Naveed Jatt is said to be close to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Top Pakistani terrorist Naveed Jatt, who made a dramatic escape from a Srinagar hospital in February, and who is one of the accused in journalist Shujaat Bukhari's assassination, showed up at the funeral of a terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.
Waqar Ahmad Sheikh was among the five terrorists who were killed in a 12-hour-long operation in Shopian, about 55 km from Srinagar. The terrorists belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Al-Badar and Hizbul Mujahideen terror groups.
The photographs of a gun salute by 20-year-old Naveed Jatt at Waqar Ahmad Sheikh's funeral in Malikgund village have surfaced on social media, reported news agency Press Trust of India. He is holding an AK-47 in the photographs.
In the last few months, a trend has emerged in the Valley wherein during funerals of slain terrorists, the security forces retreat to avoid clashes, which allows fellow terrorists to attend their last rites. Naveed Jatt was among a few terrorists who had come for Sheikh's funeral today.
The terrorist party had already left by the time the forces had reached the spot.
A resident of Multan in Pakistan, Naveed Jatt was arrested in June 2014 at Yaripora in Kulgam. He is involved in several killings in the state.
The blueprint of Naveed Jatt's daring escape from a Srinagar hospital was made at the city's central jail, the police had said. The LeT commander had been staying at the Srinagar Central Jail since 2016. Gunmen killed two policemen before they whisked away Naveed Jatt, who had been brought to the hospital for treatment.
Six persons have been named in the charge-sheet filed in the case by the National Investigation Agency on Friday.
Naveed Jatt is said to be close to Lashkar chief Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and is likely to take over as the terror outfit's chief in Kashmir, the police believe.
Shujaat Bukhari, the editor of Rising Kashmir, was shot dead on June 14 when he left his office in Press Enclave on the eve of Eid. Three killers, who came on a bike, opened fire at the 52-year-old journalist and his two security guards. All of them died; the journalist was hit with 17 bullets.
Naveed Jatt was acting on orders from the Lashkar-e-Taiba leadership in Pakistan when he pulled the trigger.