(MENAFN- IANS) Srinagar, Oct 8 (IANS) Police said on Wednesday that they carried out raids at the properties belonging to separatist Hurriyat Conference and Jamaat-e-Islami associates in the Handwara area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.

“Police in Handwara conducted targeted searches at the residences of individuals associated with proscribed organisations Hurriyat and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)," a statement from the J&K Police said.

The searches were carried out at the residence of Ghulam Hassan Khan, son of Habibullah Khan, a resident of Maidan Chogol and at the residence of Abdul Ahad Lone, son of Abdul Aziz Lone and a resident of Wahipora.

The officials said Khan was associated with the banned Hurriyat Conference, and Lone was linked with the proscribed Jamaat-e-Islami outfit.

“The searches were conducted as part of ongoing investigations aimed at verifying the involvement of these individuals in activities that could pose a threat to public order and regional stability. Handwara Police is fully committed to maintaining peace, stability, and security in the region and will continue to take firm action against elements involved in unlawful activities,” the statement mentioned.

Security forces have been carrying out aggressive operations against terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers in the union territory to dismantle the entire ecosystem of terror rather than only focusing on the gun-wielding terrorists.

After Operation Sindoor, the joint forces have raided hideouts, busted terror dens and started target-specific operations.

The Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 by Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in which 26 civilians were killed, outraged the entire nation. This resulted target target-specific strikes deep inside Pakistan and PoK. Nine terror Infrastructures were destroyed in Murdke near Lahore, in Bahawalpur and Kotli and Muzaffarabad in PoK. In the resulting escalation, Pakistan attacked civilian facilities, including a temple, a church and a Gurdwara in Poonch district of J&K. Following this, 11 defence bases of Pakistan were destroyed by the Indian Armed Forces.

The Union Home Ministry has given explicit orders to the security forces to carry out operations against the terrorists in the UT.

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