The police in Jammu & Kashmir have begun investigation into reports that a breakaway Hizbul Mujahideen militant Zakir Musa has associated with an Al Qaeda affiliate even as the State police chief said that it makes no difference in dealing with these elements because a “terrorist is a terrorist” irrespective of his organisational affiliation.
“A terrorist is a terrorist whichever tanzeem (outfit) he belongs,” Director General of Police Shesh Paul Ved said at a Press conference in Srinagar. “If somebody has picked up a gun, he is a terrorist for us.”
Ved was referring to the reports that an Al Qaeda linked outfit Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind has declared Zakir Musa, a 22-year engineering college dropout from south Kashmir, as its chief in Kashmir.
Musa was an aide of slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani but he recently closed ranks with the outfit after issuing a series of statements against Pakistan and a section of separatist Hurriyat Conference leadership.
While Zakir has not rejected or confirmed his association with the group, the police sources said they have initiated investigations into the affair.
Sources said that Musa, a resident of Noorpora village in Tral of south Kashmir has around a dozen gunmen in his breakaway group, few of them former Hizb cadres.
Shortly after a london-based newspaper reported Musa’s assignment, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in a video statement said that “freedom movement” of J&K had no international agenda”.
The three prominent separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik also denounced linkage of Kashmir’s separatist movement with global organisations. Without naming Musa, they said the announcement was a ploy of Indian agencies.
“Indian agencies are desperate to malign our movement and, under a well-thought-out plan, are devising policies to bring bad name to the freedom struggle in Kashmir,” the leaders said in a statement. “These agencies with the active support of those elements not affiliated with our movement, have chalked out a program for carrying their sinister designs,” the statement said.
They said groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda are “nonexistent” in the State and that there is “no role for these groups within our movement”.
Meanwhile, the police chief said that police was working in unison with National Investigation Agency (NIA) in its probe against Kashmiri separatists allegedly involved in receiving foreign funding to foment trouble in Kashmir.
“All law enforcing agencies are working in unison”, Ved said.
He said only time will tell whether Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik would be questioned by the NIA.