Hamza Burhan, a senior Al-Badr commander designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Government of India, has been shot dead in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

This is the 2nd Al Badr related death in last few weeks.

Read here: Who Killed Maulana Idrees and Bakht Zameen?; Radio Silence on Al Badr’s chief’s Death

The terrorist, also known as ‘Doctor’, was eliminated on May 21, 2026, outside a college where he had been rehabilitated by Pakistani authorities as principal of a girls’ campus. He was shot multiple times and succumbed to his injuries.

Real name Arjumand Gulzar Dar, Hamza Burhan was gunned down by Abdullah Kamal, a resident of Wah Cantonment. Kamal has since been arrested by Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Muzaffarabad.

Contrary to some initial reports, Hamza Burhan was not the mastermind of the 2019 Pulwama suicide attack that martyred 40 CRPF jawans. As per Indian government statements and intelligence inputs, he was actively involved in terror-related activities in Jammu & Kashmir, particularly in 2020.

Burhan was linked to multiple cases, including:

• Recovery of explosives from overground workers (OGWs) in Pulwama
• A grenade attack on CRPF personnel in November 2020
• Motivating Kashmiri youth to join the Al-Badr terror outfit
• Funding and facilitating terror activities in the Kashmir Valley

His elimination is still seen by Indian security agencies as a blow to the Al-Badr network operating from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Shameful Rehabilitation of a Terrorist

After fleeing to Pakistan, Burhan was given a comfortable life by the Pakistani establishment. He was appointed principal of a girls’ school in Gojra, Muzaffarabad, and was frequently seen moving in a Toyota Land Cruiser. Photos showed him posing inside the school premises with posters of Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir — a blatant reflection of the deep nexus between Pakistan’s state institutions and terror operatives.

This open patronage of a UAPA-designated terrorist once again exposes Pakistan’s duplicitous policy of providing safe havens and respectable cover to anti-India terrorists while claiming to fight terrorism.

The “Unknown Gunmen” Pattern Continues

The killing follows a pattern of several high-profile terrorists on India’s most-wanted list being eliminated by mysterious gunmen on Pakistani soil. Abdullah Kamal was reportedly overpowered by locals while trying to escape on a motorcycle after the shooting.

Funeral in Rawalpindi

Funeral prayers for Hamza Burhan were held on 22 May at Fatima School in Burma Town, Rawalpindi. The gathering was reportedly attended by several top terror figures from Al-Badr, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other outfits, highlighting how Pakistan continues to provide a fertile ecosystem for terrorists.

For the people of India, particularly the families of security personnel who have lost their lives to Pakistan-backed terrorism, such eliminations — even through mysterious means — serve as a reminder that the blood of our bravehearts will not go unaccounted for.

India remains steadfast in its zero-tolerance policy against terrorism. Those who wage war against the nation will continue to face consequences, whether on the battlefield or through the internal betrayals within their own terror ecosystem.