Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

I Waved Tiranga From My Heart: Brother Of Hizbul Terrorist After Hoisting Tricolour In Kashmir

2023-08-15

A video of Rayees Mattoo, the brother of a Hizbul

.. Hizb ul Mujahideen (HM), the militant wing of Jamaat i-Islami, on Pakistan’s ISI payroll for the purpose of conquering Indian Kashmir...

terrorist, hoisting a national flag at his residence in Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir

Link

India-Pakistan

Terrorist associate detained under PSA in Kishtwar: Police

2023-08-05

Terrorist associate detained under PSA in Kishtwar: Police https://t.co/bJnosh5lYY
— Greater Kashmir (@GreaterKashmir) August 3, 2023

Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir

Mr. Saroori was a district commander of Hizb ul Mujahideen (HM), the militant wing of Jamaat i-Islami on Pakistan’s ISI payroll for the purpose of conquering Indian Kashmir, so it seems safe to assume that Mr. Butt is likewise involved with HM.

Quoting a top police officer, news agency Kashmir Scroll reported that the detained bad boy associate was previously involved in anti national activities and accordingly was booked under provisions of UAPA Act and is facing trial in NIA court.

The officer said that the person's current activities are prejudicial to the security of the country and his free movements in the society also create circumstances to radicalise youth.Accordingly, the subject has been detained under PSA and lodged at District Jail Kishtwar.

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India-Pakistan

NIA raids absconding accused's house in Hizb conspiracy case

2023-07-23

#NIA raids absconding accused's house in Hizb conspiracy case@NIA_India https://t.co/mhzSRUvR5m
— Greater Kashmir (@GreaterKashmir) July 22, 2023

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday raided the residential premises of an absconding accused in the Hizb ul Mujahideen (HM)

...the militant wing of Jamaat i-Islami on Pakistan’s ISI payroll for the purpose of conquering Indian Kashmir...

terror conspiracy case, officials said.

The accused has been identified as Riaz Ahmed @ Hazari, a resident of Kishtwar district of Jammu & Kashmir
Kashmir

...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
, said an NIA front man, in a statement.

"NIA has announced a cash reward of Rs 3 Lakh for leads on Riaz Ahmad @ Hazari. The searches conducted today at his house led to the seizure of one mobile phone, which is being analysed," he said.

The case, registered initially by ATS, UP Lucknow on 12th September 2018, was re-registered by NIA as case RC-02/2018/NIA/LKW under UA (P) Act on 24th September 2018.

"The case, registered against one Kamruk Zaman & others, related to a criminal conspiracy to carry out terror attacks by HM cadres at different places in U.P and other parts of India."

Kamrun and one absconding accused, Osama Bin Javed, were chargesheeted in NIA Special Court, Lucknow on 11th March 2019 under various sections of IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Osama was killed in an encounter with security forces on 28th September 2019.

Subsequently, on 29th May 2021, a Supplementary Chargesheet was filed against arrested accused persons Nisar Ahmad Sheikh and Nishad Ahmad Butt, both residents of J&K. A second supplementary chargesheet was filed against arrested accused Danish Naseer on 25th November 2022.

"Investigations have revealed that accused Kamruj Zaman was radicalized by Osama Bin Javed to join the HM and both received nine months of physical and weapon-handling training by HM cadres. Absconding accused Riaz Ahmad @ Hazari, an active bully boy and district Deputy Commander of the HM, along with another co-accused Mohammad Amin @ Jahangir Saroori, also an active bully boy and District Commander of HM, was involved in recruiting and training accused Kamruj Zaman and Osama Bin Javed in the forests of Kishtwar district of J&K."

"After completion of training, Kamruj was directed to set up bases and hideouts, and select targets in U.P, Assam and other parts of India for terrorist activities. Accordingly, he had come to Kanpur where he had also carried out reconnaissance of a few targets."

