New militant video surfaces in Kashmir

 Security agencies in Kashmir are examining a new video in which around 30 militants led by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) commander Saddam Paddar are seen flaunting their guns in different poses.

The 1.30 minute video with ‘jihadi tarana’ in the background is doing rounds on social media. “It has been shot at an undisclosed location in south Kashmir somewhere in apple orchards in early April. We are examining the video and trying to establish where and when it was shot,” a senior police officer said.

The amateur video shows, the militants in army fatigues and wearing bullet-proof vests, flaunting their assault weapons, mostly AK-47 rifles. It has surfaced at a time when authorities have put curbs on hi-speed 3G and 4G Internet services to block the posting of videos and pictures by separatists and their sympathisers to flare up the already volatile situation in Kashmir.

The regular release of videos showing militants travelling or resting in lush Kashmir forests and orchards, according to police, is to send a message about their presence in the valley. The trend of releasing militant videos was started by HM’s slain commander Burhan Wani who waged psychological warfare by releasing videos and pictures online. Wani had become a poster boy of new wave of militancy in Kashmir before he was killed by security forces on July 8 last year.