A self-styled chief commander of al-Barq outfit, who escaped from Muzaffarabad jail in Pakistan occupied Kashmir during the October 8 earthqauke, was arrested by security forces on Sunday, a senior police official said.

Ghulam [Images] Qadir Malik alias Bilal Rahi, a resident of Kupwara, was arrested on a specific information from a locality in the city, K Rajindra Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir said.

Reports reaching Srinagar [Images] said the devastating earthquake proved a blessing in disguise for Rahi as, taking advantage of it, he fled from jail.

However, his freedom proved shortlived as Malik's escape from Pakistan back to the valley via Nepal led him into the dragnet as police had prior information about his movement. He was arrested soon after he landed in Srinagar. 

al-Barq was one of the front-ranking militant outfits in the valley during early stages of militancy but later it was wiped out by the security forces from the militancy graph with the killing and arrest of its cadres.

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