Twenty-two year old Zakir Rashid Bhat,an ex-engineering student and the successor of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, in his first video statement, asked Kashmiris to continue protests till the “goal of azadi (freedom) is achieved”.
|| K.LEADER DESK
In the summer of 2013, a young student, pursuing engineering in Chandigarh returned to home for holidaying. Accompanied by friends, the 21-year old youth, Zakir Rashid Bhat, who loved driving his motorbike, went, along with the friends, for outing to the scenic Pahalgam. While his friends returned to the college, Zakir of Norpura, Pulwama suddenly disappeared. Days later a stranger delivered a letter from Bhat to his family. The young engineering student had chosen his path. “Jehad is the only way to deal with the atrocities faced by Kashmiris. Please don’t try to look for me,” Zakir had decided to join Kashmir new-age militants, young and educated.
Three summers later as Kashmir is in the midst of yet another uprising, the tech-savvy, who would love clothes and wear sporty looks, is the new commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, replacing his chief Burhan Muzaffar Wani, who was killed in encounter with army and police onJuly 8 in a Kokernag village. Last month, Zakir alias Musa appeared in an eight-minute video, his first after taking over the command, in which he spoke about number of issues including the killing of Burhan and the prevailing situation in the Valley which is reeling under the curfew for the past almost two months and has witnessed at least 70 killing and over 7000 injuries in forces’ action.
“We are thankful to all who gave their lives and supported the movement,” Zakir, sitting in a chair and dressed in military camouflage, says in the video that was released on August 16 and widely shared on social media groups. Three Kalashnikov rifles, a wireless set and a dagger are placed on a shelf behind him in the video, shot at an unidentified location. Zakir says the killing of Burhan and his two associates has taken the “movement” to a new level and should now be given “full support and taken to conclusion”.
The Hizb had earlier named one Mehmood Ghaznavi as Wani’s successor but many believe it to be an alias of Zakir. Media-savvy Burhan was the first militant leader to extensively use social media to attract educated youth into the militancy. Asking Kashmiris not to believe in rumours, Zakir, in the video message, said that people should not have burnt down the house in which Burhan was killed in Kokernag. “This is wrong. We should not take any step without any investigations. Because (by doing so) it leads to loss of mujahideens as people hesitate to give us shelter fearing their houses would be burnt if something untoward happens,” Zakir says in clear words.
Three summers later as Kashmir is in the midst of yet another uprising, the tech-savvy, who would love clothes and wear sporty looks, is the new commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, replacing his chief Burhan Muzaffar Wani, who was killed in encounter with army and police on July 8 in a Kokernag village.
The police was not the only target of Zakir in his address. Panchayat elections as well as the media found a mention in Zakir’s statement. “I am neither a commander nor the chief of any outfit. I am soldier of Allah who wants to forewarn you of India’s nefarious designs India is conspiring by recruiting special police officers (SPOs). They are trying to revive Ikhwan in Kashmir as they want Kashmiris among themselves. Do not take part in the recruitment drive and those who participate will be responsible for themselves,” Zakir says in the video. Prior to his killing, rise of Burhan in the ranks of militancy had coincided with increasing number of young and educated Kashmiris, mostly from south Kashmir joining the militancy.
Over the years Burhan had succeeded in galvanising support and infusing young blood into the outfit in south Kashmir to make it the number one outfit in the State in terms of the numbers, leaving behind Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad. He would heavily rely on social media sites to reach out to the youth and had bombarded the sites with videos, selfies and group photos of himself and group of militants, forcing the police to bring down several Facebook accounts to stop the circulation. On July 23, exactly 14 days after fourteen days after the killing of Burhan, a poster showing a group of Hizbul Mujahideen militants, had announced they “would continue to challenge the enemy”.
On July 23, exactly 14 days after fourteen days after the killing of Burhan, a poster showing a group of Hizbul Mujahideen militants, had announced they “would continue to challenge the enemy”.
The poster, which had appeared in Shopian district, had shows eleven militants holding AK-47 assault rifles and wearing army fatigues, sitting in an orchard. The photo was similar to the one in which Burhan posed with 10 of his associates, majority of whom have been killed in gunfights. “We will continue the war and keep challenging our enemy,” the poster had said. The 11 young men, whose identity was not known in the poster was a signal that the outfit would continue to reveal their identity to the world, a strategy that was followed by Burhan. As many as 100 recruits, mostly in south Kashmir, had joined militancy during Burhan’s term to continue waging war against the state. In the video message Zakir, who has not been home since July 17, 2013, is seen asking people to support the protests. “You should support protests wholeheartedly.
The hartals and protests should continue. Whosoever calls off the strike, it should not be allowed as we are only the followers of Allah…Till azadi we will keep struggling,” says Zakir in the video. Last December, Zakir had paid a surprise visit home when his grandfather passed away. Once clean-shaven, Zakir now sports a beard and wear combat uniform. “He came, wept for a few minutes and left. Immediately after, an Army officer arrived looking for him. When I told him that Zakir had come and wept for a few minutes, he said, ‘He is a tiger, why would he weep?” Zakir’s father, Abdul Rashid Bhat, an engineer, had told Indian express last year. Zakir is educated and tech savvy and his rise to the top position in the militant ranks must be a concern for the security establishment. But what remains to be seen is the modus operandi that he would follow to in coming days. His first “message”, a video statement, indicates he will be following in the footsteps of his slain commander.
