Former Pakistan Army havildar Mohammad Asif, also known as Hashim Moosa, has been identified by security agencies as a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative with a background in the army’s elite Special Services Group (SSG).
Moosa was killed in a joint operation by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force in the Yousmarg area of Budgam district. Security forces had launched the operation after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area.
According to officials, Moosa had served as a havildar in the Pakistan Army’s SSG and had received specialised training in counter-insurgency and other military operations. Sources said he had served with the 4 Commando “Yalgar” Battalion and had experience in operations in Balochistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas.
Security sources also claimed that Moosa had been associated with a VVIP security team linked to former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and had served as part of a United Nations peacekeeping deployment. He is reported to have retired from the Pakistan Army in 2023 before becoming associated with the LeT network.
Moosa had been on the radar of Indian security agencies for some time. His name had surfaced in connection with several attacks targeting security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, including incidents in Dera Ki Gali, Poonch and Gulmarg.
He was also among the Pakistani terrorists wanted in connection with the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed. Jammu and Kashmir Police had earlier announced a reward for information leading to his arrest.
Security officials described Moosa as a trained commando with experience in counter-insurgency and unconventional warfare. His reported movement from the Pakistan Army into the LeT network has also drawn attention from Indian security agencies investigating the role of trained former military personnel in militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Following the Budgam operation, security forces continued searches in the area and recovered weapons and other war-like stores from the site.
