Condemning the killing of 39 Indians by ISIS in Iraq, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP on Wednesday said the emergence of the terror group in Kashmir needs to be curbed with iron hand.
Speaking with mediapersons, BJP’s state spokesperson Anil Gupta said the disclosure that a youth from Telangana who was recently killed in an encounter had come to Kashmir as an ISIS fighter should act as an eye-opener for those who refuse to acknowledge the presence of ISIS in Kashmir.
“The emergence of ISIS in Kashmir needs to be curbed with an iron hand. The government can no longer afford to remain in denial mode,” Gupta said.
On February 27, shortly after it was revealed that MD Toufeeq was an ISIS operative, the Centre sought to downplay the issue of the presence of the dreaded terror group in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it had no existence in the Valley.
“There is no physical infrastructure or manpower of the IS (ISIS) in the Valley. It does not exist in the Valley,” a Home Ministry spokesperson had said while reacting to a statement of the terror group claiming responsibility for the killing of a policeman in the Valley.
Gupta said that terror groups Al-Qaeda and ISIS have agreed to bury their differences and unite with “Universal Jihad” as their common goal.
“Kashmir has been selected as launch pad for ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, a prophesied battle in which Muslim armies would invade Indian subcontinent and would be victorious and will establish Islamic law in the subcontinent,” he said.
Gupta said ISIS was “disintegrated, but not over”.
“Rather than verticals, it is working as a linear organisation with cells operating in different parts of the world, including India. ISIS is an ideology very alien to us. It is barbaric, ruthless, and non-compromising,” he said.
Gupta said that Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa advocated peace with other neighbours but with India it was conditional to resolution of the outstanding Kashmir issue.
“.. meaning it would continue to support terror in Kashmir,” he said.
“The recent theatrics of Pakistan in which it called back its high commissioner followed by announcement to boycott WTO Conference in New Delhi was a desperate attempt to divert the tremendous international pressure following the FATF decision to place it on grey list,” he said.
Having failed to achieve the desired aim, Gupta said, Pakistan resorted to the old technique of unprovoked ceasefire violations at the LoC and targeting civilian residential areas killing five members of a family in Poonch district on Sunday.
“A barbaric act similar to ISIS fighters. Pakistan Army has no value for human lives and shares the same ideology of ISIS,” he said.
Meanwhile, Azadi camp in Kashmir does not have a global agenda and has nothing to do with the Daesh and its ideology, Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai told Kashmir Post in an exclusive interview soon after succeeding Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the new Tehreek-i-Hurriyat chairman.
“Some elements are creating confusion among masses by raising ISIS flags at the funeral of militants. We have kept a close watch on them, and will soon chart out a plan to stop them after TeH elections,” Sehrai said, citing the hoisting of ISIS flags at the funeral of Soura youth Muhammad Eisa Fazili.
Sehrai, however, expressed concern over the “ISIS thinking” finding resonance among a section of youth. “It could be the handiwork of agencies keen to defame the Kashmir movement and undermine its indigenous character,” he said. “Our agenda is simple. We only want Kashmir to be free from Indian occupation. Nothing else”.
Hurriyat leader said that there was no role in Kashmir for the organisations with an international agenda.
“Daesh and Al-Qaida have nothing to do with our movement and we will never accept them,” Sehrai said. He urged youth not to get swayed by the extremist ideology and understand Islam in its correct perspective.
“Some youth are influenced by ISIS ideology, but I appeal to them not to go to extremes and read Islamic books, the Quran, and the hadith, and see what rules and regulations Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has laid down for war. Then they must decide for themselves as to what is right and what is wrong.”
Sehrai said he was pained by the events at the funeral of Eisa Fazili. “These things are unacceptable. Mysterious forces are creating chaos among the masses. Youth have to maintain discipline in the freedom movement,” he said. “Those raising ISIS flags are strengthening the roots of occupation in Kashmir. India directly benefits by this. These youth tell the world that we are extremists and deserve to be killed”.
Talking about Zakir Musa, chief of Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind, Sehrai said Musa had sacrificed everything for Kashmir cause. “Zakir Musa is the light of my eyes. He left everything for the sacred cause. But I want to tell him that by moving towards extremism he was doing India a favour.”
