In Hizbul’s Kashmir terror team, ‘military adviser’ is most brutal: Cop

Hizbul Mujahideen boss Syed Salahuddin’s transfer to call three terrorists from throughout the Line of Control to steer the phobia group in Kashmir has prompted safety companies to reset the seek for the outfit’s new management within the valley.

Riyaz Naikoo, Salahuddin’s prime level particular person in Kashmir until final week, was killed in a joint operation of Kashmir police and Rashtriya Rifles that traced the 32-year-old to a secret bunker in a Pulwama village, not removed from the home the place he lived earlier than choosing up the gun.

Salahuddin picked Ghazi Haider aka Saifullah Mir because the Hizbul’s self-styled chief commander in Kashmir.

Zafarul Islam, believed to be the nom de guerre for 55-year-old Ashraf Maulvi can be Ghazi Haider’s deputy and Abu Tariq Bhai, his so-called chief navy adviser.

Of the three, a high official in Jammu and Kashmir mentioned, Abu Tariq Bhai has been probably the most brutal within the selection of his killings and its execution.

“We believe Abu Tariq Bhai is a Hizbul terrorist we have known as Zubair Wani from Anantnag,” a senior police officer mentioned.

All three, like a lot of the Hizbul management, have been energetic in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama and Shopian.

Police officers in Kashmir mentioned that they had began a recent seek for these terrorists however harassed that they anticipated the recent recruitments to decelerate for a while on account of Naikoo’s elimination. “It was a huge setback for the Hizbul,” one senior officer mentioned.

In a widely-circulated video that emerged after Naikoo’s demise, Salahuddin described Naikoo’s demise as a “shock for all of us” however famous that these sacrifices had been happening in Kashmir for lengthy. Since January this yr, he mentioned 80 fighters, or terrorists, had given up their lives for the reason for Kashmir.

The burly, bearded Salahuddin, as soon as an Islamic preacher who needed to hitch politics, had crossed over into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir greater than three many years in the past after the 1987 rigged elections. It is right here that he based the Hizbul Mujahideen, the phobia group funded by Pakistan’s deep state. Unlike different terror teams such because the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Hizbul has principally been powered by native recruits. Fueling discontentment has been a key a part of the technique.

Salahuddin’s household insulated from terror

But he has insulated his household from terror actions.

“How he has been able to do this is really remarkable… Unless his family knows him better,” a senior police officer mentioned.

Three of his 5 sons maintain jobs within the state authorities or its our bodies. The fourth son is a health care provider who practises in Srinagar and the youngest has an engineering diploma and runs a ability growth institute in Kashmir.

Of the opposite three, one is a medical assistant on the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, the second is a pc operator within the Budgam schooling workplace and the third, Syed Yousuf, labored on the agriculture division.

Syed Yousuf did get into hassle after the National Investigation Agency revived a 2011 case in opposition to him in 2017 for receiving tainted cash from his father by way of hawala channels.