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The Kashmir problem has been given a deadly new twist by Syed Salahuddin, chairman of the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-based amalgam of over a dozen terror groups.
Attempting to link the separatist violence in the Indian state with pan-Islamic jihad in Syria and Iraq, Salahuddin has declared that help from al-Qaeda, Taliban or any other like-minded group or country would be welcome.
The United Jihad Council (UJC) includes outfits like Harkat-ul-Ansar, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Jamiat-ul- Mujahideen, Al-Jihad, Al-Barq, Al-Badr, Ikhwan-ul-Mussalmin, and Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen.
Syria was not mentioned, but the Salahuddin spin occupied all the space between the lines: that Kashmir was much like the civil-war-wracked country, and by extension a battleground ripe for jihadis of all kinds to converge in.
"If al-Qaeda, Taliban or any other organisation or country extends a helping hand to the oppressed Kashmiris, we will welcome it," Salahuddin has said, accusing the Indian Army of running a "reign of terror" in Kashmir that was "proved by 6,000 unmarked graves, daily killings, molestation of womenfolk and incidents of arson".
"We do not have any say at any international forum. In such a situation, we are left with no choice but to greet anyone and everyone that can help us overthrow our enemy."
Public meeting
The United Jihad Council (UJC) boss, who is also the 'Supreme Commander' of the Hizbul Mujahideen, was addressing a public meeting on Sunday to mark 'Martyrs' Day' at Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, or Azad Kashmir as it is called in Pakistan.
July 13 is observed as 'Martyrs' Day' in the Valley in memory of 20 Muslims executed by the Dogra kingdom in 1931 as part of an effort to put down an uprising.
"Nawaz Sharif should show consideration for the feelings and sacrifices of Kashmiris. His unilateral tilt towards Modi and exchange of letters and saris is hurting Kashmiris and impairing their cause," Salahuddin said, at the same time asking Islamabad to keep Kashmiris in mind always.
"You should not take any decision against our will," he said. "We will never accept any such decision."
He also asked India to grant Kashmiris their birthright to freedom or else it would disintegrate as a result of jihad. The Hurriyat came in for some Salahuddin advice too.
"Instead of raising assorted options and voices, the Hurriyat leadership should represent their oppressed nation with one voice," he said.
Saying he is opposed to "fragmented and fractured" political struggle, Salahuddin said that about 150 rounds of talks with India had failed to produce anything.
It was armed struggle that forced foreign troops to leave Vietnam, Algeria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, and once again it was compelling the US and allies to withdraw from Afghanistan, Salahuddin said.
Trading potatoes and onions, internal autonomy or division of Kashmir is no substitute for freedom, he added.
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Police arrest a protester during a demonstration in Srinagar against Israeli military operations in Gaza
It was only last month that hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani had used the word "hypothesis" as reaction to the presence or imminent arrival of al Qaeda in Jammu and Kashmir.
Geelani had said that there is "no scope" for al Qaeda and Taliban in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Ours is a local and indigenous struggle so, the government wants to kill our youth and defame our sacred struggle in the name of al Qaeda, and that is why they are creating such an environment in Kashmir," Geelani had said in response to al Qaeda's first-ever Kashmir-specific statement.
An al-Qaeda video released in mid-June had called on Muslims in the Kashmir region to follow in the footsteps of their "brothers" in Iraq and Syria and launch a jihad against Indian authorities.
The video, made in Urdu and uploaded on jihadi forums by al-Qaeda's media arm al-Sahab, is probably the first produced by the global terror network that specifically focuses on Kashmir.
Titled "The war should continue: A message for Kashmir's Muslims", the video features a statement by Maulana Asim Umar, one of al-Qaeda's two Pakistani propagandists.
It features images of demonstrations in Jammu and Kashmir and the silhouette of an armed man juxtaposed against a purported photo of the Dal Lake.
Umar addresses Muslims living in India and Pakistan as well as the two parts of Kashmir in the video, saying they should join the global jihadi movement seeking to re-establish an Islamic caliphate.
Face of terror
Syed Salahuddin is the leader of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen,which is one of the largest terrorist organisations operating in Jammu and Kashmir.
Salahuddin also heads the United Jihad Council, a conglomerate of Pakistan-based jihadi outfits, which was formed in November 1990 to bring all the outfits involved in terrorist violence in J&K under a single platform.
In an interview in June 2012, Salahuddin claimed that Pakistan had been backing the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in its fight in Kashmir.
