The killing of a foreign fidayeen earlier this month in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district has thrown up a surprise for the security forces. The slain militant reportedly belonged to Baluchistan province in Pakistan and the forces claim he is the first militant from Baluchistan killed in Kashmir in the past two decades.

“During all these years, I have never come across any militant from Baluchistan,” IGP, Kashmir, Farooq Ahmed told The Indian Express. “Militants from Punjab, NWFP and other areas of Pakistan have been getting killed here, but it is for the first time that a Baluch militant has got killed in Kashmir.”

Omar Maviya of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed on October 9 in Gusoo Pulwama in south Kashmir. The militant, the police said, was killed before he could carry out an attack in Srinagar and the police also recovered 25 kgs of RDX strapped to his body.

Days after the death of the militant, the police investigations have now identified the slain militant as Zaffar Iqbal of Baluchistan Pakistan.

“During the investigation of the Gusoo encounter, the police have succeeded in identifying the slain militant as Zaffar Iqbal, son of Mohammad Iqbal of Bang Balouch village in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province,” a police spokesman said. “The militant was deputed by Saqib, the divisional commander Pir Panchal Range of Hizbul Mujahideen for carrying out a fidayeen attack.”