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India-Pakistan

Residence of Hizb terrorist's father searched in Kashmir

2023-05-07

Residence of #Hizb terrorist's father searched in #Kashmir https://t.co/LEv8VEaa2L
— Greater Kashmir (@GreaterKashmir) May 6, 2023

Continuing its crackdown on terror elements, Special Investigation Unit (SIU) conducted searches in the residential premises of Abdul Gani Bhat, father of active terrorist Farooq Ahmad Bhat alias Nali, at Chek Desen Yaripora in South Kashmir
Kashmir

The mills of Justice grinding slowly... though to be fair, there was that whole changing of Kashmir’s status thingy that led to a police lockdown, followed by the Covid lockdown, which no doubt slowed the hunt considerably.

The SIU is investigating the case and has been conducting searches and investigations to bring the perpetrators to justice, said the police.

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India-Pakistan

NIA charges 2 Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen terrorists in Poonch conspiracy case

2021-10-05

[OneIndia] The National Investigation Agency has filed a supplementary chargesheet against two murderous Moslems of the Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen

...one of Pakistan’s ISI’s catspaws in Kashmir, TuM was founded in 1990. By the end of the decade they were on their fourth emir, and subsequently their limited membership has been mainly visiting Paks with a few locals for local flavour. They’ve been seen in the Kashmir Valley in the Beeru belt of Budgam district, Ganderbal, and parts of Srinagar, Anantnag and Pulwama, and gotten funding from the Saudi Arabian Harmain Islamic Foundation — one of the financiers of 9/11, among other little projects — as well as the ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba...

in connection with a conspiracy case registered at Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir

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India-Pakistan

NIA charges 7 terrorists of Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen in Poonch conspiracy case

2021-06-26

[OneIndia] The National Investigation Agency has filed a chargesheet against 7 turbans of the proscribed terror outfit, Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen (TuM)

...one of Pakistan’s ISI’s catspaws in Kashmir, TuM was founded in 1990. But by the end of the decade the group was on their fourth emir, and subsequently their limited membership has been mainly visiting Paks with a few locals for local flavour. They’ve been seen in the Kashmir Valley in the Beeru belt of Budgam district, Ganderbal, and parts of Srinagar, Anantnag and Pulwama, and gotten funding from the Saudi Arabian Harmain Islamic Foundation — one of the financiers of 9/11, among other little projects — as well as the ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba...

in connection with the Poonch conspiracy case of Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir

...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
Mohd Mustafa Khan, Mohd Yaseen, Mohd Farooq, Mohd Javid Khan, Sher Ali and Mohd Rafiq have been named in the chargesheet.

The case was first registered under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Mendhar Police Station of Poonch District. The case was filed following the arrest of Mohd Mustafa Khan and recovery of 6 hand grenades along with other incriminating documents from his residence. The case was later taken over by the NIA.

Investigation has revealed that the seven chargesheeted accused persons were part of a deep-rooted criminal conspiracy by Pakistain-based handlers of TuM and their terror associates based in Poonch and Kuwait to execute terrorist activities and wage war against the Indian State.

Absconding accused Rafiq Nai alias Sultan and other handlers based in Pakistain Occupied Kashmir with assistance of Sher Ali based in Kuwait, Mohd Mustafa , Mohd Yaseen, Mohd Farooq, Mohd Ibrar, Mohd Javid and others on the Indian side of LoC in Poonch District smuggled arms, ammunition, explosives, narcotics etc into the Indian territory.

They were taking advantage of geography, affinities of religion, culture and other ties cutting across both sides of the LoC. During the course of investigation, large cache of arms, ammunition, explosives, narcotics along with flags, posters and other incriminating material belonging to terror outfit TuM, which was hidden at different places in Poonch was recovered.

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India-Pakistan

Was Kashmir’s Burhan Wani an al-Qaeda operative?

2016-08-10

[KASHMIRDISPATCH] Three days after the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was slain in a brief encounter with the Indian troops, the al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent asked Kashmiri people to follow his example. It is probably the first time al-Qaeda has owned any Kashmiri militant fighting in the valley.

Is it just a ploy from al-Qaeda to show its presence in the valley? But what would they get for playing such a ruse? Was then Burhan Wani an al-Qaeda operative? To understand that, one has to see his modus operandi.

Since he started broadcasting his message on social media, it was clear that a highly intelligent and sophisticated mind is at work. But was he the mind or just a face to propagate a particular message? Burhan joined the armed resistance movement at the age of 16 in 2010.

