<div align="justify">Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, was a close associate of slain Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and was named as new commander of the outfit after Wani’s death on July 8 last year.<br /><br />A native of Rathsuna in southern Kashmir, Sabzar was said to be a close friend of Wani, who joined the militant group when he was 15 years old and became the poster boy of modern-day militancy in Kashmir. Sabzar, who had snatched a rifle from a policeman before joining the militant ranks, had been locally trained in the forest areas of Tral. Police maintains that there are many militants who remain active in Tral area as the adjoining forests provide cover as well as training ground for them<br /><br />He had joined the Hizbul in April 2015 after Wani’s brother, Khalid, was killed by forces in Kamla forests of Tral town. In December 2015, police announced a cash reward on a group of militants and Sabzar was among them. Zakir Musa and Saddam Padder are two high profile local militant commanders of Hizbul after the killing of Sabzar.<br /><br />While actually Musa was portrayed as the new face of militancy in Kashmir Valley after Wani was killed, it was Sabzar who had won the confidence of outfit’s leadership in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and was seen as the successor of Wani. Musa recently revolted against Hizbul after the militant outfit’s top leadership dissociated from his statement in which he had threatened to behead the Hurriyat leaders for terming the Kashmir struggle as a political movement.<br /><br />Earlier in March this year, Sabzar had fled from an encounter site in Tral taking the cover of the darkness and heavy stone-pelting in the area. It is reported that a failed love affair brought Sabzar to militancy and he was searching for a new meaning to his life after the girl’s family spurned his marriage proposal.<br /><br />Police sources said that Sabzar was responsible for local recruitment of youth in Hizbul and unlike Wani who used to often feature on social networking sites; he had been mostly remaining underground. Sabzar had only initially featured in the photos and videos along with Wani which went viral on social networking sites before the killing of the former Hizbul Mujahideen commander. <br /><br />Besides the attacks on panchayat members and security forces, Sabzar is known to have carried out the killings of civilians who were believed to have been the informers of the forces.</div>
<div align="justify">Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, was a close associate of slain Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and was named as new commander of the outfit after Wani’s death on July 8 last year.<br /><br />A native of Rathsuna in southern Kashmir, Sabzar was said to be a close friend of Wani, who joined the militant group when he was 15 years old and became the poster boy of modern-day militancy in Kashmir. Sabzar, who had snatched a rifle from a policeman before joining the militant ranks, had been locally trained in the forest areas of Tral. Police maintains that there are many militants who remain active in Tral area as the adjoining forests provide cover as well as training ground for them<br /><br />He had joined the Hizbul in April 2015 after Wani’s brother, Khalid, was killed by forces in Kamla forests of Tral town. In December 2015, police announced a cash reward on a group of militants and Sabzar was among them. Zakir Musa and Saddam Padder are two high profile local militant commanders of Hizbul after the killing of Sabzar.<br /><br />While actually Musa was portrayed as the new face of militancy in Kashmir Valley after Wani was killed, it was Sabzar who had won the confidence of outfit’s leadership in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and was seen as the successor of Wani. Musa recently revolted against Hizbul after the militant outfit’s top leadership dissociated from his statement in which he had threatened to behead the Hurriyat leaders for terming the Kashmir struggle as a political movement.<br /><br />Earlier in March this year, Sabzar had fled from an encounter site in Tral taking the cover of the darkness and heavy stone-pelting in the area. It is reported that a failed love affair brought Sabzar to militancy and he was searching for a new meaning to his life after the girl’s family spurned his marriage proposal.<br /><br />Police sources said that Sabzar was responsible for local recruitment of youth in Hizbul and unlike Wani who used to often feature on social networking sites; he had been mostly remaining underground. Sabzar had only initially featured in the photos and videos along with Wani which went viral on social networking sites before the killing of the former Hizbul Mujahideen commander. <br /><br />Besides the attacks on panchayat members and security forces, Sabzar is known to have carried out the killings of civilians who were believed to have been the informers of the forces.</div>
