Srinagar:

A police officer was shot at by terrorists in Srinagar’s Eidgah area today. He has been taken to a hospital and the area has been cordoned off to track the attackers, police said.

Inspector Masroor Wani was at Eidgah grounds in the downtown area when a terrorist fired at point blank. A police pistol was used in the attack.

The forces have launched an operation after the targeted attack.

“Terrorists fired upon and injured Inspector Masroor Ahmad near Eidgah, Srinagar. He was immediately shifted to the hospital for treatment. Preliminary investigation reveals that a pistol was used in this terror crime. Area cordoned off, case registered,” the Kashmir Zone Police stated in post on X, formerly Twitter.

#Terrorists fired upon & injured Inspector Masroor Ahmad near Eidgah, Srinagar. He was immediately shifted to hospital for treatment. Preliminary #investigation reveals that a pistol was used in this #terror crime. Area cordoned off, case registered.@JmuKmrPolice

— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) October 29, 2023

According to news agency Press Trust of India, the officer was playing cricket with local boys at an Eidgah ground when he was shot by terrorists. His condition was stated to be critical, they said. 

This comes just days after the biggest ceasefire violation along the international border earlier this week after the ceasefire understanding between India and Pakistan in February 2021. A Border Security Force (BSF) personnel was injured in unprovoked firing and mortar shelling in the Arnia sector along the border on Thursday. Dozens of villagers have fled their homes after mortar shells hit residential areas.

On Wednesday, a meeting of top officials of Jammu and Kashmir and security agencies was held at the headquarters of the 15 Corps in Srinagar.

The role of foreign terrorists in Kashmir was one of the big talking points at the meeting.

Out of 46 terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir this year, 37 were Pakistanis and only nine were locals, official figures reveal. This is the first time in 33 years of terrorism in the Union Territory that the number of foreign terrorists killed is four times as high as local terrorists. 

About 130 terrorists are operating in the Valley currently, of which half are foreign terrorists, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.