After his militant cousin Aadil Mir was killed in an encounter, Burhan came to the forefront on social networking sites. From 2015 onwards, Burhan became the face of the resistance movement in Kashmir. Despite probably never travelling outside his town, Burhan’s video messages were profound! He was associated with Hizb ul Mujahideen that believes merger with Pakistan. A few years ago, majority of Hizb militants came from Jamaat-e-Islami background. Importantly, in his video messages, Burhan never mentioned any mendicant All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader.

He, in fact, surprised Kashmiris when in his penultimate message he urged the people of Kashmir to fight for the establishment of Khilifat. He also said in the same video that they are capable of harassing the families of the policemen like they do to their families but cited Sharia laws not allowing it! It was certainly a tectonic shift.

Neither Hizb nor Jamaat-e-Islami has ever talked of establishing Khilifat in Kashmir. Their Khilifat started and ended with the merger of Pakistan.

Then how come a mere 22-year-old youth, who has never been out of Kashmir, thought of fighting for establishing a Khilifat? To understand that one has to look at the US occupation of Afghanistan and the subsequent turmoil in Pakistan. It is no secret that the US is primarily fighting against al-Qaeda to “smoke them out”. Since al-Qaeda believes in establishing Khilifat for Muslims, Kashmir has come under its radar. In 2008, the USA designated Af-Pak Kashmir policy, which meant all the three areas are cobbled together as a single theatre of operations. But the Indian state forced the US to withdraw Kashmir from its policy.

Burhan’s Killing A non-issue has been turned into the subject of debate. Burhan, once he joined the militant ranks, knew he would be killed. It didn’t matter to him how he would be killed. What mattered was the martyrdom. He attained that.

The theories circulating about his death take the focus away from the cause he sacrificed his life for. Since Burhan talked of Khilifat in his penultimate video message, it may have irked the Pakistani intelligence agencies. Together with their counterparts in India, they may have been thinking that the Kashmir movement is slipping away from them.

For India, Pakistani state is the best option to deal with rather than with an enemy that believes in reconquering it, and wave the flag of Islam there. The Indian state cannot negotiate with an organisation as elusive and indefatigable as al-Qaeda. For Pakistan, Kashmir is a place through which they control a large section of religious extremist groups. So both India and Pakistan may have already joined forces to stop the march of al-Qaeda in Kashmir.

It was no surprise that the media in both countries ignored AQIS extolling Burhan. Ideally, the Indian state should have raked this issue to “defame” the Kashmiri movement.

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Terror Networks

Pakistan's Jihadists Form A Complex Web of Collaborating Groups

2010-05-08

Pakistan-based terrorist organizations frequently cooperate with each other, and it should come as no surprise that the would-be Times Square bomber may have had dealings there with jihadists from various groups.

Reports from Pakistan indicate that Faisal Shahzad may have associated before his abortive May 1 attack not only with the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but also with militants from at least two groups known for their Kashmir-centric, anti-India agenda, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI).

Pakistani media reported that four JeM (Army of Mohammed') militants had been held for questioning in Pakistan, as part of the Times Square investigation.

JeM and HUJI, along with others like Lashkar-e-Toiba/Tayyiba (LeT), Hizb ul-Mujahideen and Harkat ul-Ansar are among the sometimes bewildering array of jihadist groups operating in South Asia.

Most have historically focused on fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, allegedly receiving varying levels of support from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a powerful military agency with a long record of sponsoring militants in both Kashmir and Afghanistan (where it helped to set up the Taliban in the 1990s).

Researchers' efforts to track these groups have been complicated by mergers, splits, overlaps and name changes, but what has been clear to them is that there are numerous connections among the organizations, as well as frequent cooperation and even joint operations.

What has also become evident is that while Kashmir may have been the founding cause for such groups, they are also part of a broader jihad that views the United States as an enemy and target. For example:

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India-Pakistan

Winter infiltration tests LoC defences

2009-04-02

SRINAGAR: This week, tens of thousands of police personnel will fan out across Jammu and Kashmir to guard the Lok Sabha elections from any threats, in particular jihadist assaults.

