Jammu: A highly decomposed body of a suspected Pakistani terrorist affiliated with the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit was recovered from the higher reaches of Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.
The condition of the body has led investigators to believe that the terrorist may have sustained injuries during an encounter with security forces last year and subsequently succumbed to those injuries while hiding in the forested terrain, they added.
A US-made M4 carbine along with some ammunition was recovered alongside the unidentified body, indicating that the deceased was likely a top commander of the Pakistan-based outfit, the officials said.
The decomposed body was found in the remote Divshetar area of Seojdhar forest, a difficult and densely forested area connecting the Bhaderwah valley of Doda with adjoining Udhampur and Kathua districts, during a joint operation by the special operations group (SOG) of local police, Army and CRPF.
“You Can Run But You Can’t Hide! SOG Doda, RR (Rashtriya Rifles) and CRPF retrieved the remains of a Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist, who was neutralised earlier in a Joint Op (operation). A night-enabled M4 has also been recovered,” the Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a post on X.
The advanced stage of decomposition indicates that the death may have occurred considerably earlier, officials said, although the exact circumstances and timing of his death are being ascertained.
The Seoj Dhar and adjoining higher reaches have been of particular operational significance as JeM terrorists used the area after infiltrating from across the border and moving through the difficult mountainous terrain to establish hideouts and evade security forces.
Security forces have been conducting sustained counter-terror operations across the Doda-Kishtwar-Udhampur-Kathua belt over the past several years to dismantle these networks and deny terrorists safe passage and shelter in the upper reaches.
The officials said the relentless operations have resulted in the elimination of a large number of active terrorists operating in the region, many of them identified as Pakistani nationals. Security agencies have also been maintaining heightened surveillance and launching searches in remote forest areas based on intelligence inputs and assessments of possible terrorist movement.
According to official figures, four terrorists and five security personnel were killed in separate encounters in Doda district in 2025, while five people, comprising four terrorists and one security personnel, were killed in adjoining Kishtwar district this year, compared to four deaths in 2025, including three terrorists and one security personnel.
In 2024, the district recorded five deaths: three security personnel and two civilians.
In Udhampur, four people were killed in 2024, including two terrorists, one security personnel and one civilian, while 2025 saw four deaths: one terrorist and three security personnel. In 2026, the district has so far recorded two terrorist deaths.
Kathua recorded the highest casualties among the four districts in 2024, with nine deaths, including two terrorists and seven security personnel. The following year, seven people were killed: three terrorists and four security personnel, while 2026 has so far witnessed the death of one terrorist.
The recovery of the terrorist body from Seojdhar forest comes days after Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat visited a joint temporary operating base at the Doda-Kathua-Udhampur trijunction on September 10 to review the security situation and operational preparedness in the strategically important belt.
He was accompanied by Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Tejinder Singh; DIG Doda-Ramban-Kishtwar Range Sargun Shukla; DIG Udhampur-Reasi Range Shiv Kumar Sharma and SSP Doda Kartik Shrotriya.
Security forces continue to maintain a strong presence in the mountainous areas and are carrying out coordinated search and area-domination operations to prevent terrorists from exploiting the dense forests and difficult terrain.
Officials said such operations will continue to ensure that the gains made against terrorism in the hilly belt are consolidated and the region remains peaceful.
