Top intelligence agencies in Jammu and Kashmir believe Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed commander- Ghazi Abdul Rasheed – is the mastermind behind the gruesome Pulwama terror attack that rocked the nation on February 14. He is one of the closest aides of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar.

Agencies believe Ghazi Rasheed is the IED expert who trained Adil Ahmad Dar, the man who executed the suicide strike in Pulwama.

Ghazi Rasheed managed to infiltrate Kashmir along with his two associates around mid-December last year.

He was sent to Kashmir by Masood Azhar to avenge the killings of his two nephews, Talah Rasheed and Usman, in 2017 and 2018 respectively in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. This is the same Pulwama region where at least 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in the terror attack.

After Masood Azhar’s second nephew Usman, who was a Jaish sniper, got neutralised in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama’s Tral area last year, the Pakistan-based terror outfit sent its top commander Ghazi Rasheed to the Valley.

Intelligence sources say Ghazi Rasheed had a narrow escape in an encounter between militants and security forces in Pulwama’s Ratnipora village just days before Thursday’s attack. In that encounter, one local militant was killed but three others manage to escape. An army jawan HV Baljeet was also martyred in the gunfight.

These are the first set of pictures of Ghazi Rasheed acquired by India Today.

Who is Ghazi Rasheed?

Ghazi Rasheed is a close associate of Masood Azhar and one of his most trusted Jaish commanders, who joined the outfit in 2008. The 32-year-old was trained by the Taliban in Afghanistan. He returned from Pakistan’s North Waziristan in 2010 and was working as trainer for Jaish recruits in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Ghazi Rasheed commands all Jaish operations in India and is believed to be hiding in south Kashmir.

The Jaish-e-Mohammed has built a strong network of over ground workers (OGWs) in south Kashmir in recent years including some local recruits. Security agencies are trying to crack down on this network and nab Ghazi Rasheed.