But their adversaries also seem to be prepared. Guided by global positioning system equipment, and specially geared for high-altitude survival, a new wave of infiltrators has succeeded in an enterprise that conventional wisdom has held to be impossible: crossing the Line of Control when the passes across the mountains are still carpeted by snow that is upwards of 40 feet thick.

Last month Jammu and Kashmir saw some of the most intense fighting in years. In one instance, Indian troops were pitted against a group of up to 25 Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad cadre who had traversed the snowfields that separated their base near Athmuqam and the Rajwar forests.

Despite losing seven soldiers in an ambush, troops of the 1 Paracommando Regiment succeeded in killing five terrorists, which forced the group to disperse. Later, police and Army personnel hunted down six more terrorists in villages around Handwara.

In addition, soldiers from 22 Rashtriya Rifles eliminated seven members of the group at Drangyari, close to the LoC.

But the interception of the group did not stem the surge in infiltration. Last week, at least 16 Hizb ul-Mujahideen operatives pushed their way through the snow-covered Kanzalwan forests of Gurez and headed towards Bandipora. Troops have made fire contact twice with the group, killing at least two terrorists, but there has been no sign of the rest of it.

Eight Lashkar terrorists are believed to have crossed the LoC moving towards Trehgam. Other groups are known to be preparing to cross the Sonapindi Pass from Kel into Macchel.

Believed to have been crafted by a Lashkar commander, known only by the aliases Muzammil and Yusuf, the winter-infiltration strategy seems to be based on a careful study of Indias LoC defences.

Kashmir has traditionally seen infiltration in late spring and early summer, after the snow on the mountains melts. The Armys Srinagar-based XV Corps prepares for this seasonal offensive by pushing additional troops forward, putting up barbed wire and planting electronic sensors. When the passes are snowed over, though, the Army and jihadist groups shifted their energies to the southern stretches of the LoC, in Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu.

Last year, the Lashkar began testing Indias winter defences in Kashmir. Infiltrators probed the Keran and Lolab sectors in late- February 2008, leading to the death of at least five Lashkar and Jaish cadres.

Later, in March 2008, a larger Lashkar group crossed into Handwara but it lost at least three men while trying to ford a river in sub-zero temperatures.

But enough number of infiltrators evidently made the winter passage to encourage Muzammil to plan this years infiltration plans. Indias intelligence services estimate that more than 300 cadres from the major jihadist groups have been trained for cold-weather infiltration.

Lashkar spokesperson Abdullah Ghaznavi which is a pseudonym for Lahore-based Abdullah Muntazar, spokesperson for the Lashkars parent religious group, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa has publicly exulted in the success of the strategy. The gun-battles should serve as a message to India, he said in a recent statement, that the struggle for Kashmirs freedom is not over.

Back in January, after the Lashkar was compelled to close its offices and training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, its language was very different. If the world listens to our cries and plays its role in resolving the Kashmir issue, he said, there is no point in continuing fighting.

Perhaps the most stark about-turn has been made by the patriarch of the Islamist movement in Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Geelani whose anti-election campaign will be helped should the violence escalate.

In July 2008, empowered by the communally-charged protests that were sweeping the State, Mr. Geelani insisted that the struggle should be peaceful. He further claimed: We need neither the gun of the mujahideen now, nor the support of Pakistan.

But at a rally in southern Kashmir on March 29, Mr. Geelani insisted that armed struggle is the backbone of our struggle. Our issue is internationally acclaimed because of the sacrifices of its martyrs. Such people are our heroes, way ahead of those involved in the political struggle for freedom.

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India-Pakistan

Lashkar plays dead as global pressure mounts

2008-12-20

SRINAGAR: For the past week, Indian intelligence officials eavesdropping on Lashkar-e-Taiba communication channels havent heard a word. Ever since global pressure compelled Pakistan to crack down on the terror groups parent political organisation last week, mobile phones, wireless sets and satellite phones used by field commanders in Jammu and Kashmir have gone silent.

