Bashir Ahmad Peer was considered to be a close confidant of Hizbul Chief Syed Salahuddin.
One of India's most-wanted designated terrorist has been killed in Pakistan. Bashir Ahmad Peer alias Imtiyaz Alam, the top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed outside a shop in Rawalpindi on Monday evening.
Peer was designated as a terrorist by the center in October last year for his role in sending terrorists and providing logistic support for infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir.
A resident of Babapora, Aloosa village in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, Peer was a hardcore terrorist commander who shifted his base to Pakistan two decades ago.
He was considered to be a close confidant of Hizbul Chief Syed Salahuddin.
According to Pakistani media reports, motorcycle-borne gunmen fired at Peer from point-blank on Monday evening. He was standing outside a shop in Rawalpindi when he was targeted.
As per reports, Peer, who was the launching commander of Hizbul in Pakistan, was playing a key role in recruiting and sending infiltrators and arms and ammunition into Kashmir.
While designating him as a terrorist under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act UAPA, the Centre had also put out Peer's Pakistani Computerized National Identity Card No. 82203-7942470-9.
In what appears to be a targeted attack, the killing of Peer in Rawalpindi is seen as a major setback for the Hizbul Mujahideen and may well be a message to Syed Salahuddin and other Hizbul commanders based in Pakistan.