Global jihadi network Al Qaeda on Thursday officially announced the establishment of its unit in Jammu and Kashmir, naming former Hizbul Mujahideen militant Zakir Musa as its chief in the troubled state. The new cell has been named Ansar Ghawzat-ul-Hind.
The announcement was made by the Global Islamic Media Front, a media wing of Al Qaeda and its allied jihadist groups across the world. The Al Qaeda online propaganda wing disseminated a statement on social media, declaring Musa, a close aide of slain militant commander Burhan Wani, as its leader in Kashmir.
‘Jihad, the Way to Liberate Kashmir’
Here is the statement:
It said jihad with the aid of Allah was the only way to “liberate Kashmir”.
“For this goal, a new movement of jihad has been founded by the companions of Wani under the leadership of Zakir Musa,” the statement said.
Though there have been speculations earlier that Al Qaeda was making inroads in Kashmir, this is the first official confirmation from the terror network about its presence in the state.
Earlier, a 2014 video had called on “brothers in Kashmir” to wage jihad against India.
Though political separatist leaders and militant commanders have been denying a link between Kashmir militancy and jihadi movements like Al Qaeda and Islamic State but Musa, who succeeded Wani after his July 2016 killing, in an April video message made his intentions clear.
Musa Asks Kashmiris Not to Fall for Nationalism
Musa asked Kashmiris not to “fall for nationalism” as it was a sin in Islam. He said in a statement:
I see many people in Kashmir are engaged in a war of nationalism, which is forbidden in Islam. The fight in Jammu and Kashmir should not be for the sake of the state. It should be exclusively for Islam so that sharia is established here.
The 23-year-old militant also threatened to kill Hurriyat leaders if they spoke for nationalism and deny that the struggle in Kashmir was for the establishment of strict Islamic code.
The Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest group of local militants, condemned his statement saying they have nothing to do with his Islamist assertions. Musa then ended his association with the outfit on 13 May.
Interestingly, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Syed Salahuddin, who is based in Pakistan, released a video statement on Wednesday urging Kashmiris “not to join any global jihadi movement”.
Salahuddin, in a five-minute video clip, said:
Some of our friends are playing into the hands of our enemy and trying to create divide between people and their leadership. Our movement is an indigenous movement. The freedom movement of Jammu and Kashmir has no worldwide agenda, no links with organisations like Islamic State or Al Qaeda. Such organisations have no role in Kashmir.
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