But the group has not been killed off by Islamabad, police and intelligence officials in Jammu and Kashmir believe. It is just playing dead. Despite Pakistans December 13 crackdown on the Jamat-ud-Dawah, there is as yet no sign of any apparent effort to dismantle jihadist groups across the Line of Control raising the prospect that the crackdown may prove less than durable. Lashkar cadre, intelligence sources told The Hindu, remain in place along an arc of forward positions used by the jihadist organisation to push infiltrators across the LoC into Jammu and Kashmir.

For example, Lashkar cadre do not appear to have been evicted from positions in Kel in the Dudhniyal sector of northern Kashmir, or from Nekrun, which faces high-altitude forests in Kanzalwal. Similar forward positions used by the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Hizb ul-Mujahideen and al-Badr also appear to be intact.

In another sign that the crackdown has been less than serious, a major Lashkar communications base at Kel, located close to Pakistans 32 Infantry Brigade headquarters, has not been dismantled.

Work on the centre, which was intended to house state-of-the-art equipment, began this spring as part of a wider strategy to defeat Indian communications intelligence operations.

Lashkar commanders also placed orders for low-frequency encrypted wireless communication sets, to replace equipment vulnerable to eavesdropping.

In Muzaffarabad, the United Jihad Council a coordinating body for several terrorist groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir and chaired by Hizb chief Mohammad Yusuf Shah is reported to have removed signboards, shut its offices and ordered commanders to stop issuing public statements.

However, the Hizb bases and training facilities remain operational, and the cadre are yet to be dispersed, Jammu and Kashmir police sources said.

The Hizbs main office in Muzaffarabad, the Bait-ul-Islam, continues to function along with the Garhi Habibullah, Khalid bin-Waleed and Umar bin-Khatib camps.

It doesnt take the resources of the military to see that the crackdown on the Jamat-ud-Dawah is less than complete: its website, www.jamatdawah.org, which operates using a Lahore-based server, was updated on December 17 and it carried reports of protests against the Pakistan governments action.

Pakistan cracked the whip on the Jamat-ud-Dawah after the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on the organisation and four of its top leaders, sealing its offices, shutting down its accounts, and detaining 31 functionaries including its overall chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed.

But a welter of confusing and sometimes contradictory statements from high Pakistani officials have since created doubts whether Islamabad in fact intends dismantling the organisation.

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Jamat-ud-Dawah succeeded in moving funds out of its bank accounts in Pakistan before the crackdown. For reasons that are unclear, Pakistan has chosen not to act against the Lashkars multimillion dollar charitable front, the Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq.

Interestingly, the Jamat-ud-Dawah leadership appears to have been held under Pakistans Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) regulations rather than its harsh anti-terrorism laws. The MPO allows detention of individuals in their homes for up to three months.

Media reports from Pakistan say Saeed has been allowed to address a religious congregation near his home and that he continues to receive visitors.

Under the Pakistan Anti-Terrorism Act, last amended in 2001, special courts may try cases involving a wide range of offences, from the doing of anything that causes death to inciting hatred and contempt on religious, sectarian or ethnic basis to stir up violence.

This law also allows the state to proscribe organisations that engage in terrorism, which is defined to include activities ranging from the incitement of hatred and contempt on religious, sectarian or ethnic lines to the failure to ostracise those who commit acts of terrorism and present them as heroic persons.

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India-Pakistan

J&K's Party of Exiles

2008-07-11

Perhaps we should start calling ourselves the Hizb-ul-Muhajireen" (Party of Exiles or Refugees), the Hizb ul-Mujahideen's Rawalpindi-based 'supreme commander', Mohammad Yusuf Shah aka Syed Salahuddin joked to a confidante last month. Shah's playful use of words didn't conceal the bitterness behind his remark: the feared army of Islamist guerrillas he had once commanded has now degenerated into a 'party of exiles', unwanted in both India and Pakistan.
...and then he led everybody in a rousing redition of "Sunrise, Sunset".
Although elections to the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Assembly are still three months away, both the National Conference (NC) and People's Democratic Party (PDP) have held dozens of rallies in preparation for what all the actors know will be an intense contest. Islamist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani is also campaigning vigorously, calling on his supporters to boycott the elections. High voter turnouts are, nevertheless, expected.

