Hizbul commander threatens to behead ‘infidel’ Hurriyat leaders Opposition parties plan to reach out to Kashmiri youth
DARE In a video clip, the militant warns separatist leaders against calling the Kashmir issue a political struggle instead of a religious war
top Hizbul Mujahideen leader has threatened to behead separatist Hurriyat leaders for calling Kashmir a political struggle instead of a religious war for the creation of an “Islamic state”.
The threat is believed to be the first against the Hurriyat leadership who are acknowledged to represent the political views of a section of Kashmiris and have held talks with the Centre and state governments many times.
The message was delivered through a video clip which contained a montage of slides showing quotes about Islam and Sharia. The person who is heard in the clip is not shown. He did not identify himself but is believed to be local Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Musa.
Calling Hurriyat leaders “hypocrites, infidels, followers of evil”, the militant warned to chop off their heads “if they create hurdles in the path of making Kashmir an Islamic state”.
The militant also said the heads will be hanged in Lal Chowk in Srinagar, an area known as the nerve centre of anti-India protests. The clip appeared two days after militants suspected to be from the Hizbul Mujahideen abducted and killed an army officer on leave in Shopian.
In a joint statement issued a few days ago, hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and two moderates — Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Mallik — had said the freedom struggle in Kashmir has nothing to do with IS or al Qaeda. They said there was no role for these groups in “Kashmir’s political struggle”. “Terrorism and freedom movement are polls apart,” they said.
The video starts with a quote of a slain militant, Imam Anwar Al Awlaki, an American-born Muslim scholar and cleric who acted as the spokesperson for terrorist outfit al Qaeda.
“We just want to ask these hypocrites if Kashmir is a political issue (then) why are you raising slogans like ‘Azadi ka matlab kya (What is the meaning of freedom). La Illaha Ilallah’, ‘Pakistan say rishta kya (With is the relation with Pakistan). La Illaha Ilallah’,” the militant said, referring to the Hurriyat leaders’ frequent use of the phrase, “There is no one but Allah”.
“Why do you come and address people in mosques?”, the leader said in the clip.
Hindustan Times could not verify the authenticity of the clip. However, police sources said the voice matched Musa’s earlier video and audio clips.
Zakir Musa has been touted as the successor of militant commander Burhan Wani, whose killing last year sparked monthslong streets protests across the Valley. The clip has generated debate in Kashmir, with some calling it a handiwork of “Indian agencies”.
Speaking to HT, the spokesman for the Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference, Ayaz Akbar said, the organisation was “looking into the matter”. “However, we stand by our earlier statement,” he added.
Amid an ongoing turmoil in Kashmir, the Opposition parties might make an attempt reach out to the Valley’s youth, which could prove to be another point of confrontation with the Narendra Modi government.
The Opposition parties frequently discuss the Kashmir situation among themselves and have even urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi to call a meeting of all the non-NDA parties.
“I have told her to call a meeting to send a message to Valley youth. She told me some other leaders have also told her the same,” CPI leader D Raja said.
Earlier this week, National Conference leader and former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah met PM Narendra Modi and complained about Mehbooba Mufti-led state government’s ‘mismanagement’ of the situation. Later, Abdullah called a few Opposition leaders to his residence and said there should be a clear message from New Delhi for Kashmir.
While the Opposition does not want any compromise with the terrorists, they want to urge the government to initiate talks to diffuse tension. A senior Opposition leader told HT that at times, parleys on Presidential polls turn out to be discussions on Kashmir.
Former Maoist sub-zonal commander-turned renegade, Kundan Pahan, accused of nearly 120 cases of violence, is an eversmiling and sober-looking man whose appearance defies his antecedents.
Hindustan Times (HT) met him last year at his hideout in the jungles of Bundu, his stronghold for the last 18 years. Though Pahan spoke at length about the rebel organisation, the charges against him, his family and future plans, he requested not to publish the same till a “favourable time”.
Now that he has reportedly surrendered, HT is producing excerpts of the interview.
Among the several crimes Pahan allegedly committed in his 15 years of association with CPI (Maoist), he became a muchdreaded name when he allegedly beheaded special branch inspector, Francis Induwar, a tribal officer in 2009.
Induwar’s Taliban style murder — his severed head was found at least 10 feet away from the body on the NH33 — had led to widespread outrage against the Maoist menace across India with the Centre deciding to launch an allout war against Left extremism in Jharkhand.
Several politicians, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, had visited Induwar’s bereaved family in Ranchi.
Pahan, however, denied killing the special branch inspector.
“I did not kill him but the blame went to me as the incident occurred in the area under my control,” he said.
“Platoon commander, Kishore Munda, who reported to me, killed Induwar while keeping me in the dark,” Pahan said. He added that Munda was later killed by security forces in an encounter.
Pahan stressed that Induwar’s murder also stirred a debate in the outfit, with several top leaders disapproving such killings.
The leaders feared killing tribal officers would make the tribals revolt against them , whose support was paramount for the organisation to survive and grow.