 and 2025, from 199 cases to two. The same dataset showed terrorist incidents falling from 228 in 2018 to 12 in 2025.

The figures provide an important measure of the changing security environment. From killing terrorists to preventing regeneration, Prabhat’s strategy has increasingly focused on more than encounters.

J&K Police has simultaneously targeted terrorist associates, support networks, and terror financing. Prabhat has said that properties belonging to handlers, senior ideologues, and commanders operating from across the border have been attached at significant levels.

He has also repeatedly highlighted the link between narcotics and terrorism, making the fight against narco-terror networks another component of the broader counter-terror campaign.

The objective is to make it harder for terrorist organisations to replace the commanders and cadres they lose.

A COMMANDER WITH AN OPERATIONAL BACKGROUND

Prabhat’s approach is also shaped by his own operational career. Before becoming J&K Police chief, he served in counter-insurgency roles in Jammu and Kashmir and with the CRPF. He also headed the Greyhounds, the specialised anti-Naxal force, and served as Director General of the National Security Guard.

That experience is reflected in the operational emphasis visible in J&K today — intelligence-led operations, specialised units, inter-agency coordination, and sustained pressure on terrorist leadership.

THE PRABHAT RECORD

Nearly two years into his tenure, the major counter-terror successes associated with the period include:

Usman alias Chota Waleed — Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, killed in Khanyar, Srinagar, November 2024.

Haider alias Maulvi — Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed top commander, active in the Basantgarh area for around four years, killed in June 2025.

The three Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists identified by Indian authorities as key conspirators and executors of the Pahalgam attack, killed during Operation Mahadev in July 2025.

Saddam and Mustafa — Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists killed during Operation Soan in Udhampur in September 2026.

The significance of the record is not simply the number of terrorists killed.

It is the profile of the targets.

Experienced foreign commanders have been eliminated. Terrorists linked to major attacks have been hunted down. Foreign cadres attempting to establish themselves in the Jammu forests have faced sustained operations. And, at the same time, local recruitment has fallen to historically low levels according to both official assessments and recent government data.

The threat has not disappeared. Pakistan-based terrorist organisations continue to attempt to maintain a presence in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly through foreign terrorists operating in difficult terrain.

But the strategy under Prabhat has been clear: hit the leadership, hunt the foreign terrorists, deny them safe havens, disrupt their support networks, and prevent them from generating a new generation of local recruits.

For the J&K Police chief, that has made the elimination of high-value terrorist commanders one of the defining features of his tenure — while the broader objective remains to ensure that the networks behind them cannot regenerate.

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