After the security forces virtually eliminated all the cadres of the Islamic State Jammu & Kashmir (ISJK), the global terror outfit has sought to revive itself by forming a new organisation under the banner of Al Shabaabush Shariah.
The new outfit will be headed by emir Abu Akasha al-Hindi, the background and actual identity of which is yet to be ascertained by the agencies here.
While declaring the new name, the Islamic State has also announced the Al Intiash will be its official media wing. While the outfit does not have much following base in the Valley, it aims to tap the Kashmiri people settled in the national capital and South India especially in Karnataka as also the Rohingyas in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. However, the group will use the base in the Valley for propaganda to register its presence and find some traction in Jammu & Kashmir where a number of jehadi tanzeems are already in operation who will not allow the global outfit to gain much foothold or take crdit due to their own existential reasons, sources said.
The name of the outfit means revival of the Shariah rule. The ISIS does not discriminate between the Muslims of Jammu & Kashmir and the rest of India.
The launch of the outfit coinciding with the Amarnath yatra could also be a ploy of the Pakistan army-ISI combine to test the waters by targeting the pilgrims or executing similar incidents and Islamabad could deny its role in such a hit.
This could lead to more challenges for the security forces that have already put in place an elaborate security blanket for the yatra route to thwart any possible mischief by the terrorists.
The agencies will take some time before a detailed assessment is made on the group’s background and designs
in the Valley and the Indian hinterland.
While the new outfit ostensibly aims to operate in the Valley, the real work would entail radicalisation and recruitment of the Rohingyas settled across the country and the Kashmiris residing in other parts of the country for the furtherance of the terror agenda.
During the last few months, ISJK terrorists number about two dozens have been killed in encounters with the security forces. These terrorists were behind the raising of ISIS flags in the Valley during stone pelting on the security forces or in the protests against the killing of terrorist by the Forces.