Call it Islamic struggle or die: Hizbul Mujahideen to Hurriyat

SRINAGAR: Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Zakir Bhat, who succeeded Burhan Wani after his killing in an encounter last year, threatened the Hurriyat separatists on Friday saying they would be hanged if they continued to describe Kashmir as a "political struggle" instead of an "Islamic uprising".

In a strongly worded audio message to separatists shared on social media, Zakir Bhat, aka Moosa, said: " Hum kufr ko chhod kar pehley aap ko latkayeingey. Lal Chowk mein inkey galey kateingey ! (Before we kill the disbelievers, we'll hang you... your heads will be chopped at Lal Chowk)."

Zakir insisted that the 27-year-old armed movement in Kashmir was an Islamic struggle, not a political fight, and also warned separatists not to meddle in the setting up a caliphate in J&K along the lines of the rule established by terror group Islamic State.

He warned them against using mosques and other Islamic symbols and slogans if they believed that Kashmir was a political struggle.

Hurriyat's Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik stress on resolution of the Kashmir issue by seeking the right to "self-determination".

The Mirwaiz, who is the custodian of the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, demands the implementation of UN resolutions of 1947 regarding Kashmir every Friday.

Geelani, on the other hand, roots for Kashmir's accession to Pakistan. Addressing them, Zakir said, "You are our big problem... if you have to run this dirty politics, run it in your homes... if we have to implement the shariat, we have to implement it on ourselves."

Zakir, a native of terrorist-infested Tral in Pulwama district, was studying to be an engineer in a Chandigarh college before picking up arms in July 2016.

"I am not an ulema (sic), but scholars here are corrupt... fearful of crossing limits that they may be imprisoned. That is why we have to come forward," Zakir said, quoting a verse from the Quran. "They are actually political leaders and they can't be our leaders," Zakir said. "Our fight is purely for the sake of Islam, and we shall implement the shariat in Kashmir, insha-Allah," hesaid.