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Zakir Musa named al-Qaida commander in Kashmir

LeT, Hizbul reject role of international terror organization in J&K
Last Updated 27 July 2017, 15:24 IST
The announcement of Kashmiri militant Zakir Musa taking over as the head of an al-Qaida cell has virtually divided the militant ranks in the Valley with Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen categorically rejecting any role of the international terror organization in the state.

According to The Guardian, Musa, a former Hizbul commander, has been announced as the head of a newly created al-Qaida cell, “Ansar Ghazwat-Ul-Hind”, in Jammu and Kashmir and it was revealed in a statement released on Thursday by "Global Islamic Media Front,” an al-Qaida-affiliated information network.

“After the martyrdom of heroic Mujahid Burhan Wani the Jihad in Kashmir has entered a stage of awakening, as the Muslim Nation of Kashmir has committed to carry the flag of Jihad to repel the aggression of tyrant Indian invaders, and through Jihad, and with the aid of Allah only, we will liberate our homeland Kashmir,” it said.

“For this goal, a new movement of Jihad has been founded by the companions of martyr Burhan Wani under the leadership of Mujahid Zakir Musa,” the statement added.

J&K Police confirms announcement

State Police chief Shesh Pal Vaid confirmed the announcement by the social media cell of the terror group. “Something has come on social media, we are looking into the matter,” he said. However, Vaid added: “For us a terrorist is a terrorist, no matter what organization he belongs to.”

LeT, Hizbul reject role of international terror organization

Hours after the Qaida announcement, LeT chief Mahmood Shah in an emailed statement to local news gathering agencies claimed that India was trying to label the “legitimate freedom struggle” of Kashmir as terrorism by implying al-Qaida and ISIS into the Valley. “Al-Qaida and ISIS thrive on takfeer (infidelity). All they have done has just greatly affected the Muslims and brought upon the injustice, brutality and oppression,” he said.

After LeT, Pakistan based United Jihad Council (UJC) also rejected role of al-Qaida, ISIS type terror organizations in Kashmir. The UJC chief, Syed Salah-ud-Din, who was recently declared as a terrorist by US State Department, in a video released on social networking sites said, “It is an Indian ploy to create Syria and Iraq type of bloodshed in Kashmir so as to demonize and fail the Kashmiris struggle for Azadi for Islam.”

Musa, who had taken over as Hizbul chief after its previous commander, Burhan Wani, was killed by security forces in an encounter on July 8, 2016, had stirred up a hornet’s nest in May when he threatened to chop off heads of those separatist leaders who claim the Kashmir struggle as political and not Islamic.

Consequently, Hizbul commanders based in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir termed his statement as “unacceptable” and termed it as his “personal opinion”. Following the snub, Musa disassociated from the militant outfit.

On June 6, Musa, an engineering college dropout, dropped first hints of joining the al-Qaida when he urged Indian Muslims to join Islamic jihad for 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' (the final and last battle for the conquest of India). Against a black al-Qaeda banner, with a world map added along with and two Kalashnikovs rifles emblazoned on two sides, Musa urged Indian Muslims to “stand up against oppression” and launch jihad against ‘gau rakshaks’ (cow protectors). “It's a war between Islam and the infidels,” he declared in his first direct address to Indian Muslims.
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(Published 27 July 2017, 15:23 IST)

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