SRINAGAR, Jan 14: Police in occupied Kashmir arrested the founder and commander of the region’s largest group of militants, an official said on Wednesday.

Mohammed Ahsan Dar was arrested in Sumbal, a village about 40km north of Srinagar, said B. Srinivas, a top police officer. He did not say when the arrest was made.

Police say Dar motivated, recruited and trained thousands of militants in the disputed Himalayan region and was the founding chief of Hizbul Mujahideen.

“This is a significant arrest, a major setback to (the) militants,” Srinivas said. There was no immediate comment about Dar’s arrest from any militant group.

Dar was arrested and charged in 1993 with threats to national security, but was released on parole six years later.

Srinivas claimed that Dar “was coordinating the activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-i-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen militant groups”.

Indian officials recently said militant activity in occupied Kashmir had fallen to its lowest levels since an anti-India militant movement began in 1989.

Police say there are about 850 militants fighting in the disputed region, including members of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir.

—AP