He had declared that he would start attacking Pakistan if Pakistan stopped backing jihadis in Jammu and Kashmir, who, he claimed, were fighting Pakistan's war.
The headquarters of the United Jihad Council is at Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir.At the time of inception, all the terrorist outfits operating in J&K were required to register with the MJC.
Protests shut J&K schools
ByMail Today in Srinagar
As hundreds of students across the Valley joined protests against Israeli attacks on Gaza, a cautious J&K government abruptly ordered the closure of schools for 16 days from Tuesday.
The government said all schools will remain closed till July 31 for summer vacations in the state.
It said that if any private school violates the order, action would be taken against it.
Students, lawyers, and activists of different religious and social organisations on Monday held protests at various places across the Valley shouting anti-Israel and pro-Palestine slogans.
With anger in the streets, political parties, too, have chipped in to register their protest. The Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MPs staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha, protesting against the Union government's silence over the "continuing bloodbath in Gaza".
According to PDP spokesperson, PDP members Mehbooba Mufti and Tariq Hameed Karra on Monday morning got up from their seats urging the Speaker that the House should unanimously condemn the "Israeli aggression in Gaza."
"Our MPs informed the House the largest democracy of the world India can't remain a mute spectator to this naked aggression by Israel that has already consumed around 170 innocent Palestinian lives, with hundreds of others injured and thousands fleeing their homes," the spokesman said.
He said the PDP has decided to move a call attention motion in the Lok Sabha to seek a discussion on Gaza.
The ruling NC also condemned "war-crimes committed by Israeli forces in Gaza" and has expressed solidarity with Palestinians.
"People of J&K stand in solidarity with the victims and those who are under siege. We pray for justice, for a cessation of this madness in Palestine," the NC said in a statement.
Government rules out changes in AFSPA
The Narendra Modi government is understood to have ruled out changes in the controversial AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir and favoured its continuation in the current form in the state.
The decision in this regard is said to have been taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister recently, sources said in the Capital.
The CCS discussed changes suggested by the Administrative Reforms Commission, they said.
The Army had also given its opinion in the matter and had opposed the repealing or dilution of the law in any form and stated that it was required for it to operate in the state, sources said.
Even though J&K has been relatively peaceful in the recent past except for the ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), the Army feels it is more of absence of violence rather than establishment of peace there.
Several groups and political parties in J&K and northeastern region have been demanding either repeal or amendment to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which has been in force in some of the disturbed regions in the country. -PTI
Agencies on the tail of Maharashtra jihadis
By Abhishek Bhalla in New Delhi
Indian authorities have gathered information on four men from Maharashtra fighting in Iraq for the ISIS, though there are others, too, who have joined the dreaded terrorist group.
The security agencies, however, know little about the others. While the Maharashtra Police and Intelligence Bureau officials questioned families of the four men and submitted a detailed report to the home ministry, security agencies are in touch with their Iraqi counterparts to get details of other Indians who are believed to be fighting with ISIS.
Sources said it is suspected that men from states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have joined the Sunni insurgent group that has been targeting Shias and has overrun key cities like Mosul and Tikrit over the past few weeks.
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Three youngsters from Thane who are suspected to be fighting with the ISIS in Iraq.
Intelligence agencies are also tracking families of other young men who have been reported "missing" and could be in Iraq fighting along with ISIS.
Sources said the Mumbai police commissioner, in a written communication to his force, has given directions "to trace missing children within the jurisdictions of their respective police stations, especially those who fall within the age group which makes them potential members of terror outfits".
The four men who have been identified so far are Arif Fayaz Majeed and Thane residents Fahad Tanvir Sheikh, Aman Naim Tandel and Shaheen Farooqi Tanki. They are all in their 20s.
Sources said there is no past record of their involvement in any terror activities.
Central intelligence agencies have sought details from states from which young men are believed to have gone to Iraq so that information can be gathered on them.
"We are trying to identify families who have young men in Iraq. If we get details and suspect that they could be fighting for ISIS, we will inform the Iraqi authorities," said an official.
Intelligence agencies are jittery about the possibility that Indians who have joined the ISIS could get in touch with young men in the country to form a terrorist group here.
ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed Caliph of the Islamic State, has identified India as an "enemy state".
He has also claimed that Indian Muslims do not have rights.
Read more:United Jihad Council head Syed Salahuddin invites Taliban to Kashmir | Mail Online
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United Jihad Council head Syed Salahuddin invites Taliban to Kashmir | Mail Online