From his headquarters in Pakistan, Shah had shaped the outcome of the last elections in 2002, using his terror squads to attack NC activists and coerce its rural supporters. One hundred political workers, mainly from the NC, were killed during the election process — adding to 61 claimed by terrorists in the election process of 1996, 57 in 1997, and 76 in 2001. Helped by the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen's (HM's) not-so-tacit support, the PDP surged past J&K's traditional party of government in several key constituencies.

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India-Pakistan

Hizb ul-Mujahideen eyes the coming Kashmir polls

2008-05-30

SRINAGAR: Perhaps we should start calling ourselves the Hizb ul-Mujahireen instead of the Hizb ul-Mujahideen>Hizb ul-Mujahideen, the terrorist groups supreme commander, Mohammad Yusuf Shah, joked with a confidant last month. Shahs wordplay did nothing to mask the bitterness of his tone: the feared mujahideen, or religious soldiers, he had once commanded now degenerated into a party of exiles, unwanted either at home or in Pakistan.

Although the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections are still three months away, both the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party have held dozens of rallies in preparation of an intense contest. Islamist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani is also campaigning vigorously, calling on his supporters to boycott the elections.

From his headquarters in Pakistan, Shah shaped the outcome of the 2002 elections, using his terror squads to attack NC activists and coerce rural supporters of the party. One hundred political workers, mainly from the NC, were killed adding to 61 lives claimed by terrorists in 1996; 57 in 1997; and 76 in 2001.

Robbed of a near-certain victory by NC rigging in the 1987 elections, when he contested as a Muslim United Front candidate, Shah crossed the Line of Control and joined an Inter-Services Intelligence-run jihad training camp. He vowed to wreak vengeance on India and the NC and delivered on his threat. But the triumphant homecoming Shah hoped for has proved a mirage. In the years since 2002, the Hizb has haemorrhaged commanders and cadre leaving the terror group and its supreme commander powerless spectators this time around. Its rank and file are demoralised; its field units strapped for funds and weapons; and its patrons in the ISI suspicious of its motivations.

Decimated organisation
For all practical purposes, what was once Jammu and Kashmirs numerically-strongest terror group has just one field unit a dozen-odd operatives grouped around southern division commander Shabbir Ahmed Mir in Tral town. It has been unable to mount a single attack of consequence for over a year, as cell after cell has been betrayed to the Jammu and Kashmir police or penetrated by Indian intelligence.

Ideologically committed leaders like Pervez Ahmed Dar, who, using the codename Musharraf acts as the Hizbs financial chief, have attempted to staunch the tide but to little avail. Dars immediate superior Farooq Ahmad Bhat was shot dead in February; key lieutenants such as central division commander Tajamul Islam and top south Kashmir operative Raees Dar are in jail.

No successor yet
Ever since Nasir Ahmad Dar, the organisations chief of military operations within Jammu and Kashmir, surrendered to authorities earlier this year, the Hizb has been unable to appoint a successor. Kulgam-born Riyaz Ahmad Bhat was selected, but the commanders parents travelled to Pakistan and arranged for his marriage, ensuring that he stayed on in Pakistan rather than risk death by returning home.

To make matters worse, the ISI no longer seems to trust the Hizb. Pakistan Army units actually turned back Hizb units attempting to cross the LoC this summer a reflection of the ISIs fear that the groups cadre are likely to tamely surrender once they are home. It is not an unfounded suspicion: almost a hundred Hizb operatives have done just that over the past year.

Jihadist build-up
Instead, the ISI is putting its faith in Pakistani jihadists. Upwards of 300 Lashkar cadre are thought to have massed at the Sawai Nallah near Muzaffarabad, along with similar numbers of Jaish at Chela Bandi and al-Badr at Chetiyan. Signs of the jihadist build-up are already evident. Last month, bus passengers near the Lolab Valley, for example, were twice stopped by jihadist units and asked to turn in any policeman among them.

Polemic sans bite
Hizb chief Shah has been increasingly theatrical in his polemic, promising attacks against Israeli tourists in Jammu and Kashmir, for example, and threatening to take the jihad to Lahore unless Pakistan reverses its policies. But in both Pakistan and India, this polemic is understood for just what it is: the rage of an ageing and battered beast that has lost its bite.

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