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Kashmir militancy after

Zakir Musa

n Kashmir, threat was not seen as operational but ideological. It
was an attempt to fit Kashmir struggle into a pan-Islamist frame
and widen its horizon to entire India. reports RIYAZ WANI

n May 23, the day the out-
come of general elections
was announced, security
forces in Kashmir killed Za-
Okir Musa, the first and the
last remaining militant of the Al Qaeda
affiliate Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind. He was
killed at Dadsar Tral, his native village.
In July 2017, Musa had created a sen-
sation by threatening to chop off the
heads of the top separatist leaders and
displaying these in the city square. He
had joined local militant outfit Hizbul
Mujahedeen in 2013 and overseen its
renewed growth as a close aide of its
slain commander Burhan Wani. He
was also chosen as Burhan’s successor
but along the way he went through a
radical transformation in his ideology
which persuaded him to question the
fundamental premise of the struggle
in Kashmir. According to him, the goal
of the militancy should be the creation
of an Islamic state, rather than a secu-
lar nation. So, he argued even against
seeking Kashmir’s merger with Paki-
stan, which he called a “secular nation”.
“The objective of our struggle is only
and only the glory of Islam and the im-
plementation of Shariah,” Musa had
said in an audio message. He warned
that the militants would brook no de-
viation from this goal.
But when Pakistan based leader-
ship of Hizbul Mujahedeen censored
him for his remarks, even calling him
an “Indian agent”, Musa decided to
strike on his own and quit Hizb. Within
weeks he emerged as the head of the
Al Qaeda affiliate Gazwat-ul-Hind. The

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