Ghulam Nabi Azad (left) with Kakroo’s family in Baramulla on Sunday. (PTI)

Srinagar, April 1: Jammu and Kashmir today witnessed its first major political killing in months when militants gunned down senior Congress leader Jan Mohammad Kakroo as he stepped out of a shrine.

The assassination had the state’s Congress chief minister renewing his opposition to pulling out troops, a subject of bitter dispute between his party and its coalition partner, the People’s Democratic Party.

“From quite some time we have been saying the situation is not ripe for troop withdrawal and the militants have shown… what they want,’’ Ghulam Nabi Azad said at Kakroo’s residence in heavily guarded Baramulla town.

The Centre, led by Azad’s own party, however, has formed three high-level committees to look into the PDP’s demand.

A militant group calling itself Martyr’s Brigade claimed it had killed Kakroo, the Baramulla Congress acting chief, but the police suspect the hand of the Hizb-ul Mujahideen.

Kakroo had gone to a shrine at Baramulla’s Khawaja Sahib locality for the nightlong prayers on the eve of Id-e-Milad-un Nabi, the festival to celebrate Prophet Mohammed’s birthday.

“At 7.30 am, Kakroo came out of the shrine and was walking towards his vehicle when militants fired at him from an assault rifle and injured him and his personal security guard. Kakroo died on the way to hospital,’’ Baramulla police chief V. Kumar said.

He added that the guard, Sonaullah, was not carrying a rifle and the police were trying to find out why. The guard is in hospital.

“There has been no militant attack on any political activist for several months,’’ an officer said. The mainstream political parties are believed to have received assurances from across the border that they would not be targeted.

The last big strike on a political event took place in May 2006 when nine people were killed at a Congress rally in Srinagar.

Attacks on villagers have continued, though. Five Hindu labourers were mowed down at Rajouri in Jammu on Friday.