NEW DELHI: Mohammad Ashraf Shah, commander of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen's south Kashmir division, was shot dead in a joint Jammu and Kashmir Police-Army operation on Tuesday.

Shah, who ranked second in the Hizb's hierarchy in Jammu and Kashmir, was a key player in the ongoing secret negotiations aimed at putting a ceasefire in place. However, he simultaneously commanded a series of high-profile car-bombings directed at civilian and military targets, and is believed to have ordered the execution of over 100 civilians hostile to Islamist cadre in south Kashmir, notably workers of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the National Conference.

Major Manish Pitambare of the 3 Para Regiment was also killed in the raid on Shah's safe house, located just a few metres away from the family residence of the former Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in Bijbehara, south of Srinagar.

The Hizb commander is thought to have set up the safe house to facilitate meetings with a top leader of Mr. Sayeed's People's Democratic Party, which has played a key role in facilitating the behind-the-scenes dialogue with the proscribed terrorist group.

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