Burhan Wani's Successor Zakir Musa's Elimination A Boost For Security Forces But Jaish Lurks

Zakir Musa was unlike any other militant to have emerged from the bloodied battlefield of Kashmir. Musa, 25바카라�who left his engineering studies halfway to pick up the gun바카라�was a radical Islamist who wanted to establish the 바카라�rule of Allah바카라� and had once threatened to publicly hang separatist leaders for refusing to acknowledge Kashmir바카라�s battle as a 바카라�religious war바카라�. And Zakir Musa바카라�s killing by security forces last week could potentially mark the end of a phase in Kashmir바카라�s militancy that is seen by police and security experts as an abe­r­ration. Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbagh Singh said as much, 바카라�Zak­ir바카라�s killing바카라� has ended the 바카라�cult and concept of radical jihad as he was the last militant of ISIS-influenced ideology바카라�.

The police and other sec­urity agencies are playing down the killing of Musa, who led the Ansar-ul-Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an outfit announced by the al Qaeda-affiliated Global Islamic Media Front. The police issued a brief statement about the encounter in which Musa was killed and referred him with his real name, Zakir Rashid Bhat. 바카라�Zakir was important only bec­ause of his vintage. He was one of the oldest-surviving militants and could make a lot of impact on social media. His elimination is a dent to his kind of brand,바카라� says inspector general of police, Swayam Prakash Pani.

In the nearly three-decade-long militancy, Musa was an unusual militant, who tried to upend militant discourse in Kashmir and saw Pakistani state as 바카라�apostate바카라� and warned it against exploi­ting Kashmir바카라�s militancy. Musa, son of a ret­ired engineer based in Traal, joined the Hizbul Mujahideen in 2013 and bec­ame a close aide of its commander Burhan Wani. Musa, in fact, picked up the tricks of ­exploiting social media from Wani, who had lifted the veil from militancy by posting his pictures on Facebook. Wani, once seen as the poster boy of Kash­miri militancy, was killed in an encounter on July 8, 2016. His killing had sparked a nearly six-month-long unr­est which killed nearly 90 people and ­injured thousands of others. Musa took over as Hizb바카라�s commander after Wani바카라�s death.

Musa parted ways with the Hizb in 2017 to head the Ansar-ul-Ghazwat-ul-Hind. He also released an audio clip, setting his agenda and accusing Pakistan of betraying the 바카라�jihad바카라� in Kashmir. He vowed to continue the fight for 바카라�freedom for the sake of Islam바카라� after Hizbul chief Syed Salahuddin publicly dissociated from him for threatening to 바카라�slay and hang바카라� separatist leaders at the Lal Chowk for opposing the establishment of Islamic rule in Kashmir. While separatists and militant outfits seek a political solution to Kashmir and talk about the implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir, Musa claimed to be pursuing the cause of freeing the 바카라�ummah바카라�바카라�the worldwide community of Muslims바카라�and 바카라�establishing the law of Allah바카라�. Unlike the ISIS, founded with the declared goal of overthrowing 바카라�corrupt바카라� regimes in 바카라�near enemy바카라� wars in West Asia and ­replacing them with a 바카라�true바카라� Islamic state, Al-Qaeda, advocates inte­rnational jihad and calls for targeting 바카라�far enemy.바카라�

In September 2018, four grenades were hurled at a police station in Maksudan, Jalandhar. An NIA probe later revealed that the attack was the handiwork of Ansar Ghazawat-ul-Hind. The grenade attacks, which didn바카라�t cause any casualty, were seen by the police here as fitting with the concept of 바카라�far enemy바카라� of al Qaida. 바카라�Earlier deadly att­acks were carried outside J&K by other militant groups and they were mostly Pakistan-sponsored terror acts. The grenade blasts at Jalandhar were different as here it was literally following the al Qaida바카라�s concept of the far enemy,바카라� says a police official pleading anonymity.

Pani told Outlook that the biggest sec­urity threat continues to be the Jaish-e-Muhammad. On February 14, a Jaish militant Adil Dar targeted a security convoy in Kashmir and killed 40 CRPF personnel that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. 바카라�This year, we have killed around 90 mili­tants, and most of them were from Jaish. Terrorists are planning to carry out att­acks but it is the police and other security agencies which are thwarting their plans,바카라� added Pani.

By Naseer Ganai in Srinagar